Past Life (2025) is a psychological thriller from director Simeon Halligan, the head of Grimmfest and the filmmaker behind White Settlers and The Blood Lands. Written by Halligan alongside Ray Bogdanovich and Dean Lines, the film stars Aneurin Barnard (Peaky Blinders, Dunkirk) as traumatised war journalist Jason Frey, Jeremy Piven (Entourage, Mr Selfridge) as celebrity hypnotist Timothy Bevan, and Pixie Lott (Christmas Karma, Fred: The Movie) as Jason's pregnant wife, Claira. 

Hardly a moment goes by on Venus er i håret that does not bloom like a lush electronic flower. This is the established parlance of pop that the Norwegian Espen Reinertsen is known for.  Over five tracks, we are ensconced in a world populated by drawn-out vocal deliveries and carefully textured drums, horns, and synths, the latter of which sit squarely in the field of early gaming aesthetics. 

Driftworks and Audiobulb Records have released the second entry in their joint SITE series examining the connection between a location and sound, through the lens of different artists and musicians. London-based OD (Alex O'Donovan) has selected the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard as his inspiration for Svalr, showcasing the region's geographical and meteorological characteristics through field recordings, sound manipulation, and additional synthesis. The resulting five tracks create a lush atmosphere that transports the listener to this fantastic, remote wonder and allows OD's journey to be experienced by all.

Luther The Geek is a late 80’s mix of slasher and low-key dark humour, with a rewarding mix of tense stalk 'n' slash atmosphere, red spurting gore, and creepy derangement. The film's title character is a great/ unsettling killer, with his metal dentures, balding/wild-eyed redneck look, and penchant for ripping into the necks of both humans and chickens alike. Here from Troma is a Blu-ray release of the film, which has a fair selection of extras, though I believe these are all ported over from previous releases of the picture.

From the late  80’s, Stripped To Kill is a mix of erotic thriller and drama with touches of slasher/giallo.  The film is largely set in & around a pole dancing club, where dancers are being killed off. It’s down to a blond/ big hair-sprayed cop to go undercover to see if she can solve whose behind the murders. It features a fair bit of topless nudity, a few murders/ gore, and a fair bit of 80’s camp.  Here from 88 Films Slasher Classics series is a Blu-ray release of the film. It takes in a new HD print, four commentary tracks- two new, two archive, and a selection of other new/ old extras.

Horizons is a collaboration between two artists with whom I have no prior familiarity, Austin Williamson and Blanket Swimming, both from Kansas City, Missouri, with numerous releases on Bandcamp and many small experimental labels.  This album consists of two longer pieces, 15-20 minutes each, alternated with a couple of shorter tracks, though the actual listening experience feels quite continuous.