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Hong Kong demonic possession horror Devil Fetus, directed by Hung-Chuen Lau, ambitiously bundles together a host of influences in a way that can’t help but be entertaining.
From Second Run Films, here we have a three Blu-ray set collecting together most of the climactic output of Zoltán Huszárik- a Hungarian filmmaker whose work has a very distinctively visual quality. The set brings together his two feature films- 1971’s Szindbád and 1979’s Csontváry, as well as five short films dating from between 1966 and 1976. All of Huszárik's work sits within the arthouse genre- yet it’s all fairly approachable, with a creative and rewarding visual palette, as well as compelling concepts and themes.
Re-Animator is one of the key/ important horror films of the 1980s, for more than a few reasons. First off, it brought the mad doctor horror form up to gory and black comedy date. It introduced cult horror writer HP Lovecraft to a wider horror audience, and it stood as one of the key films released by Charles Band’s Empire studio. It’s also a damn fine film, with wonderful pacing, a well-selected cast, and still surprisingly effective with its special effects, and blend of shocking horror and comedy. Here from Second Sight is a new two-disc- featuring a new 4k scan, new and old commentary tracks, and a good selection of old and new extras.
Venus DIE-trap is a highly campy and extremely low-budget tribute to when monsters invade small-town America sci-fi/ horror. The 2025 film has a limited cast of just four or five folks, with a blatant use of stock footage, bad CGI backdrops, hamming it up acting, and a monster made of painted papier-mache & flaying fake vine leaves. Here from SRS Cinema, those seekers of all things low-budget/ SOV fare is a DVD release of the film, taking in two commentary tracks, and a few more extras.
Director Colin Minihan, Grave Encounters (2011) and It Stains the Sands Red (2016), brings his horror credentials to the Hollywood Hills with Coyotes, a gleefully blood-soaked 2025 survival thriller that refuses to take itself too seriously.
From the fab-folks at Germany’s Bear Family Records, here's Santa Is Rockin’ And Rollin’. It’s a twenty-five-track CD compilation focusing on festive rock ‘n’ roll/ related genres from between the 1950s and 1960s- and as we’ve come to expect from the label, this is another wonderful, varied & well sequenced affair.
Death Ride (aka VIP Death Seat) is a 2025 Thai film set on a bus. It blends elements of thriller, horror, and action with a few sprinkles of off-key/ toilet humour. Here from International Media Network is a barebones DVD release of the film. Though the case doesn’t tell you this is a Thai film with English subtitles.
Don’t Open Until Christmas is a British slasher. The early 1980s film features inventive murders, a creepy masked killer, a fair bit of sleaze, and some unintentional humour- due to the more ropy/ bad acting. It’s set in London, and regards people dressed as Santa being murdered. Here from 88 Films, as part of their Slasher Classic series, is a release of the picture. The Blu-ray takes in a 2k scan, a new commentary track, and a few more extras.
During the 1970s, Nazi-exploitation- one of the more distasteful, unpleasant, and at times downright nasty sub-genres in exploitation- rose and then fell. SS Experiment Love Camp was part of this cycle.
Chock full of noisy electro punk riffs, burning social commentary, and enough energy to power a small city, East LA's Plezzure drop their first official release with this self-titled EP. Fifteen frantic minutes, Plezzure is a quick hitting, buzzing and bopping piece of punk rock constructed with electronic instruments and arrangements. This duo (Andres "Dres" Huerta and Juan "Bunchie" Vera) has already made a name for themselves in the LA scene with their energetic and frenetic live shows, and this EP on GIve/Take hopes to invite the rest of the world to the frenzied Plezzure party.
Here’s a grimly horror-focused wall noise split bringing together two US projects. There’s Strom Lake, Iowa’s May Cause Death, who severs up two decidedly baying & nasty walls. And Portland’s Hana Haruna, who presents us with more haunted, yet still seared wall-craft.
Splinter is the second solo album from Poland’s Daniel Szwed ( Woody Alien). It serves six slices of pounding, bounding, and hissing electronica/electro-industrial soundscaping.
Elektroniczne Systemy is the debut EP from Polish two-piece Marmur, which brings together Artur Rumiński (Furia, Thaw, Arrm, and many others) and Macio Moretti (LXMP, rumoured to be Mitch & Mitch, and many others). The sound over the three tracks is lo-fi electronica, with subtle guitar elements and a rather moody, at times abstract feel.
Danheim is the project of Danish producer Reidar Schæfer Olsen, who has here created an album of what I would describe as cinematic tribal ethnic downtempo - primarily hand drum rhythms and chants, which sound digitally produced and sequenced. It sounds akin to the soundtracks of Hollywood blockbusters like 300 or Gladiator or a show like Game of Thrones. Looking up his credits, he actually did the soundtrack for the show Vikings.
Stärker, a Canadian-French duo, really know what they're doing. Their latest release, the captivating Spectral, is pitch-perfect, each sound source simultaneously exacting and expansive, precise and yet open like a chasm.
A White Horse Is Not a Horse arrives on CD in a card gatefold wallet from the esteemed ESP-Disk, featuring five tracks varying from about four minutes in length to twenty-four minutes. Tang and Golden present improvised pieces which largely revolve around similar sounds and techniques - certainly from Tang, who performs with electric guitar, piano, electric keyboard, vocals, and small percussion, whilst Golden assaults the drums
The Shadow And The Wind: 1973- 1974 is a five-CD set looking at both the live and studio output of British rockers/ proto heavy metal merchants/approachable prog dealers, Uriah Heep in the early/ mid 70’s. The primary focus here is live material, with three of the five discs taken up by live albums, showing the five pieces as confident and versatile performers.
Five Thousand Pretenders Who Passed the Test By Luck Alone is a new(ish) long-form work from Massachusetts-based drone maker/moody noise creator Howard Stelzer. The single, just over fifty-minute track moves through a fair bit of varied sonic territory, from ringing and dense soundscaping, onto smaller/ detailed sound crafting, through to drone/ field recording crossbreeds, and beyond.
Scat Punk is the first slice of scuzzy & crude walled noise freefall from this new project from UK’s Tom Wilson(The Night Porter, Slowgurn, and Death To Dynamic label). This digital release takes in a single nearly hour-long track, which blends a constant searing rush & churn with fleeting darts of other tone/ texture.
Alpha Omega was album number three from New York’s Cro-Mags. First released in 1992, the nine-track album saw the band tighten up their sound, which blended elements of hardcore punk, metal, and thrash.
First released in 1993, Near Death Experience was the fourth album from Cro-Mags. It saw the New York band deepen their Crossover thrash/ metal sound from their hardcore punk roots. It found the more pumped-up metallic/ punk attack tempered with moments of moodiness and spiritual themes. Here from Arising Empire is a recent CD reissue of the album.
Plot Of Fear is a mid-1970s gialli that blends in elements of Poliziotteschi and proto slasher. The film centres on a group of people from an exclusive and kinky club, who are being murdered, with each body a page from a children's book is left. As you’d imagine with such a plot, there is a fair bit of sleaze/flesh on display, and while the killings themselves aren’t elaborate, they are varied- all finished off with an unmasking/resolution I didn’t see coming. Here from Powerhouse- as either a UHD or Blu Ray- is a new release of the film, taking in a well-defined 4k print, a new commentary track, and a selection of old and new extras.
From the early 70’s, Craze is a British film focusing on an antiques dealer, who accidentally kills someone in front of an African idol, finds a fortune coming his way, and decides to take up murder. In the lead, we have Jack Palance, with appearances of the likes of Trevor Howard, Suzy Kendall, and Diana Dors. The film is a thriller/ horror crossbreed- with light touches of both gore and nudity, making for an engaging enough & lightly campy 70’s cinematic ride. Here from 88 Films is a recent release of the film, which is available as either a Blu-ray or DVD, taking in a 4k scan, a new commentary track, and a few other old/ new extras.
One half of electronic/psychedelic duo Japanese Gum, Paolo Tortora heads off on his own for his debut solo, Waves of Fading Memories, via Torto Editions. Four pieces consisting of shimmering tones, waves, warmth, and soft, fuzzy nostalgia, Tortora's solo is the perfect soundtrack for spending time reviewing, reinvestigating, and reliving one's memories. Like waves crashing on the shore, their moment is fleeting, but their impact is timeless. While one wave lapping the sand may not seem like much, the life, nutrients, calm, beauty, and, conversely, destruction makes its mark before drifting away, only for another wave, another memory to be formed. Structured around layered guitar tones, soft, synth drones, wave sounds, and other effects, Waves of Fading Memories is rich with atmosphere, ambiance, and is the perfect setting for one to rekindle and relive their myriad memories.