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From the early 1970s, Her and She and Him is a softcore French drama regarding a naïve ‘n’ guitar-strumming Swedish art student moving to Paris, to find lust, manipulation, and possible love. The film was released after relaxation in censorship, and showed a fair bit of lovemaking flesh, though it’s not just an all-out smut feast, as there is still a decent story, engaging dramatics, passable-if-soapy acting, and a fair bit of entertaining cheesy campness. Here from 88 Films, as part of their French Collection, is a Blu-ray release of the film. Taking in an HD scan of the picture, and a few extras.
Shadowzone is a sci-fi horror film set in an underground lab, where a shape-shifting monster is stalking the corridors. The early 1990s Full Moon Production blends stumbling in the misty darkness unease, effective if briefly appearing particular effects, and one or two decent jump scares/reveals. It feels like an attempt to blend of The Thing, From Beyond, and an X-Files episode. Here from 88 Films is a new Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a new HD scan of the film, and a commentary track.
From Second Sight Films, here is either a Blu-ray/ UHD box set bringing together the three films from Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher series. Each is an athletic/ often edgy example of the crime genre- utilising authentic settings, real drugs, and actual criminals in their making. Each film is given a new 4k restoration, with new commentary tracks/ other extras for each film.
From last year, A Game In The Woods is a backwoods thriller/ horror, with twists of often awkward humour. Think a low-budget/crude( oil) blend of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Most Dangerous Game, and Hostel- it'll give you an idea of what we have here. From Jinga Films, here’s a bare-bones DVD release of the picture.
In 1972, Hamburg-based progressive rock band Frumpy split after two years and three albums together. The group splintered with singer Inga Rumpf, keyboard player Jean- Jacques Kravetz and bassist Karl-Heinz Schott forming Atlantis, alongside guitarist Frank Diez and drummer Curt Cress. The band released their debut self-titled album on Vertigo Records in 1972, which was followed by 1973's It’s Getting Better, 1974's Ooh, Baby and their last album, 1975's Get on Board.
Death Carries A Cane is a zippy-paced and entertaining early 70s giallo/ proto slasher, regarding a female photographer who sees a murder from a distance. The film features well-set-up/tension-building murders, a fair bit of female flesh, corny dialogue, and camp aplenty. Here from Powerhouse is a recent release of the film, coming as either a UHD or Blu-ray release. It takes in a new bright ‘n’ buoyant 4k scan, two versions of the film, a commentary track from genre experts, and a good selection of new featurettes/ interviews.
Solo project of death metal bedouin Garry Brents, Sallow Moth has consistently grown and challenged the status quo with its avant-garde tech death laced with sci-fi lore, themes, and sounds. Nearly ten years into the game, its third full-length, Mossbane Lantern, hit this year through I, Voidhanger, and this release is getting Sallow Moth out to more potential fans than ever. With the advent of cheaper home recording gear and rigs, one-man death metal projects have been on the rise, but for the most part, they usually sound like one man making it work. Sallow Moth, though, is different and feels like a wonderfully cacophonous orchestra is playing all their parts instead of just one metal thrashing madman
Hardboiled is a Blu-ray set bringing together three 1970s crime/ action films, helmed by Orléans, Loiret-born Alain Corneau. Each blends classic noir tropes, gritty ’70s edge, and French sensibilities- with often creative/distinctive twists on the crime film form. Each film in the set receives an HD scan, as well as a selection of new/ archive extras. With the set finished off, an eighty-page booklet- taking in four new pieces of writing, and archive interviews.
Diving Board is the sixth album from this British two-piece. It's a nine-track affair that finds them focusing on the more dementedly theatrical/ intensely spoken-word side of their post-PE/ extreme & experimental electronica sound.
Here’s a self-titled debut that serves up two slices of improv, which slip 'n' slide between electro-minimalism & acoustic fumbles ‘n’ darts with the occasional melodic flourisher and orchestrated shift. It’s a decidedly unpredictable, often taut and seared ride, which travels through various sonic states.
New Religion is a darkly moody, at times artfully sleek drama with elements of mystery and low-key horror. The early 2020s Japanese film manages to balance lost child dramatics with subtle Lynch like dark surrealism and moments of eerier disquiet. Here from Third Window films is a Blu-ray release of the film, with a commentary track, director interview & a few other things, including a related short.
From the early 70s, Raw Meat ( aka Death Line) is a British film that sits somewhere between mystery thriller, horror film, and subtly sarcastic/ dark comedy. It regards a series of disappearances in the London underground that have been investigated by a brashly flippant/ likes-a-drink police inspector played by Donald Pleasence. The film also features a brief appearance from British Horror legend Christopher Lee. It’s a decidedly plodding, if at times effectively grim & eerie affair, with moments of gore & brutality. Here from Blue Underground is a Blu-ray release of the picture, taking in a 4k scan with a new Dolby Atmos audio mix, and a selection of new and archive extras.
Deadstream is an early 2020s found-footage film that blends YouTuber satire, haunted house horror, demonic/ gory derangement, and comedy. It regards a controversial and kooky YouTuber trying to make a comeback by spending a night in an abandoned/ meant-to-be-haunted house. Here from Arrow Video is a Blu-ray release of the film, taking both new and archive extras.
Combining audio and visual art is nothing new, however, artists challenge this collision of two worlds in various ways, furthering our understanding of the two mediums while expanding on how many ways one can make art. Umbráfono (Enrique del Castillo) uses a mix of old and new technology to convert light into sound to create his work, with his latest, Segundo Álbum out now on LP. His material is based on his own film printed to celluloid fed through an optical-analog system, technology that has been in use since 1919. These films were designed and manufactured by del Castillo, making the audio/video leap something truly his own.
The New Awkward takes a more complex, detailed, and often fresh take on piano and percussion duo playing. Each of the album's ten tracks offers up a varied selection of sonic approaches and disciplines to serve a wholly satisfying release.
Harpsichords is a two-CD set bringing together improvisation for three harpsichords, each of which were in a different state of disrepair. The first disc focuses on the three instruments played together, with the results often moving between noise and anti-music. And the second disc finds each instrument (with live electronics/ processing) being played separately for more formal/ less dense improv- all making for a very interesting contrast.
English composer Kate Carr's collaboration with the Ireland-based David Donohoe is a carefully considered organic soundscape constructed out of field recordings and recordings of instruments such as flutes, chimes and other percussion. "A Storm and its Aftermath" is a single forty-five-minute piece, but undergoes many changes and miniature movements.
Broken into five compositions anchored around two long works and three shorter pieces, Unknown, by DarkSonicTales (Rolf Gisler) is a study in combining 90s indie instrumentalism with more contemporary electronic sensibilities. Sounds promising, but few have managed to achieve the depth and exacting production that DarkSonicTales has on this release.
Not to be confused with the original incarnation of Goblin featuring Simonetti, alongside Massimo Morante, Fabio Pignatelli, Agostino Marangolo , Maurizio Guarini, etc. This is Claudio Simonetti’s most recent version of the band, featuring Federico Maragoni on drums, Daniele Amador on guitar and Cecilia Nappo on bass. This 2 CD collection features re-recordings of classic Goblin material from the scores to Suspiria, Deep Red, Tenebrae, Demons and Zombie Flesheaters, as well as tracks from their album Roller and a few classic horror themes thrown in for good measure, both John Carpenter’s Halloween and Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells.
Here’s a five-CD box set bringing together all of the 1990s output from lyrically playful UK punk rockers Peter And The Test Tube Babies. Featured here are four studio albums and one live album, and throughout the set, the key elements are the tongue-in-cheek humour and general feeling of playful swagger.
Jam Down Rock is a twenty-three-track CD compilation, bringing together early 80s dub/dancehall mixes by respected reggae producer Joe Gibbs & his band The Professionals. It's a great collection of stripped-back, hard-hitting, and often playfully experimental tracks.
From the late 2000s, Maskhead is a film that blends hulking monster-man horror, modelling/ casting satire, and gruelling extreme torture/gore. It mixes these elements in an often haphazard, tonally unbalancing, and at times confusing manner.Here from Unearthed Films- those seekers of all things cinematically extreme- is a recent Blu Ray release of the film, which is loaded with extras, both new & old.
Pete Davidson is a prominent media figure these days, famed as much for his celebrity romances and offscreen antics as he is for his comedic performances. But unfortunately, this serves to undermine a stand-up style that, while it does explore the usual frat boy gags, is coupled with a fierce honesty and searing vulnerability in no small part due to the death of his fireman father on September 11. Starting out as one of the youngest ever of the SNL crew, Davidson initially veered into film with a bit part in Judd Apatow’s 2015 Trainwreck before moving into blockbusters, including Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and The Suicide Squad. He’s no stranger to horror either, recently taking a key role in the (relatively low-budget) 2022 film Bodies Bodies Bodies, and now the lead in James DeMonaco’s, The Home.
Director-cinematographer Jonathan Zaurin weaves two sides of a violent crime to explore trauma and grief in his compelling 2024 revenge thriller, Derelict.