Loading
From the early 1970’s Creatures The World Forgot stands as one of the more daring, though at times decidedly arty/ trying Hammer productions. The film was the third and final prehistoric adventure from the company, and it’s fair to say it's extremely divisive with both fans of the studio and general lovers of caveman-based adventuring. The picture features no formal dialogue and has an often difficult-to-follow storyline, though it’s at times damn brutal and dustily intense, with moments of forlorn atmosphere, and a few dodgy/low-grade effects. Here from Powerhouse is a Blu-Ray reissue of this lesser-seen/ lesser-known Hammer production- featuring a new commentary track, a good selection of Hammer featurettes, a selection of Children’s Film Foundation productions by the same director, and a few other things.
Nemeton is the electronic solo project of Uk based Adrian Newton. It has a decidedly prolific output with fifteen albums released since 2008, and Amygdala it’s latest.
There is no doubt that The Fall where one of the most idiosyncratic, prolific, at points highly creative projects to appear from the UK’s post-punk scene of the 1970s. Between the mid-’70s and late 2010s, the band released thirty-three studio albums, many live albums, and more than a few compilations. The project came to a final and rather sad full stop, when the band's only constant member, lead singer and key songwriter Mark E. Smith passed in 2017 from terminal cancer. This truly huge tome charts each of the band’s albums- with a readable blend of highly honest band biography, reports from the studio, and in-depth yet never dull track-by-track criticism.
A forgotten classic of British TV from 1972, The Intruder was made by Granada television and broadcast on a Sunday evening. The series was based on the novel of the same name by John Rowe Townsend. Who adapted Alan Garner’s The Owl Service for TV, and starred James Bate (The Spoils of War, Dr Who and The Stars Look Down) as Arnold Haithwaite, Milton Johns as Sonny (Empire Strikes Back, The Jensen Code and The X-Files) and Simon Fisher-Turner (Claire Dolan, Lillie and The Big Sleep) as Peter Ellison.
Samhain is a two-track wall noise release celebrating this spooky and horror-fed time of year. Both tracks run around the ten-minute mark- the first project featured here is Poland’s Sado Rituals, and the second is Berlin's Sebastian Tomb.
Here’s another example of textured/ walled noise from France’s Occlusion- who theme all of their releases around medical operations, with rather nauseating pictures for each release. 57 Re Remix Silence takes in two twenty-minute track- and the theme of this release is eye operation, with a close up-picture of said operation.
Here’s Harsh Noise Wall Split that brings together two brutalizing ‘n’ intensely baying examples of the genre. Featured are Frances IxSxDxSxTxP, and New Jersey's Vindex- with each project presenting an around half-an-hour wall.
Scaring the Mice For Revenge is a new collaborative moniker of four prolific musicians who have crossed paths various times in the past. Their self-titled album has recently come out on Prohibited Records, a label owned in part by one of the members, Nicolas Laureau, who plays sitar on this album. The music they play is spaced-out improvisatory fare that could be called experimental jam band music or 'out' jazz, in the 70's sense. I am unfamiliar with these musicians' work, though I've heard some other releases from Prohibited Records.
Is there a difference between electric and electronic when it comes to music? Maybe the former mostly refers to a mode of amplifying signals, whereas the latter names a means of production? It's axiomatic, but it works, especially if we dust ourselves off from the dirt of the digital and revisit a protean moment of electronic music as Stefan Römer does on his ReCode SOUND, a soundtrack for a movie that is loosely based on another movie, in which no less than the likes of William S. Burroughs and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge once acted alongside one another in the German cult hit, Decoder (1984).
From the early 1990s, Ghostwatch is one of the key and early examples of found footage genre. The UK/ BBC production presented itself as a factual TV investigation, with well-known British presenters, members of the public interviewed, and phone-ins. But in reality, it was a TV drama/ mockumentary, which slowly but surely turns decidedly creepy 'n' chilling. Here from 101 Films is the 30th-anniversary edition of the film- featuring a brand-new documentary, two commentary tracks and more.
Come Back Lucy is a six-part ghostly children’s drama from the late ’70s. It features a likeable cast, nicely tense end of episodes cliffhangers, and some surprising spooky/ unsettling moments. From Network, is a double DVD reissue of the complete series, which includes a few extras.
Sorry, Wrong Number is a complexly plotted, yet rewardingly unfurling noir mystery. The late 1940s film features two greats in its lead roles, with Barbara Stanwyck as a bedbound woman who accidentally gets switched to a wrong number overhearing plans for a murder. And Burt Lancaster as her late home husband. It’s certainly a film that will keep you on your toes, with some neat twists, wonderfully tense moments, and of course top-class acting. Here from Australia’s Viavision Entertainment is a bare-bones DVD release of the film.
This Spring saw the release of the third album from Kollaps, Until The Day I Die. This Australian, heavy industrial project hasn't lost a step since 2019's Mechanical Christ, and continues to smash, hammer, and crush forth with crispy, screeching, machine-death ecstasy. Even with an entirely different approach to the album construction, Kollaps gives an eager audience another slice of pounding, metallic collision.
The Most Dangerous Game stands as one of the most influential and ahead-of-its-time films to appear from the horror & thriller cycles of the 1930s. It tells of a devious and psychotic big game hunter, who has hauled up on a remote island to capture & hunt humans. The film features a great feeling of building dread ‘n’ unease, tense action scenes, and some fairly intense (for the time) horror imagery. Here from Eureka Entertainment, as part of their Masters of Cinema series, is a highly deserved Blu-Ray reissue of the picture, featuring a fresh 2k scan of the film, a commentary track, and a nice selection of extras.
From the early 1950’s I’ The Jury is a prime slice of pulpy noir/ comic book-like gumshoe thriller. It’s the first in a series of films that introduced brash and wise-talking private eye Mike Hammer- who originated from the popular series of books by Mickey Spillane. The film is a pacey, and at points rather tense and taut ride- though it does slip into noir parody from time-to-time, but if you’re looking for pure noir entertainment, this will do the job. Here from Studiocanal’s Cult Classic series, as either a Blu-Ray or DVD, is a release of the film- taking in a new 4k scan, two commentary tracks, and an archive interview with the film's lead actor.
Crease is the first full-length album from Canadian producer and guitarist Kee Avil. And it’s certainly a stark, unease, and often tensely taut release, which brings together discordantly plucked ‘n’ strummed guitar, waving to unwell sing-song vocals, and low-key stumbling electronics’.
Crash & Cross is a seven-track collaboration that moves between churning ‘n’ grinding noise craft, and more eerie ‘n’ unsettling fare. It brings together two respected experimental sound maker- American percussionist/ sound-artists Z'EV, and French composer/ musician Julien Ottavi who is known for his abstract noise project The Noiser.
Day Of Bad Decisions is five track ride into bone-rattling ‘n’ ragingly raw HNW from this long-running Tennessee-based project. The digital release features one twenty-five-minute track, and four seven-minute tracks.
Offbeat is a truly fascinating look at the lesser-known and largely unheard-of side of British cinema, from between the 50s and 80s. The impressive and balky tome features over one hundred and fifty in-depth reviews, as well as essays with decidedly intriguing subjects/focus such as British Swashbucklers, Asylum based horror, and CIA-funded cartoons. The book was first published in 2013, for this revised edition we get a bumper one hundred and fifty pages of new material- with even more reviews and essays.
BRIAN! is not your average three-piece – –guitar, drums, and bassoon. Yes, bassoon. But there it is, and the (mostly) instrumental trio from Ithaca, NY have come up with another work, The Cataclysmic Engine, which rather challenges on a number of levels.
If we consider The Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General as the unholy trinity of Folk Horror cinema, then it feels only appropriate to consider The Owl Service as one of the key titles in the pantheon of folk horror television. Alongside titles like Children of the Stones, Robin Redbreast, The Stone Tape, Murrain and The Baby episode of Nigel Kneale’s Beasts it forms a group larger than cinema’s unholy trinity, but equally as important to what we now call folk horror.
A Simple Eye, on Edition Wandelweiser Records, comes in the label’s standard packaging: a sparsely decorated, with text only, fold-out card wallet; the spartan nature of the artwork reflects the sound associated with the Wandelweiser group, representing the most minimal end of modern composition and performance. True to this, Pierre Gerard’s album is indeed sparse and restrained - though not necessarily quiet or meditative.
Here we have a three-CD set that brings together the two studio albums, and one live album released by this San Francisco power metal five-piece on Atlantic Records. The set highlights the bands often formal, though at times quite head-bangable, vein-bulging, and memorable take on the Power metal form. So, while you may not find anything terrible mould-breaking or startling original within, if you enjoy the genre this is something you’ll be wanting to put in your collection.
Take Back The Night is a post-modern mix of unreliable narrator-led thriller, low-key creature feature, and trauma drama. It tells of an LA-based edgy female artists-come-influencer, who may or may not have been raped by a shadow creature. Here from Arrow Video is a Blu-Ray release of the film, featuring a commentary and a good selection of extras.