[Review] The Deep House

Writer/Director Alexndre Bustillo & Julien Maury

Starring  James Jagger, Camille Rowe, 

Tina and Ben are YouTubers who travel to explore a house lost at the bottom of a lake, and share their experience on social media. What is initially a unique find turns into a nightmare when they learn that the house was once the scene of atrocious crimes. Trapped, with their oxygen reserves falling dangerously low, they soon discover they aren’t alone in the house.

Review

What do you get if take a haunted house tale and blend it with the claustrophobic underwater setting of 'The Abyss' or 'Sanctum'? The result is this taut supernatural thriller which, after a solid set up throws you in at the deep end and doesn't let you up for air. 

[Trailer] - The Sleep Experiment gets US VOD Debut

For his feature film debut Irish filmmaker John Farrelly tackles the claustrophobic and cognitive terror of human psychological experimentation.  'The Sleep Experiment' taps into the darkest recess of the mind to examine what humanity is capable of when pushed to the edge. Viewers in the US will soon get to find out when 'The Sleep Experiment' comes to VOD on 1st November courtesy of Red Water Entertainment. 

Two detectives begin an investigation on the ethics involved in the top-secret research facility, Porton Down. One experiment, in particular, stands out to them as the most horrific, The Sleep Experiment, a scientific experiment that took place during the Cold War.

[TRAILER] - Italian Thriller The Guest Room Comes to US VoD

Italian filmmakers know how to send chills up any cinema goer's spine spine. Following in the footsteps of the great maestros of chilling cinema, director Stefano Lodovichi's tense thriller 'The Guest Room' ('La Stanza') looks set to have you on the edge of your seat this Halloween.  Having premiered  at the Berlin International Film Festival, the UK's Grimmfest, and Poland at the Splat!FilmFest Horror Film Festival 'The Guest Room ' heads to the living rooms of North America through VOD from 25th October.

[Podcast] - Exploring the final part of In Search of Darkness with David Weiner

The search is done; the journey into ‘80s horror cinema concludes with the final part of this ghoulish and epic trilogy - IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS: PART III. Written, produced, and directed by David Weiner this five hour superdoc takes 80s horror fans to a time when horror found its voice thanks to cable TV and the home video explosion. As with Parts 1 and 2, the latest installment is packed with  the usual assortment of quality film clips and insightful interviews featuring some of the era's legendary icons and innovators. If you lived through that incredible decade of cinema or as an avid cinephile with passion for 80s horror then you will have one last chance to own your own copy and have your name in the credits. Read on to learn more.     

[Film Review] Death Hunt

Director: Neil Mackay
Writers; Neil Mackay and Sean McAulay

Stars; Marlene Malcolm, Omar Tucci, Rick Amesbury, Terry McDonald, Greg Johnston

A couple's getaway retreat turns into a nightmare when they are kidnapped by three local hunters. Deposited on to a remote island with no means of escape the couple tap into their survival instincts to stay alive. The hunters think it's just another day on their makeshift game reserve but soon get more than they bargained for in this action packed survival thriller. 

Spirit of 22 Film follows Wales Football fans to World Cup Action

Qatar could soon hear the roar of the dragon when Wales competes in the FIFA World Cup in November. Developed by Nick Stradling, founder of and producer at Wales in the Movies, 'Spirit of 22' a documentary charting the journey of Welsh Football fans following Wales to possible World Cup glory. A crowdfunding campaign has launched through Indiegogo to raise money for production costs in return backers will get their own copy of the film as well as cameos and producer credits. 

BFI Horror Film Season Brings Chills to the UK

This autumn things in the UK will get a little spooky, even eerie as the British  Film Institute (BFI) unleashes a monstrous program  of horror films. Starting from the 1st October, 'In Dreams Are Monsters' will look at the evolution of monsters of horror from Frankenstein's creature  to metamorphosing Seth Brundle. Screenings of classic and contemporary films aim to show how the monsters evolved bringing to life physical anxieties of their times. Films on the menu will run alongside the major season at BFI Southbank, as well as UK wide partner festivals, collaborations  and one off specials. 

Women Filmmakers Rule at Fighting Spirit Film Festival

The Stratford East Picturehouse hosted the 7th annual Fighting Spirit Film Festival this September and it was the women who dominated. The festival's short film competition saw twenty films compete for the coveted Fighting Spirit awards, an event which saw female talents making their presence known. Female led stories, with women directors & writers behind the scenes roared so loudly it shook the walls of the picturehouse. The films of Gabriela Staniszewska ('Choose Your Weapon') and Kelsey Bollig ('Kickstart My Heart') took home many of the competition's top awards. These stories and many more that featured in this year's competition signalled the ever increasing influx of creative women making their presence known. 

[News] - Flatley's Blackbird Dances to the Big Screen

The most anticipated film of the last half decade has not been the latest Marvel project or the Fast and Furious franchise warp speeding into space. Instead it is an independent self funded spy thriller written, produced, directed by, and starring the Lord of the Dance himself Michael Flatley - well at least it should be. The mythos surrounding 'Blackbird' evolved over the last four years when it vanished from the scene almost as quickly as it arrived for its London Premier in 2018. After years of waiting 'Blackbird' is in flight making its way to a general release in Irish cinemas from 2nd September, and scuttlebutt in the film world is that it packs a few surprises and will raise eyebrows. As well as cinema going audiences in Ireland anyone in Bristol on the same day can attend a special screening arranged by notorious Bristol Bad Film Club at the former Bristol IMAX.  So where has this film, billed as Michael Flatley's magnum opus been all this time and will it be worth the wait?

Evolutionary Films to Release Survival Thriller Death Hunt

Evolutionary Films, one of the UK's leading film production companies and domestic distributor, announced its latest release, the Canadian survival action thriller 'Death Hunt'. Produced by Rapid City Entertainment, the film stars Marlene Malcolm and Omar Tucci as a couple whose break away turns into a nightmare fight for survival. 

Developer Ray Harper (Tucci) and his mistress Brooke Hamilton (Malcolm) decide to retreat to Ray's getaway cottage. The couple are kidnapped by a group of men choose  and taken to a remote island to be hunted. 

Crime Drama Snakehead Comes to UK Digital Platforms

'Snakehead' is a story, inspired by real events, of a mother who will do whatever it takes to find her daughter, even join a metropolis' criminal underworld. After premiering in 'Discovery' section at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and a run in US and Australian cinemas this taut crime drama, rooted in today's issues of immigration comes to UK home entertainment courtesy of Dazzler Media. 

Written, produced, and directed by documentary filmmaker Evan Jackson Leon 'Snakehead' features an impressive line up of action stars from that genre's prominent works. Shuya Chang ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny') plays Sister Tse a woman in search of her lost daughter. With the help of a people smuggler known as a 'snakehead' Tse travels from Taiwan to New York's Chinatown. There she gains favour with Dai Mah (Jade Wu - 'Luke Cage') the matriarch of a crime family and quickly rises through the ranks. Also featured are Richie Ng ('Killerman'), Devon Diep ('Honest Thief') and Sung Kang (Han, 'Fast & Furious' franchise).

[Interview] - Dave Taylor 20th Century Flicks; The Last Surviving Video Store

When I walked through the doors of 20th Century Flicks on Christmas Steps, in Bristol, I felt like I had been here before. I was surrounded by shelves loaded with an assortment of DVD's which to me was no surprise until I turned around. Behind me by the door were rows of old VHS covers of films I haven't seen since my youth. There were old straight to video titles with familiar home release labels such 'Guild Home Video' and 'Medusa Home Entertainment'. Beside the counter were familiar films on laserdisc. It was as if the teenager in me who spent a portion of his formative years browsing through the local video library had taken my hand and dragged me back to the age of the video boom. For a moment I forgot that it was 2022, the age of Netflix and digital VOD (Video on Demand) and the video rental stores were all but gone. Surviving the rise of film ownership and digital streaming, 20th Century Flicks remains the oldest running film rental store, and this year it's celebrating its 40th birthday. 

BFI Short Film Fund Open for Film Submissions.

 

Are you an inspiring film maker with a story to tell but no funding to bring your dream to life? The BFI Short Film Fund 2022/23 is still open for submissions offering successful applicants funds up to a maximum of £15,000 along with production and promotional support from top industry executives. Better hurry as the closing date for submissions is midday on 2nd May 2022.

Fighting Spirit Film Festivals Returns To Mockingbird Cinema

 

After three years Birmingham's iconic Mockingbird Cinema will echo the sounds of martial arts action, and the passionate gathering of action film fans. The Fighting Spirit Film Festival returns to the city's landmark Custard Factory, the events' second home for an action packed extravaganza that kung-fu fans will not want to miss. The event, to be held on Saturday 30th April 2022 will features plenty of jaw dropping demonstrations, a special live Q&A and exclusive screenings of two spectacular feature films. 

Bristol Film Festival to Launch with Birthday Celebration of Iconic Landmark

After more than a decade of silence, the walls of Bristol's once empty IMAX cinema will once again echo with the sounds of the whirring projector thanks to a new film festival. 'Forbidden Worlds' is the ideal film festival for hardcore cinephiles, founded by cinephiles, with a mutual love of genre film that changed the face of cinema. This weekend long event, to be held on 13th-15 May will showcase a selection of repertory fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films from around the world celebrating the creative talents that made them. For its inaugural event 'Forbidden Worlds will not only be a gala of the best of obscure and classic genre films but also a birthday celebration for one of Bristol iconic institutions, 20th Century Flicks one of the few, possibly only, film rental stores still in business.