Deadpool’s Head and Other Spooky Marvel Goodies Return

deadpools head

Ahead of the forthcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie, Ryan Reynolds fans might be delighted to discover that they can yet again take a little bit of Deadpool home with them. Namely Deadpool’s head, which is now available for pre-order on Hasbro Pulse.

Regular readers may recall that it’s not the first time we’ve had a run-in with Deadpool’s severed bonce, and you can watch our review of what happened the last time we encountered the minimised Merc with a Mouth here. The luxury prank gift has been re-released.

Those anticipating another Marvel show, Agatha All Along, might be intrigued to learn that a whole host of supernatural-based Marvel hero action figures are also now on pre-order.



Marvel Legends Series Strange Tales Marvel’s Dracula is, as the name suggests, Marvel’s take on Dracula, fully equipped to take on Blade and chums. He’s part of the Strange Tales line, which ties in (all be it vaguely) to the Agatha TV show and Marvel’s obvious push into the spookier side of things. Other models available on pre-order include Bloodstorm, Marvel’s Lilith, Daimon Hellstrom, Brother Voodoo, and Moon Knight. Each one of these figures contains a part of the demon Blackheart (the action figure, not an actual demon). Collect the set and have your own pet demon.

Sticking with spooky, Marvel’s Man-Thing is also out on pre-order. Man-Thing was the surprise star of the excellent Marvel short , Werewolf by Night.  The Man-Thing Action figure comes with changeable hands and a delightful expression on its face.

Finally, nostalgia fans are reminded that the classic Talisman: The Magical Quest Board Game, is also back, available on pre-order via Hasbro Pulse, as are expansions for nostalgia classic, Heroquest.

Stamps Out For Dungeons & Dragons

Cultural phenomena Dungeons & Dragons has been granted the honour of having its own stamps issued by the Royal Mail. The main set of eight stunning stamps features a selection of iconic monsters from the game: Red Dragon, Owlbear, Vecna (the fantasy one, not the Stranger Things one), Gelatinous Cube, Mind Flayer, Mimic, Displacer Beast, and Beholder.

All 14 stamps in the set have been illustrated by British artist Wayne Reynolds, with 11 images specially commissioned for this set. Reynolds is a well-known figure in the TTRPG community.

Wayne Reynolds said: “Being asked to design the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS stamps for Royal Mail was a massive honour for me. As a British artist it was a wonderful opportunity to be able to contribute artwork that I’d created as a long-running D&D fantasy artist to something I consider to be an iconic institution. I get the opportunity to see my artwork on stamp!”

The US Postal Service has also issued its own 50th Anniversary stamps.  These are a different design from the Royal Mail stamps, and in addition to not having a king on them, they’re also intended to honour classic moments in the game’s history, such as the classic Red Box art, as well as art from Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and the current Dungeon Master’s Guide. The American re-use art from those classic covers.

We rather prefer the ones available via Royal Mail, but then we are biased. especially as the UK ones have a special surprise when you shine a UV light on them. A further six stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, depict dynamic images of a party of adventuring heroes that might be played in the game, including Tiefling Rogue, Human Bard, Halfling Cleric, Elf Fighter, Dwarf Paladin, and Dragonborn Wizard.

You can order the Royal Mail stamps via www.royalmail.com/dnd , and while you’re there, check out the stamps for Warhammer, Paddington, and The Discworld.

Jim Henson’s LABYRINTH Returns To The Gaming Table

Thanks to the game company Mantic, fans of the classic fantasy adventure movie Labyrinth will have the chance to experience the world themselves. (David Bowie’s codpiece is not included.) The 40th Anniversary collection brings together all four of Mantic’s Labyrinth games, plus expansions.

Being experts at bringing cult franchises into the 3D world of tabletop gaming, Mantic‘s previous successes include Hellboy, Mars Attacks, The Umbrella Academy, and The Walking Dead. The new crowdfunder is for an updated and prettier presentation of the core Labyrinth board game, the card game, the TTRPG and the quirky racing game Ready Steady Worm!

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: The Board Game is a critically acclaimed game with highly detailed, paintable models, including Jareth the Goblin King, Sarah; Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus, and Ambrosius. Given that the movie is a series of fixed events, it works really well as a board game. Similarly, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: The Adventure Game is a TTRPG designed for light play, a way to explore the imaginative RPG space without heavy investment.

The card game is a classic trick-taking game that’s frankly just a fun ice-breaker and surprisingly evocative of the movie, especially if you’re being a very sneaky Jared. Ready Steady Worm! It is similar to a light but silly racing game with very cute art and design.

Mantic’s current Crowdfunder is probably the best way to get your hands on some of the nicest and most interested accessible fantasy games on the market today. Check out the Crowdfunder here.

Hugo Award Votes Disqualified

Glasgow in 2024 Logo

The Hugo Awards, one of the world’s biggest awards in science fiction, has announced that multiple votes cast in the Hugo Awards have been identified as fraudulent and have, therefore, been disqualified.

The full statement on the incident, via Hugo Administrator Nicholas Whyte, can be found below. In summary, at least 377 fraudulent votes (some with very obviously fake names) have been identified as fraudulent and favoured one nominee, who will be referred to as Finalist A. There is no evidence (or reason to believe) that Finalist A was involved in this deception. Finalist A has not won a Hugo Award.

The Hugos are relevant because it’s a fan-run award, and those who vote for the Hugos tend to consume a lot of Science Fiction media, particularly novels and short stories. In order to vote, you have to pay for some level of membership in Worldcon, a globe-trotting science fiction convention and conference, typically only attended by the most hardcore of fans.

The Hugo Awards are no stranger to controversy. The prestigious rocket-shaped award is an integral part of Worldcon, and this celebration of science fiction has regularly enjoyed some sort of fuss or controversy throughout its long 85-year history.

Glasgow 2024, A Worldcon for Our Futures, is the current iteration of this important and very intense event that only comes to the UK once a decade and is typically well attended, partially because those in the community fear missing out on one of the most crucial industry and fan events of the calendar.

Professor Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Chair of Glasgow 2024, made the following statement in response to this announcement.

“I was dismayed to be told of the findings of the Astounding, Lodestar, and Hugo Awards Administration team, and absolutely support their decision to preserve the integrity of the awards through the actions that they have taken. These Awards are a cornerstone of our convention and represent the pinnacle of achievement in our community. Glasgow 2024 remains committed to a policy of transparency, and we are excited to welcome everyone in August to a truly celebratory Hugo Awards ceremony.”

Glasgow 2024 Hugo Awards Statement – 22nd July 2024

NYX UK August Line-Up Brings the Fear

The schedule of terror for NYX UK in August is packed with fantastic movies, including a pair of FrightFest classics, The Last Horror Movie (2002) and Summer Scars (2007), both directed by Julian Richards.

The Last Horror Show

More premieres for the channel include another of Richards’ movies, Darklands (1996), Josh Stifter’s FrightFest hit Greywood’s Plot (2021), Ursula Dabrowsky’s Inner Demon (2014), Stephen Cognetti’s hugely popular Hell House LLC (2015), and cut classic Pin (1988).

Pin

That’s not all; there’s also the channel premiere of the mammoth 2-part documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. NYX UK also celebrates the birthday of the legendary Italian director Umberto Lenzi with a pair of his classics, Man from the Deep River (1972) and Nightmare City (1980).

For weekly schedule and full listings, head over to https://www.nyxtv.co.uk/tv-guide

Prepare for a Wild Ride with STRANGE DARLING

In Strange Darling, nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.

A brand new horror-thriller from the producers of Late Night with the Devil and Barbarian, this flawlessly constructed, fresh take on the cat-and-mouse genre stars Willa Fitzgerald (Scream), Kyle Gallner (Smile), and screen legends Ed Begley Jr (Better Call Saul) and Barbara Hershey (Black Swan).

Distributed by the UK and Ireland by Icon Film Distribution, Strange Darling is a Miramax and Spooky Pictures Production. It’s written and directed by JT Mollner, and has its European premiere at this year’s Pigeon Shrine FrightFest before a general cinema release in September.

Spencer Pollard of Icon Film Distribution says of the upcoming release: “We are thrilled – literally – to be releasing Strange Darling in the UK later this autumn. It is such a clever film that twists and turns itself inside out and leaves the viewer surprised, enthralled and on the edge of their seat all the way through this glorious piece of cinematic beauty.”

STRANGE DARLING has its European premiere at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest in London on August 24th and is released in UK cinemas from September 20th.

Russo Brothers In Talks To Direct Next Two AVENGERS Movies

steve rogers captain america in avengers: endgame directed by anthony and joe russo

Marvel’s lengthy search for the directors of its next two Avengers tentpoles seems to have come full circle, with The Hollywood Reporter stating that Joe and Anthony Russo have entered talks with the studio to direct both films. As previously announced, Marvel’s Phase 6 will end with the films Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.

We don’t know how Marvel’s parting of ways with Jonathan Majors, who played the titular Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki, will affect Avengers 5. The Kang Dynasty was originally set to be directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, but he left the project late last year and was tapped to direct a live-action Naruto movie for Lionsgate instead.

Instead then, it appears Avengers 5 and 6 will be placed in the hands of the Russo brothers, who directed a number of the MCU’s best entries: Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

Returning to a tried-and-true partnership seems like a good call for Marvel, which has been struggling to keep up momentum (and audience interest) post-Endgame. While the successes of entries like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever indicate there is still an appetite for superhero blockbusters, the lukewarm reception and poor box office performance of titles like The Marvels, Eternals, and Black Widow is more representative of the franchise’s overall trajectory since 2019. The Russo’s’ return to the helm might just be the boost the MCU needs.

Festival Favourite Horror RED ROOMS Drops Trailer

Red Rooms trailer releases for Pascal Plante cyber thriller

Utopia has released the trailer for Canadian writer-director Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms, a critically acclaimed psychological horror about a voyeuristic model obsessed with the crimes of a serial killer.

The cyber-thriller follows “Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy), a young woman who wakes up every morning to wait outside the courtroom to secure a seat at the high-profile trial of Ludovic Chevalier, a man charged with the murder of three teenage girls, with the gruesome videos of two of the crimes surfacing for sale online on the dark web. She finds herself bonding with a fellow voyeur, momentarily breaking her out of her loneliness, while also witnessing the emotional decline of the victims’ families. As the proceedings continue, it becomes increasingly difficult for Kelly-Anne to maintain the psychological and physical balance between her normal life and her morbid fixation with the accused killer, with her obsession reaching new lengths when the final piece of evidence reveals itself within reach. ”

The film swept up four awards at last year’s Fantasia Festival, including Outstanding Performance for Gariépy, Best Screenplay for Plante, Best Score for Dominique Plante, and Best Film.

Utopia writes: “Named after the highly disputed violent dark web spaces known as red rooms in online urban legends, RED ROOMS was inspired by the fans who inexplicably flock to serial killers throughout modern history and further motivated by the current state of cybersecurity and tech crimes. The film not only succeeds as one of the most chilling entries to the serial killer genre from the last decade —despite never revealing any of the explicit images that the film’s characters are forced to witness— with Plante creating a fictional killer that is a devastating product of our time, but excels as a cinematic portrayal of how modern civilization engages with technology while holding a mirror up to the loneliness and isolation that exists within the dark side of present-day society.”

Red Rooms is released in UK cinemas on September 6th. Watch the trailer below:

Indie Hit WALKING AGAINST THE RAIN Hits VOD

Following a hugely successful festival tour that kicked off with a sold-out world premiere at Frightfest, and including Nightmares Film Festival (where the film was awarded Best Overall Film) and PanicFest in the US, as well as the Trieste Science+Fiction Film Festival in Italy, Scott Lyus’ debut feature film Walking Against the Rain finally arrives on digital in the UK and Europe this summer.

Walking Against the Rain tells the story of two strangers, Blair and Tommy, who are navigating their way across a barren landscape in a desperate attempt to find each other. Their only form of communication is two soon-to-die battery-operated radio mics and a new evil monster in the shape of ‘The Forsaken’ is tracking them down. They must learn to confront loss and rediscover trust in humanity.

Lyus said, “From inception, I knew a character-driven exploration into loss, grief and human connection, hidden within an old-school practical effects monster movie wouldn’t be for everyone. But following an overwhelmingly positive reaction from our North American release, I am beyond excited to finally bring our character-driven creature feature to UK genre fans. Walking Against the Rain is a project born out of love and passion to create something a little different. It’s a monster movie that promises incredible practical creature effects but also a heartfelt and emotional character study. And I am beyond excited to see the film find a whole new audience in the UK and Europe.”

The film stars Sophia Eleni (The Shamrock Spitfire), Reece Douglas (Cruel Summer), Johnny Vivash (How To Kill Monsters), Francesca Louise White, Diane Spencer, and James Swanton (The First Omen). With full-body practical creature effects from BIFA award-winning FX designer Dan Martin (Infinity Pool).

Walking Against the Rain hits all popular digital platforms on July 29th.

MEANWHILE ON EARTH Sci-Fi Thriller Drops Trailer

meanwhile on earth still from trailer

Writer-director Jérémy Clapin, whose 2019 animated debut feature, I Lost My Body, was nominated for an Academy Award, is back with a new film: this time, a live-action sci-fi thriller titled Meanwhile on Earth. The first trailer has just been dropped for this strange, space-set mystery.

In the film, Elsa (newcomer Megan Northam), along with her family, is struggling following the disappearance of her brother Franck, an astronaut who vanished during his first mission. While stargazing one night, Elsa is shocked to receive contact from Franck, but her joy is short-lived when she learns of the dark and troubling forces behind Franck’s reappearance, forcing her to confront the lengths she will go for the brother she once feared was gone forever.

I Lost My Body tells the story of a cut-off hand that escapes from a dissection lab with one crucial goal: to get back to its body. As it scrambles through the pitfalls of Paris, it remembers its life with the young man it was once attached to, until they met Gabrielle. The English-dubbed version of the film featured voice work from Dev Patel, Alia Shawkat, and George Wendt.

Metrograph Pictures is releasing Meanwhile on Earth in cinemas from September 13th. Watch the trailer below: