The final entries in the Koch Media series The Doctors are available now, and we are giving one lucky reader a chance to own a DVD bundle featuring the set!
THE DOCTORS: THE PETER DAVISON YEARS
The latest addition to the series is the definitive set of interviews with the team who brought the Peter Davison era of Doctor Who to life!
These documentaries are the best in-depth interviews ever undertaken with:
Janet Fielding (Tegan)
Sarah Sutton (Nyssa)
Matthew Waterhouse (Adric)
Mark Strickson (Turlough)
Anthony Ainley (The Third Master)
Plus two more special productions featuring Peter Davison and his assistants at 1980s Doctor Who conventions!
Presented by Robert Dick and ‘voice of the Daleks’ Nicholas Briggs, and including special introductions by presenter Robert Dick and producer Keith Barnfather.
The Doctors: Peter Davison and the rest of The Doctors series are out now.
To be in with a chance of winning the complete set of 8 double-disc DVDs, just enter below!
STARBURST does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries due to the Internet or email problems. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Entrants must supply full details as required on the competition page, and comply with all rules to be eligible for the prizes. No responsibility is accepted for ineligible entries or entries made fraudulently. Unless otherwise stated, the Competition is not open to employees of: (a) the Company; and (b) any third party appointed by the Company to organise and/or manage the Competition; and (c) the Competition sponsor(s). This competition is a game promoted STARBURST. STARBURST’s decision is final in every situation and no correspondence will be entered into. STARBURST reserves the right to cancel the competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of its control. Entrants must be UK residents and 18 or over. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them when entering this competition. The winners will be drawn at random from all the correct entries, and only they will be contacted personally. Prize must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred. There will be no cash alternatives. STARBURST routinely adds the email addresses of competition entrants to the regular newsletter, in order to keep entrants informed of upcoming competition opportunities. Details of how to unsubscribe are contained within each newsletter. All information held by STARBURST will not be disclosed to any third parties
Dungeons and Dragons players are notoriously difficult to buy gifts for. After all, when someone’s hobby is ‘being everyone else in an entire world’, it can make getting gifts for the Dungeon Master, Paladin or Warlock in your life a little daunting.
We’ve pulled together a list of some our favourite Dungeons and Dragons related things that we think might make a good gift. Alternately, you can check out the official holiday guide here.
First off, the easiest and simplest solution to what to get a gamer as a gift is dice. More dice is always good. If you want to go for the deluxe option, Wizards of the Coast produce a number of boxed sets that include all the dice you need to play the game in a handy box so when you roll the dice they don’t spring off the table and get stolen by the cat. The official ones include a Avernus/Baldurs Gate set, a Sword Coast/Elf Inspired set and a rather lovely set inspired by Icewind Dale, which has a very useful map if you’re playing that campaign.
If you have a more modest budget, then UK companies such as DnDice and Beholder’s Gaze do ‘dice boosters’. These are lucky dip bags with a full set of dice in them. Beholder’s Gaze are also currently having a sale if you’re on a budget but want to pick the dice you’re after.
Of course, dice are nice, but they are also plenty of dice based accessories for you to carry your dice and roll them and so on. Dakota Irish will do you wooden dice vaults, dice trays and so on. Beautifully crafted stuff. Alternately, if you have wads of cash and don’t mind paying for imports, you could try US based Wyrmwood Gaming, who pretty much invented wooden gaming gear. They do official D&D merch and are responsible for the lovely table and kit on hit D&D live-stream, Critical Role.
Speaking of which, the Critical Role team have book out called The World Of Critical Role: The History Behind The Epic Fantasy. It’s a comprehensive companion to the series and an ideal present for a fan. It’s even got Matthew Mercer looking all moody on the front cover. Fans of the show would also appreciate D&D release The Explorers Guide To Wildemont, an official sourcebook that features the lands from Critical Role. Those looking for something a little less serious might want to consider The Ginny Di Natural 21 Calendar. Ginny is a cosplayer who is heavily inspired by both Critical Role and Dungeons and Dragons.
Swinging back to actual Dungeons and Dragons content, those still getting into the hobby may appreciate either the D&D Starter Set or The D&D Essentials Kit. The starter kit is a large box with an adventure, dice and basic rules. The adventure is absolutely fantastic. The Essentials Kit is a similar sort of thing; a slightly shorter adventure but you get a very basic DM’s screen and flash cards to go along with it. Both are great introductions to the hobby, and you may also want to get a more robust Dungeon Master’s Screen, such as the Wilderness Kit. The most important book you’ll need to play D&D though is The Players Handbook, and it’s a good place to start. The other core books are The Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual. If you’re feeling rich all three can be found as part of a boxed gift set. If you’re feeling very, very wealthy take a look at Beadle and Grimms luxury editions, full of unique collectable items from the world of Dungeon and Dragons.
Those who love books but hate bookshelves (or prefer to travel digitally) should check out online service DNDBeyond. It’s got all the books you need available digitally plus utilities and the like to make the game easier to run. Ideal if you run your games via Web conferencing software.
They are an absolute pile of additional books for the game, of course. Actual adventures such as Baldur’s Gate: Descent in Avernus and Icewind Dale: Rime of The Frost Maiden are comprehensive campaigns likely to delight players and Dungeon Masters alike. There’s also the Greek-Myth themed adventure setting Mythic Odyssey’s of Theros, which is more a campaign setting than a single story. The latest ‘rule book’ for D&D is called Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. It’s not a core book but it’s jammed full with fun options to spice up a game.
Speaking of spice, and moving on to books that aren’t about the game rules, there’s Heroes Feast, a cookbook. It’s been quite fun to watch various people in the D&D community use this book to delight their gaming groups (like breaking bread, D&D is very much a social activity). We understand that Dungeon Master to the stars Paul Foxcroft makes a mean Halfling Chilli. They are plenty of other fun spin-off D&D books as well. The 2021 D&D Annual is the sort of book that has a maze puzzle and a wordsearch in it but it’s also a great snapshot of the state of the hobby right now. The Young Adventurer’s Collection on the other hand is a set of books that tell you all about the monsters, creatures, heroes and other things in the D&D world, but it’s rules light. Ideal for young minds.
Another option for the adventuring shopper are models. You don’t need miniatures to play D&D but they do add to the fun. Wizkids are the official producer of D&D models, and they produce both pre-painted and unpainted models as well as scenery. Their Icons of The Realms provide all sorts of creatures from all sorts of settings. They also do specific big models such as The Purple Wyrm and The Hydra. They also produce dungeon and setting scenery such as the Warlock Dungeons Tiles, which let gamers recreate the dungeons they’re fighting in on the table. If you really want to impress though, Wizkids also do Dragon heads on trophy plaques. No wonder Dragons are endangered.
If you are not in the mood to play a full D&D campaign, but still want to have some quick fun round the table, they are offical D&D card games. Dungeon Mayhem is a cartoonish romp with additional expansions and there’s also The Great Dalmuti, a more tradtional card game with a D&D style theme.
Over-all, D&D is big right now and you are spoilt for choice when it comes to gifts this Christmas.
1993 cult sci-fi biopic Fire in the Sky told the story of Travis Walton, who claimed in his book The Walton Experience that he had been abducted by aliens. Actor D.B. Sweeney played the film version of Walton and the movie is set to be released on Blu-ray for the first time by Via-Vision’s Imprint label. We caught up with him to have a quick chat about the role…
STARBURST: How did you approach the role of Travis Walton?
D.B. Sweeney: I thought it was a strong setup in the script. It was a great opportunity for me to do something that hadn’t really been done before in terms of making zero gravity believable.
Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like filming Fire in the Sky?
It was like two movies really. The great time in Oregon with James Garner, Robert Patrick, and Peter Berg filming everything outside the spaceship. Then the second movie was just me and Rob at Industrial Light and Magic with their incredible team doing the alien sequences. Both movies were fun but a lot of long hours.
There’s a moment in the film where the character is covered in a rubber-type material, what was that like?
ILM had so many cool ideas and setups that it made it really easy for me to buy in as an actor that we could pull it off. Really creative, cool dudes trying to make some magic.
What was the most difficult part of the role?
The weightless sequences required me to be in a harness on wires, hung upside down for long periods of time. That was hard on the body even though I had trained hard to be fit for it
What do you think you’d do if you were abducted by aliens? Is there anything in particular you’d want to ask them?
I think I would tell them how much I enjoyed their gentle cousin in E.T. and hope they took the hint.
What’s next for you?
I have a film called Haymaker about to drop and then The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre, which is really fun. And my short film Two Dum Micks co-starring Sean Astin has won over 60 film festival awards and is still going strong on that circuit! You can check it out at twodummicks.com.
Fire in the Sky gets its worldwide Blu-ray debut on December 30th from Australian label Imprint.
As of late April 2020, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most profitable film franchise in history. Bringing in more than $22.5 billion at the box office, this means more than Harry Potter, James Bond, and even Star Wars. While the idea of franchising is hardly new, this unprecedented success has set the stage like never before. Combined with the growing success of media in other mediums one thing becomes clear, the age of the unavoidable franchise is here. The only question is, how will companies best take advantage of franchise potential?
Focus or Freedom
One of the biggest benefits of franchises comes the possibilities of cross-medium potential. In the Marvel example, the films grew from comic books, but this starting point only acted as a base. Comics, while long popular in certain communities, don’t have the mass-market appeal that films have. This has led to the MCU becoming far more popular than the comics, with many enormous fans never once having picked up a comic book.
This creates a tricky situation, however, on where the rest of Marvel’s franchise efforts want to place their attention. Their films have raised awareness of their properties to new heights, but this might have resulted in undue confidence. For a better illustration of this in action, we could turn to gaming.
Adapting to the Medium
On the 14th of August, 2020, the action role-playing game Marvel’s Avengers released on the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms. In development for years, the game was estimated to have cost somewhere in the range of $170-$190 million according to Comic Book. Enormous hope was placed on the game, bolstered by the success of the MCU.
Yet three months after launch, the game sold only around 60% of what it needed. Despite being developed as a title user would keep playing, TheGamer notes that the amount of players has dropped to that below of many old games, which is concerning, to say the least.
Essentially, the answer comes from a misunderstanding of another medium. Marvel expected too much from goodwill, and not enough from the quality of their gameplay. The game cost too much to make, it cost too much to play, and it didn’t hold interest for what it was. Consider examples on the other side of the spectrum. In video games, probably the best relevant illustration of success is from the Arkham series of Batman games. While these costs as much to buy as Marvel’s Avengers, they weren’t so much leveraging name recognition alone, with the unique Arkham gameplay going on to set new standards on its own.
On the other side of the equation, we have franchise titles like those on online casinos. If you visit Space Casino, games like the Jumanji slot perform extremely well among their collection of other slots, table, and live casino games. In this case, success was found through not overextending, by focussing on giving players exactly what they want while not demanding too much from them. Success doesn’t come from the brand name alone, but by producing a product of high quality that stands alone, such as with this slot and many other crossover slot games.
Trying for Balance
As Marvel and so many other franchises have shown, success in a franchise means using name recognition as only the first step. The films are popular because they take inspiration where they can but ultimately rely on the quality of the writing, acting, and directing. Therein lies the challenge of building a franchise, knowing where to find the balance. So, will Marvel get back on track following their film success and game failure? It might be some time before we know, but at least they should now have a better idea of what not to do
To save you getting lockdown blues, we’re going to be giving you our picks of what to watch on Horror Channel each week. Here’s some of our favourites this week:
Wednesday November 25th, 10.50pm – Maniac (2012)
Franck Khalfoun’s remake of the gloriously sleazy 1980 classic is an impressive effort. Starring Elijah Wood as the mannequin and scalp obsessed loner is filmed entirely from the killer’s point of view. This heightens the tension and makes the viewer complicit with the crimes. Unmissable.
Thursday November 26th, 9pm – Serenity (2005)
When the TV series Firefly was cancelled, there was rightfully an outcry from fans. Creator Joss Whedon has always looked after the fans, however, and we got this fun continuation of the story as a big budget feature film. Join Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk and all the crew on another adventure!
Friday November 27th, 9pm – Cell (2016)
John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson star in this adaptation of the Stephen King novel. The premise – that a signal broadcast over mobile phone networks turns people into crazed murderers – probably isn’t as outlandish as it sounds, especially considering all we’ve been through this year!
Saturday November 28th, 9pm – Deliver Us From Evil (2014)
Based on the ‘true events’ covered in the book Beware the Night by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool, this was director Scott Derrickson’s follow-up to the massive horror hit Sinister. Eric Bana plays Sarchie, a cop who teams up with a Spanish priest (played by Édgar Ramírez) to fight the forces of evil. The always brilliant Sean Harris is the possessed soul in desperate need of an exorcism.
Sunday November 29th, 10.45pm – Howl (2015)
Director Paul Hyett knows how to pull off low budget scares. Set on an overnight train that becomes derailed, the passengers have more to fear than stale sandwiches and overpriced beer as they come under attack from a pack of werewolves. Expect things to get hairy!
Tune into Horror Channel on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 68, Freesat 138.
To celebrate the release of TRAIN TO BUSAN: PENINSULA – coming Nov 23rd on digital followed by a Nov 30th Blu-ray, DVD, SteelBook drop – we’ve teamed up with our friends at STUDIOCANAL to give one lucky reader the bumper bundle pictured below!
To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question:
What type of monsters are the main antagonists in the TRAIN TO BUSAN series?
A) People who leave their bags on empty seats forcing you to stand awkwardly in that bit by the doors.
B) The folk whose job it is to announce your train has been delayed by another fifty flippin’ minutes.
C) Zombies
Email your answer labelled ‘Train to Busan’ to [email protected] to arrive before 11:59pm on December 7th.
For more on TRAIN TO BUSAN: PENINSULA, read on:
Four years after South Korea’s total decimation in TRAIN TO BUSAN, the zombie outbreak thriller that captivated audiences worldwide, acclaimed director Yeon Sang-ho brings us PENINSULA, the next nail-biting chapter in his post-apocalyptic world. Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won), a soldier who previously escaped the diseased wasteland, relives the horror when assigned to a covert operation on the quarantined peninsula with two simple objectives: retrieve and survive. When his team unexpectedly stumbles upon survivors, their lives will depend on whether the best—or worst—of human nature prevails in the direst of circumstances.
We’ve teamed up with Eureka! Entertainment to bring one lucky reader a chance to win two great new releases: MOTHRA and ISHIRŌ HONDA DOUBLE FEATURE: THE H-MAN & BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE. Read on for more info!
Mothra, Ishirō Honda’s stunningly inventive monster adventure-fantasy, is available on home video for the first time in the UK. The Blu-ray is out now as part of The Masters of Cinema Series in a Limited Edition set of only 3000 copies, featuring a Hardbound Case, 60-page Perfect Bound Collector’s Book & Reversible Poster.
One of the most iconic Japanese kaiju, Mothra has appeared in over a dozen feature films. Presented here is her debut, a gloriously vibrant piece of filmmaking that forever changed how kaiju eiga would be produced in Japan.
Following reports of human life on Infant Island, the supposedly deserted site of atomic bomb tests, an international expedition to the heavily-radiated island discovers a native tribe and tiny twin female fairies called “Shobijin” who guard a sacred egg. The overzealous expedition leader kidnaps the Shobijin to exhibit in a Tokyo stage show but soon they summon their protector, hatching the egg and releasing a giant caterpillar. When Mothra arrives in Japan and transforms into her final form, the nation and its people face their destruction.
Ishirō Honda Double Feature: The H-Man & Battle in Outer Space are two classics of Japanese sci-fi cinema, on Blu-ray for the first time on home video in the UK. Out now as part of The Masters of Cinema Series, featuring a Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase (First Print Run of 2000 copies only].
In Tokyo, a mysterious radioactive liquid is dissolving people into slimy, sentient, seemingly indestructible, blobs of destruction! Part-Japanese gangster noir, part-gooey body melting horror, The H-Man (Bijo to Ekitai-ningen – ‘Beauty and the Liquid People’)is one of the most unique sci-fi films of the 1950s.
A series of mysterious catastrophes sweep the globe, causing the world’s scientists to conclude that beings from another planet are attacking Earth, and the world must unite to defend itself in a gigantic battle in outer space! With wonderful special effects sequences by Eiji Tsuburaya (Godzilla, Ultraman), and a rousing score by Akira Ifukube (Godzilla), Battle in Outer Space is a glorious sci-fi extravaganza.
To be in with a chance of winning, just answer this question:
What classic kaiju film did Ishirō Honda also direct?
A) Godzilla
B) Godzuki
C) God Only Knows
Email your answer labelled ‘Mothra’ to [email protected] to arrive no later than 11.59pm on November 29th.
You can buy Mothra here and Ishirō Honda Double Feature: The H-Man & Battle in Outer Space here.
Terms & Conditions:
STARBURST does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries due to the Internet or email problems. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Entrants must supply full details as required on the competition page, and comply with all rules to be eligible for the prizes. No responsibility is accepted for ineligible entries or entries made fraudulently. Unless otherwise stated, the Competition is not open to employees of: (a) the Company; and (b) any third party appointed by the Company to organise and/or manage the Competition; and (c) the Competition sponsor(s). This competition is a game promoted STARBURST. STARBURST’s decision is final in every situation and no correspondence will be entered into. STARBURST reserves the right to cancel the competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of its control. Entrants must be UK residents and 18 or over. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them when entering this competition. The winners will be drawn at random from all the correct entries, and only they will be contacted personally. Prize must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred. There will be no cash alternatives. STARBURST routinely adds the email addresses of competition entrants to the regular newsletter, in order to keep entrants informed of upcoming competition opportunities. Details of how to unsubscribe are contained within each newsletter. All information held by STARBURST will not be disclosed to any third parties
Short films have become a popular staple of film festivals but SHORT SHARP SHOCKS, the 41st release from BFI Flipside, shows us that the format has been used for much more commercial means previously…
The new collection, Short Sharp Shocks, released by BFI Flipside – which deals with releasing British movies that have been neglected; the seedier, more sleazy films that tend to interest us more than the populist classics – features seven shorts that have been lovingly restored and transferred in HD. They range from experimental narrative works to straight-faced ghost story recitals. In the latter category, they are practically quaint by today’s standards. Lock Your Door and The Reformation of St Jules were both made in 1949 and are perfect examples of fire-side ghost tales. They are told, with no narrative cutaways, by the writer Algernon Blackwood. His stories, particularly The Wendigo, are still be adapted today and at the time he would tell his tales on the radio and television. These two filmed versions would have Blackwood recollecting from his parlour. The effect is like sitting down with a great grandfather. He appears awkward in front of the camera, but this adds to the eeriness. The stories are not those of surprise or horror, but more quiet apprehension with notions of the uncanny. It’s hard to imagine a modern audience getting much out of them at the local Odeon, but no doubt at the time they would be enough to send some shivers down the spine.
Another stagey-but-brilliant inclusion is the 1953 version of The Tell-Tale Heart. Edgar Allan Poe’s story has been brought to the screen many times and suits the short form. Directed by J.B. Williams, it has the great Stanley Baker asking us: “Why would you say that I am mad?” Poe’s prose is presented as a monologue and works perfectly as such here, with Baker showing the promise that his career proved.
The collection also contains some shorts presented as traditional narrative tales. Death Was a Passenger and Portrait of a Matador (both 1958) are two intriguing stories directed by Theodore Zichy, who was perhaps better known as an actor, appearing in Powell and Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943). The former has ‘know-his-face’ actor Terrence Alexander recounting a lucky escape he had while trying to escape the Nazis on a train at the start of WWII. The latter is a more genre-friendly affair in which an artist is tormented by the arrival of a portrait he painted a year earlier – that of a bullfighter. The subject hated it and was killed in the ring soon after, and the artist is convinced the canvas bears a curse.
The release features a brace of shorts that are more akin to the ones that we recall seeing in the flea pits. Twenty-Nine (1969) sees a man (Goodbye Gemini’s Alexis Kanner) awaken in a strange apartment, unaware of what had occurred the previous night. Trying to put the pieces of his fractured memory together – and keep his wife from finding out whatever it was. Like an episode of Tales of the Unexpected, this has a lovely little twist, and a surprising appearance from George and Mildred’s Yootha Joyce, as well as giving us a small glimpse of Soho in the sixties. The Sex Victims (1973) has a modern-day Lady Godiva (Felicity Devonshire) leading a trucker astray only to have him and his friend (Alun Armstrong) come to a sticky end. The Lake (1978) is an atmospheric tale in which a couple (Gene Foad and Julie Peasgood) enjoy a picnic in the grounds of a farmhouse, where previously the owner had killed his family and livestock. It was written and directed by Lindsey C. Vickers, who was an assistant director on several later Hammer movies, and it’s a beautifully shot, eerie tale. Finally, there’s The Errand (1980), which follows a soldier tasked with retrieving a message and coming off worse for it. This one has significant genre credentials as it was written by David McGillivray, best known for his screenplays directed by Pete Walker and Norman J. Warren. A keen eye might be able to spot FrightFest supremo Alan Jones, too.
The popularity of the feature-length double bill, and then the abandoning of the continuous performances at cinemas spelt the end of the short as a theatrical treat. As mentioned, they now tend to only get festival-only screenings before being released to YouTube and the like. It’s becoming increasingly popular to repackage them into anthology features, which at least gives them more exposure.
Acknowledgements and thanks are given to Vic Pratt from BFI Flipside for providing insight when putting this feature together.
BFI Flipside’s SHORT SHARP SHOCKS hits Blu-ray on November 23rd and is reviewed here.
With so many slot games now available online, and the popularity of slots in land-based casinos continuing to thrive, there seem to be slot game themes to cater to almost every taste. But which slot machine themes have been the most popular over the years? Let’s take a look.
Slot machines are also called fruit machines for a reason. Early machines displayed fruits like cherries, lemons, and berries, and those sorts of fruit machines are still incredibly popular today. The origins of fruits being used as symbols on slot machines come from the very first machines that cropped up in the early 20th century in the US. Rather than paying out cash prizes, early slots gave winners chewing gum. So, if you got three cherries in a row, you would win cherry-flavoured chewing gum, and if you matched lemon symbols, you would win lemon gum.
Egyptian-themed Slots
Walk into any brick-and-mortar casino or visit any online casino, and you are sure to find slot machines with an Egyptian theme. When slots began to become popular in the early 20th century, Ancient Egypt was all the rage in popular culture. Egyptian artefacts were starting to be displayed in museums around the world, and numerous Egyptian-themed films were produced by Hollywood, such as multiple mummy horror films and epic Biblical pictures. The magic and mystery surrounding Egyptian icons like mummies, pyramids, and gold have continued to make its mark on popular culture over the years, and the themes perfectly match the feelings of wonder you get playing slot games. Of course, gold is also associated with wealth, so it is no wonder it is used to promote slot jackpots. If you are looking for the best Egyptian-themed slot games or slots of any other theme, check out a site where you can compare different online slots and read reviews.
Movie-themed Slots
Tying-in slot games with things from popular-culture has been all the rage for decades, and movies are no exception. You will find a variety of slot machines with specific film themes that use symbols based on key elements of the film as well as soundtracks and dialogue. Video slot machines sometimes take things even further by showing scenes from the movie it is based on. You will find numerous film-themed slot machines online and in land-based casinos. Popular slots include ones based on Jumanji, The Hulk, and Planet of the Apes.
Band-themed Slots
Just like movie-themed slots, there are numerous slot games available that are based on popular bands. Many come from rock and heavy metal. For instance, you can play slots that are based on the likes of Guns N’ Roses, Spinal Tap, and Jimi Hendrix. By playing band-themed slot games, players get to listen to some of their favourite artists’ songs while feeling like a rock star, so it is no wonder such games continue to be incredibly popular.
Horror-themed Slots
For decades, slot machines have been designed with horror themes. With the genre being popular with movie-goers since the early days of cinema, and the present-day popularity of vampires, werewolves and gothic themes, horror slot games are some of the most enticing games available. Horror slots like Gothic, and Blood Suckers II are guaranteed to get your heart racing.
Fantasy-themed Slots
Vampires, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night are no longer only popular in the horror genre. They are also loved by fantasy fans. And with popular culture phenomena like Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Lord of the Rings, it is only natural that many of today’s most successful slot machine games are fantasy inspired.
So, whatever theme floats your boat, you will be able to find a slot machine game to suit your taste.
To save you getting lockdown blues, we’re going to be giving you our picks of what to watch on Horror Channel each week. Here’s some of our favourites this week:
Tuesday, November 17th 11.20pm – Night of the Creeps (1986)
Fred Dekker’s feature debut is a doozie – a mix of alien invasion, slasher, fraternity romp, and B-movie homage. Tom Atkins is superb as always as the police detective and keep an eye open for a cameo from Dick Miller! Note also, many of the characters are named after horror directors!
Thursday, November 19th 9pm – The Tall Man (2012)
Following the success of Martyrs, director Pascal Laugier made this, his first English-language film. Starring Jessica Biel, it’s a terrifying mix of folk legend and disturbing child abductions. Contains a hell of a curveball!
Friday, November 20th 9pm – The Arrival (1996)
Charlie Sheen is an astronomer who discovers a radio signal that he thinks is proof of intelligent alien life. This leads him into a rabbit hole of conspiracies and strange occurrences. Director David Twohy (Pitch Black) includes plenty to enjoy and think about (climate change is one of the subjects), although the story has aged better than the effects.
Saturday, November 21st 9pm – The Heretics (2017)
The Possessed season continues with this mix of body horror, demons, and secret cults. A young woman, who escaped a satanic suicide cult when younger, is abducted once more and begins to transform into something terrifying. Directed by Chad Archibold (I’ll Take Your Dead).
Sunday, November 22nd 11pm – The Grudge (2004)
The creator of the original J-horror, Takashi Schimizu, remakes his story for the western market and perfectly transposes the terror to the English-speaking world. Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Bill Pullman, it’s just as creepy as the original.
Tune into Horror Channel on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 68, Freesat 138.
