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THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO GRINDHOUSE MOVIES Launches at August Event

FAB Press has teamed up with FrightFest once more to launch The FrightFest Guide to Grindhouse Movies, the fifth in the series of books the pair has released.

The book, written by FrightFest co-director Alan Jones, will go on sale exclusively during Arrow Video FrightFest, which takes place from August 26th – 30th. Jones will of course be on hand to sign copies.

The book has a foreword by Jane Giles, whose book Scala Cinema 1978-1993 chronicled the infamous London mecca for cult film lovers.

Jones said of the book: “For sixteen years, from 1965 to 1981, I kept a yearly film diary of every Horror, Science Fiction, Sexploitation and Fantasy title I saw, where I saw it, in which cinema, on what date and exactly what I thought. It just so happened that this period coincided with the richest and grubbiest era in the Golden Age of Exploitation, with cheap thrills, seminal gore, full-frontal nudity and taboo subject matters displayed across beyond belief marquees”.

Author Alan Jones with Dario Argento pic: Julie Edwards

The exclusive launch of the book is at Arrow Video FrightFest 2021, with official signings taking place at Cineworld, Leicester Square on Friday, August 27th and Saturday 28th. The FrightFest exclusive hardcover will be on sale for just £20 and people not attending in person won’t miss out as they have the option to pre-order the book from www.fabpress.com. Pre-ordered books will ship the first week of September.

BLUE BEETLE Movie Taps COBRA KAI Star to Inherit the Scarab!

Hot on the heels of the glorious reception of their latest live-action adventure The Suicide Squad (read our five-star review here), comes news on another major entry in the DC canon due to hit screens in 2023 – Blue Beetle.

With Sundance sensation Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) previously tapped to direct, working from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Miss Bala), the casting stage is in full swing, with Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña frontrunner to nab the lead role. For those unfamiliar with the hit Karate Kid spin-off series (which is due to launch its feverishly-anticipated fourth season later this year), Xolo plays Miguel Diaz, an outcast teen who is reluctantly taken under the wing of Daniel LaRusso’s mortal enemy – and outcast in his own delightful way – Johnny Lawrence.

Xolo Maridueña

In Blue Beetle, Xolo looks set to portray Jaime Reyes, the current version of the character who was introduced to comic book readers in 2006 – a teenager who bonds with an alien scarab which grants him a nifty suit of high-tech armour and with it, extraordinary power. Similar to DC Films’ Batgirl movie we reported on last week, this project is being developed to premiere on HBO Max in the States, Warner Bros’ increasingly popular streaming service. As we pointed out in that article, it’s unclear as to how international releases of these movies will be handled, with the UK currently having no HBO Max presence, nor any word on whether it will in the future. We’re still holding out hope that these will be treated to theatrical presentations…

That’s it for Blue Beetle scuttlebutt for now, but we’ll have plenty more on the character’s upcoming cinematic adventures as the movie develops…

Arrow Video FrightFest Announce the 2021 Short Films

One of the most popular parts of the Arrow Video FrightFest programme is the short film showcases. The three sessions showcase some of the best shorts from around the world and this year is no exception.

The shorts that will make up the programme this year are:

From the UK:

Voodoo in My Heart (D: Elias Williams, starring Charlotte Beaumont)

The Nicky Nack (D: Tom Oxenham, starring Alun Armstrong)

On Air (D: Syd Heather, starring Mandip Gill)

Night Bus (D: Henrietta Ashworth, Jessica Ashworth)

Hiya Janice (D: Rob Hayes)

The Dead Collectors (D: Brendan Cleaves)

Better the Devil You Know (D: Vipin Venugopal)

Wee Shadows (D: Steven Goodison)

They Called Me David (D: Lindsay Hallam)

Puff (D: Zara Symes)

Where the Tar Leaks Red (D: Dominic Stewart)

Familiar (D: David J. Ellison)

Arm (D: Jill Worsley)

Behind You (D: Gavin Williams, Mark Lediard)

Itch (D: Susannah Farrugia)

Aria (D: Christopher Poole)

Standing Woman (D: Tony Hipwell)

The Nicky Nack

Worldwide entries:

The Departure (D: Nico van den Brink)

Hysteria (D: Anssi Määttä)

Self-Actualization of the Werewolf Woman (D: Conall Pendergast)

Terrible Things (D: Ciarán Hickey)

Room 217 (D: Srwsht Abarash)

Four (D: Irina Dorosh)

Dana (D: Lucia Forner Segarra)

Otherwise (D: Ali Mashayekhi)

Weirdo (D: Ashlea Wessel)

Trouble (D: Naledi Jackson)

Stuck (D: David Mikalson)

The Lovers (D: Avra Fox-Lerner)

Carl the Exorcist (D: Jordan McKittrick)

Posies (D: R.H. Stavis)

A Puff Before Dying (D: Micheal Reich, Mike Pinkney)

The Dead Collectors

Short film programmer Shelagh Rowan-Legg said of the selections: “To say that the past 18 months have been challenging would be an understatement. And yet, so many filmmakers from the UK and around the world have risen to that challenge, and gifted us with their amazing shorts. it seems there is such deep, rich work, at a time when we need stories that both keep us awake, and help us through the darkest times. Those that scare together, stay together, and the FrightFest audience will stay scared together”.

All three Short Film Showcases will be taking place in Cineworld Screen 1.

Short Film Showcase One is from 15:45 on Friday, August 27th, Showcase Two is on Saturday, August 28th at 13:20, and Showcase Three is on Monday, August 30th at 13:10.

Arrow Video FrightFest runs from August 26th – 30th at Cineworld Leicester Square.

Tickets & passes are now available to buy online: http://www.frightfest.co.uk/tickets.html

For full programme details: http://www.frightfest.co.uk/

Main image: Stuck

The Cartoon Museum Re-opens with V FOR VENDETTA: BEHIND THE MASK

London’s popular attraction The Cartoon Museum has opened its doors following lockdown and has a superb exhibition running that shouldn’t be missed!

V for Vendetta: Behind the Mask explores and celebrates the Alan Moore/David Lloyd classic comic strip and the film adaptation as well as the massive cultural impact the story and imagery has had. The exhibition is open now – with no booking required – and runs until October 31st, 2021.

From the press release:

The exhibition comes at an appropriate time when interest in V for Vendetta continues to rise. Original pages of David Lloyd’s work have been sold at auction for over £20,000, while the graphic novel continues to top bestseller lists four decades after its original release. As well as the high-profile loans from Warner Bros, The Cartoon Museum will also display three original V for Vendetta covers from the initial run in Warrior magazine.

Illustrated by David Lloyd and written by Alan Moore, the central character of the masked and mysterious ‘V’ became an iconic symbol of comics, cinema and the hacker group, Anonymous. Its cultural impact, spanning nearly 40 years, is explored through 36 original artworks by David Lloyd, including black and white pages and colour paintings. These will be displayed alongside the original mask worn by Hugo Weaving in Warner Bros.’ blockbuster 2005 movie adaptation, one of only three that were used during production, as well as costume designs and storyboards. V for Vendetta first ran as a black-and-white strip between 1982 and 1985, in Warrior, a British anthology comic published by Quality Communications. It was one of the comic’s most popular strips, but Warrior was soon cancelled after only 26 issues due to low sales. Three years later, DC Comics – famously the publishers of Batman and Superman titles – persuaded Moore and Lloyd to let them give V a new home.

From then, Lloyd’s illustrations and Moore’s storylines – portraying a moody and bleak futuristic vision of Britain, suffering from an almost apocalyptic nuclear destruction and the ravages of a neo-fascist state – became one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time. It is in this setting where V wages a seemingly solo war against the totalitarian government and is eventually aided by Evey, a young woman who is victimised by the regime and decides to take action.

The exhibition launches at a time when perhaps inspired by the fears and anxieties of the time in the UK, audiences may see V for Vendetta in a new light, following a pandemic year that recharged debates over rights, Government control and citizenship. Visitors will also be able to get up close to the real mask that Hugo Weaving wore in his role as V in the 2005 film. The mask is one of only three that were made for the film and perhaps was the turning point that transformed the Guy Fawkes-inspired disguise from recognizable pop culture to global phenomenon, seen around the world in all manner of protests from across the political spectrum.

V for Vendetta, adapted by the Wachowskis fresh from the completion of The Matrix trilogy, became a box office smash and led a new generation to the comic. Original costume designs by Sammy Sheldon Differ, who subsequently worked on Marvel’s Ant-Man and the upcoming Eternals, will also be on display, showing how David Lloyd’s creations were interpreted for the screen. These will also be accompanied by the original storyboards for a scene in which V plans a daring raid on a TV station, designed by long-time Wachowski collaborator Axel Eichhorst. The iconography and themes of V for Vendetta, and how they have spread from the page and screen into people’s lives, will also be a major focus of Behind the Mask. In the movie, the mantle of the mask passes from V to Evey but in the finale, we see thousands of ‘ordinary people’ don their own masks. This prompts the exhibition to explore the idea of self-expression through protest – anyone can be V, so where does the line between anarchism and protest sit for the individual? The exhibition explores the voices of protesters in the real world, all under the looming presence of the 21st century’s most recognisable protest art – the mask of V.

Tickets are available from The Cartoon Museum Box Office and merchandise can be purchased from The Cartoon Museum Shop.

Opening times for The Cartoon Museum are 10.30am – 5.30pm Tuesday – Sunday, except Thursday when it’s open until 8pm. Closed Mondays.

You can find The Cartoon Museum at 63 Wells Street, Fitzovia, London, W1A 3AE.

Important STARBURST Announcement

Whittaker and Chibnall to Leave DOCTOR WHO in 2022

Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker and lead writer Chris Chibnall will leave Doctor Who after a final trilogy of specials in 2022, the BBC have announced.

Having taken control of the TARDIS in 2017, Whittaker’s Doctor has so far starred in two full series of the show, Series 11 and 12, with Chibnall in the main scripting seat for them both.

Series 13 is on the way this autumn, and we now know that it will consist of six episodes – less than usual, due to COVID restrictions – which will form one epic story. Whittaker’s Doctor will be joined on her travels by returning companion Yaz (Mandip Gill) and newcomer Dan Lewis (John Bishop).

There will also be several new recurring characters appearing across the episodes, including Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm off of Game of Thrones) as Vinder, plus some returning monsters – appearances from the Sontarans and Weeping Angels seem to be on the cards.

After this, we’ll see the Thirteenth Doctor off with three final specials – one aired on New Year’s Day 2022, one sometime in Spring 2022, and a final, feature-length special in Autumn 2022, which will be part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.

Of the decision to leave, Chibnall said:

“Jodie and I made a ‘three series and out’ pact with each other at the start of this once-in-a-lifetime blast. So now our shift is done, and we’re handing back the TARDIS keys. I wish our successors as much fun as we’ve had. They’re in for a treat!”

Whittaker added:

“We knew that we wanted to ride this wave side by side, and pass on the baton together. So here we are, weeks away from wrapping on the best job I have ever had. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express what this role has given me. I will carry the Doctor and the lessons I’ve learnt forever. I know change can be scary and none of us know what’s out there. That’s why we keep looking. Travel Hopefully. The Universe will surprise you. Constantly.”

This may be sad news to fans of the incumbent Doctor, but when one Doctor’s story ends, another begins – the BBC have promised that “the new generation of Doctor Who” will be announced soon…

W4Free Unveil Host of Creature Features

The fast-growing free streaming service W4Free has announced some new creature features that have been added to their already impressive catalogue.

Films newly added to the service are Paul Hyett’s superb werewolf shocker Howl, and Bobcat Goldthwait’s Bigfoot movie Willow Creek. Other new titles include giant, man-eating bugs in Kyle Rankin’s Infestation, a snap-happy crocodile in Rogue, from Greg McClean, director of Wolf Creek, parasites running amok in Toby Wilkins’ Splinter, and a creature on the loose on The Rig, from director Peter Atencio.

Howl

W4Free screens films, TV series, and documentaries and is available on PCs, laptops, and Netgem TV. Mobile and smart TV support will be launched later in the year.

Find out more and start streaming now at W4Free.com.

THE EXORCIST Conjures New Sequel Trilogy from HALLOWEEN Director

In bittersweet news for fans of The Exorcist franchise, a new big-budget trilogy has been announced that will act as an official continuation of the original 1973 film. Why is that bittersweet and not just straight-up awesome? Because we already got an official continuation of the original 1973 film in the cruelly cancelled-before-its-time TV series that ran just two seasons from 2016 to 2018, and this new project looks to be ignoring it completely. Another brutal blow to a fantastic show which still very much deserves the attention of every horror fan regardless of their relationship with the franchise. PSA for The Exorcist TV series over; on with the news…

A $400 million-plus (!!!) partnership between Blumhouse, Morgan Creek, Universal and its streaming service Peacock, the new movie trilogy will centre around a father of a possessed daughter seeking help from Chris MacNeil, mother of Regan. While Ellen Burstyn will once again portray Chris, Linda Blair has clarified on social media that she knew a major new project was in the works, but she sadly wasn’t asked to participate. The father at the centre of the story has been revealed to be Hamilton and One Night in Miami star Leslie Odom Jr.

Leslie Odom Jr.

Behind the camera we have director David Gordon Green, who impressed horror fans with his Halloween relaunch in 2018, itself a trilogy that continues this October with Halloween Kills, and concludes next October with Halloween Ends. As for the first in The Exorcist trilogy, that will step in to take over from Michael Myers in October 2023.

We’ll have more news as this develops (including whether these new movies will acknowledge the widely hated Exorcist II: The Heretic or its excellent follow-up The Exorcist III), but in the meantime, we urge you to check out that TV show! Pazuzu commands it!

DEXTER Season 9 Gets Official Title, Release Date, and Trailer!

After a series of enigmatic teasers (and by enigmatic we mean rubbish), our first proper look at the eagerly-awaited ninth season of Dexter has now arrived, and along with it, news of its official title and when we can expect to see it!

Following the precedent set by Twin Peaks back in 2017, Dexter too will carry a subtitle instead of a traditional Season 9 tag. Unlike Twin Peaks‘ breathtakingly uninspired subtitle The Return (we can only imagine David Lynch had too many other battles to fight during its making to bother with that), Showtime has at least been a little more creative with our favourite serial killer’s further adventures, with the upcoming 10-episode continuation now officially christened Dexter: New Blood.

As for when the release date, fans only have a short wait to go, with a November 7th premiere now locked in. Check out what will inevitably be the first of many new trailers below, and let us know your thoughts over on our social channels…

Official Synopsis:

Starring multiple Emmy nominee Michael C. Hall as America’s favorite serial killer Dexter Morgan, the special event series DEXTER: NEW BLOOD will premiere Sunday, November 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Set 10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, the series finds him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons. Joining Hall, the cast also includes Julia Jones (The Mandalorian), Alano Miller (Sylvie’s Love), Johnny Sequoyah (Believe), Jack Alcott (THE GOOD LORD BIRD) and Clancy Brown (The Crown, BILLIONS). Reuniting Hall with original series showrunner Clyde Phillips, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD is currently in production on 10 one-hour episodes in Western Massachusetts.

Preview Screenings of CENSOR Announced

MASSIVE Cinema has announced a series of preview screenings of the eagerly-awaited British horror sensation, Censor ahead of the film’s release later in August.

The exclusive preview screenings will take place across seven cities around the UK, each complete with introductions and/or audience Q&As with the film’s director Prano Bailey-Bond and a pre-show short curated by Minute Shorts.

Tickets are strictly limited so you will need to book quickly to experience this critically acclaimed shocker early and in its rightful home – the cinema.

To see full information and book tickets, go to: massive-cinema.com. MASSIVE aims to bring young audiences together by celebrating British filmmaking and is supported by the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery.

Censor is writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond’s feature debut and stars BAFTA nominee and IFTA winner Niamh Algar (Calm with Horses). This psychological horror garnered critical acclaim after its World Premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in the Official Selection and had its European Premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. It was developed by the BFI, Film4, Creative England via the BFI NETWORK and Ffilm Cymru Wales, and was funded by the BFI and Ffilm Cymru Wales, both awarding National Lottery funding and by Film4, with support from Kodak Motion Picture and Cinelab London.

As well as Censor, audiences will see a specially curated short film by Minute Shorts, The Call Centre from Louise Connolly-Burnham will screen before the main feature at every preview. Minute Shorts is a London-based short film app that recommends shorts for people to watch in the time they have available, handpicked by film lovers and always advocating for intentional consumption.

The Censor preview screenings take place at:

Cardiff ODEON – Aug 6th – Screening + Q&A

Coventry ODEON – Aug 7th – Screening + Q&A

Leeds/Bradford ODEON – Aug 9th – Screening + Q&A

Liverpool ODEON – Aug 10th – Introduction + Screening

Manchester ODEON – Aug 10th – Screening + Q&A

London GENESIS – Aug 11th – Screening + Q&A

Belfast ODEON – Aug 12th – Screening + pre-recorded director interview

London ODEON ISLINGTON – AUG 14th – Screening + pre-recorded director interview

London ODEON STREATHAM – AUG 14th – Screening + pre-recorded director interview

Censor Will Be Released In UK and Irish Cinemas on August 20th