Wednesday 17 December 2014

Coherence - Theatrical and DVD release, Hell Yeah!


Hello Folks,
Jonny here with some news that I for one was waiting for the release is cinemas and DVD for the brilliant Coherence. I was fortunate enough to catch this at this years MAYHEM festival and believe me it a cracker(no xmas pun intended!) Set on he night of a comet passing closely over earth, A group of friends gather for a dinner party and when he electricity goes out all is not what it seems....
I shan't say much more until I review it but it's a very high recommend from me! All details below and watch this space for a review coming soon.
Jonny T.






“Not only is this unmissable, but you may well want to see it several times” *****

GROLSCH FILM WORKS / 5 STARS



“As debut features go, this is nothing short of tremendous” ****

DAILY RECORD / 4 STARS



“One of the best science fiction movies in years”

MOVIES.COM



“You walk away from it with your head on fire”

NEW YORK MAGAZINE



A FILM BY JAMES WARD BYRKIT



STARRING EMILY FOXLER, NICHOLAS BRENDON, MAURY STERLING, LORENE SCAFARIA

Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.  As unexplained events begin to bend reality in frightening ways, the couples realize that visitors from a strange house down the road may be trying to prevent them from surviving the night.

As the night unfolds, people experience terrifying revelations about themselves, forcing each one to question their own reality. Relationships strain under the pressure and, for at least one woman, the prospect of continuing on in the house becomes even more unbearable than whatever unknown fate lies down the road.

Theatrical Release date / 13th February 2015

DVD Release date / 16th February 2015
Certificate TBC & Running time 89 Minutes
DVD RRP / £14.99


Sunday 16 November 2014

'New Directors From Japan' DVD/BLURAY out November 24



Hello Folks,
Jonny T here with news of a very exciting and excellent looking release from third window films . Showcasing the hottest up and coming Japanese film makers New Directors from Japan hits DVD/BLURAY on November 24th. I've put all the details below and watch this space for a review coming up this week!
Enjoy,
Jonny T.

Third Window Films have always tried hard to bring a wide variety of films from the Far East to the West, from big studio productions to minor indie masterpieces, and this project is another step in our goal to open up the West to what's so great about Asian cinema!

This project is focusing on young and unique directors from Japan whose films have not received any sort of distribution in their own or any other territory. We want to focus on supporting young talent and making their names recognizable so decided to create this 'NEW DIRECTORS FROM JAPAN' release which focuses on individual directors and their work.

Third Window Films has always tried to find directors and films that are both 'unique' and 'entertaining' and we feel that these three directors fit into the Third Window Films brand perfectly, so we are incredibly happy to present:

Nagisa Isogai (磯谷 渚 - Aged 28) - 2 films: My Baby (わたしの赤ちゃん - 16mm / 16mins) / The Lust of Angels (天使の欲望 - HD / 40mins)

Hirobumi Watanabe (渡辺紘文 Aged 31) - And the Mud Ship Sails Away (そして泥船はゆく - HD / 88mins)

Kosuke Takaya (髙谷監督 - Aged 27) - Buy Bling, Get One Free (シャレ番外地 - 35mm / 27mins) - (This film is part of a Japanese government initiative from an organisation called VIPO who run a project called 'New Directions in Japanese Cinema'. Every year they work with 5 first time directors and make 30 minute films on 35mm!) 

This release is a limited edition set of only 1,000 copies presented as a DUAL FORMAT release and includes BOTH a BLU-RAY and a DVD of the films, as well as a separate extras disc (on DVD) which will include interviews with all the directors involved as well as legendary Godzilla producer Shogo Tomiyama who was supervisor for this year's VIPO New Directions in Japanese Cinema project from which 'Buy Bling, Get One Free!' comes from.

Release date November 24, 2014

Special Features:
3 Disc Limited Edition of 1,000 copies - Dual Format release with cardboard slipcase.
“Interviews with all 3 directors as well as a focus on the Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) and their New Directions in Japanese Cinema project

Nagisa Isogai


Student Film: MY BABY 
Watashi no Aka-chan - 2010/color/stereo/16min/16mm


Synopsis:
Heavily pregnant Hatsumi and her sister Chika visit a shrine to pray for a safe birth, but in a tragic turn of events, Hatsumi tumbles down the stairs and loses the baby.

6 months later, Chika's baby is safely born and when Hatsumi visits Chika she finds out that Chika named her daughter Aoi, which happened to be the name Hatsumi chose for her own baby...

What terrible secrets are hidden from their past and what lies ahead for these two?


Mid-Length Debut: THE LUST OF ANGELS 
Tenshu no Yokubo - 2013/colour/stereo/40min


Synopsis:
Saori, a school girl, is molested on the notorious "molester train" of the Hanagawa line and rescued by another school girl who witnesses the act. The girl who rescues her turned out to be a new student of Yamashiro Gakuen high school, which Saori also attends. The mysterious new student Yuriko, is rumoured to be a "parent killer".
Yuriko then leads Saori and her friends to hunt molesters.

Confronting their own desires, they go out of control. After a shocking encounter and separation between the two high school girls, their desires never to meet and reconcile, like train tracks never to cross. Those desires lead to a horrific end.


Hirobumi Watanabe


Feature Debut: AND THE MUD SHIP SAILS AWAY
Soshite dorobune wa yuku - 2013/colour/stereo/88min


Hirobumi Watanabe’s feature debut was made by a crew of four & their families & friends on a budget of less than £3,000!

Synopsis
Takashi (Kiyo Shibukawa from Blue Spring), 36 years old and unemployed, is completely aimless. He lives with his grandmother, repeating the same routine - game center, bowling center, watching TV - day after day. This suddenly changes when Yuka shows up, claiming to be his half-sister. Confronted with a new situation, Takashi finally makes a decision. Whether it is a good one, remains to be seen.



Kosuke Tayaka


Debut Film: BUY BLING, GET ONE FREE!
Oshare Bangaichi - 2013/colour/stereo/27min/35mm


Synopsis
After being dumped by his girlfriend while on a date Kamono Naoto gets really down. ‘What’s wrong with my fashion?’ he wonders as he’s told off for being embarrassingly over-the-top with his see-through jacket, feather shorts and patterned pantyhose. Nobody understands his fashion. Neither his friends nor even a writer for a fashion magazine he likes.
One day though a man offers him to become a fashion model exclusively for one brand and to become a fashion leader, a dreamlike opportunity. In a trance Kamono follows this man to enter a strange and unimaginable world…

Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) / New Directions in Japanese Cinema

VIPO operates ndjc were commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as part of its policy to promote Japanese film and film-making. The project focuses on talented young film-makers to give them the real film-making skills through workshops, imparting the necessary knowledge and techniques to polish their film-making techniques and creativity. The long-term goal is to discover and foster the next generation of feature-length film directors. Since 2006 to 2013, there have been a total of 43 film-makers.





MAYHEM Festival - Day 3.Super Saturday!


And so it was onto Saturday, A fully packed programme with the 1st film starting at 12pm and the last film starting at 11:30pm. The day started with Dead Snow 2 which I had already seen plus the fact that I had a leak at home and had to wait in for a new toilet and sink to be delivered! I Really wanted to see Starry Eyes at 2pm but no signs of delivery but my good lady Emma bless her who had brought a pass for the weekend said "Go see it, I'm bound to be there for 4pm showing of Housebound" which we both really wanted to see and she made it! So i got my coat on and legged it to the bus stop and i was on my way to Day 3 and Starry Eyes. I arrived on my own and couldn't see any signs of our folks so just waited on the stairs. You could tell that there were considerably more people there than the previous nights and that remained the case all day and indeed for Sunday. I picked a seat for myself then looked down the cinema to see myself being waved at by Natalie and the group who had saved me and Emma some seats, I explained why she wasn't here and she had literally just texted me saying stuff had been delivered  so she'll be there  for 4! On to Starry Eyes.


My 1st film of the day was Starry Eyes and what a film it was! The short introduction by Chris Cooke he mentioned the leading lady Alex Essoe was an actress to watch, what a great performance she puts in and definitely a talent to watch and she was 100%  mesmerising. It tells the tale of her character Sarah trying to make it big in Hollywood and she is pretty much willing to do anything to get the roles she wants but in an innocent sad way, Fully trusting in human nature, Unaware of how depraved and cunty people can be. But the thing about Sarah is that she's not your usual brash Hollywood starlet far from it, If anything she is more like the classic character Carrie. Her friends are all party animals and she tries her hardest to fit in but never quite does. She uploads her profile online and gets a call from some folks making a new horror movie. She attends the 1st audition which is a little strange but she feels she doesn't quite make it and has a fit in the toilet that results in her starting to pull out her own hair, Unknown to her at the time the lady from the audition panel was standing outside the cubicle and asks her to come back and perform her fit in front of them, Odd to say the very least. They say they will be in touch and indeed they do. She gets a call for a second audition where if you think the 1st one was weird wait until you see the 2nd one. I shan't really say much more as it will probably spoil it which i don't want to as you need to see this. The violence is ramped up incredibly towards the end with some real wow gore moments. A very high recommend indeed and as Mr Cooke said Keep your eyes out for Alex Essoe, Definitely a star in the making but hopefully she hasn't gone through what she did in this!!



So up next was Housebound a horror comedy from New Zeland, The film opens up with an hilarious failed attempt at trying to rob a cash machine. The man and woman get arrested and the girl gets put on a tag and is sentenced to spend 9 months under house arrest at her mother's. Not too bad you would think except for the fact that her mother lives way out of any town with no cable TV and dial up internet which when she tries to use it blows up the PC! Her mother is convinced there is a ghost in the house. Her daughter who is quite an obnoxious character just thinks her mum is a loon. Until the girl herself starts hearing things......
I loved housebound. The humour was the dry  NZ style as seen in the Pete Jackson classic Braindead.You could tell from the reaction from the audience it was a huge hit. It drops a little in the middle but don't let that put you off as the ending has a cracking pay off!

Next up was Scary Shorts. A selection of horror shorts selected exclusively by the folks that run mayhem. This is always a great hit and also breaks up very well having to watch a full length movie. My favourite was One featuring the always brilliant Michael Berrymen as a demented ice cream man who swaps ice cream for fingers provided by children and weirdly donated by children. Opens up showing an apparently perfect all American family with mum prepping dinner with a constant sound of "Chop chop chop" and the mum just grinning very similar to the sound garden video black hole sun. I'll try and find out a bit more info on these shorts and post a future blog hopefully referring to all of them as they were brilliant!


Next up was The Canal at 9pm, From what I had read synopsis wise it sounded very similar to Sinister from a couple of years back, Guy moves into new house, Guy finds old movie, Shit happens. But it's darker than that, a hell of a lot darker. He is a film archivist that is asked to go through some old films and realises that the murders took place in his home , Shocked by this revelation he tells his wife and delves deeper whilst she seems soooo much in love with him things are not what they seem, He see things, Things become really fucked up, Sinister? No it's not, It pisses all over Sinister!!
In attendance were director Ivan Kavanagh and producer Anne Marie Naughton. Now, Like I say I can't really tell you too much about The Canal without spoiling it but I can say that the performances and direction were great, It proudly wears it's horror influences on it's sleeve. I noticed a few J-Horror influences and the talk after was great, Especially director Ivan Kavanagh revealing the fact that the toilet scene is actually a real location and not a stage set, see it and you know what I mean. A great movie.

And that was to be for me "Good night Vienna" Stagefright was the end movie, At 11:30 and to be honest it had been a long day with all the house hold plumbing chaos but I heard from folks the day after that the showing was great. I've it on a couple of occasions and it is great but by that time and TCM on Halloween an old fart like me needed to crash out and be fresh and ready for Sunday!

Saturday 8 November 2014

MAYHEM FESTIVAL -DAY 2 - Halloween!


Day 2 of MAYHEM was upon us and it was Halloween! Today's movies were Coherence , The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) and a very special screening of the 40th anniversary of the remastered Texas Chainsaw Massacre,hell yeah!

We met again in the bar had a couple of beers and summed up last nights movies and discussed what was on tonight, Pretty much all of us said that does anyone know what Coherence is about or if it's supposed to be any good and non of us knew. Now I must say that as with every year at Mayhem you tend to find not the normal horror festival circuit movies but obscure new titles that generally turn out to be pretty good. So, Full plastic beer glass in hand we headed off to watch Coherence......


The Poster for Coherence said "REARRANGE YOUR BRAIN" And you do have to indeed, but not in the way that it's so ridiculous that it makes no sense unless your only movie viewing experiences ever were The Fast and the Furious movies then you would be fucked!
It tells the story of a few friends who get together for a diner party on the night of the biggest comet passing over earth in many years. There is the mention of the Tunguska comet passing over many many years before and it had an effect on people of wiping their memories and sent a lot of people into mass confusion. Then amongst the jollyness all the lights go out. They look down the road to see if the rest of the neighbourhood is in darkness and it is apart from one way off house that still has it's lights on. One of the party go to investigate and upon arrival discovers that is the exact same house that he just left and not only that it's got all the same people in the house, even him! He returns to the original house to tell them what he thinks he may or may not have seen and this it where it start bending your brain, Things such as a girl on the way to the party her phone just randomly cracks as does a guys at the party, One of the party bangs his head and needs a plaster and is asked which type "Cloth or Plastic?" he chooses cloth, He also goes to try and find out what the hell is going on outside and when he return in one of the party notices that his plaster is now plastic, although he knows everyone the big question is, is he who he says he is? Or are any of them? MIND BENT! Brilliant film though, Definitely looking forward to seeing it again and noticing all the subtle but extremely well  put together differences.


Next up at 8PM was the re-imagining of The Town That Dreaded Sundown, When I 1st saw this was on I thought it was just a straight up remake but it was actually in all fairness a sequel. Set in modern day it tells the tale that many years after the original murders the phantom killer has returned. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon best known for his work on American Horror Story and errr Glee! The 1st half of the film I thought was pretty solid with lots of flashbacks to the 1st movie or set of events as you could say. Some great kills including the classic trombone kill but I did feel without giving anything away that the ending did let it down quite a lot. Don't get me wrong the ending is a great idea it's just the fact that it has been done so many times before. Shame really as like I said the 1st half was pretty solid. And then came the time, 10:30PM time for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre!



So the time for the film to takes us to midnight on Halloween was to be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 40th Remastered version. Now I'm not going to review TCM but if you have never seen it 1-Where have you Been? and 2-This is the version you need to get. Over the years I have own many versions as you probably have of TCM from the dodgy bootleg VHS that used to be sold under tables at film fairs when it was still banned, When it was released on DVD I owned and still do 3 versions, I got a Blu-Ray player and brought it for that. So when I saw that it was being released yet again I thought sod that, But hold your'e horses this version is stunning. I was fortunate enough to see it on the big screen a few years back and with most films its a completely different experience seeing it big. The thing that struck me about this was the restoration is incredible. I was talking with David Flint afterwards on the way back down to the bar and we both mentioned how we had seen things in detail wise that we had never noticed before. So when the film finished and Leatherfaces chainsaw and the screams of Marilyn was still ringing in our ears the whole cinema was in silence for a good 5 seconds. Then you could hear people letting out breaths of relief and the whole place clapped. For a film of 40 years still to have the impact it does is an incredible feat indeed.
All done for Halloween and at 12:45 AM we headed off home through Nottingham city centre to our Taxi whilst dodging drunken zombies, Frankensteins and Dracula's. Yet again another fantastic Halloween night at MAYHEM.
Jonny T.

Thursday 6 November 2014

MAYHEM FESTIVAL DAY 1. Astron-6 Total Mayhem!




Well I can't believe that it's been a whole week since the start of MAYHEM festival but what a festival it was! I started the day by having a lay in with a nice cuppa and a choccy biscuit whilst watching The House That Bled To Death from the classic Hammer House of Horror box set. During the course of the day with back and forth communications we arranged to meet In the café bar at around 5.30.All ready to go! There was slight trepidation around the 1st night being solely a night focused solely on Astron-6. On my arrival a Broadway cinema it was clear that all the pre festival fears of the opening night not being that busy were well and truly put to rest, it was extremely busy. We went and grabbed a beer and met up with the great folks I'd been speaking to online, We then picked up another beer to take into the cinema (how great is it that you can do that!) got our seats 7 in a row and not only were we set for the night but for the whole weekend.


The night was set up to be 2 parts the 1st part being a collection of Astron-6 shorts, The the 2nd part of the night being a showing of their feature length love letter to Giallo that was The Editor. It has to be said that the shorts were hilarious, Even before they started people were in stitches with an introduction from the guys themselves. The shorts consisted of loads of different genres and influences all made incredibly well. What was even more impressive was hearing them talk about how basically they had no budget and scraped everything together from friends and families. What impressed me the most was how professional they all looked.The humour and the attention to detail were so spot on. My favourite short on the night has to be Inferno of the Dead, Pure zombie fan boy stuff but also pure genius in kind of questioning the zombie genre. But also outstanding was Cool Guys and the various GoreBlade shorts, So that was the 1st part of the evening and it was a roll in the isles hilarious smash hit start to the night. Back to the bar for another beer then back for The Editor.



INFERNO OF THE DEAD- FULL SHORT!



So armed with more beer we headed back up to view The Editor. Now I thought after seeing the shorts that it would be good but it more than exceeded my expectations I must say! The great thing about it was that even if you have seen many a Giallo or not it worked extremely well on both levels, Telling the classic slasher type tale of the black gloved killer, Big moustaches and lots of nakedness and gore, it  hit every point spot on and it's a very high recommend from me.My particular favourite homage moments were from the Lucio Fulci classic The Beyond, I won't spoil what parts they were but keep your eyes out for them, brilliant.




 I Really do hope it gets a release soon as not only does this damn well deserve it but I really want to see it again! I'm not sure how the whole DVD distribution deals work but honestly folks some of the horror stuff being released at present is utter crap and this stands head and shoulders above those releases and believe me The Editor is destined to become a solid gold cult classic!Also showing after at 11:30 was Let Us Pray, Which sounded like it was going to be great but unfortunately I couldn't make it to this particular movie, A demonic stranger locked up in a police cell for the night with evil plans, From what I heard it was a bit of a slow burner but got a unanimous thumbs up from all the people I knew who had seen it.
So in summing up day one Mayhem lured people in with mostly the unknown of Astron-6 and sent them home with smiles on their faces and a nostalgic glow in their horror harts, A fantastic start to a fantastic festival,
Jonny T.
The Editor- Official Trailer.



ASTRON-6 OFFICIAL SITE ------  http://www.astron-6.com/

Monday 27 October 2014

Halloween Hangover? Come to MAYHEM November 1st!


Picture the scene, Saturday November the 1st with the screams of Marilyn Burns still ringing in your eyes from a previously great night at MAYHEM. What do you do on Saturday? Stay on your sofa watching Saturday Morning Kitchen with James Martin whilst he talks dribble to chef's who are making dishes that you never have a hope in hell of making whilst inter-cut with clips from Keith Floyd, Rick Stein, Omlette challengezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................
No you don't! Get yourself together get on a bus or taxi (That way you can have a hair of the dog pint) and get yourself down to an epic Saturday of MAYHEM festival. And here are what treats lay ahead........ 
Kicking off at 12pm with Dead Snow 2:Red VS Dead. Yes the frozen Nazi Zombies are back! From what i'm hearing this is equally as good as Dead Snow if not better from all reports especially the humour has been ramped up to a Spinal Tap 11!

DEAD SNOW 2-OFFICIAL TRAILER.



After being thoroughly awaken from your Halloween slumber by Nazi Zombies next up at 2pm we have Starry Eyes which sounds very interesting indeed and has been getting some great reactions from what I have read it tells the tale of an Hollywood actress who decides to take a satanic route to securing success "A bloody Collision of body horror and film industry satire" Well you can't beat a bit of Saturday Afternoon Satanism!


STARRY EYES-OFFICIAL TRAILER


Next up at 4pm we have a new movie from New Zealand called Housebound and described as "The Very Best Horror Movie produced in the country since BRAINDEAD(DEAD ALIVE)" Starburst. Very high praise indeed. It tells the story of Kylie who is placed under house arrest and things are much worse than she expected. The house is haunted and also her mums, who she hates. Said to be a blend of Gothic chills and blood splattered laughs, Bring it on I say!


HOUSEBOUND-OFFICIAL TRAILER


And then on to 6:30 pm and the annual feature of SCARY SHORTS, "Featuring the best short films from around the world, the UK and closer to home.A sinister showcase of the scary, the weird and wonderous" If you have been to MAYHEM or maybe not, I would urge you to along to Scary Shorts as it's always a blast!



On to 9:30 PM and a showing of The Canal with special guests Director Ivan Kavanagh and Producer Anne Marie Naughton. It tells the story of David who is a films Archivist and suspects his wife is having an affair, As the pressure mounts, an old film starts to unsettle and disturb him and the new family home begins to reveal some very dark secrets indeed....
It has to be said as with previous festivals these events with the special guests are always a great highlight of the festival and this certainly looks to definitely be one of those occasions!


THE CANAL - Official Trailer.

That's not all folks! No its no, 11:30PM See's the showing of in my opinion a very underated slasher movie STAGEFRIGHT (AQUARRIUS/DELERIA) Directed by the briliant Michele Soavi. Rehearsing a musical based on real life serial killer named The Night Owl, A bickering cast are locked in overnight unaware that an escaped lunatic has joined them. Now from that synopsis what a great film to take you through the midnight hour!



STAGE FRIGHT - OFFICIAL TRAILER




So there you go, Saturday at MAYHEM and you get all of the above for £27! Yet again a great bargain, You'll be glad you forgot about your Halloween hangover and even more glad that you didn't watch Saturday Morning Bleedin' Kitchen!That would have made your hangover a lot worse.
Jonny T.

BOOK YOUR SATURDAY TICKETS HERE!


AND OF COURSE DON'T FORGET YOU CAN GET A PASS FOR THE WHOLE OF MAYHEM FESTIVAL FOR THE GREAT PRICE OF £65! LINK BELOW!!



Sunday 26 October 2014

MAYHEM FESTIVALS HALLOWEEN NIGHT LINE UP!


Hello folks!
Well with less than a week to go I thought I'd share MAYHEM festivals Friday night Halloween line up and what a line up it is!
Starting a 6PM with Coherence 
"On the night of an astronomical anomaly a group of friends gather for a dinner party and as their relationships strain reality starts to alter"


"EXCELLENT...COMPLETELY REARRANGES YOUR BRAIN!" FILM SCHOOL REJECTS

OFFICIAL TRAILER.


Next up at 8pm we have the re-imagining of The Town That Dreaded Sundown, At 1st when I heard this was on I thought it was just a straight up remake of the 70's classic but as you may well know they never caught the Phantom Killer and 65 years after the original events it seems he has returned. From what I've heard from people that have seen it so far is that is packed full of sex and violence, what more could you want on Halloween!! 


OFFICIAL TRAILER




Last up we they something very special indeed,At 10pm To celebrate the 40th anniversary MAYHEM will be showing on the big screen the classic that is TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Now there really is not a lot I can say about this apart from I saw it on the big screen a few years back and it is a totally different experience from seeing it at home. Especially the last twenty minutes with The Family and the seemingly never ender screams. a definite must see that will leave your ears ringing deep into the early hours of Halloween.

40th anniversary trailer.


So hope to see you all there! Link below for ticket info and did i mention that for a day pass on Halloween it is only £13.50, bargain!
Jonny T.

Saturday 25 October 2014

ASTRON-6 - WHO THE HELL ARE THEY? FIND OUT AT MAYHEM!



You may well ask who ASTRON-6 are? I did,  All I remember is that film from 2 years ago at MAYHEM film festival called MANBORG, Jesus Christ that was an experience with a hangover. Similar to the also shown Dead Sushi. By no means whatsoever in context or did any of the films resemble each other. The only thing that connected the 2 movies were how great they were. More cheese than made by the BLUR bass player and more laughs than an hour with Tim Vine, Basically what I am saying is that both movies were brilliant! It has to be said that from the reaction that MANBORG created in the bar after the showing was great, Everyone I heard loved it, a real good feel factor movie and a definite crowd pleaser.


To be honest with me being a little slack  I didn't pay that much attention to the film-makers but thought there was a definite talent there.With all the trying to reintroduce grind-house at the time because Tarantino did it and it was cool (yawn!) into every film, To me it got as boring as seeing found footage movies so in a retro way MANBORG was not only very well done but hilarious and extremely cleverly done.   



So,I suppose my main point is that I was looking forward to seeing the line up revealed for the 2014 Mayhem festival and when it was I thought Thursday October 30th a night with ASTRON-6 who the hell are they? Then it all unravelled,BIO-COP, MANBORG AND FATHERS DAY?FUCK YEAH!! So with less than a week to go and from what I'm hearing the tickets are going pretty sharpish and not only on the night will Mayhem be showing ASTRON-6 Shorts showcase (90min) but the brand new feature that has been shown worldwide at festivals The Editor. Which has been getting some brilliant reviews desrcibed as mind bending and more impressive to me is the description of "IMAGINE IF THE DIRECTORS OF AIRPLANE MADE FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET" From the Toronto film festival. Now if that doesn't get you excited what the hell will? 
But on a closing note, It is great to see how ASTRON-6 has grown and been accepted and from what I have seen so far and the reviews for The Editor have been great so not only are this bunch of a loons a bunch of loons to keep an eye on but they will be in attendance at this years Mayhem festival!!Yes that's right the team behind Bio-Cop, Fathers Day and Manborg, Adam Brooks, Conor Sweeney  and Matthew Kennedy will be there at this years festival.So like me if you had never heard of ASTRON-6  you really should check out their movies and grab yourself a ticket and come to Nottingham for what promises to be a very special night indeed, 5 more sleeps to Mayhem.That is all,
Jonny T.

TRAILER AND POSTER BELOW FOR THE EDITOR AND TICKET LINK!





GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!



official ASTRON-6 site















Monday 20 October 2014

The Town That Dreaded Sundown 2014 a this years MAYHEM festival!


Well, First of all I didn't even realise that they were even remaking The Town That Dreaded Sundown but they have and it will be shown in my very own home town of Nottingham at this years MAYHEM festival. I only saw the original version from 1976 for the 1st time last year and what a bizarre film it was. Pre-Dating many slasher movies and using the cloth sack with eye cut outs as seen in the 1st couple of Friday 13th movies it tells the true tale of a town that was overcome with terror when people started to be killed at random.
Much like the Zodiac killer it is said that the killer known a the phantom killer was never caught. Also very odd is that in the town where it happened every year they show the original movie on a big screen in a local park and it is massively popular. The original version had some quite violent and disturbing scenes but also a weird comedic element especially one memorable scene with cops chasing the killer down train tracks to almost a Benny Hill theme tune!
So I can't wait to catch this at the festival, It is being shown on Halloween at 8pm just before the 40th anniversary screening of the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre so hopefully it will be a great double bill.
Keep your on the site for the review!
Jonny T.



OFFICIAL TRAILER


WIKIPEDIA LINK FOR FACTS ON THE ORIGINAL STORY - The Phantom Killer



MAYHEM FESTIVAL TICKETS AND DETAILS- MAYHEM FESTIVAL

ORIGINAL 1976 TRAILER


Monday 29 September 2014

MAYHEM festival reveals it's poster.!


Not long now folks! Yes MAYHEM festival has revealed it's poster for this years 10th anniversary festival and I have to say it's pretty great! Similar in design to last years in the way it's a montage of images representing the festival events. With even more updates coming out weekly as regards event times, added guests and even more. So iv'e put a link below to the festival be sure to check out what's happening and how you can get your tickets and don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
Many thanks,
Jonny T!



FOR ALL YOUR MAYHEM NEEDS!

Friday 19 September 2014

Mayhem Film Festival reveal full line-up for tenth edition









Hello Folks,
Yes its nearly MAYHEM festival time!! Now in it's 10th year this years line up certainly once again does not disappoint, I've stuck all the details below of all the showings and early bird passes at a cracking price are still available until Monday 22nd September but to be honest the normal price for the whole weekend is a bloody bargain! So get you're tickets and i'll see you there!
Jonny.

Mayhem Film Festival reveal full line-up for tenth edition

Following the news of an exciting opening night with Canadian cult filmmakers 
Astron-6, Mayhem Film Festival are delighted to unveil their full tenth-edition 
line-up and its selection of previews, special guests and cult screenings.
Opening its 2014 edition with a showcase of Astron-6’s short films and a 
preview screening of their new feature The Editor, recently premiered at TIFF, 
Mayhem will also welcome Director Ivan Kavanagh and Producer Anne Marie 
Naughton for a preview screening of the stylish The Canal, Directors Robert 
Morgan and Julian Barratt for a preview of The ABCs of Death 2, and Director 
Tom Green as well as members of the production for a screening of Monsters: 
Dark Continent, the much anticipated sequel to Gareth Edwards’ 2009 hit. 
One of the highlights of last year’s festival, 8MM Orchestra will return with a 
new specially-commissioned live score to another silent classic, Daughter of 
Horror (Dementia Cut). The rest of the programme, which counts a total of 17 
screenings, will include a 40th anniversary screening of Tobe Hooper’s cult 
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a preview screening of Gerard Johnstone’s 
Housebound, the UK Premiere of the Spierig Brothers’ Predestination, as well 
as the return of Scary Shorts and the Flinterrogation, hosted by Strange 
Things Are Happening’s Dave Flint.
Dr Brendan Dare will also return to Mayhem with Thrill Laboratory present 
Duality: One Body, Two Brains. After his previous live investigation into the 
paranormal – Dr. Brendan Dare will present a truly psychotronic experiment, 
which probes whether live neurological data from one movie-stimulated brain 
can be used to (re)animate another.
Early Bird Passes for the full festival are still on sale for £55 until Sunday 
night. Individual tickets, day passes and full festival passes at the regular 
price of £65 will go on sale on Monday 22 September at 12noon. To book 

your Early Bird Passes now please visit http://www.broadway.org.uk/festivals




THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER
7.00PM ASTRON-6 SHORTS SHOWCASE with introduction from Matthew
Kennedy, Adam Brooks and Conor Sweeney
9.00PM THE EDITOR with Q&A with Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy and
Conor Sweeney
Dir. Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy, 2014 (CAN) with Udo Kier and Paz De La
Huerta
11.30PM LET US PREY
Dir. Brian O’Malley, 2014 (UK/IRE) with Liam Cunningham and Pollyanna McIntosh



FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER
6.00PM COHERENCE
Dir. James Ward Byrkit, 2013 (US) with Emily Baldoni and Nicholas Brendon
8.00PM THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN
Dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, 2014 (US) with Addison Timlin and Gary Cole
10.30PM THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE
Dir. Tobe Hooper, 1974 (US) with Marilyn Burns and Gunnar Hansen


SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER
12.00PM DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD
Dir. Tommy Wirkola, 2014 (NOR) with Vegar Hoel and Martin Starr
2.00PM STARRY EYES
Dir. Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Widmyer, 2014 (US) with Alex Essoe and Pat Healy
4.00PM HOUSEBOUND
Dir. Gerard Johnstone, 2013 (NZ) with Morgana O’Reilly and Rima Te Wiata
6.30PM SCARY SHORTS
Dir. Various, 2014 (International)
9.00PM THE CANAL with Q&A with Ivan Kavanagh and Producer Anne
Marie Naughton
Dir. Ivan Kavanagh, 2014 (IRE) with Rupert Evans and Steve Oram
11.30PM STAGEFRIGHT (AQUARIUS/DELIRIA)
Dir. Michele Soavi, 1987 (ITA) with David Brandon and Barbara Cupisti



SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER

12.00PM PREDESTINATION (UK PREMIERE)
Dir. The Spierig Brothers, 2014 (AUS) with Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook
2.00PM ABCs OF DEATH 2 with Q&A with directors Robert Morgan and
Julian Barratt
Dir. Various, 2014 (International)
4.30PM WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS
Dir. Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement, 2013 (NZ) with Taika Waititi and Jemaine
Clement
7.00PM DAUGHTER OF HORROR (DEMENTIA CUT) with live score by
8MM Orchestra
Dir. John Parker & Bruno Ve Sota, 1953/55 (US) with Adrienne Barrett and Bruno Ve
Sota
8.00PM FLINTERROGATION
Presented by David Flint
9.00PM MONSTERS: DARK CONTINENT with Q&A with Tom Green and
members of the production
Dir. Tom Green, 2014 (UK) with Joe Dempsie and Sam Keeley
*dates and times correct at time of release and may be subject to change.






Monday 15 September 2014

Teen Mayhem and Mayhem Certificate X line-up revealed ahead of Mayhem X


Hey Folks,
Not long now before you all get the joy of my posts of drunken tales, Cheesy movies, classic movies and annual terrible score at the Sunday night horror quiz all the joy that is Nottingham's one and only Mayhem Horror Festival, But this year Pre-Mayhem there is something very special happening. Now imagine being a teenager or indeed younger and not being able to get into see horror movies, well i can't announce that Mayhem organizers  will this year break the law and allow all ages into any screenings! But hey have something very special in place starting October 25th for all young horror fans.
But hold thy horses not only do the young horror geeks get a Pre-Festival treat our old farts do to! From Sunday 26th October David Flint will be presenting a look at the dreaded certificate "X" along with some classic movies all leading up to the MAYHEM horror festival of which the full line up shall be revealed soon!
Phew! So there you go horror fans young old something to get your teeth into and if that doesn't satisfy you what do you want, blood??
All details below,
Jonny T.


Teen Mayhem and Mayhem Certificate X line-up revealed ahead of Mayhem X

Mayhem X, Mayhem Film Festival’s one-of-a-kind ten-day celebration of horror, cult cinema and sci-fi, reveals its two new strands’ line-up today.

Teen Mayhem will open the festivities on Saturday 25 October with a full day dedicated to pre-teens and young teenagers, aiming to inspire them to better engage with the genre. Starting with a Special FX make-up workshop with local make-up artist and prop maker Jayne Hyman, the day will then continue with a screening of Japanese anime Patema Inverted. A special event around CBBC hit series Wolfblood will see members of the cast and crew, including the show’s creator Debbie Moon and cast member Kedar Williams-Stirling, take part in a screening, and post-screening masterclass. The day will then end with a 3D screening of Joe Dante’s 2009 thriller The Hole.

Chris Cooke, Mayhem Co-Director, says: "We all fell in love with horror, science fiction and fantasy when we were younger and Teen Mayhem is a chance for those younger fans to really indulge their passion. It allows them to learn more about the genre, have fun and meet fellow fans, as well as to meet the team responsible for one of CBBC's biggest hit series, Wolfblood, to learn the craft of horror make-up and to catch a couple of really stunning films."

From Sunday 26 October, Mayhem X will continue with Mayhem Certificate X. Co-curated with Strange Things Are Happening’s David Flint, the series of screenings will look at the history and context of the X certificate in films, opening up the discussion on titles once deemed particularly challenging. The unique retrospective will include Dressed to Kill, La Bête, X the Unknown and Straw Dogs. A special Silver Screen screening of Night of the Demon will close the season and make way for the main Mayhem Film Festival starting on Thursday 30 October.

Mayhem Film Festival - four days of horror, science fiction and cult cinema - starts on 30 October with guests including Astron-6 team members with their new feature
film The Editor and a series of exclusive screenings across the weekend.

Tickets for Teen Mayhem and Mayhem Certificate X will go on sale on Friday 12 September at 10AM. Discounts will be available for holders of Mayhem Film Festival Early Bird Passes. The full line-up for Mayhem Film Festival will be announced soon and Early Bird Passes are still available here http://www.broadway.org.uk/events/film_mayhem_2014_early_bird_full_festival_passes

Mayhem X is made possible with the support of the BFI Film Festival Fund, awarding funds from The National Lottery. For more information about Mayhem please visit http://www.broadway.org.uk/mayhem



Thursday 11 September 2014

Locke - Reviewed


Ivan Locke is a career man, A family man, An honest man. Well that's how he appears to all around him. On the night before the biggest day of his career he gets a phone call and leaves work for the journey that he tells everyone is home. It becomes clear quite early on all is not as it seems.
Ivan is a construction worker but not your'e average laborer, far from it. He is an expert in concrete, yes concrete. Tomorrow he should have been overseeing the biggest foundation fill in the world outside the military and nuclear industries the foundation for a new mega 52 stories high building in London that in his words can bee seen for 20 miles and cast a shadow a mile long, But then comes the phone call............
Now this is pretty much right at the beginning of the film and may spoil that part of it so if you have yet to see it please choose whether to read on or not, your choice!
He gets a call from a woman who has gone into labor but it's not his wife, It's someone who he had a one night stand with just over well you know 9 months ago, not hard to do the maths on that one, she is having his baby and he desperately wants to be there, Not for a moment for the love of the woman as he has not seen her since that night but he reveals his reasoning throughout  the course of the film through many various calls to many different people, His wife is at home waiting for him with his two sons, his boss is having a major freak out as he has now deserted the multi-million pound project, his understudy is in a state of panic and told not to drink tonight, he calls the local police to check all the road closures agreed for the arrival of the concrete wagons are still in place, when he finds out that at the last minute the council has refused one of the roads to be closed he goes into panic as its now 9pm and the council office is closed but has a number of one of the Councillors and calls him and he's pretty pissed off as he is in the middle of dinner in an Indian restaurant.


Now as you can tell the phone calls are the main subject of Locke and very cleverly done they are as well, It's basically  a one man film similar to buried but this time set in a car with Ivan Locke played extremely well it does have to be said by Tom Hardy.
It plays out slowly unraveling more of what's behind Ivan and his thoughts about why he is doing what he is doing and his reasoning for it, It plays out on so many levels, whether it be morally, Socially or indeed when it comes to his decision to mess with big business even overtones of financial politics, All very thought provoking, Challenges what we all encounter on a daily basis but ultimately is the decision for what he is doing the right one? Only Ivan knows that and that's another interesting point it's certainly a movie in which once watched the debate could go on for quite some time.Low budget British cinema at it's finest and indeed cleverest,
8/10
Jonny T.