Deadstream (2022)

"Excellent Found Footage Horror Comedy"

It might be the best, actually, although admittedly there aren't many of them out there. After enjoying great success on the festival circuit (including Frightfest 2022) followed by a streaming release on Shudder, the writing and directing team of husband and wife Joseph and Vanessa Winter's DEADSTREAM is getting a Blu-ray release from Arrow.

Disgraced YouTuber Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winters) made a name for himself performing daft and potentially dangerous stunts until one of them went wrong. Now he has a plan to win back not just viewers but sponsors as well: a live-streaming event in which he is going to explore an abandoned and quite possibly haunted house. In doing so his bumbling releases evil spirits and it's not long into the livestream that things start to take a turn for the sinister.

That rarest of beasts, DEADSTREAM is a comedy horror that's frequently very scary and very funny, often at the same time. It benefits greatly from a tremendous creepy setting, careful attention to detail on the part of the film-makers, and an EVIL DEAD 'throw anything and everything at its hapless central character' attitude. If that sounds like your kind of thing then you are going to love it.

Extras on Arrow's Blu-ray include an excellent commentary track from Winters and Winters as well as DP Jared Cook and co-star Melanie Stone, which goes to prove that good found footage horror is not a simple case of 'point the camera and wobble it a bit'. It also makes you want to watch the film again (you'll find out why) and that's no bad thing.

Other extras include the two minute, charming, To Hell and Back, a Winters short film from 2019, a tiny intro 'Just for you in the UK' and four deleted and four extended scenes. There are eight featurettes on the makeup effects (14 minutes), on set (12 minutes), test footage (17 minutes), cameras and lighting (11 minutes), sound design (20 minutes), out-takes (4 minutes), and two short pieces on real-life scary stories related to the location (10 minutes in all). There's also loads of cam footage. The set also comes with a booklet featuring new writing on the film and a reversible sleeve.

DEADSTREAM is out on Blu-ray from Arrow Films on Monday 1st September 2025

Lost in Space 4K (1998)

 

Arrow Films are releasing New Line Cinema's big budget movie version of the classic Irwin Allen TV show in a 4K restoration supervised by director Stephen Hopkins (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 5, PREDATOR 2, THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS) with a batch of newly filmed extras as well as plenty of archival material.

Originally conceived in TV land as The Swiss Family Robinson in space, the film spends the first half an hour of its running time setting up the characters of the Robinson family, consisting of father William Hurt, mother Mimi Rodgers, older daughter Heather Graham, younger daughter Lacey Chabert and young son Jack Johnson. Pilot Matt LeBlanc is going to fly them all across the solar system so they can set up a stargate to allow a dying earth's inhabitants to migrate to another planet. However, they reckon without saboteur Gary Oldman who causes the ship to end up lost in another part of the universe where they encounter a species of nasty spiders, crash their ship, and try to get back home. 

For a film based on a colourful TV show that tended towards having a 'daft thing happening of the week' (often a monster) this version of LOST IN SPACE is by turns drab, slow and frustratingly low on monsters, thrills and all the elements one assumes its core audience would have been looking for. However if you want to see Hurt and Rogers talking at length while they make a bed on their flying saucer, or LeBlanc's sub 1970s James Bond attempts to chat up Graham then you've come to the right place. 

The screenplay is courtesy of the notorious Akiva Goldsman, whom SFX magazine once dedicated an article to concerning the number of criticisms, hate mail and death threats the writer had received during this period for his services to truly terrible movie science fiction. His work is in evidence here from the very start with a clunky expository voice over followed by a lot of flashy crashing about accompanied by 'heroic' dialogue that would embarrass a ten year old. 

Someone at Arrow does, however, deserve a huge pat on the back for the wealth of new extras that have been put together for this release and if you're a fan of LOST IN SPACE 1998 you are going to love it. New interviews include director Stephen Hopkins (21 minutes), DP Peter Levy (17 minutes), Goldsman (18 minutes), art director Keith Pain (32 minutes), and Kenny Wilson of Jim Henson's Creature Shop (7 minutes), while critic Matt Donato provides an 18 minute video essay praising the film.

Archival extras include two commentary tracks (Goldsman and Hopkins on one, other key crew members on the other), 11 minutes of deleted scenes, 16 minutes on the special effects, 10 minutes on 'The Future of Space Travel' a 7 minute Q&A with the original TV cast, some of whom pop up in the film, two minutes of bloopers, a trailer and image galleries. There's also a booklet featuring new writing on the film. If you love LOST IN SPACE 1998 you are going to love Arrow's 4K package.

LOST IN SPACE is out from Arrow in a limited edition 4K UHD set on Monday 1st September 2025

Above the Knee (2025)

Amir (co-writer Freddy Singh) is obsessed with his left leg. Or rather, he's obsessed with having it removed, as he's convinced it's rotting and that he would be better off without it. On television he sees an interview with Rikke (Louise Waage Anda), a sufferer of Body Identity Dysmorphia, a condition in which individuals feel they should have been born blind despite being able to see (as in Rikke's case) or that they should be lacking a limb or other body part.

Having just gone back to work after being off sick due to what was thought to be a suicide attempt (but was actually a drunken attempt to saw his own leg off) Amir skives off to meet with Rikke and soon he's making plans to rid himself of his unwanted appendage, possibly with the unwitting assistance of his work colleague who likes rock climbing.

Directed and co-written by Viljar Bøe, who gave us Frightfest 2023's excellent twisted Inside No.9-style GOOD BOY, ABOVE THE KNEE offers us in Amir a central character whose life would actually be better if he could just be honest with his boss and his girlfriend and ask for help instead of fobbing them both off with excuses while indulging in time with Rikke. It's a concept that could easily have been played more for laughs but Boe keeps everything dead serious, offering a psychological drama  that will have you wondering where it's all leading.

Viljar Bøe's ABOVE THE KNEE screened at Frightfest in Discovery Screen 2 on Monday 25th August 2025. It's getting a Digital release from Blue Finch on Monday 8th September 2025

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Arrow have released Sergio Leone's epic, intense conclusion to his 'Dollars' trilogy in a four disc set in both UHD and Blu-ray editions with the versions of the film included being new 4K restorations from the original 2-perf Techniscope negative.

Running close to three hours whichever version you watch (more about that in a minute), THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY essentially has a very simple plot: a cache of stolen gold coins worth $200 000 is buried in a cemetery and three men played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach are all after it while doing their best to deter and double cross each other along the way. 

But (and it's a big one), this story is played out against the backdrop of the American Civil War, depicted with the kind of  operatic grandeur and sweeping excess the likes of which we will likely never see filmed in quite this way ever again. Add in a memorable music score by Ennio Morricone (conducted by Bruno Nicolai) and arresting widescreen location photography and it's not surprising this one is so widely regarded as a classic. 

How about horror connections? Well in the cast we have Luigi Pistilli from YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY, TRAGIC CEREMONY and others, Frank Braña from RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD, PIECES and SLUGS, Antonio Casale from AUTOPSY and WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE, and Victor Israel from every Spanish horror film ever (pretty much), while Sergio Salvati (Fulci's DP on THE BEYOND and others) was the assistant cameraman and Mickey Knox (STAGEFRIGHT AQUARIUS) worked on the English translation of the screenplay.

Arrow's set consists of four discs. Disc one has the 'International Cut' of the film which runs 162 minutes and has an invaluable commentary from Tim Lucas. Disc two has the 'Extended Cut' (179 minutes) which you can make run even longer if you opt for the 'extended torture' sequence of Eli Wallach or shorter if you prefer to leave out his scene in the grotto that was cut by Leone himself shortly after release. Commentary duties on this version are by Leone biographer Sir Christopher Frayling on one track and Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel on the other.

Disc three has enough extras to keep you busy for a weekend, with a vast amount of newly recorded material that includes film critic Fabio Melelli talking about the circular nature of the trilogy (19 minutes), Lee Van Cleef biographer Mike Malloy discussing the actor's contribution to the film (12 minutes), and interviews with co-writer Furio Scarpelli's son Giacomo (29 minutes), DP Tonino Delli Colli's son Stefano (22 minutes), production and costume designer Carlo Simi's daughter Giuditta (6 minutes), assistant cameraman Sergio Salvati (27 minutes), stuntman Fabio Testi (14 minutes), editor Eugenio Alabiso (28 minutes), post production supervisor Enzo Ocone (28 minutes), guitarist Bruno Battisti D'Amario (8 minutes), legendary vocalist Edda Dell'Orso (14 minutes) and Ennio Morricone biographer Alessandro de Rosa (28 minutes).

Lovely Jon contributes a fascinating 29 minute visual essay about the recording of the score, carefully and clearly relating the conflicting accounts of various personnel interviewed. As well as that all the extras from the previous 2003 MGM release have been ported over and there are the usual trailers and still galleries, Disc four is exclusive to Arrow's limited edition  and contains Sad Hill Unearthed, a 2017 documentary about efforts to restore the graveyard set along with a making of and other extras (not provided for review). Finally the set comes with a book with new writing on the film, a double sided poster and reversible sleeve.

Sergio Leone's THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is out in a four disc limited edition set from Arrow in both UHD and Blu-ray editions now.

Blockhead (2025)

Six years ago Will Mercer (Danny Horn) had a huge award-winning hit with his first novel. Since then, however, things have been tough and he has made little progress on the follow-up. Advised to lock himself away to get his new book finished in a spare apartment owned by former author Maggie (Michele Moran), Will is surprised when handyman Mikey (Joe Sims) turns up to do some decorating. In addition to this Mikey is soon taking Will to the pub, 'sorting out' Will's enemies, and even making writing suggestions, but is Mikey all that he seems?

There's nothing especially new or original in BLOCKHEAD, the first feature from Matt Harlock of AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY documentary fame. However, if you like this kind of story it's absolutely fine, albeit done on a very small budget. Danny Horn does a good job as the increasingly insane writer and there are some good shots in here, suggesting that with a bigger budget and something perhaps a little more ambitious storywise Harlock's next project will be worth a look.

 

BLOCKHEAD received its world premiere on Discovery Screen 2 at Frightfest on Saturday 23rd August 2025

The Home (2025)

"Entertainingly Gory Horror from the Director of THE PURGE"

James DeMonaco's new film received its UK premiere as the opening movie of Frightfest 2025 and is now on digital release from Signature Entertainment, with a DVD and Blu-ray release to follow.

After the death of his brother when he was 11, the increasingly rebellious Max (Pete Davidson from BODIES BODIES BODIES) earns himself a prison sentence for repeated damage to property. However his foster father is able to have this reduced to community service, the twist being that it's at a residential home for the elderly where Max is to be the new supervisor.

Everything seems normal enough for the first couple of hours but something very strange indeed is happening at Max's new place of employment. Who are the mysterious wheelchair-bound residents of the fourth floor? Why are certain rooms in the basement locked? And why is Max having trouble sleeping?

For the first two thirds of its 97 minute running time THE HOME is evocative of 1980s Italian horror cinema with its frequent grotesque imagery that sometimes is in Max's imagination but at other times definitely isn't. It's in the final act that everything goes pleasingly haywire, but to say any more would be to spoil the fun. THE HOME doesn't quite have the political punch or social commentary of his PURGE movies (although it's definitely there, you just have to dig a little deeper) but it's still an entertaining ride, helped immensely by having some familiar character actors including John Glover (GREMLINS 2 & IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS) and Ethan Phillips (THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR and STAR TREK: VOYAGER) playing some of the inmates of the home. Here's a trailer:

James DeMonaco's THE HOME had its UK premiere at Frightfest 2025, is now on digital from Signature Entertainment, and will have its DVD and Blu-ray release on Monday 29th September 2025

Meanwhile On Earth aka Pendant Ce Temps Sur Terre (2025)

        It's time for a bit of quiet French science fiction as writer director Jérémy Clapin's first live action feature film gets a release from Blue Finch. His previous work has been in animation and there's a bit of that in here, too.

It's three years since 23 year old Elsa (Megan Northam) lost her brother Frank (Sébastien Pouderoux) on a space mission that disappeared. She spends her days working in a care home run by her mother and staring at the statue of Frank that has been erected on a nearby roundabout. 

But perhaps all is not lost. One night while outside Elsa is contacted by a voice claiming to be one of five alien beings who have her brother. He's safe but they will only release him if she will find human bodies for each of them to occupy. They allow her to speak to Frank to prove his existence and after that it's up to her to decide if she is willing to pay the aliens' price.

The opening act of MEANWHILE ON EARTH plays like a fairy tale of a girl whose brother has been kidnapped by goblins and she has to follow a path into the woods (and chop a tree down) to gain the clues needed to get him back. After that the film continues like the ultra low budget piece of quiet SF that it is. There are no action sequences or explosions here, although there is one gory bit with a chainsaw. 

Peppered throughout the 90 minute runtime are short pieces of animation to illustrate Elsa's dreams of what meeting her brother again might be like and the whole endeavour is charming enough that if you fancy a low-key tale about a possible alien invasion MEANWHILE ON EARTH does the job. Here's the trailer:

Jérémy Clapin's MEANWHILE ON EARTH is out on digital platforms from Blue Finch Releasing on Monday 25th August 2025