“The capacity to hate is a frightening human reality. We are always ready to blame another if the circumstances can free us from our own self-guilt.”
Arriving on Blu-ray from 101 Films, Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th takes viewers behind the mask on an epic journey into the making of the landmark horror franchise – from its humble beginnings in 1980 at a New Jersey summer camp to the 2009 blockbuster “reboot.”
Shudder’s March 2022 lineup includes new Shudder original and exclusive films like Dasha Nekrasova’s The Scary of Sixty-First, and Sam Walker’s The Seed. 1st March, Shudder US puts a spotlight on the bold, visionary horror emerging from France in the twenty-first century, including essential titles from the boundary-pushing wave of films dubbed “New French Extremity”.
Shudder’s January 2022 lineup of terrifying cinema includes new Shudder original and exclusive films like Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen’s For the Sake of Vicious, Kier-La Janisse’s Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, Edoardo Vitaletti’s The Last Thing Mary Saw, and Thomas Hamilton’s Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster.
The new season of the groundbreaking Shudder Original series features ten diverse drag artists from around the world competing for a $100,000 grand prize, including the series’ first South Korean competitor, Hoso Terra Toma; a competitor from Mexico City, La Zavaleta; the first trans woman competing on a main season of the show, Bitter Betty; and an AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) drag queen, Sigourney Beaver.
At the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (otherwise known as PZYK) I was introduced to Zamrock – a musical subgenre that combined African rhythm and sound with psychedelic rock – and arguably the most successful Zambian band of the 1970s: WITCH (an acronym for “We Intend To Cause Havoc“). Under the leadership of charismatic lead vocalist Emanuel “Jagari” Chanda, WITCH dominated the PZYK stage from the moment the band re-introduced themselves during ‘Introduction’.
Discover the psychedelic sounds of rock superstars WITCH in a guided tour through their mud-hut village formation to superstardom in the politically turbulent Zambia of the 70s, and eventual re-discovery by contemporary music fans.
In 2016, Spring Break Zombie Massacre was unleashed upon audiences across the United States; the DIY brainchild of both Sam Suchmann and Mattie Zufelt. Sam and Mattie have been best friends since they were 10 years old, forging an unbreakable bond fueled by their passion for movies, so it was inevitable that they would eventually make their own. Jesse Suchmann and Robert Carnevale’s documentary, Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie, captures this inspiring story and the end result; Sam and Mattie’s punk rock spirited, horror extravaganza!
Remastered onto BD-R/DVD-R, Carnie Features have released the definitive edition of Thomas Lee Rutter’s Bella in the Wych Elm; a West Midlands phantasmagoria based on the world-famous unsolved Hagley Wood mystery. Part documentary, part experimental horror, Bella in the Wych Elm is a delight to watch and never comes across as exploitative.
A culturally significant part of the 70s and 80s was the rise of the independent VHS store. The story of the owners, clients, movie stars and producers that shaped the VHS era is captured perfectly by director and writer Mark Williams.
What happens when two best friends with Down Syndrome rally their hometown of Providence to help realize their dream of making a horror film? The documentary Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie captures this inspiring story of unfiltered optimism and barrier breaking, overflowing with gallons of fake blood and DIY spirit. Sam and Mattie pitched their idea of the ultimate cinematic experience to all who would listen: a racy teen zombie flick they proudly proclaimed would be “the greatest movie ever,” exploding with sex, gore, and more over-the-top violence than you can shake a machete at.
Unless one is of a certain age it might be difficult to relate to VIPCO’s feature-length release of the documentary VHS Forever? Psychotronic People. It harkens back to the dawn of serious movie watching, especially those of a subversive and transgressive nature. The documentary manages to capture the thrill of so many cinephiles to be able to access obscure, forbidden and strange films, but at the same time, shows the paranoia and very real legal concerns operators of video stores faced during the era.
Broke Horror Fan presents The El Duce Tapes on VHS! Officially licensed from Arrow Video, The El Duce Tapes is available Monday, 2nd November, at 12PM EST/9AM PST!
