Orchestrator Of Storms: The Fantastique World Of Jean Rollin [2022]

Arrow Films have commissioned a new Jean Rollin documentary entitled Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin. For anyone familiar with Jean Rollin’s somewhat obscure horror film output, this is big news as his work has largely been ignored during his lifetime and in his native France. But fortunately for horror fans, Arrow TV are also celebrating his work with two retrospective collections - Jean Rollin: The Fantastique Collection Part I and Part II - which include many of his hard to find classics available to stream online.

Jean Rollin was a unique horror film maker whose work is often described as exploitative horror, but I would disagree and argue that his films are poetic, erotic and dreamlike when compared with someone like Jess Franco. Rollin’s films The Iron Rose, Fascination and Requiem For A Vampire fearlessly blended memorable imagery with melancholy, horror, sex and madness to address the human condition, while also having a hell of a lot of fun along the way. You can’t help but be drawn to his seductive, alluring and often beautifully doomed vampires and morbid characters until it’s too late to escape, and you ultimately pine to join them. Unlike most horror films, they are the protagonists of their own stories, and not the villains.

The new documentary, Orchestrator Of Storms, promises to feature interviews with relatives and regular collaborators Brigitte Lahaie, Madeleine Ledespencer, Francoise Pascal, Jeremy Richey, and David Hinds about the behind the scenes making of this true auteur’s unique films and world view.

Here is the press release from Arrow Films:

“Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin tells the story of one of Eurocult cinema's most singular voices. Deeply misunderstood and widely misrepresented, during his decades-long career as a film director (1958-2009), Rollin's work received absolutely no recognition in his native country of France, and was completely unknown anywhere else. In the nineties, because of home video, Rollin attained a marginal cult status in niche English speaking genre circles. Otherwise he has remained completely obscure.

Rollin was raised within the bosom of some of France's most influential and intellectual elites, thanks to his mother Denise's friendship with figures such as Maurice Blanchot, George Bataille, Jean Cocteau, as well as Jacques and Pierre Prévert.Similarly his father was a director in avant garde theatre, exposing Jean to some of France's most interesting aspects of culture. It is perhaps not surprising that when it came to making his films, Jean Rollin's were unlike anything else on the scene. Once you dig into the director's life and passions, what emerges is a strong connection to the French surrealists, to symbolist art, to the poetry of TristanCorbière, to the French anarchist scene in the sixties, and counterculture. Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin sets out to tell this story in an attempt to elevate the director's work by exploring it in depth alongside these major influences, as well as other key themes such as the tradition of the French Fantastique. The film also looks at his frustrations, the way in which he had to constantly grapple and scramble for funding as one of the only filmmakers predominantly working within the horror genre through the sixties and seventies. Most importantly, it examines his singular vision, one that ran completely counter to other western traditions in genre film.

The project began life on more modest terms, but after working very closely with Jean's family, including his surviving son Serge, and close family friend Véronique D-Travers, it became apparent there was a far deeper and richer story to tell. A story of struggle that led to the filmmaker falling into poverty and ill health in his later years, one in which he was never understood or given the credit he was due during his own lifetime, where he was forced to constantly battle to make the films he wanted to make. Filmmakers Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger hope to change that in presenting Jean's story as never seen before, with the help of some of his key collaborators, close friends, and experts in both film and cultural history, as well as those responsible for ensuring his work never completely fell out of sight.”

Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin is coming to Arrow Films and Arrow TV soon.

https://www.arrow-player.com/

https://www.arrowfilms.com/

Watch the trailer below :

It’s a short teaser trailer so remind yourself of the director’s unique vision with a montage of his classic film, Fascination :

Dario Argento Returns To Giallo With 'Dark Glasses' [2022]

Legendary Italian horror film director Dario Argento returns to the giallo genre with his latest film, ‘Dark Glasses.’

Despite Argento’s career flatlining in his later years with ‘Giallo’ and ‘Dracula 3D’ resembling all the passion and production values of 1990’s made-for-TV movie, I’m seriously excited that ‘Dark Glasses’ may at least show some return to form. His framing of imagery and murder set pieces are unrivalled, even today, so there’s always the possibility of a late spark of genuine creativity from Argento as he returns to return to the giallo genre that made his name.

Ilenia Pastorelli and Asia Argento star in his latest and possibly last feature film. The film’s protagonist is Diana, a luxury escort, who loses her sight in a car crash while escaping the ‘Cello’ serial killer in Rome. Blind and scared, Diana must learn to start a new life and escape the killer’s clutches with the help of her suport worker, Rita. But the killing spree has only just begun.

Watch the Dark Glasses Italian trailer below:

David Cronenberg's Crimes Of The Future [2022]

David Cronenberg returns with his first new feature film in eight years, Crimes Of The Future [2022].

According to the synopsis, Crimes Of The Future, takes place in the near future as humankind attempts to biologically adapt and evolve to keep pace with technology. The title alludes to Cronenberg’s early 1970 experimental short film of the same name, which may have been an influence, and sees the director coming full circle not with a remake, but a possible return to his roots.

In recent years, David Cronenberg has taken a backseat to directorial duties and watched his son, Brandon Cronenberg, flourish with his own excellent productions, Antiviral [2012] and Possessor [2020]. Now fans of the auteur will be excited to learn he has returned to the directors chair with classic Cronenberg sci fi horror preoccupations. Fears of technology’s effect on the human body and psyche are explored throughout most of his early work, including Videodrome [1983], The Fly [1986], and Existenz [1996]. These themes look set to continue in his latest work.

Crimes Of The Future reunites Cronenberg with his long time collaborator, actor Viggo Mortensen, and also includes Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart.

Watch the teaser trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVX7df79BNo

Men Trailer [2022]

Writer and Director Alex Garland returns with a new psychological horror film, simply called Men. Details are scarce, but the premise concerns one woman’s struggle with grief as she comes to terms with the death of her ex-husband in the English countryside.

Im a big fan of Garland’s sci fi work, including Ex Machina (2015), Annihilation (2018) and the gloriously underated DEVS TV series [2020], which was itself a study in determinism. All of Garland’s work is psychological, philosophical, or both at the same time. Well, apart from his screenplay and rumoured directorial role in (Judge) Dredd [2012]. So its an interesting and unexpected surprise that he’s chosen to return from Hollywood with a low key, slow burning British horror film, starring Rory Kinnear - with an eerie visual twist reminiscent of Chris Cunningham’s Aphex Twin treatment.

Men is released in cinemas on May 20th, 2022.

Watch the Men cinematic trailer below :

And if you haven’t seen it already, watch the excellent DEVS. Trailer below:

Folk Horror - Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched Documentary [2022]

What Is Folk Horror?

Folk Horror is a term often used to describe rural horror in isolated places, from pagan cults to folklore to collective mania, often forged in our ancestors’ past.

In recent years this genre has gained traction in literary fiction with anthologies such as The Fiend In The Furrows, Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney, The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers, and not forgetting Shirley Jackson’s classic short story The Lottery. But perhaps its greatest influence has been in British film and TV, famously with The Wicker Man [1973], Penda’s Fen [1974], and my personal favourite, the BBC’s Robin Redbreast [1970]. Recently there has been an explosion in filmmakers discovering and revising Folk Horror for modern audiences with the excellent A Field In England [2013], Midsommar [2019], and In The Earth [2021].

To most it is a pecularly British genre built on myth and magic in the darkest regions of the human mind. But Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a new documentary which challenges this notion and maintains it is not a uniquely UK phenomenon, but is in fact a global genre, albeit one that has often been culturally overlooked.

The Unholy Trinity Of Folk Horror

Beginning with the unholy cinematic trinity of The Wicker Man, Blood On Satan's Claw and Witchfinder General - originally conceived by Mark Gatiss - Woodlands Dark Days Betwitched explores cultural mythology by studying over 200 film gems from all over the world. It investigates how Folk Horror has dripped blood from the earth to the silver screen as we attempt to come to terms with our own past beliefs in a bid to try and understand our world.

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched

As much as an exploration as an explanation of the Folk Horror phenomenon, this excellent documentary is available to view on Shudder or on DVD with a runtime of 3 hours and a huge cast of interviewees. It comes highly recommended for horror fans wanting to expand their Folk Horror knowledge or personal film collection wishlist.

Visit the website to purchase the DVD :
https://woodlandsdarkanddaysbewitched.com

Watch the full trailer :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSYBpdDSh9A

An Introduction To Pinky Violence Courtesy Of Collider

Explore the Pinky Violence film genre with this link to a beginners introduction to the Japanese exploitation movies of the 1970s, courtesy of Collider.

For the unitiated cinephile, this largely uncelebrated film genre is a wild mix of sex and violence that inspired a generation of film makers, including Tarantino with his Kill Bill series and its unashamedly wholesale cloning of scenes from Lady Snowblood. But for my money, the Female Prisoner Scorpion series is this genre’s crowning achievement. The series features spellbinding cinematography, a fantastic soundtrack, and the world’s most deadly beautiful female protatgonist, played by actress Meiko Kaji, as she wreaks revenge on the men who have wronged her.

Read the full Pinky Violence Collider article here:

https://collider.com/pinky-violence-japanese-exploitation-movies-examples-explained/

Watch the full Female Prisoner Scorpion 701 trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q12XJj05vw

Santa Claus is coming : Watch Christmas Evil (1980)

Watch Evil Christmas [1980]

You’d better watch out ‘cause Santa Claus is coming to town and this year he’s in a bad mood. He knows where you live and he’s carrying an axe. He’s checking his list to see if you’ve been naughty or nice. In fact, he’s checking it twice…

Ive often heard a rumour about a half decent retro horror film featuring a deranged Santa Claus serial killer. Can it be true? Yes, count me in. Its a simple premise, which in the wrong director’s hands could become ridiculous, or just enjoyably ridiculous - like Christmas Evil (1980).

Also known as You Better Watch Out, Christmas Evil’s narrative follows the classic horror file trope where the central protagonist suffers a traumatic childhood event which haunts him for the rest of his life - I’m talking to you Michael Myers. Laughably, in Christmas Evil, this occurs after a small boy is traumatised when he learns that Santa isn’t real. Following a nervous breakdown as an adult, he then goes on to commit a vengeful Christmas killing spree dressed as Santa Claus. (Thanks go out to Vinegar Syndrome for the film tip and trailer). Merry Bloody Christmas…

Watch the Christmas Evil trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2zPRNgzBrM

Watch the FREE full movie on Youtube below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nARbo67el4&t=3s

Day Of The Dead TV Series 2021

"Day Of The Dead" is yet another brainless zombie TV series from the SYFY Channel which is slowly lumbering towards us in October 2021. This new 10 part series follows in the well worn footsteps of The Walking Dead, Z Nation and Black Summer, and according to the showrunners, is described as a ode to George A. Romero’s “Day of the Dead”. Yes, you read that correctly, this show is somehow linked to that classic movie, but how and why is anybody's guess.

But before you get too excited, this low budget gore fest with its hapless victims looks like it will get pretty old, pretty fast, without Romero's trade mark social commentary. Instead you might be better off rewatching The Walking Dead, or better yet, watch Kingdom.

Check out the trailer and make up your own mind, if you're curious.

Lockdown 3 Part 6 : Censor Film Trailer

Censor Trailer [2021]

Censor riffs on the 1980’s era of Video Nasties, a pre-internet time when horror films were often demonised by the British Board Of Film Censorship, the national press, and culture was vetted by moral guardians like Mary Whitehouse.

This new horror film cleverly trades on Video Nasty VHS visuals and themes as the main character, Enid, searches for her missing sister. Reality and fiction soon blur on her dark inward journey to discover the truth, with a narrative similar to Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now.

Directed by newcomer Prano Bailey-Bond, Censor is the newly celebrated darling of the Sundance Film Festival and has been tipped as this year’s best horror film. Censor is released on June 25th, 2021. You can watch the trailer below.

Read a list of the original 72 Banned Video Nasties here:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls051364249/

Lockdown 3 Part 4 : Ben Wheatley's In The Earth

Director Ben Wheatley returns to his early folk horror roots with In The Earth, a worthy low budget successor to A Field In England. Filmed in 2020 during a very real global pandemic, it stars Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, and Reece Shearsmith (Psychoville / League Of Gentlemen) in a search for a cure to a disasterous virus in a forest where madness, myth and psychedelica collide. Released 23/04/2021.

Synopsis : “As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness, the forest coming to life around them.”