This week is a good week. I had a great weekend away with friends and I’ve got yet another one coming up (yay for Leamington and Newcastle!). I also start teaching again this week which I’m really looking forward to but, best of all, my timetable finally allows for me to rejoin Cult Labs as a forum moderator! So, if all goes to plan, you should be seeing a lot more of me about in the afternoons and evenings! You might also notice that some of the moderators have opted to have “@Cult Labs” tagged on to their username. No need to worry, we’re still your friendly neighbourhood forum mods, we just thought it would make us look cool…
Enough self-promotion though! Time to have a look at what news is coming out of Cult Labs this week! So, let’s see, I’ve got news on Frozen, The Guillermo Del Toro Collection, Hunt to Kill and Prisoner Cell Block H. Plus all the latest of what’s going on at the forums! So let’s get stuck in!
Sarah@Cult Labs.
GUILLERMO DEL TORO BLU-RAY EXTRAVAGANZA!
On 25 October 2010, Optimum Home Entertainment have a treat for you: they’re releasing The Guillermo Del Toro Collection on Blu-ray. The triple-bill of Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth, which is packed with special features, comes in a deluxe pop-up book style box that pays tribute to the beautiful dream-like quality of Del Toro’s classic trilogy. As you can see from the trailers, Del Toro’s films would look gorgeous if presented to you on the back of a menu so you can only imagine how amazing they look on Blu-ray.
If you can’t wait until 25 October, check out this interview with the man himself, introduced by cult film favourite, Bruce Campbell. Del Toro discusses his influences and motivations for producing the extraordinarily visual and imaginitive work that he does. So why not check it out and then discuss it over on the official thread?
COMING SOON: FROZEN
I’ll be honest, Adam Green is fast becoming one of my favourite people. Not only is he responsible for the brilliant Hatchet and the forthcoming Hatchet II (which, I’ll be honest, looks even more awesome again), he’s also the writer and director of Frozen which “will do for skiing what Jaws did for swimming” (Brad Miska, Bloody Disgusting.com). The writer/director also gives a great interview, which you can see for yourselves in this blog and this blog while finding out more about the film’s terrifying concept. You can also head over to the official thread to discuss the film and interviews with your fellow Cult Labbers!
Frozen is out on DVD and Blu-ray from Momentum Pictures on 18 October 2010. If you have a LOVEFiLM account you will also be able to rent Frozen from 1 October.
PRISONER CELL BLOCK H CHAT
We all love Prisoner Cell Block H over at Cult Labs and are eagerly anticipating Volume 5‘s DVD release on 11 October from Shock Entertainment and FremantleMedia Enterprises. None more-so than Sam@Cult Labs who has written an awesome blog on what Prisoner means to him. So why not have a read and then pop over to the official Prisoner subforum and discuss your favourite memories of the soap or make a contribution to the Cell Block H drinking game? Yep, you heard me, Cell Block H drinking game. So what are you waiting for?!
STEVE AUSTIN IN HUNT TO KILL
Last week, I mentioned that Hunt to Kill starring Stone Cold Steve Austin is out on DVD and Blu-ray from Anchor Bay Films on 11 October 2010. Well, this week, I can announce that the reviews are coming in thick and fast and it’s looking good, folks! A selection from Fame Magazine, Beyond Hollywood and Bruismm.com have been highlighted in the blog, with the latter putting the focus on Austin’s co-star, Emilie Ullerup, rather than Stone Cold himself. Check out the reviews and then let us know what you think on the official thread!
THERE’S SOMETHING GOING ON AT THE LABORATORY
Wow, that’s quite a lot of news for this week! I’m just going to make myself a cuppa and then I’ll catch you up on what’s been going on over on the forums!
I think we all knew that Deep Red would fall foul of the BBFC’s rules on animal cruelty in film and, while no official decision had been made at the time of writing, a solution is already being sought to the potential cutting of the impaled lizard shot. Arrow has taken a keen interest (as ever) in what we, the fans think should happen – short of a complete overhaul of the BBFC’s legislation! Three potential solutions have been proposed and you can vote for your favourite option on this thread. Should the image be cut altogether, be digitally fogged or altered, or be replaced with a still image? Let us know what you think and you could contribute in a very real way to the release of Deep Red!
Arrow Video – Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood
As just mentioned, Cult Labs is a democracy and we can often affect change in the releases from Arrow and Shameless – remember Mousegate?! Another example of this came this week when Arrow saw a fairly lukewarm response to the artwork for panels 3 and 4 of its forthcoming Bay of Blood release. Intrigued by forum members’ suggestions of alternative artwork, Arrow decided to change the proposed images. Democracy in action, folks! You can check out the new artwork and comment on it on this thread.
Peter Neal is a long-standing member of Cult Labs who writes excellent reviews over on this thread. Indeed, with over 100 pages of reviews so far, you could peruse this thread all day! Recent reviews include I Spit on Your Grave revisited and Lisa and the Devil but it’s also well worthwhile checking out some of Peter’s older reviews too which are all fair and well-rounded. If you’re looking for a good selection of cult film reviews, look no further!
Another plug for the brilliant Prisoner Cell Block H here. Sam has posted a thread asking you to remember your favourite characters: “I could wax lyrical for hours about Lizzie Birdsworth the shrivelled up, light fingered lush with a heart of gold or Bea Smith, the tough, no nonsense top dog with a heart of gold or Doreen Anderson, the easily led, teddy bear fixated child-woman (with a heart of gold) but there’s a multitude of other greats in the series, who do you rate?” Let Sam know over at this thread!
FACEBOOK GOODNESS
With The Social Network out soon I thought now would be a good time to plug the Cult Labs social network… Or our Facebook page as it’s more commonly known! On it you can find info of Cult Labs releases as well as photos, videos and exclusive news. Just sign into Facebook, head on over to the Cult Labs page and press “Like” to make sure you get all that juicy Cult Labs goodness delivered straight to your news feed!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I don’t like it any more than you do, but it’s still better than a cut – like I’d rather take a kick in the ass than a kick in the balls. Both hurt, but one promises less pain.” Playzocker on the prospect of digital fuzziness in Deep Red. I’ll be honest, I think this is my quote of the year too!
KYLE’S COMP CORNER
Kyle’s prize for this week caused me to spit my tea all over my laptop. That’s because this week he is giving away Big Tits Zombie on DVD. If the film is half as good as its title then I’m just gutted I can’t enter the competition! To enter, just head on over to the Comp Corner… Good luck!
WELCOME NEWBIES!
This week, besides welcoming myself back, I’m also saying hello to Fulcilover, hfrostyboy, chapaqua and Upstart… Hope you all have a great time here!
AND FINALLY…
Before I go, here’s a little reminder that if you haven’t already signed up to receive this newsletter in your inbox each week, you can do so using this link. All this means is that every Thursday you get a little bit of me in your inbox. Not literally though. That’d be a bit gross.
Remember, if you have any comments, feedback or anything you’d like to see featured in the newsletter, PM me at Sarah@Cult Labs or drop me a line on the newsletter thread!
Until next week,
Sarah@Cult Labs.
