THE VERY LAST NEWSLETTER OF 2011!

Holy moly, what a year it has been! 2011 has seemingly zoomed by and the past 365 days have proven to be very eventful indeed! From the big -  with tragic world events -  to the small – with so many great DVD releases. As the year quickly comes to a close, what better time to reflect on the past twelve month’s greatest releases with a few great polls. Visit the forum and vote for your favourite Shameless, Arrow Video, Arrowdrome and new and retro releases  of 2011. But New Years is not only a time to remember the good (and the bad) of the past year, but also a time to celebrate and welcome the coming of 2012! The upcoming year is already shaping up to be one hell of a year for Cult Cinema Fans which should keep you all busy…until the end of the world.

So here’s a few of the best things to look out for at the start of 2012. There’s plenty of things to pick from!

COMING SOON!

• Frankenhooker (Arrow Video; Blu-Ray) – “In a blaze of blood, bones, and body parts, the vivacious young girl was instantly reduced to a tossed human salad… a salad that police are still trying to gather up… a salad that was once named Elizabeth.” With dialogue like that, you know you’re in for a real treat of Cult Cinema goodness. Arrow Video’s Blu-Ray release of Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker is out on the 2nd of January and comes loaded with lucious special features fit for this ludicrous film! The forum is getting more and more excited with this release, with continued chitter-chatter on several new threads on the Official Frankenhooker mini-forum, from the thread dedicated to other equally zany Frankenstein films to a poll of Henenlotter’s greatest films! You can still pre-order your copy online if you wish. Whatever you do, don’t miss this brilliant film!

• Troll Hunter (Momentum Pictures, DVD & Blu-Ray) – One of the biggest hits with audiences at this year’s Film4 Frightfest and a major critical success during its subsequent UK theatrical release in September 2011, which saw it earning Four Star reviews in Empire (“spectacular fun”), Total Film (“ a true one off… it will quite simply blow you away”) and Time Out (“shot through with an unexpected, often unsettling, humour”), the horror-comedy Troll Hunter bursts its way on to DVD and Blu-ray on 9th January 2012. In fact, a large amount of Cult Labs members have been putting this film on the list of the best films of 2011!  For more info, visit the official thread! Be sure to pre-order yours from Amazon too. And whilst you’re at it, why not have a go at the Troll Hunter Facebook Game? It’s great fun and is very very addictive! More over Angry Birds!  You can play it here. And what’s more is that you could end up winning a super awesome (yes, super awesome) Blu-Ray Home Cinema System and more each week!

• Hidden (FreeMantle Enterprises,  DVD) No, not that arty-farty pretentious nonsense film of the same name, this Hidden is the fast-paced, four-part action thriller that stars David ‘Poirot‘ Suchet and Philip Glenister who’s perhaps best known for his roles in Ashes To Ashes and Life On Mars. Hidden is out on the 16th of Jan in a very nice special edition two-discer DVD and can be pre-ordered here.

• The Bird With The Crystal Plumage and Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (Arrowdrome, DVD). The 9th of January sees not one, but two fantastic films released on the Arrowdrome label. First up we have one of the greatest gialli from one of the greatest directors; it’s the one and only The Bird With The Crystal Plumage - a true Italian classic. Also out the same day is the first in the Arrowdrome Samurai series and that kicks off with another true classic of it’s kind, Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman. Both of these Arrowdrome titles are perfect for those on a tight budget who don’t want to miss out on any of the great feautres of Arrow Video. Included in these is a reversible sleeve, exclusive books and some other neat little extras too! If these tickle your movie taste buds, then why not pre-order them before you forget (The Bird With The Crystal Plumage or/and Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman). Visit the Arrowdrome forum for more information and a chance to suggest the next addition to the Arrowdrome Samurai Collection.

• Without You (FreeMantle Enterprises, DVD) Here’s something a little different to the blood and guts of the previous titles. Directed by Tim Fywell (Waking the Dead; Mistresses), Without You is a taut, emotional and effective psychological thriller which co-stars Marc Warren (Mad Dogs; Mutual Friends; Hustle), Barnaby Kay (Wuthering Heights; Holby City), Olivia Poulet (The Thick Of It) and Pippa Haywood (Tamara Drewe; Green Wing). It’s already got quite the reputation and has been decribed as a gripping a powerful three part drama. Head here if you fancy checking this one out! Without You is out on the 16th Of January.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! There’s really not very long left until the final DVD/Blu-Ray boxset of the original Twilight Zone show is released! Out in Feb is the entire fifth season of this incedible sci-fi show and it boasts some of the best episodes and some of The Twilight Zone‘s greatest moments. Some of the brilliant episodes included here are such unforgettable classics as the much-spoofed, William-Shattner-starring Nightmare At 20,000 Feet, the evil murderous doll episode The Living Doll and the fascinating Number 12 Looks Just Like You. For those who don’t know, the previous Twilight Zone volumes won an award for having the best special features of 2011 (!) and surprise, surprise the fifth volume keeps up the goodness with a whole host of extras that any Twilight Zone fan can tuck into!

So what are you waiting for? Tuck in to the Twilight Zone – Volume 5 here and visit the Official Announcement thread for all the details!

Don’t forget there’s a whole dedicated community of this brilliant show over on Cult Labs – home of the UK Official Twilight Zone forum. So head on over there and join in the converstations – start up your own threads and comment on others!

PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H

Fear not Prisoner: Cell Block H fans, you haven’t been left out! This coming Febuary also sees the release of the next volume of this huge cult prison-based show! The 11th volume contains 32 hour-long episodes of great TV drama from episode 321 to 352! During 32 episodes of non-stop action, two women will die, one will give birth and after the arrival of Nola McKenzie (Carole Skinner), one of Wentworth’s best ever villains, someone will drown in a sink. It’s been said that this was Prisoner at it’s best! It’s a tough statement but one many could agree with! The 11th volume will be released on the 6th of Feb in an 8 disc boxset! Check out the Official Announcement for even more details.

Don’t be a fool, grab your copy now! And whilst you’re at it, you could always pre-order Volumes 12 and 13 too which are due to be released with just a month between each.

Head to the UK’s official Prisoner fan forum too for loads of great convos to really get stuck into.

WIN! WIN! WIN! BECAUSE WE’RE GENEROUS LIKE THAT!

• To wave 2011 a very found farewell, the last ever competition of the year is giving away not only the Limited Editon boxset of Battle Royale (an incredible prize in itself!) but also the winning release of the Best Shameless Release of 2011 poll and the Best Arrow Video Release of 2011 Poll as well, as voted by the forum members. The rules are straight forward – all you have to do is figure out 7 films of 2011 from the clues below, PM me your answer and you’ll be entered! Visit the Comp’s Thread for more details.

• Don’t forget to enter the Troll Hunter Facebook comp too! It’s a great addictive game and you could win some very neat prizes! See above for more info.

There are so many ways you can get involved with all the cult film fun at Cult Labs:

o Join in the debate on the forums
o Sign up to the newsletter (if you haven’t already!)
.o Read the blog.
o Join us on Facebook
.o Follow us on Twitter.
o Check us out on MySpace.

Kyle

HAVE A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR – HERE’S TO 2012!