ACCHOOOOO!

Dear Readers, please be sure to wear the safety face mask provided whilst reading this week’s newsletter. I have the lurgies. I am writing to you this week from the comfort of what appears to be in excess of a million blankets, several water bottles, a box of Lemsip and a mound of tissues that puts Everest to shame. So, I apologise in advance if you find any globs or blobs of snot sliding down the newsletter this week. So, before I sneeze so hard my brain comes busting out and crashing into the screen at 100mph, here’s this week’s cram-packed newsletter! If you’re feeling under the weather this week, this is just what the doc ordered to cheer you up with some cult goodness. Enjoy!

THE BEST THINGS OUT NOW!

Out this week is a hillarious stand-up comedy DVD from the director of such cult comedies as Clerks, Zack And Miri Make A Porno and Red State. Yes, it’s the one, the only, Kevin Smith in his latest DVD Too Fat For 40. Thanks to Mediumrare Entertainment, Too Fat For 40 was released this week as a two-disc edition featuring the full, uncut and unexpurgated three-and-a-half-hour version of Smith’s performance and including a Bonus DVD loaded with extra features including additional encore Q&A footage and a look behind the scenes. Here, Smith discusses very personal and very funny aspects of his private and public life including sex, the problems of being overweight, working with his hero, the late George Carlin, getting stoned with Seth Rogen, Bruce Willis and ‘Chuffa’ and plenty more! With a side-splitting show and tonnes of great extras this is a must-have for all those looking for a little comedy during this cold and gloomy nights. If you haven’t already, you can order this DVD from Amazon. If you fancy watching some sneak peaks of this release before purchasing, take a look at the clips at the Cult Labs blog including a certain Toxic Avenger based question.

COMING SOON!

There’s plenty of great cult films coming out in the very near future. So, ladies and gentlemen, here’s a rundown of some of the best stuff out soon…

• Red Scorpion (Arrow Video, Blu-Ray) – Like action? You’ll love this! Dolph Lundgren is at his best with this 1988 balls-to-the-wall action extravaganza! Staring such great talent as M. Emmet Walsh (from Blade Runner), Al White (Airplane), T. P. McKenna (Straw Dogs) and of course everyone’s favourite Swedish bad boy, Lundgren (perhaps best known for Rocky IV, Masters Of The Universe and The Expendables and directed by cult favourite Joseph Zito (Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter, Invasion USA). So, if you’re after a crazy night of explosions then look no futher than this great blu-ray! For more details on the release head to the Specs Thread. You’ll also find a whole array of great threads in the film’s mini-forum, including a poll to vote for your favourite Joseph Zito film! Red Scorpion is out on the 6th of Feb and can be pre-ordered from here.

• Four Flies On Grey Velvet (Shameless Screen Entertainment, DVD and Blu-Ray) – Dario Argento. What a guy! Along with Bava, Argento helped to create and shape one of the most interesting and adored genres of cult cinema; the giallo. But one of his mammoth masterpieces has not been treated kindly by Father Time. Thought to have been lost for over 20 years, Four Flies On Grey Velvet is amongst Argento’s best work and is easily one of the better piece of gialli cinema. The forum has been going crazy with chit-chat this week on the Four Flies Official forum from a review thread, a thread full of GIFs to post on your own tumblrs, sites, forums, etc, the Shameless trailer, the Specs thread, a thread celebrating the release’s incredible audio (the likes of which you have NEVER heard before) and Reaper’s very interesting Favourite Argento composer thread. Plenty of stuff to get stuck into! But by all means, create your own threads too! Shameless’ Four Flies On Grey Velvet is out on the 30th of Jan on both DVD and Blu-Ray (for the first time ever!)

• Obsession (Arrowdrome, DVD) – The 30th Jan sees the first Arrowdrome Mystery title released! Horray! Brain De Palma’s Obsession is a brilliant little thriller staring Cliff Robertson and John Lithgow that will keep you on the edge of your seats and rewards you with one hell of a twist! Obsession is out soon and can be pre-ordered here – don’t forget to have a sneak peak at the reverse artwork panel over on the releases’ mini-forum too.

• The Funhouse (Arrowdrome, DVD) – What a film this one is! Tobe Hooper is perhaps best known for his shocking Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Funhouse however, keeps the sheer terror and horror of TCM but the finished film is a lot more fun. If you’re after a terrific slasher film, steeped in psychotic carnie freaks, then this is the perfect film! Arrowdrome’s Funhouse is also out on the 30th and can be pre-ordered here.

• Holy Flying Circus (FreeMantle Enterprises, DVD) A fan of Monty Python? Get this! That is all. You may have been lucky enough to catch this on the BBC, if so then you’ll know just have awesome this is. If however you missed it, trust me, I haven’t laughed this hard at a comedy in a very long time. If you’re a Python fan, this is absolutly a must-have. Check out the hillarious clips here for a sneak preview. Holy Flying Circus is out on the 6th of Feb and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

• Rolling Thunder (Studio Canal, Blu-Ray Double Play) – The 30th of Jan also sees the release of Rolling Thunder; A revered revenge classic co-written by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) and acknowledged by Quentin Tarantino as one of his favourite movies when he named his video company after the 70s revenge classic – “Most movies let you down, but this is ass-kicking nirvana!” With such an incredible release, it’s only natural for the forum to be a-blaze with comments and conversation! Head on to the forum, to check out everything you’d want to know about this release in the specs thread, to other great Vietnam Vengeance film recommendations! Sam has also put together some very interesting blogs that are well worth a read – all off which can be found on the Cult Labs Blog. Rolling Thunder is out at the end of the month and can be pre-ordered by clicking here.

• Dawn Of The Dragon Slayer (Anchor Bay, DVD & Blu-Ray) – Fire breathing monsters? C’mon! What’s more awesome than that?! Planned for release by Anchor Bay on the 13h of Feb, Dawn Of The Dragon Slayer tells the epic tale of Will, hell bent on seeking revenge on the fire-breathing beast from Hell that killed his father. The action and suspense comes thick and fast in this incredible film and comes highly recommended for all fans of films such Peter Jackson’s outstanding The Lord Of The Rings. If you think you can handle the awesomeness that is Dawn Of The Dragon Slayer (you know a film is good when it has a title like that!) then have a look at the films trailer and visit Anchor Bay’s official Facebook page for plenty of updates and all the information you could possibly want. The beast is coming your way on the 13th to wreck havoc so make sure you’re prepared for the battle of your life by holding your sword tight and pre-ordering the film either on DVD or Blu-Ray.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE

This week on the Official UK Twilight Zone forum there has been plenty of talk. This week’s Topic Of The Week is all about the most unusual and un-Twilight-Zone-y Twilight Zone episode of them all. I voted for Season 5′s An Occurance At Owl Creek Bridge, but what about you? What episode do you think is the least like all the others and why? Let us know over on this week’s featured Topic. Don’t be shy!

A whole host of clips were also posted this week, taken from the fifth Twilight Zone DVD/Blu-Ray boxset. Head on over to the thread to cheack them out – they’re all brilliant!

Perhaps most exciting of all this week is the start of the Twilight Zone Vol. 5 competition! We’ve got three of these bad boys (DVD or Blu-Ray) to give away to you lovely people…for absolutly nothing! There’s only one catch however; you need to enter! As they say, you’ve gotta be in it to win it.So head on to the Super Comp for your chance to win this very special prize. This set contains such classic episodes as Living Doll, Nightmare At 20,000 Feet, The Masks, You Drive…the list just keeps going. So, whatever you do, don’t miss out!

Or, alternatively, you could always pre-order Vol. 5 from Amazon rather than winning it. It’s up to you!

PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H

This week in the Official Prisoner: Cell Block H forum, member Libby and the calacines has set up a great little thread and needs your help! To quote from the thread; “me and the crew at maplejack records might be working on a PCBH album for the cast in the near future.i will be writing and performing all the songs and i was wondering if anyone would like to give us suggestions on which characters from the series you would like sung about?” So thats where you come in – head over to this thread and send in your character suggestions for songs you’d like  to have a song written about!

This week also saw the announcement of some news regarding the 11th Volume of Prisoner: Cell Block H. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond their control, this box set has been delayed until the 20th of Feb, rather than the previous date of the 6th. Which means although you’ll have to wait a little longer to get your hands on this great release, you’ll also have the perfect excuse to watch Prisoner non-stop as there’s less time between the Vol. 11 release and Vol. 12 (still scheduled for the 5th of March). But, as they say, good things come to those that wait…and things don’t get quite as good for a Prisoner fan as this set! With such unbelievably tense and dramatic episodes and scenes as the burning down of Wentworth! Vol. 11 can be pre-ordered from Amazon here.

THE BEST OF THE GRINDHOUSE PROJECT

Take it away Biozombie with the best cult cinema events around the UK…

It is becoming harder and harder to choose my three picks for this section each week. There are just so many fantastic films
to choose from. If you want to see the rest of the choices it’s  easy, simply go to the Upcoming UK Cult Screenings section.

Below are my picks for the best of The GHP this week:

• 27th January 2012 WITCHFINDER GENERAL & THE WICKER MAN Genesis Cinema -Manchester details

• 31st January 2012 THE THING Filmhouse Cinema – Edinburgh details

• 2nd February 2012 ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS & THE BEYOND KRAAK Gallery – Manchester details

Remember, if you haven’t seen it on the big screen, it’s almost like you haven’t seen it at all.

Follow The Grindhouse Project on Twitter at @The_GHP

Sounds like some brilliant stuff happening up in Manchester!

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

This week in my Comp Corner, we’re giving away two brilliant prizes! First up, in the Weekly Competition, you could get your hands on Shameless’ DVD or Blu-Ray (or Yellow-Ray?!) of Four Flies On Grey Velvet! This truly incredible prize could be yours just by figuring out four spot-the-differences. It’s that straight forward! Put your cult film knowledge to the test before the end of this comp (the 29th) and Four Flies On Grey Velvet could be yours…all yours!

This week also saw the start of a Super Comp in which three lucky winners will get their hands on the complete 5th series of the phenomenal Science Fiction cult TV show, The Twilight Zone. It’s dead easy to win, so what are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate to head on over to this competition for the low down on how to win this incredible prize. Don’t miss out!

Well, that’s it for this week but remember 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