The DTV Digest

Episode 201: White Elephant, Last Looks, The Retreat, Stay Out - Stay Alive, A Mother’s Fury, Narco Sub, Ultrasound, Kung Fu Kerfuffle, Take Down

We're back after a short break with a haul of seven new films to cover! Mike, Rich and Steve kick off with the latest film from Jesse V. Johnson, WHITE ELEPHANT. This stars Michael Rooker as a mob enforcer whose conscience is starting to bother him and Olga Kurylenko as a cop targeted for assassination.
LAST LOOKS sees Charlie Hunham as an ex cop hired to discover who killed the wife of a larger-than-life tv actor (Mel Gibson)...
THE RETREAT follows two LGBT couples who are being hunted when they rent a remote cabin for the weekend...
STAY OUT - STAY ALIVE follows five friends who go camping and fall foul to native american curses, ghosts and their own greed when they discover an abandoned gold mine...
A MOTHER'S FURY follows one woman's attempt to get justice for her son when he is the tragic victim of a college hazing...
NARCO SUB finds  DEA agent compromised when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by a drug cartel and he is forced to help them smuggle their drugs via a stolen submarine...
ULTRASOUND...this defies description and you should just go an watch it...
Our Short Shot is KUNG FU KERFUFFLE, in which an illicit roof-top exchange goes wrong...click the link to watch the whole short.
our DTV Throwback is TAKEDOWN (aka Billionaire Ransom) which finds a bunch of spoilt rich kids sent to a remote Scottish Island to learn to take responsibility for themselves, only to be taken hostage and held for ransom.
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!
 

Episode 200 - Shark Bait, Cop Secret, Nine Bullets, Shut In, Ghosts of the Ozarks, Image of Victory, Fatal Love, Backtrack

in our 200th (!) episode Mike Rich and Steve check out six new releases....
We received the screener for SHARK BAIT the same day we were due to record the episode, but there was no way we were going to miss the opportunity to watch the latest film by director James Nunn, who has consistently delivered excellent DTV thrillers, and this feels like something of a step-change. Check out our review!
Next is COP SECRET, an Icelandic love-letter to the buddy cop genre, with all of the nods to Bay, Bruckheimer, et al that you would want.
NINE BULLETS finds Lena Heady's hard-hearted burlesque singer taking on the local mob boss in order to protect a child's life...
The genre of "person stuck in a single location" has had a lot of traction recently, probably as a consequence of COVID, but SHUT IN takes this to the Nth degree as our protagonist is locked in a pantry and must help her kids keep out of the hands of a child molester!
GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS is next - take a listen to find out what we thought!
Finally we have IMAGE OF VICTORY, a film set shortly after WW2 and is about a kibbutz under seige by the Egyptian army.
 
Our short Shot is FATAL LOVE, which sees a young man's marriage hanging by a thread when he starts getting phone calls from an old flame.
 
The DTV Throwback is BACKTRACK, starring Adrien Brody as a psychiatrist whose patients are more than they seem. Look out for The Loved Ones' Robin McLeavy in the cast!
 
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 199: Shattered, The Return, Rhino, We Are Not Safe Here, Crossbreed

In this episode Mike and Steve take a look at three new releases:
SHATTERED is the latest in the genre of "protagonist stuck inside a single location" - how does it hold up to some of the other films we've covered with the same premise?
THE RETURN  finds a young scientist revisiting his family home when his father mysteriously dies. Some of the fx are a bit ropey but is there enough here to keep you engrossed?
RHINO is a film from Ukraine, a gritty gangster movie which is well-made, but is that enough?
Our Short Shot is WE ARE NOT SAFE HERE, featuring three friends on a camping trip telling ghost stories...but are they just stories? Click the link to watch the whole short film.
Finally in our DTV Throwback is CROSSBREED, a low budget Alien style movie - but is there any entertainment value to be had out of it?
Find out the answer to all these questions by tuning in to this episode!
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Short Shots Episode 15: Interview with independent filmmaker Karlee Boon

As a change of pace - and hopefully the start of an ongoing feature for this podcast, Mike speaks with KARLEE BOON, a young filmmaker looking to direct her first short film, NIGHT SHIFT.
Please check out Karlee's Seed and Spark page where you will find details of the project and ways you can help fund it.
We would like to hear from other short film makers if they want to come and chat about their work!
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 198: Hell Hath No Fury, The Boy Behind The Door, The Highwayman, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, The Next Girl, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, Faye, Twisting Tiger, Feast

In this bumper episode Mike, Rich and Steve tackle seven new films!
We kick off with HELL HATH NO FURY, directed by the one and only Jesse V Johnson. We've been waiting with baited breath for this one, so does it live up to the hype??
Next is THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR, a film curated from the SHUDDER streaming service, and does a good job of upholding its reputation for quality horror! 
Steve Lawson is a director we have a lot of time for, and we review his latest period action/drama, THE HIGHWAYMAN...
The Australian brothers Tristan and Kiah Roach-Turner crafted a love-letter to both Mad Max and zombie movies with their first film Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead. Seven years later they have produced the next chapter in the bloody WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE.
THE NEXT GIRL is a hallucinatory trip of a film which split opinions - check out our review in the episode!
THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN is a dramatic retelling of the true-life tragedy which befell an elderly person when police are dispatched to provide medical assistance.
and in FAYE, actress Sarah Zanotti has to carry the whole film as she is the only one in it!
 
Our Short Shot is the excellent TWISTING TIGER, which would make an great pairing with Paper Tigers! Click the link to watch the whole 30 min film!
Finally, our DTV Throwback is FEAST - another film which wildly split opinions this week!
 
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!
 
 
 

Short Shots Episode 14: Beyond The Dark Anthology - Midnight Clear, Malacostraca, Pipe, The Wound, Peopling, The Colour of Your Lips, Maggie May

In this episode sees Mike, Rich and Steve checking out some of the shorts contained in the recent BEYOND THE DARK anthology. All of the films reviewed here are freely available either on Youtube or Vimeo - click the links for each.
We start with MIDNIGHT CLEAR, which puts new meaning into the Nuclear Family! This is followed by the grotesque/Lynchian MALACOSTRACA, in which an artist goes slightly mad when his wife gives birth...
Next is PIPE, a post-apocalyptic western starring Zoe Bell, in which a young girl discovers a body and decides to give it a proper burial.
THE WOUND is a perplexing tale about a wounded man trying to get home to his girlfriend. 
PEOPLING is just crazy and horrible - watch if you're curious.
THE COLOUR OF YOUR LIPS - a diver surfaces to find all of the Earth's oxygen has suddenly disappeared, and in the harrowing MAGGIE MAY, a young mother agrees to help out after a funeral but soon comes to regret her decision!
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!
 

Episode 197: Bluff, The Bezonians, Cad Bane, Wounded

In this episode Mike and Rich tackle two very different British Crime dramas. First up is BLUFF, in which an undercover cop tries to worm his way into the inner-city drug trade.
Next is THE BEZONIANS, about the patrons of a North London social club/gambling den who happen to get on the wrong side of Vinnie Jones....'s mistress. This is directed by Savvas D. Michael, whose previous films we covered back on episode 151!
Out Short Shor is the Star Wars fan film, CAD BANE, and the film-makers have done an excellent job handling this character. Click the link to watch the whole 18min film!
Finally, our DTV Throwback is WOUNDED - Madchen Amick and Adrian Pasdar star in this cat-and-mouse thriller which is definitely worth checking out. You can find it free on the Roku channel, or else available to rent online.
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!
 

Episode 196: Held, Gates of Darkness, Shadows, Scream Legacy, This Game’s Called Murder, Lucid, Wolves

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve tackle four new features and a fan film...
We start off with HELD, a film which fits into a particular niche of thrillers, where the protagonists are stuck within a single location.
Next is GATES OF DARKNESS, a film which definitely split opinions between us! A wayward teen is suspected to be possessed in this messy but interesting movie!
We've covered many fan films before but this is the first time we've reviewed one which looks to be part of the Scream canon. SCREAM LEGACY finds the daughter of Sidney Prescott returning to Woodsboro with the expected Ghostface shenanigans. if you are a fan of the franchise we think you should definitely check this out - clicking the link will take you to the whole 65min film!
In SHADOWS, two young sisters and their overbearing mother try to survive a post-apocalyptic land and avoid the Shadow creatures which live in the daylight...
Our final feature review is THIS GAME'S CALLED MURDER, and its a film which has made me realise there is a particular type of film which i react rather strongly to. 
Our Short Shot is an excellent horror film called LUCID - click the link to check out the film-maker's website which includes access to the film.
Finally we check out Jason Momoa and Lucas Till in WOLVES, a teen werewolf movie - again, this split opinions!
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!
 

Episode 195: Father of Flies, You Are Not My Mother, Trollied, The Contractor

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve take a look at two new releases, starting with FATHER OF FLIES. This finds a young boy trying to navigate the new family dynamic now that his step-mother has moved into his home, while trying to make sense of the supernatural goings-on which started shortly after she arrived!
Our second review is YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER. Set on a council estate in Northern Ireland, a young girl tries to understand the wild shifts in mood that her mother is suffering from.
Our Short Shot is TROLLIED,  very entertaining short featuring one of our favourite tropes, the "inanimate object made evil". Click the link to watch the whole 4 min short.
Finally, our DTV Throwback finds Wesley Snipes as THE CONTRACTOR, an ex-CIA agent sent to London to complete an unfinished mission. 
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!
 

Episode 194: The Last Rite, Anonymous Animals, ATOM, Above the Law

This week Mike, Rich and Steve look at two new releases. The first is THE LAST RITE, a possession/exorcism film which marks the feature debut of its director, Leroy Kincaide. 
Next up is ANONYMOUS ANIMALS - and although we've linked the film's trailer, we urge you to go into this one blind. It is a film which is sure to divide people's opinions!
Our Short Shot is ATOM - in which an android lives in solitude aboard a terraforming spaceship. Click the link to watch the whole 10 minute film.
Finally, our DTV Throwback is ABOVE THE LAW - no, not the Seagal one. This is a Belgian production and finds a crew of bank robbers framed for a political assassination. This is available on IMDB TV, via Amazon.
Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 
Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!