The DTV Digest

Episode 171 - The East, The Inheritance, Dementer, The Last Exorcist, Deadlock, Open Graves

In this episode Mike, Will, Rich and Steve take a look at an eclectic bunch of films...
Starting with THE EAST, a Netherlands film set in Indonesia just after WW2. Next up is THE INHERITANCE, a US film set in The Ukraine and bears certain similarities to Agony, starring Asia Argento which we covered Episode 159!
Will and Mike then take a look at DEMENTER, a film I really wanted to see as it was by the director of Jugface (which we covered in Episode 105!
Then Mike and Steve check out THE LAST EXORCIST and we have some....choice things to say about this one!
 
Our Short Shot this week is DEADLOCK, which takes the concept of Ghostbusters, ditches the humour and adds a more real-world take.
Finally, our DTV Throwback is OPEN GRAVES, a 2009 horror which was a US/Spain co-production and features Eliza Dushku!
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 8 - Fighting Spirit Film Festival Round-up

In this slightly belated episode, Mike and Rich give their thoughts on this year's Short Film Competition which is an integral part of the Fighting Spirit Film Festival, held this year in Stratford in September.
We also single out the following films as they are readily available for you to watch, and we recommend you do!
DEADLY SHAPES OF SHAOLIN A tribute to the Kung Fu classics of old, dedicated to the onscreen heroes of Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest, and many others...
JIU JITSU SAVED MY LIFE TWICE Born in the favelas of Brazil, we follow the unbelievable life story of Neto Nunes - the journey of London's strongest Jiu Jitsu fighter and family man.
QUARANTINE WITH LOVE Joseph filled his fridge with his favorite candy to face quarantine, while Dagmar forgot to buy her own and is taking his chocolates one by one...A homage to Jackie Chan and the silent greats will take place when these two lovers face each other.
WELCOME TO THE STING A fresh faced fighter takes his first step into the deadly world of crime syndicates, endeavoring with an undercover detective to bring it all down, but he has to survive his audition first. 
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 170: Hall, Sacrilege, The Manor, Interview with David Creed

With Rich and Steve taking a week off, it's down to Mike and Will to tackle this week's slate of horror films. 
We kick off with HALL, a new  Canadian horror which is set primarily in the a corridor of an upmarket hotel. We follow this with SACRILEGE, a British folk horror film in which four female friends unwittingly become sacrifices to a pagan goddess!
Our Short Shot is THE MANOR, directed by Blake Ridder and features four film-makers scouting out a new location for their horror film. Click the link to see the whole 14min short!
Instead of a DTV Throwback this week we have an interview with the director of Sacrilege, David Creed!
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 169 - FSFF Special: The Paper Tigers, Notorious Nick, Yakuza Princess, Fight to Win, Shootfighter, Interview with FSFF Programmer Will Blaik

This episode is being released in the leadup to this year's Fighting Spirit Film Festival (FSFF), being held on the 11th and 12th of September at the Stratford Picture House. As a tribute to the festival, which is now in its sixth year, this episode is all about Martial Arts, starting with THE PAPER TIGERS which is getting its UK premier at the festival.
Then we have NOTORIOUS NICK, based on the life of Nick Newall, who fought his way to a MMA Championship despite being born with just one arm!
After this its off to São Paulo in Brazil, which apparently has the largest number of  Japanese residents outside of Japan itself. This is where the dark, brooding action thriller YAKUZA PRINCESS is set!
Coincidentally, our Short Shot is also set in São Paulo - FIGHT TO WIN finds a young man's antibodies try to defend him against the Coronavirus! Click the link to watch the whole 5min short.
For the DTV Throwback we have a classic - SHOOTFIGHTER stars Bolo Yeung, as well as Cobra Kai alumni Martin Kove and William Zabka! This is available on Amazon Prime so if you are a subscriber, check it out!
Finally we finish the episode with a very interesting chat with Will Blaik, one of the programmers for this year's Fighting Spirit Film Festival!
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 168: The Last Job, Wired Shut, Override, Mute, Thick As Thieves

This week Mike and Rich shoulder on without their colleague Steve (who will be back for the next recording!)...
First up is THE LAST JOB, a crime thriller starring Richard Dreyfus as a retired gangster and Mira Sorvino as his police detective daughter. Take a listen to find out whether we were onboard or not.
Then there is WIRED SHUT, in which a reclusive novelist recovering from reconstructive surgery is visited by his estranged and bitter daughter just in time for both of them to be terrorised by an uninvited guest.
OVERRIDE sees Luke Goss living an idyllic life with his a beautiful android partner....or is he?....or is she?? 
Our Short Shot is MUTE - we didn't quite see eye-to-eye on this one...see if you agree with either Rich or me by clicking the link to watch the whole film!
Finally our DTV Throwback is THICK AS THIEVES - not the one starring Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, this stars Alec Baldwin as a professional thief who ends up in a battle of wills with local gangster Michael Jai White! This is available on Amazon Prime (and unlike the trailer is in widescreen) so go check it out!
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 167 - Jason Rising, Bloodthirsty, A New World Order, A Feral World, Battlefield 2025, Deed of Death, Black Market Brawl, Cold Moon

In another stuffed-to-the-gills episode Mike, Rich and Steve tackle a whole bunch of horror, sci-fi and martial arts madness!
We kick off with a new Friday 13th fan film, JASON RISING - not the first nor the last Friday 13th fan film we're covering this year! This is almost an hour long and fits neatly into the series' timeline. Click the link to watch the whole film!
2021 seems to be the Year of the Werewolf, as our next film BLOODTHIRSTY is the fourth lycanthopic tale to come out this year!
Next we have three sci-fi movies: A NEW WORLD ORDER sees a young couple trying to evade the robotic overlords who have taken over. This leans very heavily into the concepts in A Quiet Place. Next is A FERAL WORLD which plays like a post-apocalyptic version of Oliver Twist! Then we have BATTLEFIELD 2025 in which a group of strangers' lives intercross on the eve of an alien invasion.
Our final new feature is DEED OF DEATH, a Malaysian film which I incorrectly identify as Indonesian in the episode! This film wins the award for most hated character on the planet!
Our Short Shot is BLACK MARKET BRAWL. If you enjoyed the short Bad Hit, we think you will like this too. Click the link to see the whole 10 minute short!
Our DTV Throwback is COLD MOON, starring Josh Stuart and cameoing Christopher  Lloyd. It has a bit of a rocky start but is definitely worth sticking with as it gets all kinds of crazy!
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 166: Midnight in The Switchgrass, The God Committee, Union Bound, A Deadly Legend, Cyberpunk 2077: Phoenix Programme, The Maddening

This week Mike, Rich and Steve are joined by the awesome TIMON SINGH, creator of The Bristol Bad Film Club, author of BORN TO BE BAD volume 1 and Volume 2 and, it would seem, professional game show contestant!
We start the episode chatting to Timon about his books before getting him to assist us with reviewing this weeks films.
We start off with MIDNIGHT IN THE SWITCHGRASS, yet another film to contain a dash of Bruce Willis, but actually starring Megan Fox, Emile Hirsch and Lukas Haas.
Next up is THE GOD COMMITTEE. This is a medical drama starring Kelsey Grammer and is a film that we were not looking forward to sitting through...did it win us over?
UNION BOUND is the latest "true story" from the American Civil War to reach the UK. Only myself and Rich managed to sit through this one....
A DEADLY LEGEND is an American Folk Horror movie regarding the uncovering of a stone circle...or is it? 
Our Short Shot this week is a fan film based on the a video game: CYBERPUNK 2077 - PHOENIX PROGRAMME has a lot going for it but with a 40 min running time have they over-egged the pudding? Click the link to watch the whole 40 min film!
Having put Timon through his paces with the films so far, we really test his mettle with THE MADDENING in our DTV Throwback. Starring Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson and Mia Sara, this is a crazy psycho horror which has just popped up on Prime...
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 165: Werewolves Within, Mass Hysteria, Rot, D-Railed, Daddy's Wallet,Demonic

Note: This episode was recorded back-to-back with Ep 164, when I was in week 3 of recovery from COVID, so you may hear a bit of coughing in the background and my voice go "funny" in a couple of places!
 
In this horror heavy episode Mike, Rich and Steve tackle four new releases, starting with the excellent WEREWOLVES WITHIN. I mention in our review that I'm keen to see what director Josh Rubin does next, forgetting that his previous film Scare Me is currently available on Shudder!
Next up is MASS HYSTERIA, set in Salem during Halloween, about a young actress playing a witch and being accused of witchcraft herself! I was lucky enough to interview the cast and crew of the film last year - you can check that out HERE.
Next we have ROT. Interestingly Rich was so put off by the name and cover art for this film that he decided not to watch it. However Steve and I were rather surprised by what this film actually contained!
Finally there is D-RAILED, in which a bunch of passengers are threatened with:
a. Violent train robbers
b. Drowning in a lagoon when their train carriage derails,
c. Being eaten my monsters, or
d. All of the above.
 
As a palette cleanser from the horror, our Short Shot this week is DADDY's WALLET. This is directed by Matthew Kyle Levine, whose film Miss Freelance we covered on the Short Shots Episode 4.
Getting back to the horror theme, our DTV Throwback is DEMONIC, in which Frank Grillo and Maria Bello team up to solve a multiple murder scene with supernatural overtones. This film is currently available on Amazon Prime.
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!

Episode164 - Rogue Hostage, Out of Death, Project Ithaca, Plurality, Settlers, Out of Mecca, Legendary

So we've had to take a break due to COVID but are now back and ready to rock!
In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve check out five new releases, starting with ROGUE HOSTAGE starring Tyrese Gibson and John Malkovich in the latest iteration of the "Die Hard.....in a..." genre.
Speaking of Die Hard, our next film OUT OF DEATH co-stars John McClane himself, Bruce Willis alongside Jaime King - who unwittingly witnesses a cop shooting someone in the back.
In PROJECT ITHACA, a group of people are having their minds and memories messed with by aliens on board their spaceship!
Taiwanese film PLURALITY sees police using a futuristic mind transfer device to get to the bottom of a kidnapping...
SETTLERS sees Sofie Boutella try to protect her daughter in the barren wastes of Mars...
Our Short Shot is OUT OF MECCA - which contains some of the best examples of POV gun battles outside of Call of Duty.
And finally in our DTV Throwback we have LEGENDARY, in which Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren clash while trying to capture a mythical beast!
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 163: The Birthday Cake, Black Medicine, Alone, Blood Brothers, Trigger Point, The Mandalorian 16.5, Shade

This week we welcome back Sean Malloy from I MUST BREAK THIS PODCAST, who joins us to talk about our DTV Throwback.
But before that Mike, Rich and Steve take a look at four new releases. First up is THE BIRTHDAY CAKE , a mobster tail in which a young up-and-comer must bring a cake to his gangster uncle's birthday party. The cast is very notable here, especially Val Kilmer post throat operation!
BLACK MEDICINE really piqued our interest, a thriller set in Northern Ireland which manages to skip any mention of terrorism. In its stead there is a vulnerable yet resourceful young woman faced with the worst dilemma imaginable! 
Next up is ALONE, in which a young woman is stalked by a guy who could either be a well-meaning klutz or a serial killer...we recommend you don't actually watch the trailer and just dive straight in to this one!
BLOOD BROTHERS is a very dry, emotionally stifled costume drama which surprisingly divided the panel quite widely! 
Last but by no means least, we have TRIGGER POINT, starring Barry Pepper as the kind of character who could easily carry a series of novels, Jack Reacher style! 
Our Short Shot is a fan film which follows on from the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN: CHAPTER 16.5: THE HUNTING, a 15 minute film boasting some excellent production values - click the link to watch the whole film!
As mentioned above, Sean Malloy joins us to discuss our DTV Throwback: SHADE. Check out the cast in this and wonder how you'd never heard of it before!
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!