The DTV Digest

Episode 147: The Banishing, The Columnist, Bloody Hell, Container, Crossworlds

In this episode Mike, RIch and Steve take a look at Christopher Smith's (Triangle) latest film, THE BANISHING - a supernatural tale set on the eve of World War 2. Christopher Smith's films are known for having a twist in their tails - is this one any different?
Next we have a look at THE COLUMNIST, a film from The Netherlands which has garnered a lot of buzz following its festival showings last year. Now we get to pass judgement!
Our final main review is BLOODY HELL, a horror comedy about the perils of travelling to....Finland? Take a listen! Also check out my interview with the film's screenwriter and editor, ROBERT BENJAMIN!
Our Short Shot is CONTAINER, an intriguing tale of time travel as a lone scientist tries to send himself back in time without affecting the rest of the world. Click the link to see the whole film!
Finally, in our DTV Throwback we take a look at CROSSWORLDS, which has a very interesting cast including  Rutger Hauer, Jack Black and Josh Charles! As is usual, you can find this on Amazon Prime.
Don't forget to check us out on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for the DTV Chart and news of other upcoming releases.
 

Episode 146: Assault on Station 33, Acere, Man of Tai Chi

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve take a look at ASSAULT ON STATION 33, starring Sean Patrick Flannery, Michael Jai White and Mark Dacascos - will the film do its cast justice? Take a listen to find out!
Our Short Shot is ACERE, starring Jean Paul Ly. Acere  apparently means "sharp" - you will see how apt the title is when you click on the link!
Finally in our DTV Throwback we revisit MAN OF TAI CHI - the directorial debut of Keanu Reeves, and starring Tiger Chen.
 
Don't forget to check our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages for news of upcoming releases and the DTV Chart!

Short Shots Ep 2 - Serpent's Nest, Tooth4Tooth, A Tale of the Laundry Game

In this episode we look at three films from Alice Maio Mackay, an up and coming film-maker from Australia, still in their teens!
First up is THE SERPENT'S NEST, in which a young person called Sophia is lured into practicing dark magic when they strike up a new friendship with local rebel Gen. This film isn't yet available to the general public but as soon as it is we'll put a link.
Then we take a walk on the wild side in TOOTH 4 TOOTH, when a drag artist discovers that protesters from the local right wing church aren't the only thing lurking in the dark outside the club he performs at. This short can be rented online and is available HERE.
Finally we take a look at A TALE OF THE LAUNDRY GAME, an adaptation of a short story by Stephen King! in this tale, two old school friends have a chance meeting which stirs old, dark memories (At the moment only the trailer is available to share).
 
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Episode 145 - Fukushima 50, The Stylist, Hellraiser: Revelations, Hellraiser:Judgement, Shadowlands, Decomissioned, Back to Even

This week Mike, Rich and Steve look at a bumper pack of films, kicking off with FUKUSHIMA 50, a dramatisation of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. (the trailer in the link is horribly dubbed into American - the actual film is presented in Japanese with English subs). Then we take a look at THE STYLIST, a very stylish horror film with an iconic protagonist. You may also be interested in checking out this interview with the director, Jill Gevargizian.
Mike and Rich then delve into not one but two Hellraiser films, which have only just now been released in the UK - HELLRAISER: REVELATIONS (2011) and HELLRAISER: JUDGEMENT(2018). These are noteable for not having Doug Bradley in the role of Pinhead - but does that necessarily make them bad films? I actually have a big bone to pick with one of them - tune in to hear us discuss!
We also take a look at SHADOWLAND, a new low budget horror film set in the wilds of Scotland, co-starring Amela Eve from The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Our Short Shot is the very well-produced DECOMMISSIONED - contrast the zero gravity fx here to what Ron Howard put his cast through in Apollo 13! Click the link to watch the whole 6min film!
Finally, out DTV Throwback is BACK TO EVEN, in which an almost unrecogniseable Lorenzo Lamas runs into problems with a violent bookie who happens to be an old highschool buddy and played by Michael Pare. I couldn't find an actual trailer online for this, just the linked opening scene.
Don't forget to check out our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages where you will find the DTV Chart and news of new DTV releases!

Episode 144 - Red Dot, Gatecrash, The Owners, Broil, What Lies Below, Archenemy, Squadron, Steal

In this bumper episode Mike, Rich and Steve cover a whole half-dozen of new releases, starting with the Swedish thriller, RED DOT (available on Netflix) in which two campers are terrorised by someone with a sniper rifle.
Then we take a look at GATECRASH, a film with few characters but loads of tension! We welcome back former Doctor Who, Silvester McCoy in THE OWNERS, in which Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams wishes she had better taste in boyfriends. BROIL gives us a vampire dynasty story much more successfully than Vampires of New Orleans did. WHAT LIES BELOW involves a teenage girl discovering her mother's new boyfriend might not be who he appears to be and ARCHENEMY touches on ideas from Will Smith's Hancock but with its own flourishes.
Out Short Shot is SQUADRON, a Star Trek fan move from the Czech Republic - make sure you switch on the Closed Captions for the subs as the ones impriinted on the film are tiny! This is set in the midst of Deep Space 9's Dominion War and is well worth a look!
Finally, in our DTV Throwback we take a look at STEAL, starring Stephen Dorff, Natasha Henstridge and Bruce Payne.
 
Don't forget to check out our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages for the DTV Chart and news of other releases.

Episode 143 - Greenland, Gundala, Abigail Haunting, The Odds, Victoria, Shadowbuilder

In this action packed episode Mike, Rich, Steve and Will take a look at the Gerard Butler disaster movie, GREENLAND (available on Prime). Then we take a look at Indonesia's GUNDALA, the start of their very own shared comic book universe. Then we examine ABIGAIL HAUNTING, which definitely surprised us! Finally, I do a solo review of THE ODDS. (beware the trailer is a bit spoilery!)
Our Short Shot is the action-packed VICTORIA - click the link to watch the whole 20min film (definitely worth doing!).
For the DTV Throwback we check out Bram Stoker's SHADOWBUILDER  (available on Amazon Prime) starring Michael Rooker as a gun-toting priest!
 
Don't forget to check out our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages for the DTV chart and news about upcoming releases.

Short Shots Ep 1 - Jumanji Level One - Pokemon: Banette's Curse, Scorekeeper, Troll Bridge

Welcome to the first episode of Short Shots, a spin-off from the main show in which we concentrate solely on short films!
In this episode, Mike and Rich take  a look at four films which are all spin-offs from well-known franchises. Some are fan films, others have a more official pedigree.
First up is  JUMANJI: LEVEL ONE tells the story of how the game came into being in the first place and ties in neatly with the original Robin Williams starring film.
Next we take a look at POKEMON: BANETTE"S CURSE, which is about as far removed from the cartoon series as you can get but still be inherently part of the Pokemon Universe!
Our next is a Star Wars fan film called BOSSK: SCOREKEEPER, which mashes up a rescue mission with another, very well-known franchise! See how long it takes you to realise what's going on!
Finally we have TROLL BRIDGE - based on the works of Terry Pratchet, this sees Cohen The Barbarian preparing to take on a troll.
 
Don't forget to check out the MAIN SHOW as well as our TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages!

Episode 142: Willy's Wonderland, Wrong Turn, Hopkins, Into The Grizzly Maze

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve take a look at WILLY'S WONDERLAND, a film which takes its concept from a cult video game and stars the always watchable Nic Cage!
We follow this with the remake/reboot/re-concept of WRONG TURN, which may be now called The Foundation as it heads in a very different direction to the established film series and gives us a very different style of antagonist. Is it any good though? Tune in to find out!
Our Short Shot is HOPKINS, a sequel of sorts to Commando Ninja (click links for both films) - although its not really necessary to know that going into it. 
Finally, in our DTV Throwback section we review INTO THE GRIZZLY MAZE, featuring a stellar cast (not least of which is the bear himself!) 
 
Don't forget to check out our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages for news of upcoming releases and the DTV Chart!

Episode 141 - Tokyo Dragon Chef, Silence and Darkness, Sator, Highway Violence, Warlock 2: Armageddon

In this episode Mike and Will take a look at three films. Kicking off with TOKYO DRAGON CHEF, which riffs very heavily on the classic Blues Brothers! Then we take a look SILENCE AND DARKNESS, in which two sisters, one blind and the other deaf, discover a dark secret. Our final film, SATOR, takes us deep into the woods to look for a primordial demon!
 
Rich then takes over the co-host role to look at our Short Shot, HIGHWAY VIOLENCE, which is really an extended music video for a track by Qixotic but is so well done and packed with great movie references. Click the link to watch the whole thing!
 
Finally Rich and I take a trip down memory lane with the DTV Throwback, which this week is WARLOCK: THE ARMAGEDDON. I'm a big fan of the original film, which starred Richard E. Grant alongside Julian Sands, but I had never seen either of the sequels. Would it stand up to expectations? As is usual with our throwbacks, this is currently available on Amazon Prime.
 
Don't forget to check out our TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages for news of upcoming releases and the DTV Chart!

Epidode 140 - Synchronic, Outside the Wire, Anti-Life, Faster, Dark Breed

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve look at a whole bunch of sci-fi movies. We kick off with SYNCHRONIC, starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan as two paramedics who come across a new drug messing people up. Anthony Mackie also stars in our second film, OUTSIDE THE WIRE, a Netflix original in which he plays a cyborg hunting terrorists in the Ukraine. Our final feature is ANTI LIFE, also known as Breach in the US. This co-stars Bruce Willis and Thomas Jane and is set on board a spaceship infected with an alien parasite.
 
Our Short Shot is FASTER - this is a follow up to the excellent The Cure, which we reviewed last year. Click the link to watch the whole thing.
 
Finally, we take a look at DARK BREED, a PM Entertainment film starring Jack Scalia as an ex Astronaut tasked with locating colleagues who have been infected/possessed by an alien parasite.
 
Don't forget to check out our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages where you will find news about new released and our weekly DTV Chart!