The DTV Digest

Episode 111 - Valhalla-The Legend of Thor, Odin's Nine, Vikingdom

This week Mike and Rich get their berserker on with three films based (loosely) on Norse mythology. We start out with recent release VALHALLA: THE LEGEND OF THOR and follow it up with our Short Shot, RISE OF THE MASK: ODIN'S NINE. Finally, our DTV Throwback is the very unique VIKINGDOM - where else are you going to see a buddy act between Craig Fairbrass with Jon Foo??
So grab your horned helmet and take a listen!
 

Episode 110 - Travolta Special! The Fanatic, Speed Kills, Gotti, Burning Rubber, An Eye for an Eye, The Forger

THE FANATIC is a film which has had a pretty hard kicking by the mainstream media, but is it really as bad as has been made out? Mike and Rich go check it out. But that's not all, as we decided to acknowledge the plethora of films that Travolta has starred in recently and see if their reputations are warranted also. We check out the biopics SPEED KILLS and GOTTI, the blue collar racing drama BURNING RUBBER (aka Trading Paint) and the film noir style AN EYE FOR AN EYE (aka The Poison Rose). And for our DTV Throwback we go to 2014 for THE FORGER.
So check out our reviews and let us know how you feel about Mr Travolta and whether you agree with us or not!
 
 

Episode 109 - Trick or Treat

A short episode - a podlet, if you will! - in which Mike and Will Bentley discuss the new British Thriller, TRICK OR TREAT, in which middle-aged Greg ends up wishing he could have had a quiet night in on his birthday!
 
Check out our rambling review!

Episode 108 - Payback - Extraction - A Sock and a Hard Place - Jungleground

In this episode, Mike Rich and Tom welcome back the iconic duo of French (Scott Adkins) and Sue (Louis Mandylor) in the sequel to The Debt Collector, PAYBACK. A small point to note - we refer to the film as "Debt Collectors", as that was the title when we recorded this episode. 
Next up is the action packed EXTRACTION, courtesy of Netflix, starring Chris Hemsworth. You may be surprised by some of the opinions given in our review!
Our Short Shot is HELD OP SOK, aka A Sock and a Hard Place, directed by Thijs Meuwese whose feature KILL MODE we reviewed in Episode 96. 
Rounding off this week in our DTV Throwback is JUNGLEGROUND, starring Roddy Piper and available on Amazon Prime. 
 

Episode 107 - The Platform, Code 8, Interface, Deadly Instincts

For this episode, Mike and Rich are joined by Tom Jolliffe and Will Bentley as they check out two recent acquisitions by Netflix, the Spanish horror/sci fi move THE PLATFORM and CODE 8, starring Robbie and Steven Amell. Code 8 is a feature length adaptation of a short which also starred Robbie Amell, which you can see HERE. Out Short Shot this week is INTERFACE, from director Ben Ramsay (Blood and Bone). Normally at this point we would link to the short itself, but as it's a pay-per-view, we've linked to the trailer and suggest you listen to what we have to say about it before renting it. 
Finally we take a look at DEADLY INSTINCTS, aka Breeders, where an alien is on the loose in tunnels beneath a Boston university (available on Amazon Prime).    
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Episode 106 - Proximity, Nightfire, Shadow Fury

This episode sees Mike and Rich tackle a new alien abduction movie, PROXIMITY, in which a NASA scientist tries to figure out why he was abducted by aliens and trying to keep one step ahead of shady Men In Black types.
Our Short Shot this week is NIGHTFIRE, which you can find on Amazon Prime, so the attached link will take you to the trailer. At 40 min, its also probably the longest short film we've covered here.
Finally, our DTV Throwback is another one of Rich's obscure discoveries, SHADOW FURY. As far as we can tell this is currently out of print in the UK so we're linking to a copy we found on YouTube instead. 
 

Episode 105 - Reborn, The Final Wish, We Summon The Darkness, MJ, Jugface

In this all-horror episode, Mike and Rich take a look at REBORN, starring Barbara Crampton and Michael Pare, THE FINAL WISH, starring Lyn Shaye and WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS starring Johnny Knoxville! With that last one I picked the most deliberately ambiguous trailer I could, and we recommend watching the film before learning too much about the plot!
Keeping with our horror theme we have MJ as our Short Shot, a psycho thriller set in London. Check it out and let us know if you agree with our review!
Finally in our DTV Throwback, I get Rich to watch one of my favourite films of recent years, JUGFACE, aka THE PIT, which you can find on Amazon Prime.

Episode 104 - Trick, The Perished, The Dark Recess, Rage

In this episode Mike, Rich and special guest Tom Jolliffe check out the latest slasher movie, TRICK, starring Omar Epps, and the Irish supernatural thriller THE PERISHED. 
As Tom is a screenwriter and film-maker in his own right, we thought it would be remiss not to take a look at one of his films in our Short Shot slot, so we cover THE DARK RECESS, which can be found on Amazon Prime.
And finally, our DTV Throwback is a film by KNB founder Robert Kurtzman, THE RAGE, which...well check out the episode to find out about that one (the film itself is also available on Amazon Prime).
Shameless plug - look out for Tom's latest effort, RETURN OF THE TOOTHFAIRY coming in June!
 

Episode 103 - Colour Out of Space, The Iron Mask, Sea Fever, Kung Fu vz Zombies, The Forbidden Kingdom

With the extra help of Tom Jolliffe, Mike and Rich manage to tackle 3 main feature reviews this week! First up is the adaptation of H.P.Lovecraft's COLOUR OUT OF SPACE, starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Richard Stanley. This film garnered a lot of praise while on the festival circuit but how do we rate it? Take a listen!
We also take a look at THE IRON MASK - how could we not? It has Arnie and Jackie all over the cover! Of course they are there for an extended cameo only, but how does the rest of the film hold up?
Then there is SEA FEVER, a down-to-earth creature feature from Ireland, which features both Dougray Scott and Connie Nielsen.
Our Short Shot this week is basically an experiment in Green Screen on a low budget - with KUNG FU vs ZOMBIES, Eric Jacobous schools us on what can be achieved for a few hundred dollars! Watch the end credits to get a brief glimpse behind the scenes.
And finally our DTV Throwback is THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (aka VIY) (available on Amazon Prime) and is actually the precursor to THE IRON MASK. I wonder how the two compare?
 

Episode 102 - The Village in the Woods, Bloodline, Greenlight, The Code, The Sweeper

In this episode, Mike and Rich review 3 main features. First up is the low budget, atmospheric THE VILLAGE IN THE WOODS, in which a pair of confidence tricksters get in over their head....next up is BLOODLINE, starring Sean William Scott as a school counselor indulging in extra-curricular activities - you can find this one on Netfilx. Then there is GREENLIGHT a dark thriller set in and around a film production.
The Short Shot this week is the WW2-set THE CODE and our DTV Throwback is THE SWEEPER, starring C. Thomas Howell and comes from the infamous PM Entertainment studio. Their films invariably went to DTV and were packed full of car chases, explosions and amazing stunt set-pieces, and The Sweeper is a great example of their work and you can find it on Amazon Prime!
Check it out!