The DTV Digest

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!

Episode 101 - APPARITION, NO PLAN NO GAIN, FIRESTORM

In this episode Mike, Rich and Will take a look at the spooky APPARITION, in which someone develops a APP (geddit?) to communicate with the dead. Our Short Shot is another film by director Godfrey Ryckewaert, NO PLAN NO GAIN - please also check out the BEHIND THE SCENES which shows how they managed the awesome stunts in that! Finally our DTV Throwback is FIRESTORM, the movie which really should have launched the action career of Howie Long. Check it out, let us know what you think!

Episode 100 - VFW, Rogue Warfare, Kenobi, D-Tox

We made it to 100 episodes! Yay Us!!
To celebrate, Mike, Rich and Will managed to get together and record not just one, but three episodes back to back which will be coming out over the next few weeks.
 
In this particular episode, we were lucky enough to coincide with the release of V.F.W., the latest film from horror auteur Joe Begos (Almost Human, Bliss). His latest film riffs off the classic Rio Bravo plot epitomised in so many of John Cartpenter's films - the Siege movie! Listen to our review and find out why you need to track down this film.
We balance that out with ROGUE WARFARE, the first part of a trilogy of films which act like a low budget Call of Duty. 
Our Short shot is likely to be a crowd please - check out our review of KENOBI but equally watch the movie!
Finally, in our DTV Throwback, we look at Sylvester Stallone in a 90's Se7en-esque thriller, DTOX.

Episode 099 - In Search of the Last Action Heroes - Mom Fight - Soldier

This episode sees Mike and Rich tackle a documentary about the action genre - IN SEARCH OF THE LAST ACTION HEROES, a very good chronicle about how it developed during the 80's and the VHS era.
 
Next up is the Short Shot, MOMFIGHT, in which two mothers fight over the last remaining action figure in the toy store.
Finally we take a look at Kurt Russell in the awesome SOLDIER, at the time the most expensive movie to wind up Direct To Video!
Tune in to hear what we think about all of this!

Episode 098 - Prey, Skywatch, D-War: Dragon Wars

This week Mike and Rich hunt down the long-awaited Netherlands creature feature, PREY (aka Prooi). Does it stand up to the anticipation built upon seeing the original trailer over a year ago? Take a listen to our review!
Our Short Shot this week is SKYWATCH, a film who's tech macguffin is so good and so prescient, I'm certain we'll be seeing a real-life counterpart in our future. This film contains a big star cameo, and its worth watching the follow-up film which shows how the director went about nabbing him.
Our DTV Throwback is D-WAR: DRAGON WARS, the Korean big budget special fx movie that co-stars Robert Forster. As tends to happen with this section, this is a film I hadn't seen (although was aware of it) - so how does it hold up? Tune in to find out!!!