Eighteen years after a totally unnecessary and unmemorable remake, which seemed purely a marketing decision instead of a creative one to take advantage of its 6/6/06 release date, hopes could hardly be described as high when plans for a prequel to THE OMEN were announced. With a completely underwhelming EXORCIST sequel still fresh in our memories, it is hard not to feel that this could be yet another cynical ploy by a major studio capitalising on a profitable IP. What a pleasure then to find that THE FIRST OMEN is much better than expected, showing what can be done with a vintage franchise with the right talent paying their respects while simultaneously taking risks that, for the most part, pay off in a fulfilling and sinister fashion.

Following on from last year’s 4K UHD release of Lucio Fulci’s THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, Arrow Video have turned their attention to another of Fulci’s so-called ‘Gates of Hell Trilogy’ titles with 1980s CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (which means you know what will be coming soon… hopefully).

The use of a live broadcast documenting otherworldly events and fooling the audience into thinking these events were taking place goes back to 1938 with Orson Welles radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds which with its use of actors posing as real-life journalists and witnesses to an invasion from Mars fooled many an unsuspecting listener. Then in 1992 some of us were lucky to bear witness to the live transmission on BBC1 of GHOSTWATCH. Readers of a certain age will know someone who knows someone whose mum phoned up the BBC to check up on Michael Parkinson’s supposed possession after a ghost laid havoc to a Halloween broadcast investigating a haunted house in England.

Usually when it comes to an actress whose star is in the ascendant, as is very much the case with Sydney Sweeney, the horror roles come first and then swept aside in favour of the safer choice of more mainstream fare. How refreshing to see after the box office success of her rom-com ANYONE BUT YOU that Sweeney jumps to the other end of the spectrum with IMMACULATE, a passion project of the actress after auditioning for it when she was only sixteen years old.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good time loop movie? With the likes of Groundhog Day, Edge Of Tomorrow and Happy Death Day being notable examples, the dilemma of a character trying to break free from a set of pre-ordained events over and over has also in recent years become a field of interest for a number of genre directors. At the lower end of the budget scale films such as COHERENCE, TRIANGLE and TIMECRIMES helped make the name of their respective writers and directors, maybe some more than others, but the use of a limited set of events in a limited location can often prove fertile ground for the skills for a smart storyteller.

A smart compact thriller with a memorably vicious edge, Last Straw is a calling card for debut director Alan Scott Neal. Viewers expecting another low budget siege thriller, this time taking place in a roadside diner, may find themselves surprised by the surprises contained within, leading onto a film that although it does not re-invent or galvanise its own sub-genre earns more than enough in keeping the viewer gripped with its relevant and character driven edge.

A series of shocking, grisly murders take place in a small French village amid a mountainous landscape. Simultaneously, several children have gone missing, one of them turning out to be the son of a couple who have become the latest victims to have met their end in spectacularly gruesome fashion. Turning up on the scene to investigate if the missing children could be linked to a series of abductions across the country is police captain Franck, turning up at the same time as big city detective Elisabeth who has been called into investigate the murders. Despite bristling against each other, and the resentful small town small police force, they find their investigations melding together when they discover the local legend of a monstrous figure who feeds on the souls of the dead.

The V/H/S franchise continues to transport us to random years within the video tape era, and having made a couple of stops in the ‘90s it is time for the 1980s to have a go. 1985 was right in the middle of the video tape explosion, with rental shops becoming palaces to those looking for more than just whatever the mainstream TV channels could throw at them, so this could potentially be the best V/H/S yet, right?

This science-fiction potboiler will no doubt capture the interest of the more discerning genre fan by the film’s geographical location alone. Those expecting something wholly original and with something more to chew on thematically than most recent sci-fi films and shows may find themselves a little short changed with what is on offer here.

Adrien Beau's debut feature THE VOURDALAK is a visually atmospheric, smartly adapted take on Tolstoy's vampiric novella, blending folk horror, period drama, and puppetry to deliver a fresh, eerie, and original twist on the vampire mythos despite its low budget.

For those of you who may have missed the first instalment of the Baby Assassin's franchise, you may or may not be disappointed to discover that these films do not in fact feature infants who are highly skilled in the art of death but two young women, Chisato and Mahiro, fresh out of high school who despite their highly lethal line of work are more preoccupied with elaborate desserts and holding down a series of low paying day jobs to pay the rent for the day-glo coloured apartment they are forced to share by the Assassin’s Guild.

The restful act of sleeping at night has become an often-memorable battleground against evil spirits who seem intent on destroying their victim’s body and/or soul. Whether it was the mysterious demon from PARANORMAL ACTIVITY or Freddy Krueger with his nifty line in glove wear the threat has been out there for quite some time now, waiting for its moment to strike when all we want is a good night’s kip.

Once again, the vast desert sands of Arrakis shimmers and shakes as if in preparation for the galaxy shaking events that are about to unfold courtesy of young Paul Atreides journey to messianic figurehead. Taking place immediately after the first film we follow Paul and his mother Jessica further into the desert after their alliance with the Fremen, both parties aligning to take the fight back to House Harkonnen. Meanwhile Emperor Shaddam IV and his daughter worry about their part to play in the massacre of House Atreides being uncovered while the scheming Bene Gesserit sisterhood prepare for the coming of the Kwisatz Haderach, a plot to install a galactic figurehead that has been centuries in the making.

After making a real impact with her debut feature SAINT MAUDE, Rose Glass returns with her second feature. Fans of that particular film, myself included, rewarding it my film of the year for this site back in 2020 after its Glasgow FrightFest screening, will no doubt be keen to see how Glass would follow up that nightmarish study of a woman spinning out of control with her belief in God. Glass doubles down here with this tale of two women spinning out of control this with the catalysts this time being love, body building, steroids and guns.

Sometimes it only takes a couple of minutes to realise what exactly you are in for with some low budget horror films, particularly of the found footage variety. While some writers and directors look for new ways to bend the genre and its strict format to the story there are other producers who feel they can point the camera at whatever flimsy excuse of a story they have conjured. Director Lars Janssen tries to base a 100-minute feature around a seemingly atmospheric location. Unfortunately, within the first couple of minutes the suspicion that you are witnessing the latter variety becomes all too apparent.

In this remake of the 1956 sci-fi classic, Donald Sutherland plays Matthew Bennell, a health inspector who puts his colleague Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) in touch with his psychiatrist friend Dr. Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) after her boyfriend Geoffrey (Art Hindle) starts to act distant around her. At the same time, Matthew’s friend Jack (Jeff Goldblum) and his wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) discover a body that bears a resemblance to Jack but still appears to be growing, even displaying the same nosebleed that Jack has. Something strange is in the air…

If for whatever reason this is your first-time watching Lewis Teague’s superior creature feature, you may think that whoever was in charge of the 4K remaster here has done too good a job. From the minute the world-weary Robert Forster shuffles onto screen investigating a spate of pet kidnappings, the signs of what appear to be hair plugs or a hair transplant are all too apparent no matter what size of screen you are watching on. However, the film, and Forster, tip their hand making this act of male vanity an essential part of his character. This smart handling of monster shenanigans and smart character work have ensured that ALLIGATOR has cemented its place in cult cinema and well worth revisiting in this excellently remastered package with a generous helping of revealing behind the scenes interviews and features.

After establishing his name in film with the superb features HUNGER and SHAME and then garnering awards with the sublime 12 YEARS A SLAVE, artist Steve McQueen looked briefly like he might be heading down a slightly more mainstream route with the heist thriller WIDOWS. Yet his next big project was the fascinating SMALL AXE anthology series for the BBC, a collection of no less than five films exploring the lives of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960’s to the 1980’s.

With his latest project OCCUPIED CITY, McQueen continues to be as unpredictable as he is ground breaking even if the sheer volume of the project may well mean it struggles to find anything close to a mainstream audience.

Second Sight carry on their sterling work in bringing key works of the small movement of what came to be known as “New Extremity.” This debut film from directors Maury and Bustillo has lost absolutely none of its disturbing or relentless edge in the time since its original release in 2007. The premise of a pregnant woman grieving for her husband only to come under severe threat from a mysterious woman takes absolutely no prisoners, sadistically playing on the audience's sensitivity with several cinematic sacred cows.