British horror western Blood Moon set for UK and US release

Jeremy Wooding's Blood Moon - a werewolf western shot in Kent in 2013 - premiered at last year's Frightfest. Since then it has played a bunch more festivals including Bram Stoker and Fantasporto. Now it's finally coming to DVD just over a year later, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Uncork'd Entertainment release the US disc on 1st September, rhen StudioCanal release the film in the UK on 5th October.

Wooding has previously directed episodes of some of the best shows on CBBC, including Bear Behaving Badly, Dani's House and The Legend of Dick and Dom.

The cast includes Shaun Dooley (Broadchurch, Wolfblood, Misfits), George Blagden, Anna Skellern (Siren, A Night in the Woods) and Canadian voice legend Kerry Shale.

NB. The publicity claims that this is the first western shot in the UK since Carry On Cowboy although that's not strictly true. Even if we discoumt Richard Driscoll's Eldorado, we can't ignore Edgar Wright's infamous debut A Fistful of Fingers. Not that it matters. Just being accurate is all.

Find out more at www.bloodmoonthemovie.com

New artwork and unimaginative new title for Bloodlust

Last November I reported the impending February 2015 release of Richard Johnstone's vampire feature Bloodlust, starring fan favourite Victoria Hopkins (The Devil's Music, Le Fear 2, Zombie Women of Satan). Needless to say, the release has been bumped.

The film is now pencilled in for 12th October 2015 and has undergone a name-change. It was shot as Bloodless, which was changed to Bloodlust, either of which is pretty cool. But 101 Films, for reasons best known to themselves, have decided to release the picture as... Vampires.

FFS. How is that supposed to stand out in any way among the barrage of horror DVDs that hit the streets each October?

The Zombie King finally gets a UK release date

When I reviewed The Zombie King last November I noted that there had been German, Dutch and Japanese releases but nothing yet in the UK. Well, a UK disc is now up for pre-order on Amazon.

High Fliers Films will release the picture on 26th October 2015 (ie. Halloween week - always the busiest time for horror releases). The title has been changed to King of the Dead.

I suspect this isn't the final artwork as, of the six quotes on the sleeve, two are attributed to InfernalCinema.com and three to UKHorrorScene.com!

[Update - the release has now been bumped to 7 March 2016]

'The Dead 2' on UK DVD next week

Pretty much at the top of my must-see list is The Dead 2: India, the Ford Brothers' follow-up to their absolutely awesome 2011 Africa-set zombie picture.

The film premiered at Frightfest two years ago, and hits UK DVD on 13th July courtesy of Altitude Films. It's eight quid on pre-order from Amazon. Howard Ford's subsequent film, Never Let Go, plays the 2015 Frightfest next month.

Synopsis: The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the Ford Brothers’ African set THE DEAD, THE DEAD 2 moves us to the hustle and bustle of India as the outbreak of the walking dead take hold. An American engineer teams up with a surviving orphan street kid to trek 300 miles across stunning but deadly rural Indian landscapes to the now infested slums of Mumbai to try and save his pregnant girlfriend. The first ever international zombie movie shot in incredible India, THE DEAD 2, puts the Ford Brother's unique vision on a far bigger canvas, with breath taking scope, thrilling action and emotional resonance.

Here's the trailer. Review coming soon.

Baker's dozen British features at Frightfest

Frightfest have announced their line-up for 2015 and as usual it includes a good selection of British features. Thirteen in total:

• Bait (Dominic Brunt) - see previous post
• Nina Forever (Ben and Chris Blaine) - see previous post
• Aaaaaaaah! (Steve Oram)
• Never Let Go (Howard J Ford)
• Estranged (Adam Levins)
• The Hallow (Corin Hardy)
• The Lesson (Ruth Platt)
• Howl (Paul Hyett) - see previous post
• Awaiting (Mark Murphy)
• Another Me (Isabel Coixet)
• Afterdeath (Gez Medinger, Robin Schmidt)
• The Unfolding (Eugene McGing) - see previous post
• Banjo (Liam Regan)

There will probably be some British shorts too, but those haven't been announced yet.

Frightfest runs 27th-31st August down in That London.