The Nice Guys (2016)

"Loads of Fun"

Second Sight Films are releasing, in both limited and standard editions, and on both Blu-ray and 4K UHD, Shane Black's LETHAL WEAPON meets BOOGIE NIGHTS buddy PI comedy.

Los Angeles 1977. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is hired by Amelia (Margaret Qualley) to deter PI Holland March (Ryan Gosling) who has been assigned to find her. But then Amelia vanishes and her disappearance may be connected to the recent death in a car wreck of adult film star Misty Mountains (Mureille Telio). As their investigations proceed they find themselves in deeper trouble as they begin to uncover a plan to reveal political shenanigans that involve government official Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger).

Don't worry too much about the plot, which gets overly convoluted pretty quickly. Instead enjoy the fun writer-direcor Black has recreating the Hollywood of the late 1970s, with nods to real porn films (the Pinocchio gag at the party) and pacing rapid enough to stop you saying 'hang on a minute' too many times.

What really makes THE NICE GUYS work, though, is the standout interplay between Crowe and Gosling. Not the most likely of pairings, the two bounce off each other very well indeed. Black's dialogue helps of course, but the two get along so well by the end of the film you'll be sorry we never got a series with these two, or at least one sequel.

Second Sight's disc comes with a batch of extras. New to this release is a commentary track with Black and co-writerAnthony Bagarozzi. They both admit to not having seen the film since its release and prompting from moderator Priscilla Page helps. Also new are interviews with Shane Black (36 mins), co-producer Ethan Erwin (22 mins), DP Philippe Rousselot (14 mins) and a video essay from Leigh Singer on Shane Black's buddy movies (21 mins).

Archival material from 2016 includes 11 minutes of cast interviews (Gosling, Crowe, Qualley, Basinger and Matt Bomner), a six minute making of and a five minute piece on Shane Black.

If you get Second Sight's limited edition that includes both 4K and Blu-ray copies of the film and extras (all available on the stand alone editions as well), plus a 150 page hardback book with lots of new writing about the film.

Shane Black's THE NICE GUYS is out from Second Sight Films on Monday 16th June 2025 in both limited and standard 4KUHD and Blu-ray editions

Until Dawn (2025)

"Entertaining & Atmospheric For Much of its Runtime"

Following its recent run in UK cinemas, Sony are releasing director David F Sandberg's video game adaptation to rent or buy on digital platforms.

Five friends, including Clover (Ella Rubin from Sean Baker's ANORA) are searching for Clover's missing sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell). Taking advice from store owner-cum-harbinger Peter Stormare (clearly having a good time) they travel to the strange place that is Glore Valley. 

Entering the single house that's there (at least to begin with) they set in motion a huge egg timer and, when each of them meets a horrible demise, each finds themselves alive again and back where they started. As they pass through multiple cycles of being killed they begin to realise there may only be one way out and if they don't discover what that is, they'll be doomed to become the same as the creatures that are already trapped there.

UNTIL DAWN boasts a fine sense of atmosphere, some fun plot mechanics, and a cast of likeable characters. Extra buildings and locations are added to Grove Valley as the film (and the 'game') progresses and the way it's all shot will remind classic horror fans of John Moxey's 1959 CITY OF THE DEAD or even the ghoul village from Milton Subotsky's THE MONSTER CLUB (1980).

The film does run out of steam in its final act, and the 100 minute run time could have done with perhaps being trimmed by about 20 minutes. Still, it's well put together by a director already known for making some entertaining fare (SHAZAM!, ANNABELLE: CREATION) and apparently while it's not exactly faithful to its source there are plenty of nods to the game it's based on for fans to pick up along the way. Here's a trailer:

UNTIL DAWN is available to Buy or Rent on Digital from Tuesday 10th June 2025 courtesy of Sony Picture Entertainment

Swordfish 4K UHD (2001)

Director Dominic Sena and producer Joel Silver's glossy, trashy, frequently ludicrous computer hacking action crime drama is getting a 4K UHD release from Arrow Films.

Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is fresh out of prison for an FBI hacking scandal. He's separated from his porn star wife and isn't allowed to see his ten year old daughter. Plus, if he goes near a keyboard again then it's back to jail for him. Unfortunately his trailer sees a gorgeous visitor in the form of Ginger (Halle Berry) who with the aid of $100 000 convinces him to meet with Gabriel (John Travolta) who has a hacking job for him that could earn him $10 million. Will Stanley agree to the job? Will there be numerous plot twists and turns? And will there be a quite bizarre climax involving a flying bus?

It's yes to all three of those. The main problem with hacker-based dramas is that watching someone tapping on a keyboard is about as cinematically interesting as them reading a book, and SWORDFISH works overly hard to give the viewer other stuff to keep them interested. Accepting Hugh Jackman as a computer nerd might be considered a stretch but that's the least of what the audience is asked to buy here.

        There are some surround sound system-testing explosions and a ridiculously over the top car chase in this film that is as extraordinarily silly as it was obviously very expensive. And if you like that sort of thing then you'll find this is just the ticket for an entertaining night in.

Arrow's 4K transfer looks faultless and offers two sound options - lossless stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD, plus a commentary track from the director. New extras for this release include an interview with co-composer Paul Oakenfold (12 minutes), who composed the electronica tracks (Christopher Young provided the orchestral work). There's also a new interview with production designer Jeff Mann (21 minutes).

Archival material includes a number of promotional featurettes including an HBO 'first look' (15 mins), the effects of the flying bus (8 mins), an Oakenfold music video (4 mins) and cast and crew interviews (13mins). There are also two alternate endings and a trailer. Arrow's limited edition comes with a collector's booklet with new writing on the film, a poster and a reversible sleeve.

SWORDFISH is out on 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 9th June 2025

Dangerous Animals (2025)

"Seriously Decent Serial Killer Horror"

Vertigo have secured a UK cinema release for the new film from Tasmanian director Sean Byrne (2009's THE LOVED ONES), which had its world premiere at the Cannes directors' fortnight.

Tucker (Jai Courtney) makes a living taking tourists on cage diving trips to swim with sharks. Those tourists who he's happy won't be missed never get to leave. Because Tucker is a serial killer and his method of despatch is the school of sharks that regularly collect around his boat because they recognise it as a food source. He also films his victims' deaths and keeps the videotapes in a special cabinet in his boat.

When surfing free spirit Zephyr (Hassie Harrison from YELLOWSTONE) becomes Tucker's latest prisoner he soon finds he has his hands full with someone who can pick locks and is more than prepared to fight back. Prospective boyfriend Moses (Josh Heuston) is also looking for her and thus the scene is set for a final act showdown.

THE LOVED ONES was a seriously twisted Australian horror offering and fans of that will be pleased to hear that, while it's a little bit lighter in tone, DANGEROUS ANIMALS is a just as good serial killer piece set mainly at sea with only a couple of characters. To that end it could be considered part of a tiny subgenre of thrillers that would include Phillip Noyce's DEAD CALM (1989) and Rob Grant's HARPOON (2019). Courtney makes for a good, unsympathetic villain and both Harrison and Heuston are likeable leads. Byrne gets the balance just right between character development and the scary stuff, with the result being one of the better horror movies of the year. Here's the trailer:

Sean Byrne's DANGEROUS ANIMALS is getting a UK cinema release from Vertigo on Friday 6th June 2025

In the Lost Lands (2025)

 

"Better than BORDERLANDS"

Director Paul W S Anderson's latest attempt to make you wonder why he's still being given money to make films is getting a 4KUHD, Blu-ray, DVD and VOD release from Studio Canal.

On an world where an apocalypse has turned everything into sepia-tinted green-screen and CGI, a sexy and most likely evil queen (Amara Okereke) charges Gray Alys, 'The Witch They Could Not Hang', (Milla Jovovich) with the task of bringing her a shapeshifter so she can also acquire the skill. Alys teams up with gunslinger Boyce (Dave Bautista) and together they set off across a visually-enhanced landscape, all the while being pursued by representatives of the land's church who want to stop them. 

Based on a short story by George R R Martin, IN THE LOST LANDS is by the numbers fetch quest sort of stuff, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact in the right hands this could have been a lot of entertaining fun. Instead, however, this is more like one of those ads you see for video games with the disclaimer 'Not actual gameplay footage' in tiny letters at the bottom, only one that is 101 minutes long.

The story is simple and straightforward and yet the storytelling gets needlessly complicated with unnecessary info-dumps, maps and regular onscreen reminders of time passing. Our heroes' encounters with a variety of colourful characters along the way offer multiple opportunities for B movie-level guest star cameos. Needless to say, there are none. The pacing is poor, and much of the acting and editing wouldn't even be considered passable in more 'adult'-themed productions out there. 

For those out there who need to see everything, IN THE LOST LANDS is probably on an enjoyment (and intelligibility) level equal with Justin Kurzel's 2016 ASSASSIN'S CREED. The fact it doesn't feature a talking Jack Black robot elevates it above Eli Roth's BORDERLANDS but that's not exactly something to be proud of. Here's the trailer:

Paul W S Anderson's IN THE THE LOST LANDS is out on digital platforms now and on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD and VOD on Monday 2nd June 2025

Steppenwolf (2024)

Kazakhstan film-maker Adilkhan Yerzhanov's multiple award-winning transnational post-western (read on for more about that) gets a limited edition Blu-ray release from Arrow.

In a bleak landscape torn apart by a civil war between the police and rival gangs, traumatised and broken Tamara (Anna Starchenko) wants nothing more than to find her lost son. She enlists the aid of a violent, morally bankrupt cop (Berik Aitzhanov) who agrees to help her, initially because of the offer of money and later because he realises the man who has kidnapped the child is also the one who burned the rest of his family alive.

As they journey across one of the bleakest landscapes committed to film they encounter a collection of traumatised, selfish and immoral characters, very few of whom survive the cop's wrath. Eventually things culminate in a bloody and explosive showdown with their quarry.

There's an excellent extra on this disc in the form of a video essay from Lee Broughton that explains what a transnational post western is and why STEPPENWOLF fits the category, illustrating this with reference to a number of westerns, especially Clint Eastwood's Italian films (but also COOGAN'S BLUFF and UNFORGIVEN). With its post-apocalyptic feel it's also easy to consider STEPPENWOLF to be in the vein of George Miller's MAD MAX but hey, that gets classified as one of these transnational post westerns too.

David Flint provides an extremely listenable commentary track that goes into the themes discussed in Broughton's essay in more detail as well as explaining the significance of the film's title and its relationship to the Herman Hesse novel of the same name.

As a bonus another film by the director is included. 2022's GOLIATH features the same leading man in a tale of justice vs gang loyalty. It lacks the bleakest of bleak punches of STEPPENWOLF but if you enjoy the main feature you'll definitely want to take a look at it as well. 

Finally, Arrow's limited edition comes with a reversible sleeve and a booklet featuring interviews with cast and crew, including composer Galymzhan Moldanazar who provides an excellent synthesiser score to the movie. 

Adilkhan Yerzhanov's STEPPENWOLF is out on Blu-ray from Arrow on Monday 26th May 2025

Terror in the Fog: The Wallace Krimi at CCC (1963 - 1964)

Eureka are releasing a four disc set of German krimis made by Artur Brauner's CCC (Central Cinema Company) in the 1960s. Playing off the huge success of the German Edgar Wallace adaptations made by CCC's counterpart Rialto Film, by the time Brauner got involved there weren't many Wallace properties left for him to acquire the rights to, so instead he went to Wallace's son, Bryan Edgar Wallace, and bought up some of his novels instead. (The name 'Bryan' was sometimes very small on the posters). All the films in the set apart from one are in 1080p HD from 2K restorations of the original film elements. So let's take a look at what we get:

Disc One

We kick off with a 6 minute introduction for the uninitiated from Tim Lucas. 'What is a Krimi?' discusses the crime genre, the giallo, and contextualises the krimi within these, as well as noting some of the krimi's most celebrated directors. It's a very helpful introduction for those who know nothing about the genre, and provides what is very much an overview, as each of the films here gets its own a more detailed introduction.

The Curse of the Yellow Snake (1963)

The one true Edgar Wallace property Artur Brauner was able to acquire is the tale of feuding stepbrothers (played by Rialto regulars Joachim Fuchsberger and Pinkas Braun) who are both after a fabulous golden snake which will give them unlimited power should they decide to go to war. Braun's Fing Su has a secret army all ready to go, hidden in a secret temple in a disused factory, but can Fuchsberger's Cliff stop him?

Easily confused with the Rialto film series,  this entry possesses many of the same features (cast, colour titles over black and white footage, even Alfred Vohrer's voice introducing it as 'Edgar Wallace') and is just as entertaining, with secret rooms, dastardly villains, and a ludicrous plot. 

Extras include a 13 minute introduction by Tim Lucas where he explains the relationship between Rialto Film and CCC, and a commentary track by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw which, understandably, covers much of the same material as the Lucas introduction at the beginning before striding off on its own.

The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (1963)

Director Harald Reinl was a master of this kind of movie and he doesn't disappoint here, delivering one of the best krimis from any studio. We've got a gothic castle with secret passages, a masked and gloved killer bumping people off and leaving an 'M' carved on their heads, and Karin Dor as the heiress who finds herself in the middle of it all. Composer Oskar Sala provides another of his experimental music scores which works pretty well except perhaps for a scene in an 'English' pub. Still, this is cracking stuff, with a couple of decapitations (one head turns up in a box), so many dodgy characters you're spoilt for who to suspect, and a tense, well shot and atmospheric climax. 

Tim Lucas provides a ten minute introduction to this one, and we also get a lively and informative commentary by the always reliable Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons.

The two films also have English dubs should you want them, and there's a trailer for The Curse of the Yellow Snake.

Disc Two

The Mad Executioners (1963)

One of the best krimis of the lot (Rialto Film productions included) begins with the machinations of a secret court which tries criminals who have escaped the gallows, finds them guilty, and then hangs them. Who are these masked men? And do they have any connection with a series of gruesome decapitations of young blonde women that have been occurring over the last couple of weeks? Inspector John Hillier (Hansjörg Felmy) is on both cases and there are plenty of suspects. 

Despite the subject matter, this one has a lighter touch than many of the krimis, and at points almost veers into comedy, suffice to say if you're a fan of the witty deaths of THE ABOMINABLE DR PHIBES and indeed CARRY ON SCREAMING's fun send up of the horror genre you'll find a lot to enjoy here. The reason for the decapitations is all kinds of crazy wonderful and the reveal at the end is a cracker. Fantastic stuff. 

Tim Lucas provides us with another introduction (11 minutes) detailing the Bryan Edgar Wallace projects that were considered but weren't filmed before Artur Brauner decided to go for this one, inspired by an 'idea' by Wallace the younger. Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons perform commentary duties and get especially stuck in to all the glorious mad science stuff towards the end. 

The Phantom of Soho (1964)

Presented as an 'extra' because it's in SD rather than HD (a good enough master couldn't be found), it's still a delight to finally have available a film immortalised for many by the appearance of the above still in Denis Gifford's Pictorial History of Horror Movies. And the print quality isn't bad at all, so don't let that put you off this, another superior krimi in which men are being stabbed through the heart by a golden-gloved mask-wearing killer who leaves an envelope on each victim. Dieter Borsche gets a rare 'good guy' krimi role as the police inspector and director Franz Joseph Gottlieb wrings every bit of gothic atmosphere he can out of CCC's Soho, a gloomy foggy place filled with prostitutes and grotesques. Another cracking krimi.

Extras include a Tim Lucas introduction (9 minutes) in which he talks about how the film claims it's based on a Bryan Edgar Wallace novel but no actual book can be found that saw publication. Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw return for commentary duties which is up to their usual excellent standard.

Both films on here have English dubs (with PHANTOM having to resort to German with subtitles in a few spots). There's also a ten minute interview with Alice Brauner, daughter of Artur, and current managing director of CCC

Disc Three

The Monster of London City (1964)

A modern-day Jack the Ripper is slashing prostitutes to death in London, and the killings mirror a Grand Guignol-style play that's currently on at the 'Edgar Allan Poe' theatre in the West End. Needless to say the star, Robert Sand (Hansjörg Felmy) quickly becomes the police's number one suspect, but there are plenty of others vying for the role. Robert's girlfriend Ann is played by Marianne Koch (A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS) and her uncle has a habit of creeping out at night dressed just like the killer. Then there's the play's director who's keen to drum up publicity. The identity of the actual killer is pretty easy to work out but that doesn't stop this from being a lot of fun, partly filmed on sets from THE PHANTOM OF SOHO and featuring a climax in that good old krimi standby, the local asylum.

Tim Lucas gives us another very helpful introduction (8 minutes) while Kim Newman and Stephen Jones provide a boisterous commentary track. Also on this disc is an 18 minute piece from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas which looks at the connection between the krimi and the slasher movie. It discusses all the films in the set so it's advisable to watch them all first before taking a look at this. There's also an English dub track and the German trailer.

Disc Four

The Racetrack Murders (1964)

Also known as THE SEVENTH VICTIM and retitled in English speaking countries for obvious reasons. After a couple of movies ostensibly based on the works of Bryan Edgar Wallace but not actually, for a change here's a movie actually taken from a BEW novel (Murder is not Enough). Death surrounds top racehorse 'Satan', tipped to win a forthcoming derby, but not if various nefarious characters can help it. Meanwhile those involved with Satan's care are being bumped off, and it may all be connected to the conviction and hanging of a man that took place 15 years ago. 

THE RACETRACK MURDERS isn't quite as good as the rest of the films in the set. The identity of the killer is satisfying but is almost immediately scuppered by a bewildering ending that you'll probably need to watch twice to verify that you saw it.

Extras here include a final Tim Lucas introduction (8 minutes), a Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons commentary (they confess to being equally bewildered by that ending), and an additional commentary track that plays along with the film but is actually Tim Lucas and Stephen R Bissette discussing all the films in the set, how they first came to watch them, and contextualising them with the other crime thrillers released at the time. It provides a fine end to an excellent set of films.

Finally, Eureka's set comes with a 60 page book featuring new writing on the films from Howard Hughes, Barry Forshaw and Holger Hasse.

TERROR IN THE FOG: THE WALLACE KRIMI AT CCC is out in a four disc Blu-ray set from Eureka Entertainment on Monday 26th May 2025