Witchfinder General (1968) heading to Blu-ray by Odeon

It's a British horror classic, with Vincent Price at his menacing best in Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General. It's coming out on Blu-ray for the very first time, with Odeon doing the honours.

If you've not seen it, Price plats Matthew Hopkins, exploiting the power vacuum during the English Civil War by becoming the Witchfinder General, torturing and killing local village folk for cash with the help of his assistant, John Stearne (Robert Russell). But he goes a step too far when he kills a priest. Military hero Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy) who is engaged to the priest's niece, hunts him down amongst the English countryside, with the inevitable explosive ending.

The movie has undergone a full restoration for the high definition release, with extras also thrown in, including a new documentary on witchcraft and the persecution of woman by Witchfinder Generals, material on witchcraft and the English Civil war plus an interview with Vincent Price. You can pre-order now ahead of the June 13th release date, £14.93 is the price.

Find out more about the Blu-ray release at the Amazon website

Severin to reissue Psychomania as Special Edition DVD

I could wax lyrical about this movie all night - and some people who know me know I have done just that. From the dodgy locations to the cool soundtrack, silly plot and unconvincing acting, Psychomania somehow manages to be both brilliant and terrible at the same. Making this Special Edition DVD from Severin a must-buy.

Yes, we're in the world of zombie bikers and black magic, Beryl Reed and George Sanders having the power to bring back the dead. But that power is abused by Tommy and his biker gang, The Living Dead, willingly killing themselves in return for immortality in England's suburbs.

DVD Review: Cry of the Banshee (1970)

I always like to think of myself as an expert on pitchfork-waving horrors of the 60s and 70s, but Cry of the Banshee has always passed me by - probably because the common opinion is that the movie just isn't very good. Anyway, I've bitten the bullet and finally gone in - and you know what? It ain't bad at all.

Ok, it's no classic and anyone expecting another Witchfinder General will be sorely disappointed - Gordon Hessler's take on witchcraft in the middle ages isn't a patch on Michael Reeves' masterpiece. But it certainly has its moments.

Vincent Price is on-hand again to offer up some menace, this time as local landlord and magistrate Lord Edward Whitman. He likes to arrest and torture witches (as you'd expect) and generally put himself about as a nasty piece of work, aided by his equally-nasty son and a couple of thugs.

Blood on Satan's Claw and Children of the Moor at London's BFI

One of the finest British horror movies of the 1970s gets a rare big screen outing in London in August - Blood on Satan's Claw.

This dark and atmospheric horror (produced by Tony Tenser's Tigon company) is set in an isolated rural community in 18th century Britain, with the devil taking over the village's youngsters, using the body parts of the local teens to manifest itself. It's a real gem - as is the score (which you can find out about here).

It's part of a Flipside presentation at the BFI, with the movie introduced by director Piers Haggard, screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons and actress Linda Hayden (pictured), who will also be around for a post-screening Q&A. Also on the bill is rarely-seen 70s folk documentary Children of the Moor, which looks at life in three remote village in Dartmoor.

It takes place on Thursday 21st August, with ticket details available here.

 

DVD Review: The Monster (aka I Don't Want To Be Born) (1975)

'Starring Joan Collins as the stripper cursed by a dwarf to give birth to a demonic child...'

So reads the packaging for The Monster, a truly bizarre mid-70s shocker from the hand of Peter Sasdy. Collins (then aged 42) is ex-stripper Lucy Carlesi, married to successful Italian businessman Gino Carlesi (played inexplicably by Ralph Bates, armed with the worst accent ever committed to film). She gives birth to their child - but this is no ordinary child. The child is growing fast and inflicting injury on all that go near him.

So, why is this child so evil? Well, it seems that Lucy fell foul of an infatuated dwarf called Hercules towards the end of her stripping career. And there's nothing so evil as a dwarf spurned, with Hercules planting a curse on poor Lucy, damning her to have a child 'as big as I am small' and possessed by the devil.