Sniper-coming to DVD

Hello Folks,
Well as you all know we do love our Asian films over here at Jonnys Cult films and we are very excited to see the release of Sniper, I have stuck all the details below and watch this space for the review coming soon!
Jonny T.

“EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT EXCITING FROM BEGINNING TO END.” – BEYOND HOLLYWOOD.COM.

From Dante Lam, director of the pulse-pounding “The Beast Stalker”, comes the equally intense action-thriller, The Sniper, starring Richie Ren (Seoul Raiders; Breaking News), Edison Chen (The Dark Knight; the Grudge 2; Initial D – Drift Racer) and Huang Xiaoming (Ip Man 2; The Message; The Founding Of A Republic).
When ex-Hong Kong police sharpshooter Lincoln (Xiaoming) is released from prison after serving time for the alleged manslaughter of a kidnapper during a hostage situation he has only one thing on his mind: revenge on those responsible for putting him behind bars. At the top of his hit list is former colleague and fellow marksman Hartman (Jen), who Lincoln believes withheld key evidence at his trial that could have led to his acquittal. Lincoln’s plan involves setting up the largest heist the city has ever known, hoping that this will draw his prey to him.
Meanwhile, a hot-headed rookie, OJ (Chen), has joined Hartman’s team and quickly begins to exhibit the same level of shooting skills that made Lincoln such a legend on the force. OJ becomes fascinated by Lincoln, to the point where Hartman worries that he may begin to emulate his former teammate’s cavalier attitude towards the job at hand.



As the day of the heist dawns, lines are drawn as Lincoln sets out to re-enact the operation that sealed his fate, thereby initiating the ultimate showdown between the three expert snipers.
Brilliantly choreographed and highlighted by “a series of action set-pieces of nail-biting intensity” (Time Out, Hong Kong) including an astonishing shootout set within the claustrophobic confines of a lift, The Sniper is “a wild action movie that goes right for the jugular” (Beyond Hollywood.com).
The Sniper (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£12.99) by Chelsea Films on 12th March 2012.





The Shrine-Blu Ray review

Hello all,
Well just got to see The Shrine on Blu Ray and i have to say i was pretty impressed!
I have been hearing a good few things about this through the horror community and was glad to see it was to be released in the UK by Arrow Films and was fortunate enough to see the Blu Ray release.
OK onto the film, Starts off with a shocking scene of some guy basically strapped to a table and having a wooden mask smashed on to his face by some people all cloaked as in secret monks speaking in a foreign tongue, creepy.



It then switches to the USA where we see a reporter Carmen (Cindy Sampson) and her boyfriend Marcus (Aaron Ashmore) have a little argument about how she is always too involved in her work and never has time to just forget work and chill out, she is an upcoming reporter that is just looking for her first big  break story when she See's a report of an American backpacker than has gone missing whilst on his travels around Europe. so there you have the guy in the mask and the foreign fellows, she tracks down his mum and pays her a visit along with her sidekick trainee reporter Sara(Meghan Heffern) the mother proceeds to explain that although he has indeed disappeared all of his luggage has been returned home, so Carmen asks the mum if she doesn't mind her taking a look through his returned luggage to which she agrees, Carmen then comes across his travel Journal with the last entire being in a remote village in Poland describing a mysterious fog.She has her story.
On return to her office her boss gives her a job to report on how Bees keep dying in certain states, not the best job and certainly one she has no intention of following up, so she throws it in the bin then along with Sara and her quite easily persuaded boyfriend decide to travel to the remote village.
Upon arrival they all get looked upon very mysteriously by the towns folk, this particular scene reminded of the great Capcom game Resident Evil 4, a very similar kind of feel to the village, with hooded monks, a church and locals with pitchforks,needless to say they see the mysterious mist in the distance rising up from the dense forest and decide to go investigate only to be chased a way be locals one just done from slaughtering a pig.
But as Carmen points out they have come a hell of a long way and won't give up easily, so guess what? Yep they make it into the forest and find the edge of the mysterious mist,whilst Carmen and her boyfriend are talking Sara just wonders into the mist and doesn't return so Sarah decides to go looking, whilst wondering she comes across a strange looking statue that is very similar Pazuzu as seen in The Exorcist, this is really a great creepy scene with a ton of atmosphere, slightly freaked out she walks around the statue and turns around only to see the statues head has rotated and is now staring at her with a stone beating heart in it's fist, get out the woods!!



At this point i won't say anymore as it would probably spoil it and in my opinion it is well worth a watch, it's not ashamed of wearing all it's influences on it's sleeve everything from the Mario Bava's Mask of Satan to The Exorcist and like i said even Resident Evil 4, oh and did i mention the twist at the end? Well all i will say is it is a very good twist indeed which serves to play out the last part of the film with a genuinely creepy and scary conclusion, looking forward to future films from  Director Jon Knautz i must say.
3/5.



Urban Explorers on DVD and Blu Ray.

Hello Folks,
Just some news about a great looking future relaese called Urban Explorers, Please find all the details below for the release,
Enjoy!
Jonny T

Urban Explorers (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Anchor Bay Entertainment on 5th March 2012.
View the official site here-http://www.urbanexplorersmovie.co.uk/
View Anchor bay and the trailer on YouTube-Here-Official Trailer







“AN EPIC NIGHT… ‘THE DESCENT’ MEETS ‘CREEP’” – FRIGHTFEST.

The rapidly growing global phenomenon of urban exploration (also known as Urbex or UE), in which thrill-seeking enthusiasts explore the normally unseen or off-limits areas of towns, cities and industrial facilities, provides the unique background for director Andy Fetscher’s chilling survival-horror shocker, Urban Explorers, coming to DVD and Blu-ray on 5th March 2012.
The winner of the Best Picture, Best Actor (Klaus Stiglmeier), Best Editing and Best Make-Up awards at LA’s prestigious Screamfest Horror Film Festival in 2011, Urban Explorers is a slickly shot, tautly scripted and expertly directed horror treat, full of suspense, nightmarish situations and more than a little gore.
Looking for something different away from the usual well-beaten tourist trails of metropolitan Berlin, four young people – partners Denis (Nick Eversman) and Lucia (Nathalie Kelley), plus recently acquainted Marie (Catherine de Lean) and Juna (Brenda Koo) – hire local guide Kris (Max Riemelt) to take them on a tour with a guaranteed surprise. Kris leads the group into the city’s dark and dank subterranean maze of wartime escape tunnels and underground fortifications on a rare, and illegal, trip to visit the legendary, graffiti-laden and now walled-up Nazi war rooms rarely seen by anyone since the end of World War II.
The trip takes an initial bad turn when the group encounters a pair of confrontational neo-Nazis and their dogs prowling around, but things get much worse when an unfortunate accident leaves Kris immobile and desperately in need of medical attention. Marie and Juna set off to find help, leaving Denis and Lucia to stay behind and look after Kris. The unexpected arrival of a bedraggled looking man, Armin (Klaus Stiglmeier), provides a ray of hope. A former East German border guard and now a self-appointed “guardian” of the tunnels, Armin takes them to his base with the promise of safety and a phone call for help. However, it soon becomes apparent that Denis and Lucia have just made the biggest mistake of their young lives.
Taking the viewer on a fascinating and frightening trip into an unseen underground world, the kind of which that secretly exists beneath most vibrant cities, Urban Explorers unearths the hidden dangers and fears that lurk not only in the shadows of these unexposed landscapes but also in the darkest recesses of the mind.

Original VS Remake #1 Fright Night!

vs

Hello All,
So here's a new feature to the blog called VS, and over here at jonnys cult films we want your help!
I have thoughts on the 1st film i will be doing, Fright Night, I do love the original maybe from a nostalgic view or just because it's a better film? In my own opinion it is a better film, The remake for me just seemed to drag, not saying it was a bad film but just didn't work in the same was as the original both in character depth or pure enjoyment, as with most remakes there is a lot of references to the original and i won't spoil it but there is a great cameo in the remake,
so people, what are your thoughts on this posting of Fright Night VS Fright Night?
Look forward to your views,
Jonny t.





Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter!

Hello Folks!
For your viewing pleasure we bring you the trailer for the upcoming Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter from the novel by Seth Grahame also author of Pride and prejudice and zombies which is now also being turned into a movie.
Looks pretty good to me, Looking forward to it i must say,
Enjoy,
Jonny T.





Red Scorpion-Review by Big Man Gav!



Red Scorpion Blu Ray Review

By Big Man Gav.

Action films from the eighties are in a class all of their own. For some reason a muscle man taking on an entire army with minimal dialogue and over the top stunts was a major box office draw. Audiences, including my seven year old self, just couldn’t get enough of watching somebody who usually wasn’t American stamp on whatever country was against the United States at the time. Perhaps we were deafened by gunfire and blinded by the homo-erotic tendencies of half naked sweaty killing machines to see what is so obvious now? Yes, they are infantile and ridiculous movies promoting US propaganda but they have a charm all of their own. Just looking at the box artwork of Arrow films latest release ‘Red Scorpion’ takes me back to when I would run around the playground with imaginary guns and infinite grenades shouting ‘take no prisoners!’ a time when I would do drawings of Rambo whilst adding my own soundtrack of gun noises and explosions. For the next 106 minutes I’m allowing Dolph Lundgren to take me back to 1988... Fuckin’ A!

My initial thoughts on this Blu ray disc are quite impressive. The 1080p picture quality is sharp and very clear. On my current PS3 settings there is minimal grain as well. Overall the image transfer is maybe a little too bright in places. The outdoor scenes in the desert look great. The blue skies contrasting on the white sands make the film look like new in places whereas darker interiors appear to have a misty finish, most notable in the opening scenes. Audio on the other hand is a little weaker. There is only an uncompressed stereo soundtrack which is a shame considering all the explosions and weapon fire. A DTS or Dolby 5.1 sound mix would have been far better and is a missed opportunity. For an Arrow release the features for Red Scorpion are a bit sparse. There is the token theatrical trailer which you almost expect these days and we have a brand new 30 minute interview with Dolph Lungren. It’s actually quite an enjoyable piece and I liked hearing about how he got bitten by a hyena during a stunt. There is an audio commentary with director Joseph Zito and another new interview with composer Jay Chatterway. It’s okay and I welcome its inclusion but I would have liked to have seen more considering the films controversy around the African apartheid at the time. Thankfully Arrow doesn’t disappoint with their usual high presentation standards. The new box art from ‘the dude designs’ looks fantastic and there is a choice of covers like before. Inside the box there is a nice double-sided poster and a booklet featuring brand new writing by author Calum Waddell.

In closing I can only really recommend Red Scorpion to die hard 80’s fans. There are bigger and better movies out there that do exactly what Scorpion does. The picture quality is let down by a basic sound mix and the features are a bit thin on the ground. At least the box looks nice!

7500-From Takashi Shimizu, coming soon.

Hello Folks,
Just bringing you some info on the new film from Japanese Director Takashi Shimizu most famous for his classic J-Horror The Grudge, 7500.
A co Japanese/American production it See's passengers on a plane flying to Japan when something Paranormal starts going crazy! From the trailer it's hard to tell whether i will like this or not, to me at the moment it looks like just another kind of straight to DVD fodder, but being a big fan of Shimizu i can only hope for there to be more to it than the trailer, only time will tell i guess,
Jonny T.

Official Trailer.