In the midst of the Easter season, thoughts tend to turn to matters ecclesiastical.

The UK’s legendary horror studio, Hammer films, has been delighting fans over the past few months with reissues of classic movies from their illustrious back catalogue, carefully restored to allow 21st Century viewers to enjoy them with the blood reds and midnight blacks as vivid as when they were first made decades back.

You’ve probably already noticed that it’s getting darker a little bit later but did you know that tomorrow is the vernal, or spring, equinox?

Easter is again looming, and this year, for all those of you looking for a stimulating and cerebral alternative to the ubiquitous egg, or else something a little more menacing than a chocolate bunny, Alchemy has come-up with a distinctly more engaging option – ‘The Alchemist’ chocolate Mini-skull.

A good craftsman doesn’t just use the material they work with. They learn to work with it, appreciate it, respect it.

The first round of the famous London Fashion Week has recently passed and among all the new clothing and shoe designs, there was one accessory that dominated the runway yet again: the satchel.

Can there be anything eerier than a reborn doll? How about one of Bean Shanine’s undead reborn dolls?…

Absinthe has enjoyed something of a revival over the last 20-or-so years.

Set in a disturbingly plausible near future, where our obsession with celebrity has – almost literally – taken on the lethally contagious character of a virulent plague, Antiviral is chillingly compelling filmmaking. For those tired of predictable thrillers and brainless horror sequels, this bleak, original movie is both thoroughly thought-provoking and effectively stomach-churning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIZb50HiBCo

Anyone whose ever had the misfortune to suffer a rodent infestation in their homes can tell you how loud such unwelcome guests can be, especially considering they have such little feet. Yet imagine if the mice or rats in question decided to tool up and don medieval armour in order to mount their assault… And if the cats, by way of an animal arms race, responded by doing the same… These are the sorts of curious fancies that the remarkable work of Jeff de Boer inspires. For Jeff is a Canadian artist whose attracted international acclaim with his unique, fully functional, life-sized suits of armour for cats, mice and rats.

Every year, around three million people congregate to Italy’s famous canalled city to celebrate the Carnival of Venice. This annual masked event started off as a Catholic celebration and runs until midnight on Shrove Tuesday, which marks the beginning of Lent and a period of fasting. In the past, games and feasts were a traditional part of festivities but these days, many revellers come to the city to enjoy music and dancing as well as getting dressed up.

This may come as surprise to many but Valentine’s Day is infact the most celebrated holiday around the world after New Years Day!

Valentinus was an early Christian saint who was imprisoned by the Romans for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. His letter to the his jailers daughter signed “From Your Valentine” prior to his execution is for what he will be best remembered.

The English ambient-electronica-neoclassical act In the Nursery, centred on the twins Klive and Nigel Humberstone, have been making mesmerising, intelligent and often sinister music for over three decades. They have a particular affinity for soundtracks, but also like to experiment, as demonstrated by their latest project, The Calling, which sees them collaborate with best-selling crime author Simon Beckett to create a musical exploration of his grisly ‘Hunter’ series of novels.

After the recent deluge of bloodsuckers, from Twilight to True Blood, even the most fervent fang fan could be forgiven for feeling a little vamped out. If so, the new film Midnight Son could be just the fresh plasma you need, a gritty indie horror flick with brains and heart as well as guts, this is a nasty, clever twisted love story that makes Bella and Edward look anaemic by comparison.

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Edgar Allan Poe – the 19th Century author whose Romantic visions of melancholy and madness helped define Gothic – here at Alchemy. So it was exciting to hear the news that the B-movie legend Roger Corman, who made his name adapting Poe, is planning to revisit the author’s work. Corman’s been in the film business for sixty years now, during which time he’s directed more than fifty features and produced well over 300 more. While he’s best known for shooting his films faster and cheaper than the competition, Corman’s also noted for fostering young talent. Directors such as James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola and stars like Jack Nicholson and Robert de Niro were given breaks and learnt their respective crafts on Corman productions.