{"id":12399,"date":"2020-07-10T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T23:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/?p=12399"},"modified":"2020-07-09T17:08:10","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T16:08:10","slug":"the-ultimate-alchemy-lockdown-filmfest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/2020\/07\/the-ultimate-alchemy-lockdown-filmfest\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Alchemy Lockdown Filmfest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I know I\u2019m not alone when I say that over the past few months I\u2019ve watched a lot of films. A hell of a lot of films. I\u2019ve also had friends \u2013 aware that I write about weird movies and cult cinema \u2013 asking for film recommendations. Particularly the low budget flicks with all of the blood, balls, and brains typically missing from big budget blockbusters. I ultimately collected these into a few social media posts, detailing three dozen films worth seeing that had largely gone under the radar, the neglected gems you\u2019ve never heard of that are hidden in the depths of the streaming libraries. The posts proved very popular and it struck me that they might prove useful resource for others. Particularly in the current climate, where everyone\u2019s exhausted all of the high profile new releases and reliable old favourites that Netflix, Amazon and co have to offer.<\/p>\n

I thought I should frame this as a virtual film festival. While the cancellation of music festivals and sporting events have hit the headlines, film fans have also had their favourite events cancelled. So I\u2019m presenting this as the programme for an imaginary film festival, curated by yours truly. After all, film festivals serve as showcases for indie filmmakers without big studio backing to generate an audience buzz, and I first saw many of the films I\u2019m recommending here premiering at filmfests. As it\u2019s my festival, it\u2019ll reflect my taste (or lack thereof), but I\u2019m pretty confident that most of the Alchemy family would be on board for the kind of cinematic insanity I favour.<\/p>\n

First off, these aren\u2019t family films (unless you\u2019re in the Manson Family). Many of them are pretty violent. A few are downright disturbing. I like films that chill me and thrill me. That make me laugh and make me think. Expect offbeat horror and sick comedies, clever thrillers and cinematic strangeness that defies categorisation. If you\u2019re looking for slick Hollywood product, look elsewhere. These are maverick movies and films from the fringe. If you recognise familiar faces, it\u2019s because the actor loved the script, not the size of the pay cheque. My last book, THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO WEREWOLF MOVIES, came out recently, so don\u2019t be surprised if there are quite a few werewolves below!<\/p>\n

Everything here came out over the last decade \u2013 let\u2019s support working filmmakers \u2013 they\u2019re going to need it! For practical reasons, I\u2019ve only picked films available on the major streaming services (at least at time of writing), many of them free with a subscription. This is designed to be a resource you can come back to and share. I can\u2019t guarantee you\u2019ll like everything here \u2013 we\u2019re all different \u2013 but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll find some unexpected pleasures among this unusual selection. To aid in your cinematic digestion, we\u2019ll be posting our selection as three separate blogs. If you watch every one of these three dozen films, I can\u2019t promise that you\u2019ll have seen every cool cult movie made in the last decade. But you\u2019ll have made a damned good start. Okay! Kill the lights! And roll the projectors for the first part of the debut Alchemy Lockdown Film Festival…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ATTACK OF THE WEREWOLVES (aka GAME OF WEREWOLVES) is Spain\u2019s answer to the cult buddy horror flick Shaun of the Dead, replacing Brit zombies with Hispanic wolfmen. Expect some gleefully tasteless black comedy, an original occultic backstory, and a seriously hairy finale.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Few films are actually scary these days, but THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE succeeds in creating an authentically unnerving atmosphere in this effective chiller starring Brian Cox (quietly becoming a modern horror icon). He plays a coroner, and things quickly get horribly out of hand after he takes delivery of a mysterious cadaver in his backwater morgue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Getting trapped in a backstreet boozer in Madrid doesn\u2019t sound so bad right now, unless, like in THE BAR, everyone who attempts to leave is shot. Taut, funny, and devilishly clever, this Spanish thriller keeps you guessing all the way through.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

BONE TOMAHAWK is the magnificently grim and gritty western Quentin Tarantino was trying to make when he made The Hateful Eight. An appropriately bone-dry script is delivered by a strong cast led by Kurt Russell, culminating in a harrowing finale that can make even hardened horror-hounds wince.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Vatican research team disturb something arcane and evil when they investigate rumours of miracles at a spooky rural English church. Claustrophobic and compelling, building to a creepy climax, THE BORDERLANDS is that rarest of creatures, a good found footage film.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

BORLEY RECTORY was famously the most haunted house in England, before it was demolished in 1944. This fresh re-examination of this very British case is an innovative combination of animated feature, docudrama, and horror movie, starring Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentlemen and Inside No. 9) as the tabloid journalist who first popularised the story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The movie BUBBA THE REDNECK WEREWOLF is just as stupid and clumsy yet oddly likeable as its cigar-chewing title character. But drink as much hard booze as Bubba, as he battles to save his inbred friends from Cracker County from the Devil, and this is big dumb, crude fun.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Full-blooded Gothic cinema is rare these days, so the gripping Brit vampire saga BYZANTIUM, from Neil Jordan (who also directed Goth faves The Company of Wolves and Interview with the Vampire) is most welcome. Starring Gemma Arterton and Jonny Lee Miller, vamp experts will recognise it as the only film to reference John Polidori\u2019s landmark 1819 short story The Vampyre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

COLD IN JULY is a bruisingly brutal thriller packed with twists and hooks, set deep in the dark heart of Texas. Michael C. Hall (Dexter) is the shopkeeper caught in the crossfire of a bungled burglary, while 80s icon Don Johnson (Miami Vice) gives a career best performance as the private investigator attempting to untangle the increasingly bloody mess.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

COME TO DADDY is surely the film that will finally sever Elijah Wood\u2019s association with hobbits and rings. As the title suggests, this quest is to find his estranged father, but it takes some decidedly unexpected turns in this tortuously warped black comedy from Ant Timpson (also responsible for Deathgasm and The Greasy Strangler).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Authentic ritual magick is seldom accurately depicted on the screen, making the strikingly original horror film A DARK SONG something of a cinematic first. Madness soon begins to swallow the cast \u2013 and viewer \u2013 as an unlikely black magician undertakes the punishing, perverse and exacting ceremonies required to wake the dead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As the title suggests, in the inventively surreal comedy adventure with horror overtones DAVE MADE A MAZE, Dave makes a labyrinth from discarded boxes in his living room. Things take an even stranger turn when he can\u2019t find his way out, and his friends discover it\u2019s a cardboard death-trap when they try to rescue him.<\/p>\n

See you soon for part II of our safari into cinema insanity!…<\/p>\n

Words by \u2013 Gavin Baddeley<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.fabpress.com\/frightfest-guide-werewolf-movies.html<\/a><\/p>\n

If your passion for the morbid and macabre transcends the screen, it does of course go without saying that we\u2019ve got you covered here at Alchemy. Nothing says old school horror like the Nosferatu\u2019s Rest Pendant [P183]<\/a>, or for something a little more romantic, how about the Vampire\u2019s Loveheart [P802]<\/a>? Or for the ultimate spooky vibe, how about our Pumpkin Skull Pot [V93]<\/a>?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Products…<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nosferatu\u2019s<\/a>     <\/a>\"Vampire\u2019s<\/a>   \"Pumpkin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know I\u2019m not alone when I say that over the past few months I\u2019ve watched a lot of films. A hell of a lot of films. I\u2019ve also had friends \u2013 aware that I write about weird movies and cult cinema \u2013 asking for film recommendations. Particularly the low budget flicks with all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[499],"tags":[466],"class_list":["post-12399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-and-media","tag-gavin-baddeley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12399"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12480,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12399\/revisions\/12480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alchemyengland.com\/site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}