Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 150 i SciFi Now

As you may have noticed, this month we are celebrating our 150th (!) issue. Now, putting it together was fun and exciting but also fairly anxiety-inducing. When we started putting together a list of our favourite 150 films, TV shows, books, comics and games, we discovered that we’d set ourselves a mighty task. First there was excitement, then the kind of organisational pleasure that we can only compare to finally getting around to reorganising the Blu-ray collection, and then there was the panic of realising that there were too many things to include and that inevitably some of our personal favourites wouldn’t quite make the cut. However, it was worth all of that to assemble not just the heavy hitters, the franchises and the shared universes, but some of the…

DEMIMONDE Abrams scripted this TV pilot which is described as “an epic and intimate sci-fi drama” with the world battling against an oppressive force. That’s as much as we know, except it’s at HBO. LOVECRAFT COUNTRY Filming began in July on HBO’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s absolutely brilliant Jim Crow-era novel, which blends both eldritch fantasy and real-world horrors. Misha Green is the showrunner, while Jordan Peele produces. CLOVERFIELD SEQUEL While making it very clear that Overlord definitely wasn’t a Cloverfield movie, JJ Abrams also confirmed that they are working on a proper sequel, as opposed to another retro-fitted story like The Cloverfield Paradox. STAR WARS EPISODE IX Just a little indie, then.…

“HER HISSABLE VILLAINY ENLIVENED BLAKE’S 7” We’re saddened to hear of the death of sci-fi and horror legend Jacqueline Pearce. Her early career included roles in the shot-back-to-back Hammer films The Plague Of The Zombies and The Reptile. Memorable in the former for her gruesome transformation into a zombie, she also brings a remarkable fragility to her role as the haunted Alice. As Anna, in The Reptile, she once again impresses with a nuanced and subtle approach to a character that could easily be overplayed. Perhaps her most memorable role came when she was cast in Terry Nation’s BBC series Blake’s 7 as the icy Supreme Commander Servalan. As hissably evil as she was immaculately dressed, Servalan’s camp villainy enlivened the show and her unique look and presence made her,…

SLICE Every poster for Austin Veseley’s brand-new comedy horror, Slice, has been just superb from what we have seen so far, but of all the wonderful variants we’re going to have to go with the bleeding Dominos logo poster as our favourite one of them all (are we actually allowed to say which pizza chain it is? Are they in any risk of legal trouble here? Are they even allowed to do this? Ah, it’s A24, they probably know what they’re doing…). It’s a gloriously simple concept, taking the familiar and adding a nice little horror touch to it (we nearly went for the version that has claw marks on the Pizza Hut logo…), and it’s also an eye-catching hook for the indie, which stars Chance The Rapper and Deadpool…

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES 13 January 2008 Creator: Josh Friedman Stars: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau It’s crazy to think that the best Terminator since T2 is an underseen TV spin-off, but it’s still the best take on the material since Cameron and Lena Headey is a great Sarah Connor. MERLIN 20 September 2008 Creator: Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy Cast: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, Anthony Head It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years! There was heartbreak, drama, and a truly affecting friendship, and we’re still not over that finale, goddammit. THE ORPHANAGE 21 March 2008 Director: JA Bayona Stars: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo This brilliant Spanish ghost story marked the debut of director JA Bayona. The Orphanage remains…

NETFLIX LAUNCHES IN THE UK 4 January 2012 From its not-so-humble beginnings as a US DVD rental service, Netflix is now one of the most powerful content producers in the world. It started streaming content in 2007, and in 2012 Netflix launched in the UK, the same year that its first piece of content – the TV show Lilyhammer – was released. The rest is basically history. Netflix is now available in all but four countries worldwide – China, Syria, North Korea and Crimea. THE AVENGERS 26 April 2012 Director: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth ICONIC SHOT The superhero team have been sharing the screen for most of the film, but it’s not until New York is under attack that they really come together as…

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF SHIELD 24 September 2013 Creator: Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Brett Dalton Everyone remembers Agents Of SHIELD’s first season, and not in a good way. But once it ditched the ‘case of the week’ format in exchange for an ongoing saga it quickly began to hold its own. ATTACK ON TITAN 7 April 2013 Director: Tetsuro Araki Starring: Marina Inoue, Yûki Kaji, Yui Ishikawa, Josh Grelle, Bryce Papenbrook Hajime Isayama’s hit manga series came to life in Wit Studio’s anime series of the same name. The image of these colossal monsters with their eerie grins towering over our heroes will never lose its impact. GRAVITY 7 November 2013 Director: Alfonso Cuarón Starring: Sandra Bullock, George…

MS MARVEL 5 February 2014 Writer: G Willow Wilson Artist: Adrian Alphona In 2014, Ms Marvel became the first ever Muslim Marvel character to get her very own comic and she is also a fantastically brilliant teenage heroine in her own right too. EDGE OF TOMORROW 30 May 2014 Director: Doug Liman Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt Even thought it was overlooked on release, this is a surprisingly funny and deliriously inventive time-slipping action movie and a new cult classic. GOTHAM 13 October Creator: Bruno Heller Stars: Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz The Batman prequel show got crazier and better as it went on, veering from camp fun to brutal darkness and making full use of the rogues’ gallery. THE BABADOOK 24 October 2014 Director: Jennifer Kent Cast: Essie…

WHEN WE TALK to Charlie Cox, the star of Netlix’s Daredevil has just finished filming the show’s third season. He’s played the Man Without Fear for over three years and has not only headlined two critical acclaimed runs, he’s also starred in the team-up show Defenders. But we wanted to talk to him about where it all started. Back in 2015 Netflix had already launched its three first-wave shows (Orange Is The New Black, Hemlock Grove and House Of Cards), and was branching out into different genres with series like Marco Polo, Sense8 and Narcos. Marvel was the next big step… HOW DOES IT FEEL LOOKING BACK ON THAT FIRST SEASON NOW? When I look back on that first season, I don’t think even [Marvel and Netflix] thought that there…

DEADPOOL 10 February 2016 Director: Tim Miller Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, TJ Miller We couldn’t overlook 2016 without mentioning the Merc with the Mouth: Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool are trapped in the same body, but neither of them need help. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 18 November 2016 Director: David Yates Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell Newt Scamander opened the Wizarding World up for a new generation in New York, 1926. THE OA 16 December 2016 Creator: Brit Marling, Zal Batmanglij Starring: Brit Marling, Emory Cohen, Jason Isaacs Netflix’s supernatural mystery series left a lot of people baffled and bemused, with an ending that we’re still not sure we understand… but in the best way.…

“[T]he idea of telling a story where an African nation is shown for its strengths and African people are shown for their pride in themselves and their ability to self-govern and to actually advance and to be progressive in their own way, was something that I was very excited to be a part of showing the world. Because I have grown up in an Africa where I have seen many brilliant Africans, but the world doesn’t tend to see them very often, hence not pay attention to them enough.”…

The War Games Spearhead From Space We’d had a change of Doctor before, but that time there were companions Ben and Polly to help comfort alarmed viewers. But the change between Patrick Troughton’s final story and Jon Pertwee’s first, made Doctor Who feel and look like a completely different show. Not only was there a new lead actor (and playing the role very differently too) and companion, but the series was suddenly in colour and aimed at a much more adult audience. The Horns Of Nimon The Leisure Hive When producer John Nathan-Turner and script-editor Christopher H Bidmead joined Doctor Who in 1980, they gave the show a thorough polish, narratively, visually and even sonically. Out went the Delia Derbyshire-arranged version of the theme tune that had been in place…

NICOLAS CAGE ROARS and rampages with violent intent in a career-high performance in Panos Cosmatos’ exquisitely crafted revenge horror. It’s a performance that is both endearingly tender and viciously intense. Initially Cage was pegged for the villain, a menacing cult leader and ex-folk musician called Jeremiah Sands, but only agreed to appear in the film if he could play Red, a lumberjack who lives by Crystal Lake with the titular character, Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), who he deeply loves and admires. Cosmatos says he was “heartbroken” when Cage declined the role of Jeremiah Sands, but slowly came to realise how magical he could be as Red. “After I had some time to dwell on it I realised he was a fearless actor who could add a real dynamism to this character.…

FAMILY DRAMA Whatever else is going on, horror-wise, there will be some kind of unresolved family tension going on. GRIEF See above. There’s almost certainly going to be the loss of a loved one casting a long shadow over proceedings. SLIPPERY TIME You’re never quite sure where you stand in a Mike Flanagan movie, drifting in and out of the past, shifting between dreams and waking… PROPERLY CHILLING CREEPINESS So much of the discussion about his work is focused on the drama elements but don’t be fooled – you’ll be scared. A LOVE OF THE CLASSICS Shirley Jackson was already a huge influence on Flanagan’s break-out hit Oculus, and he’s working on his second Stephen King adaptation with Doctor Sleep. FAMILIAR FACES Flanagan loves to use the same crew and…

Michael is… Laurie’s brother A plot point introduced in Halloween II and continued throughout the franchise. It was an important element in the very decent H20, which brought Laurie back. Michael is… something to do with a druid curse Look, the later sequels had to introduce something. We can probably expect a nod or two to some Halloween arcana, maybe not the Cult of Thorn. Michael is… uncle of Jamie or John There have been a couple of attempts to introduce more family members. Danielle Harris played Laurie’s daughter, and Josh Hartnett played her son. Michael… already killed Laurie Well OBVIOUSLY not. Look, that sequence in Resurrection might have been fun, but that film needs to be forgotten about ASAP. Silver Shamrock Okay, this is a long shot , but…

Details 15 // 85 mins // 1983 // // Released Out now Director Norman Thaddeus Vane Cast Ferdy Mane, Luca Bercovici, Jennifer Starrett, Scott Thomson, Jeffrey Combs Distributor 88 Films Not to be confused with the Pete Walker film of the same name, Norman Thaddeus Vane’s Frightmare (aka The Horror Star) is a beautifully shot horror comedy that showcases a fun, dark wit early on before running out of steam. The horror star in question is Conrad Radzoff (Ferdy Mayne), who has made a lot of plans for after he’s died. A gaggle of drama students and Radzoff devotees steal his corpse from his mausoleum, triggering the dark magic that awakens the star and sets him on a murderous rampage. Mayne is having an awful lot of fun as the…

1. Space Unicorn Blues “Space Unicorn Blues by @ TJaneBerry - brilliant, hilarious, emotional, and an eerily recognisable approach by humanity toward anything other. #BookClub” @Cfpercy 2. Footfall “Footfall, by Niven and Pournelle: the aliens are based on elephants. What’s not to love?” @Crankylemming 3. The Expanse “Obviously @ JamesSACorey incredible The Expanse (currently whipping thru Abaddon’s Gate and loving it just like the previous two). #BookClub” @BananaCologne 4. A Deepness In The Sky “A Deepness In The Sky by Vernor Vinge, because of the breadth of time and place, for the detail of first contact strategies and conniving to gain an advantage. #BookClub” @Tristam_James 5. The Uninvited “The Uninvited by Liz Jensen. Makes the goosebumps pop from beginning to end. #BookClub” @gwendolinethree…

“Strange Ink by @ garykemble another great book from @ TitanBooks and Mad Dog by @Mr_JRPark, one the best books I’ve read in a long time. #BookClub” @GNHorror “Been enjoying NOS-4R2 by Joe Hill. It’s a dark, gruesome story. The pace doesn’t let up for a moment, quite a page turner. #BookClub” @paul_ bowler “I’m sailing through Sea Of Rust by @ Massawyrm and absolutely loving it, perfect mix of action, bonkersness, soul and intelligence. #BookClub” @ricgalbraith “City Of Lies by @ samhawkewrites. Lots of political intrigue and love the different POVs #BookClub” @kshoni_gunputh “Eden’s Story by Chris Beckett, one book one and finding the way the culture has been created enjoyable, can’t yet see where the story is going, which is a good thing. #BookClub” @Woggiedoug “Peter F Hamilton’s…

Details Author: Gary Kemble Publisher: Titan Books Price: £7.99 Released: 9 October After the break-up of his relationship, journalist Harry Hendrick has moved into a new place. Shortly after, the nightmares start and tattoos he doesn’t remember getting start appearing. As the nightmares continue, Harry is convinced they’re not dreams, but the memories of a murdered soldier, Rob Johnson. Harry digs further and realises that Rob was part of a conspiracy in which a national politician might be involved. The concept of the dead imprinting upon the living through their unfinished business is one mined throughout literature. Debut author Gary Kemble puts a literal spin on this by having his ghosts ink tattoos on to the bodies of the people that are willing to help them. Combined with the dream/…

Blending the grittiness of grimdark fantasy with the plot machinations and murky characters of gangster movies, Peter McLean’s Priest Of Bones is a rattling good time for anyone who wishes there was more mob in their genre lit. It follows Tomas Piety as he returns home from war to reclaim his streets, only to find that there’s a new gang in town who won’t leave quietly… Was this something you’d been thinking about for a while? Yeah, definitely. Most of what I read for pleasure is either modern-day crime or secondary world ‘swords and horses’ fantasy, and I’ve been wanting to do a mash-up of the two for a long time now. There’s a scene in Joe Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold where Shenkt the assassin pays a visit to a…

ERASERHEAD DAVID LYNCH, 1976 MARCH 1979 This classic opened exclusively at the Scala in March-May 1979. BLUE SUNSHINE JEFF LIEBERMAN, 1978 MAY 1980 A particular favourite of the Scala’s ‘trip triples’ and Acid All-Nighters. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE ED WOOD JNR, 1959 JANUARY 1980 Winner of the Golden Turkey awards, advocated by Scala. THE EVIL DEAD SAM RAIMI, 1981 OCTOBER 1982 A Scala premiere of a Palace Pictures release, briefly caught up in the video nasty fiasco. BLADE RUNNER RIDLEY SCOTT, 1982 19 DECEMBER 1983 One of the Scala’s most popular and frequently played titles. VIDEODROME DAVID CRONENBERG, 1983 NOVEMBER 1983 Premiered at the All-Day/All-Night Cronenberg marathon. BARBARELLA ROGER VADIM, 1968 JULY 1984 Delirious outer space camp pushes two Scala buttons in one film. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE STANLEY KUBRICK,…

Blood, guts and dismembered body parts… Dead Set really went all out when it came to populating its grizzly zombie apocalypse and thankfully, the make-up team’s hard work (the very same team that brought us the smooth genital bumps of Black Mirror’s USS Callister crew) didn’t go to waste. “I went round to Andy’s house and he has his head in a bucket,” laughs Brooker. “It’s true. I still have my head that gets ripped off,” confirms Nyman with a grin. “When I agreed to do Dead Set I was promised my prosthetic leg on Severance but that was given to one of the producers so I ended up getting my head instead,” he laughs. “It’s in a rusty tin in my study.”…

16-20 WELCOME TO DEAD HOUSE You are the premier quiz taker. You demand their respect while making them shake in their boots like the Benson family when they started to realise their house was haunted. 11-15 SAY CHEESE AND DIE! You might not be the best, but you’re still a classic that has brought joy (and the heebiejeebies) to countless people. Even Ryan Gosling wants to be associated with you. 6-10 CHICKEN CHICKEN Like Crystal while she’s still in the throes of transforming into a chicken, you don’t know what you are or what you’re doing. It’s believed that weird Vanessa put a spell on you at some point to make you bad at quizzes. 0-5 YOU CAN’T SCARE ME Like You Can’t Scare Me, you’re a joke. You are…

Q. What do you wish had made the 150 list but didn’t? Jonathan Hatfull Editor A. The Invitation Karyn Kusama’s chiller is always my answer to “What’s a great recent horror movie?” Abigail Chandler Deputy Editor A. Kieron Gillen’s Journey Into Mystery His run, starring Kid Loki, was smart, twisty, and still hurts me to this day. Poppy-Jay Palmer News Editor A. The Cursed Child stage play The book really doesn’t do it justice. I’m still not over the on-stage magic. Marcus Faint Art Editor A. Community I will forever fight for more people to acknowledge the brilliance and sheer joy of Greendale’s finest. Rachael Harper Sub Editor A. The Girl With All The Gifts An affecting, intelligent and unique take on the classic zombie subgenre.…

Sony have had a rough time of it with their Marvel films in recent years, having already had to bin one attempt at a cinematic universe this decade. Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man movies were to lead into a series of Spider-verse films, including Drew Goddard’s sadly defunct Sinister Six movie and a would-be spin-off for Felicity Jones’ Black Cat. But when Sony did a deal with Disney to share Spider-Man, all of that went out the window, and we got our best Spider-Man movie in years. But what now? Sony has moved on and Venom is set to be its first Spidey-less Marvel movie. Centring on Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and the Venom Symbiote that becomes attached to him, we’re not sure how the film ties into the MCU, if…

SUMMER OF 84 killed at FrightFest, a retro blend of Rear Window and The Goonies that follows a group of kids who believe that their cop neighbour (Mad Men’s Rich Sommer) might be the serial killer picking off local kids. It’s a dark change of pace for the makers of Turbo Kid, and we talked to RKSS (François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell) about subverting expectations. THE FILM’S CERTAINLY PLAYING WITH EIGHTIES NOSTALGIA AND WE GOT A THE ‘BURBS VIBE FROM IT… YKW: The ‘Burbs was a huge influence. Definitely Stand By Me, which is the greatest film of all time and Monster Squad! FS: Also Fright Night, Goonies and the first two Halloween films for the mood. YKW: When we read the script, it was connected to all…

TAIKA WAITITI Thor: Ragnarok was basically Thor transplanted into a Guardians-ish universe – but would Waititi want to step into someone else’s shoes? EDGAR WRIGHT If he’s forgiven Disney for its little Ant-Man snafu, then he’s a director with the cool comedy cred to take on the Guardians. DREW GODDARD He can do comedy and action, but may not want to direct from someone else’s script. He’s also a little busy with X-Force right now. JAMES GUNN The easiest and still most likely option.…

THE PASSAGE 8 June 2010 Author: Justin Cronin Publisher: Ballantine Books Justin Cronin opened his brilliant vampiric trilogy with this thrilling and affecting outbreak story. MONSTERS 29 October 2010 Director: Gareth Edwards Starring: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able A spectacular and yet intimate debut that announced Edwards as a talent to watch. SCOTT SNYDER’S BATMAN RUN 24 November 2010 Publisher: DC Comics Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run is truly epic: Court Of Owls and Zero Year are essential. NEVER LET ME GO 11 February 2010 Director: Mark Romanek Starring: Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield A sharp and heartbreaking adaptation of Ishiguro’s modern classic. I SAW THE DEVIL 12 August 2010 Director: Kim Jee-woon Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik A cop traps a killer, hurts him, lets him go and starts again in…

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS 2011 Director: Matthew Vaughn Set: 1962 New/young mutants: Professor X (McAvoy), Magneto (Fassbender), Beast (Hoult), Mystique (Lawrence), Havok (Till), Banshee (Landry-Jones), Emma Frost (Jones) Old faces: Wolverine, older Mystique Villain: Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) Timeline: Not confusing, simple reset Best bit: Magneto: Nazi Hunter X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST 2014 Director: Bryan Singer Set: 1973, dystopian future New/young mutants: Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, Beast, Havok, Quicksilver (Peters) Old faces: Wolverine, Professor X (Stewart), Magneto (McKellen), Storm (Berry), Iceman (Ashmore), Kitty Pryde (Page), Rogue (Paquin), Beast (Grammer), Colossus (Cudmore), Jean Grey (Janssen), Cyclops (Marsden) Future faces: Bishop (Sy), Sunspot (Canto), Blink (Bingbing), Warpath (Stewart) Villain: Mystique, kind of. And Peter Dinklage’s Bolivar Trask Timeline: Getting a bit confusing Best bit: Quicksilver shows off X-MEN:…

CHRONICLE 1 February 2012 Director: Josh Trank Starring: Dane DeHaan, Michael B Jordan This time the superheroes get the found footage treatment in this brilliant career-launching movie. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS 13 April 2012 Director: Drew Goddard Starring: Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth It’s safe to say we didn’t see any of that coming in this smart, twisty horror. PROMETHEUS 1 June 2012 Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron Scott returned to the Alien franchise with this, erm, divisive prequel. It’s unforgettable... LOOPER 27 September 2012 Director: Rian Johnson Starring: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are the same person, and it makes sense! CLOUD ATLAS 26 October 2012 Director: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski Starring: Tom Hanks,…

AGENT CARTER 6 January 2015 Creator: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely Stars: Hayley Atwell, James D’Arcy, Chad Michael Murray, Enver Gjokaj Cruelly cancelled after just two seasons, we’re still waiting for Hayley Atwell to return to our screens as Peggy Carter and there’s so much story left to tell. Still, if Agent Carter doesn’t make a comeback, at least we know its value. PREDESTINATION 9 January 2015 Directors: The Spierig Brothers Stars: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor This adaptation of Robert A Heinlein’s short story ‘All You Zombies’ hasn’t yet been recognised as one of the most effective and surprising sci-fis in recent memory… but it will. What’s more, Sarah Snook’s performance is truly revelatory. EX MACHINA 21 January 2015 Director: Alex Garland Stars: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac…

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE 18 March 2016 Director: Dan Trachtenberg Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr Being trapped inside during an alien attack is sometimes scarier than being outside, as Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Much like its viral marketing campaign, the film is a slower burner and it was worth the ridiculous levels of secrecy that came with it. The cast – Winstead, John Gallagher Jr and a mesmerising John Goodman — are worth it alone. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL 8 April 2016 Director: Jeff Nichols Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher Nichols’ Starman homage was beautiful and emotional. “It’s a fantastic piece of work. He’s the director for me who when people say ‘who would you like to work…

AMERICAN GODS 30 April 2017 Showrunner: Bryan Fuller, Michael Green Starring: Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily Browning Amazon’s stylish adaptation does justice to Neil Gaiman’s massive novel. COLOSSAL 19 May 2017 Director: Nacho Vigalondo Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis This is probably the strangest yet most incredibly affecting monster movie you will ever see. TWIN PEAKS 21 May 2017 Showrunner: David Lynch, Mark Frost Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Michael Horse This is the water. And this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white... IT 8 September 2017 Director: Andy Muschietti Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Sophie Lillis, Jaeden Lieberher This film gave horror a big 2017 resurgence at the box office. BLADE RUNNER 2049 5 October 2017 Director: Denis Villeneuve Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford Denis…

BLACK LIGHTNING 16 January 2018 Showrunner: Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil Starring: Cress Williams, Nafessa Williams, China Anne McClain This superhero show doesn’t shy away from racial politics. ISLE OF DOGS 30 March 2018 Director: Wes Anderson Starring: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton This stop-motion charmer is a must for all dog people. HEREDITARY 6 June 2018 Director: Ari Aster Starring: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne. A classy cast makes for a genuinely terrifying film. We’re still not OK.…

How did you get the part of Graham O’Brien? “Chris [Chibnall, whom Walsh worked with on Law And Order] and I kept in touch over the years and he said: ‘Do you want to have lunch, I’ve got something to put to you.’ They said: ‘We can’t really tell you what it’s about, but it’s a fantastic journey, we’re going to hopefully change the way everyone perceives a certain show.’ They said: ‘It’s going to an eight- to nine-month shoot, and it’ll be shot in Wales and it’ll be an ensemble piece.’ I went, wow, cool… I had no idea it was Doctor Who, I swear! It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later, the boys got in touch again. I’d said yeah, and then they explained to me what…

IT’S BEEN 40 years since Michael Myers escaped from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and returned home to stalk the sleepy suburban streets of Haddonfield, Illinois. 40 years since he killed three teenagers and terrorised Laurie Strode before finally being stopped by Dr Samuel Loomis. 40 years since we discovered that the boogeyman was real. Now, he’s back. And Laurie Strode is here to meet him. In the decades since John Carpenter scared the life out of audiences with Halloween, there have been a legion of sequels (of varying quality), not to mention Rob Zombie’s divisive remake and its sequel. But despite the ever-increasing body count and convoluted mythology, there has always been something simple about what makes Michael Myers so profoundly terrifying. As director and co-writer David Gordon Green puts it:…

Details 18 // 87 mins // 1972 // // Released Out now Director Gary Sherman Cast Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Christopher Lee Distributor Network There still hasn’t been a better horror film about the London Underground than Gary Sherman’s Death Line (released as Raw Meat in the US), an eccentric, gruesome and wonderful chiller in which the last inbred cannibal descendant (Hugh Armstrong) of trapped Victorian railway workers stalks late night commuters. It is frequently gruesome, with some moments of The Man in his lair seeming to anticipate The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but there’s a tragic humanity to the character too. On the other hand, it’s very funny, with Donald Pleasence having a wonderful time as the class-conscious copper who doesn’t like people looking down…

Details Author: Peter McLean Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books Price: £18.99 Released: Out now What happens to grimdark fantasy soldiers when they come home from war? In Peter McLean’s latest, the first in a new series, they turn their skills to organised crime. It’s a clever idea and a nifty pitch, as there’s a lot of fun to be had following this band of ne’erdo-wells pick up their swords and charge into a gambling den rather than to battle. However, as McLean has showed with his excellent Burned Man urban fantasy series, he’s got a keen eye for flawed characters and moral quandaries that gives this story depth and emotion to go with the swagger, swearing and gore the genre demands. Our hero (ish) is Tomas Piety, who has returned home…

“CAPTURES WHAT’S GREAT AND WHAT’S BAD ABOUT THE INTERNET” Details Author: Hank Green Publisher: Trapeze Price: £14.99 Released: 25 September Stumbling across a new piece of public art might not seem like it could change the world but when April May finds a ten-foot tall robot sculpture she names ‘Carl’, she decides to make a YouTube video about it and becomes an overnight celebrity. Turns out these sculptures have popped up in other cities, and no-one knows where they came from. As the first person to talk about Carl online, April makes herself part of his story. And when the Carls start communicating through a series of puzzles, she’s the one everyone looks to for answers. Problem is, not everyone thinks the Carls come in peace, and April suddenly has…

Details Author: Kim Stanley Robinson Publisher: Orbit Price: £18.99 Released: 25 October Fred Fredericks has a communication system to install on the moon for China’s Lunar Science Foundation, who have begun peacefully colonising the satellite. However, when he arrives, something goes wrong and Fredericks is accused of a crime he didn’t commit. A newly-made friend of his, Ta Shu, is a celebrity travel reporter, who is presented the opportunity to help Fredericks. Finally, there is the daughter of China’s finance minister, Chan Qi, who crosses paths with them both and has revolution in her sights. Kim Stanley Robinson is a master of the science fiction tome with a frontiersman-like sensibility, an attitude which is on display here. He packs a lot of ideas into Red Moon, from imagining a future…

If you’re a genre fan in the UK, chances are that you fall into one of two camps. Either you went to the Scala, or you’ve grown up on documentaries and articles that describe it as the kind of cult movie haven you’d die for. Starting life in Tottenham Street in 1976 as The Other Cinema, re-opening as Scala in 1978 then relocating to Kings Cross in 1981, the cinema is talked about in reverential tones by those who were there. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Scala’s closure in 1993 (and the 40th of its first programme), and every time you walk past the building in King’s Cross, London and see the sign, you can’t help but wish that there was an all-night horror movie marathon playing,…

“It’s terrifying,” admits Charlie Brooker. No, he’s not referring to the blood-soaked events of his ultra-violent zombie series Dead Set – more the fact that ten whole years have passed since it was first unleashed onto audiences. That’s right. Brooker’s proto- Black Mirror series arrived way back in late 2008, with E4 releasing this ahead-of-its-time tale of a zombie outbreak set against a season of Big Brother across five consecutive nights in the lead up to Halloween. Back then, writer/presenter/angry TV fan Brooker had already made a name for himself with sweary Guardian columns Screen Burn and TV Go Home. Telly edition Screenwipe swiftly followed alongside work on hipster-skewing comedy Nathan Barley but it wasn’t until the uncompromising terror and dark humour of Dead Set that his true potential emerged.…

IF YOU’VE SEEN the trailer for Overlord, you’ll know why the quote we used from director Julius Avery as a title isn’t overselling it. For everyone who watched Band Of Brothers and wished that there were more John Carpenter-esque monsters in it, the latest sci-fi from Bad Robot is here to make your dreams come true. The film follows a team of American paratroopers dropped in a French village ahead of D-Day to secure a radio tower that’s crucial to the operation’s success. What they find there goes a bit beyond Nazi occupation… OVERLORD IS… CRAZY “When I first read Overlord it was bonkers, it’s like Indiana Jones on acid,” laughs Avery when we catch with him before the film’s premiere at Fantastic Fest. The Indiana Jones comparison may seem…

Star Wars: Episode IX EXPECTED RELEASE 20 December 2019 The conclusion to the conclusion to the greatest saga in the galaxy. ROLES UNNAMED MAN: Male, 20-40 years old, caucasian. A ‘key role’ actor who works well as both the leading man and a side character. UNNAMED MAN 2: Male, 60+ years old, caucasian. A person, but we can’t say more than that. UNNAMED MAN 3: Male, 30-50 years old, any ethnicity. Also a person, more of the same. UNNAMED WOMAN: Female, 30-50 years old, any ethnicity. We really can’t tell you anything but you want to be in Star Wars, right? CONTACT jjabramsrules@disney.com REPLIES Matt Smith, Richard E Grant, Dominic Monaghan, Keri Russell Random Acts Of Violence EXPECTED RELEASE Unknown Jay Baruchel’s take on Random Acts Of Violence, a graphic…

DOLLHOUSE 13 February 2009 Showrunner: Joss Whedon Starring: Eliza Dushku, Fran Kranz, Tahmoh Penikett A great idea and supporting characters, but it never quite soared. THE VAMPIRE DIARIES 10 September 2009 Showrunner: Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder The series that spawned a franchise that’s still going strong. WATCHMEN 6 March 2009 Director: Zack Snyder Starring: Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman This was a very stylish and faithful take on the classic comic. JENNIFER’S BODY 4 November 2009 Director: Karyn Kusama Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody Sold to teenage boys as a sexy horror, actually one of the sharpest and funniest genre movies in years.…

DANAI GURIRA HAS had a heck of a year. She already had a legion of fans thanks to her role as Michonne in The Walking Dead, but Black Panther brought her a whole new – and much larger – fanbase. She’s now rumoured to be starring in both Star Trek 4 and Godzilla Vs Kong. We’ve loved her since she decapitated her first zombie, but after talking to her at SDCC earlier this year, we love her even more. 1 SHE’S MORE THAN JUST AN ACTION HERO Many of the characters she plays are very physical and visceral, but, as she points out: “Visceral does not mean non-intellectual. The characters I play are all extremely smart women, which is why they are in positions of power. It’s part of why…

ATTACK THE BLOCK 13 May 2011 Director: Joe Cornish Stars: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Nick Frost Aliens should have really known better than to land in south London in Joe Cornish’s sharp and star-making directorial debut. Believe. SUPER 8 5 August 2011 Director: JJ Abrams Stars: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler Abrams collaborated with Steven Spielberg for a tale that owes so much to the latter: Seventies, small town, kids on bikes, a misunderstood alien… it’s lovely. THE FADES 21 September 2011 Creator: Jack Thorne Stars: Iain De Caestecker, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Kaluuya It’s criminal that Jack Thorne’s dark fantasy show lasted just one series. It’s fizzing with ideas and features an amazing cast, and six episodes was not enough. ANOTHER EARTH 9 December 2011 Director: Mike Cahill Stars:…

14 May 2015 Director: George Miller Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Hugh Keays-Byrne WHAT A LOVELY DAY “Flawless technical execution and balanced storytelling with characters who are complex but easily understood.” @NatashaKermani “It’s just so rad. Amazing action, crunching sound, incredible stunts, all supporting a great story and superb acting with a great woman actor at the head.” @moviedrone “Why I love Fury Road? Sooo many reasons, but the most important one is because it’s a pure non-stop-old fashion-road action hell of a movie, without the obnoxious overdose of CGI. That’s pretty much it.” @Maralkb “It is pure cinema – the thrill of the chase, the violent overthrow of a villain, a narrative which echoes the real world and a film which celebrates the heritage of cinema.” @i71Sheriff “The visuals,…

“Sometimes when you bump into people at a wedding or socially and they ask ‘what do you do?’ and you say ‘oh, I work in the film industry’ and they go ‘yeah, but what is it you do?’ I really struggle to say I’m a director. It just sounds like I’m a dick,” Edwards laughs. “I try not to mention it for ages, and eventually you say it, and then… they say ‘have you done any films I might have heard of?’ and you end up saying ‘Star Wars’, and then you just look like a liar. It’s the world’s most awkward conversation. When I bump into people now I still say I do visual effects because they’re not interested and that’s the end of that.”…

BLACK PANTHER 12 February 2018 Director: Ryan Coogler Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o THE WOMEN OF BLACK PANTHER Boseman and Jordan might be top-billed, but when Black Panther hit cinema screens all anyone could talk about were the women. Women are rarely represented in action roles, and black women even less so, so when Black Panther gave us scenes of Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s Nakia and Okoye going after the villains together, Angela Bassett as a queen, and Letitia Wright’s Shuri as the smartest teenager on the planet, it was something genuinely new in the world of superhero films. No wonder it became Marvel’s biggest grossing movie. THE SHAPE OF WATER 14 February 2018 Director: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Doug…

Jeri Hogarth, Jessica Jones In the comics, Jeri Hogarth is Jeryn Hogarth, a male lawyer who works with Iron Fist’s father. But the character was renamed for the Jessica Jones TV series, with Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss signing on for the role. Starbuck, Battlestar Galactica In the Seventies version of Battlestar Galactica, Starbuck was a fighter pilot played by Dirk Benedict. But in Ronald D Moore’s reimagining, the character was a woman, played by Katee Sackhoff. And she was awesome. Bug-Eyed Bandit, The Flash Originally named Bertram Larvan, the Bug-Eyed Bandit first appeared in Atom #26 in 1966. For the recent Flash series however, the character became Brie Larvan, played by Emily Kinney. The Ancient One, Doctor Strange In the comic, Doctor Strange was mentored by a Tibetan male while…

STEVEN CRAIN (Michiel Huisman) The oldest sibling, who’s turned their family history into a successful book. The rest of the siblings weren’t very happy about it… SHIRLEY CRAIN (Elizabeth Reaser) Shirley has started a family and runs a funeral home. Her sense of charity isn’t good for her bank account. She’s still furious with Steven. THEO CRAIN (Kate Siegel) Always wearing a pair of black gloves, Theo lives with Shirley and works as a child psychologist. She’s perhaps the hardest to read and keeps a lot inside. NELL CRAIN (Victoria Pedretti) Luke’s twin, who has struggled to find a way to adjust to life after the events of their childhood. She is the catalyst behind pulling everyone back to Hill House. LUKE CRAIN (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) The youngest of the siblings…

There are very few people in Hollywood as straight-shooting as John Carpenter. Over the years his films have been feted as genre-defining masterpieces, directors have cited him as their key inspiration, and the recent trend for Eighties nostalgia owes a colossal debt to him, and yet you’d be hard pushed to get much of a reaction from the man himself. So, when he says that he’s excited about David Gordon Green’s new movie, we pay attention… Is it nice to see that your movie is still drawing audiences 40 years on? Sure. Why not, it’s great. I didn’t know anything, I thought that there was no more story to be told after the first one and boy was I wrong! So here we are. Which kind of advice did you…

Never Let Me Go (2010) Riseborough had a small role with Domhnall Gleeson as two clones out in the world in the heartbreaking adaptation. Oblivion (2013) She was comfortably the best thing in this beautiful but rather empty SF in which Tom Cruise roams a ruined Earth. Birdman (2013) In a film full of showboating performances, Riseborough’s turn as Laura quietly stole scene after scene. Mindhorn (2016) Okay, it’s not really genre, but she’s hilariously deadpan in this brilliant comedy about a washed-up actor called to reprise his role in real life. Black Mirror (2017) Riseborough gave a fascinating performance as a woman whose terrible crime is about to be discovered in last season’s ‘Crocodile’.…

Details 15 // 85 mins // 1973 // // Released Out now Director Joseph G Prieto Cast Salvador Ugarte, Terri Juston, Marcelle Bichette, Kitty Lewis, Charles Pitts Distributor Network While the horror genre hasn’t completely outgrown the habit of using trans characters as monstrous villains, it has come a long way, and it would be hard to imagine the body-coveting villain (Salvador Ugarte) of Joseph G Prieto’s lost grindhouse movie making her way into a modern release without an outcry. As dated as the shock value may be, there is something fascinating going on in this barking mad chiller, which veers wildly between sleazy slasher (there’s essentially a sex break at the halfway point) and a trippy freak-out, as the Miss Leslie’s occult interests come into play. There is also…

Details 15 // 124 mins // 2018 // • // Released 8 October Director Ari Aster Cast Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Ann Dowd Distributor Entertainment In Video A mix of demonic terror and grief-based chamber drama, writer-director Ari Aster’s debut feature Hereditary is a horror that’s very strong on an isolated moment-to-moment basis, but frustrating in retrospect. In its favour are two spellbinding turns from Toni Collette and Alex Wolff, both delivering open-wound performances of different registers but equal potency. Aster’s formal control of particular set-pieces – be they explicitly spooky or ‘just’ dealing with the horrors of familial loss – also makes this a film to recommend despite some misgivings. That all said, and without going into overt spoiler territory, the nature of Hereditary’s design…

Details Author: Tade Thompson Publisher: Orbit Price: £8.99 Released: Out now Rosewater is a novel that features an alien biodome, a school for the gifted, alien abilities, a murder mystery, a shadowy government agency and dreamscape sex scenes between characters’ fantasy creature avatars, and it opens in a bank. The first time we meet our narrator Kaaro is when he’s working his day job running security, and while it’s almost immediately revealed that the kind of security he offers is considerably more sci-fi than the data protection we’re used to, the opening says a lot about Tade Thompson’s determination to subvert expected hero tropes, and to keep things grounded even as they drift into the realm of the spectacular and strange. The book is set in Nigeria in 2066, in…

Details Author: Angela Chadwick Publisher: Dialogue Books Price: £14.99 Released: 4 October This is the kind of near future science-fiction that doesn’t feel like it could plausibly happen in a couple of decades’ time – it feels like it could actually happen next week. After a scientific breakthrough allows two women to conceive a child together, using just their own DNA, a lesbian couple signs up to become part of the first human trial, and find themselves in the middle of a whirlwind of controversy. Suddenly, everyone’s got an opinion, and no-one can be trusted. Protestors claim ovum-to-ovum tech will create new diseases, journalists camp outside the couple’s home, and opportunistic politicians jump at the chance to scoop up votes from people scared by the prospect of a change to…

Details Author:CF Iggulden Publisher: Michael Joseph Price: £7.99 Released: Out now The first novel in CF Iggulden’s Empire Of Salt series is spilt into two parts. The first is full of intrigue and menace, a rapid introduction to a lot of characters in a land full of scheming, magic and disease where everyone has vengeance on their mind. The second, which is roughly the final third of the book, is an impressive piece of sustained action. That protracted battle is for the city of Darien, but our story begins outside the walls, where expert hunter Elias is grieving the death of his son from the plague. Suffering from the illness himself, he risks all at the card table, where a cocky soldier notices his ability to dodge bullets and recruits…

In the world of Tade Thompson’s Rosewater, the aliens have landed. Some time ago. What they’re doing here in 2066 remains a mystery, but there’s no mistaking the impact that they’ve had on the world, and what is ‘scientifically possible’ is getting hazy. Some people, like our narrator Kaaro, have developed supernatural abilities, and his role as a reluctant government agent working around the alien biodome is going to get complicated once his colleagues start dying one by one… How did Rosewater first come about? An interest in telepathy and ESP, deep thinking about alien invasions and their philosophical meaning, a love of unconventional protagonists, and the absence of the kind of narrative I would like to see. I followed Chinua Achebe’s injunction and wrote my own story, the story…

While the Scala is often talked about as the site of notorious Shock Around The Clock horror marathons, its importance in LGBTQ history is perhaps less well-known. From 1979 onwards, it hosted a Gay Pride week of films, and provided the film element of London’s first festival of gay arts ‘September In The Pink’. The cinema hosted a benefit screening for the then recently-raided Gay’s The Word bookshop in May 1984 as well as several other LGBTQ causes, and hosted all-nighters for LGBTQ and women-only clubs. Filmmakers like John Waters and RW Fassbinder were feted there, and, as Giles notes in her book, the lightbulbs would often be removed in the men’s toilets on Blue Monday triple bills and gay all-nighters and developed a reputation, not to mention a nickname…

Outside Big Brother, Riz Ahmed’s Riq finds himself stranded in a country house, unable to reach girlfriend Kelly. Together with Liz May Brice’s Alex, the pair ultimately escape in a small riverboat but that wasn’t always the plan. “Originally it was going to be a celebrity’s house, Noel Edmonds or something,” reveals Brooker. “The idea was there’s a helicopter – because that’s the sort of thing I imagine Noel Edmonds might own – but neither of them could fly it. Riq finds a Microsoft helicopter simulator and over several months, teaches himself to fly it. Everyone told me I was fucking mental and that’d never work so we changed it to a riverboat,” smiles Brooker. “I still maintain that the helicopter would’ve been fun.”…

BEWARE… 1. Which book was the first to feature Slappy the Dummy? 2. In what year was the first Goosebumps book, Welcome To Dead House, published? 3. Which publishing house published the Goosebumps books? 4. How many original series Goosebumps novels are there? 5. What year was the final Goosebumps book from the original series, Monster Blood IV, published? IN THE DETAILS 6. In which US state is Fever Swamp located in The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp? 7. What are the names of the Morris children in One Day At HorrorLand? 8. In which city is the Terror Tower situated in A Night In Terror Tower? 9. What is Mark Rowe’s favourite videogame in How I Got My Shrunken Head? 10. During which vacation does Gabs visit Egypt in The…