Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 158 i SciFi Now

1 Welcome back We open with Rey, on a desert planet, preparing herself to take on a TIE fighter. Is she back on Jakku, or are we going all the way back to Tatooine? 2 Feel the force It seems like Rey vs TIE fighter might be a fair fight after all. This looks similar to the TIE fighter piloted by Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi, so he may well be behind the wheel. 3 Masks on Speaking of Kylo Ren, this shot indicates that his mask – which he destroyed in The Last Jedi – is being put back together. It’s fair to say he’s definitely back on the dark side. 4 #Finnpoe returns The ultimate bromance of Finn and Poe is back, after the two were separated…

JOKER The first poster for Todd Phillips’ Joker is basically just a glorified trailer screenshot blown up to maximum size. But with a trailer like that one that’s all it needed to be. Though we’re expecting the film to draw as heavily on The Killing Joke as it will on the obvious Scorsese influences like Taxi Driver and The King Of Comedy, this minimalist poster takes a different approach and keeps us all guessing. Also, we’re really into turquoise right now. AVENGERS: ENDGAME We’ve been on the promotional run-up to Avengers: Endgame for ages, but we love this poster. CLOAK & DAGGER This new one-sheet for Cloak & Dagger’s second season — designed by Marvel artist Phil Noto — gives a wonderful nod to the comics that inspired it. DARK…

GODZILLA FIRST APPEARANCE: Godzilla (1954) FILM APPEARANCES: 35 (32 Japanese films, 3 American) ORIGINS: A prehistoric creature living deep beneath the depths of the ocean until nuclear power woke him up and subsequently made him even stronger. MAIN POWER: Atomic heat breath, backed up by incredible size and near-impenetrable skin. And, while it’s not technically a weapon, he’s got that roar. ALLEGIANCES: Variable. Will fight to protect humans from a more dangerous predator but he’s not our biggest fan, either. KING GHIDORAH FIRST APPEARANCE: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964) FILM APPEARANCES: 9 ORIGINS: Originally an extra-terrestrial civilisation-killer who comes to take out Earth, he’s also been a monster from the future and an imprisoned creature of ancient Japan. MAIN POWER: Three heads, with wings that can fire lightning and…

The outfits of Aziraphale and Crowley are fairly obvious reflections of their personalities – light and dark, good and evil – but for costume designer Claire Anderson, she wanted their clothes to tell a story too. “Their outfits do just fall off the page,” she says. “But I also wanted to look at it from the point of view that they’ve lived thousands of years. What people are like at 16, 18, after university, these tend to inform what they look like. But Crowley and Aziraphale have just collected things they’ve liked over the years. Their outfits are an amalgamation.” For Aziraphale, this means an appreciation of craft and quality, an outfit that he has been put together over the years and hasn’t changed since. The goal, apparently, was for…

Any Neil Gaiman fan knows that he’s into mythology. Gods and myths play a huge role in his work. But he’s never been able to explain where his passion for myths came from: “[I]t’s one that I wish I had a nice neat answer to. ‘When I was five years old I was bitten by a radioactive myth and this is why I grew up to be who I am’. I don’t know. I’ve always loved myth. Some kids read The Mighty Thor comics and fantasise about joining The Avengers. I read The Mighty Thor and went ‘I have to know more about this’, and went off and got Roger Lancelyn Green’s Myths Of The Norsemen, and it was like, okay, this is where this thing comes from. I need…

Half the houses are filled with food and the other half are empty. What do you do? A: Demand that everyone combines their food and work out a rations system for all. B: Let everyone keep their food; the others should have prepared better. C: It’s a free for all! If the hungry can successfully steal the food then they deserve to eat it. D: Eat your feelings and cry all night. Someone needs medical attention. What do you do? A: Gather a team to research medicine and do what they can to assist the patient. B: Attempt to remember everything you learnt in biology class and sort it out yourself. C: Nothing. Survival of the fittest… D: Vomit and/or faint. Someone with a stronger stomach will have to deal…

SIT BACK AND RELAX, HORROR FANS. You are entering the Darkplace. Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, to be exact, and it is one of the most innovative, imaginative, and just plain hilarious comedy series ever broadcast, in this or any other dimension. In six episodes so savage, subversive, and downright shocking that they could never be broadcast back in the Eighties, Dr Rick Dagless MD (Garth Marenghi: author, dreamweaver, visionary, plus actor) sets out to confront the forces of darkness lurking beneath Romford’s infamous Darkplace Hospital. He’s joined by three indispensable colleagues – head honcho, Thornton Reed (played by noted impresario, Dean Learner), suave Dr Lucien Sanchez (small-screen legend, Todd Rivers), and plucky newcomer Dr Liz Asher (the late, lamented Madeleine Wool, whose mysterious disappearance Dean doesn’t know anything about, obviously). Dagless…

While much of the film clearly draws on existential sci-fi likeSolaris, there’s definitely aSilent Running feel to the wonderfully functional design of the spaceship (there’s even a garden inside). The craft looks a lot like a box with a rocket strapped to the back of it… and it looks like it works. “We spoke quite early on about how a lot of spaceships are these futuristic macho machines,” Dungey tells us. “They’re aerodynamic and they’re shiny and they’re white and also kind of clinical. Claire realised that she wanted more the feeling of a prison, because of the history of these characters. “In preparation we went to the European Space Agency, and Rob and Claire discovered that the actual spaceships that they use are these incredibly unglamorous functional bits of…

Release Out now Director Sam Liu Cast Diane Guerrero, Elyes Gabriel, Kevin Conroy, Susan Eisenberg, George Newbern Distributor Warner Bros Certificate 12 Format • DC animation takes a break from adapting classic storylines with this action-packed adventure as the Justice League tackle the Fatal Five, while trying to bring PTSD-suffering Green Lantern Jessica Cruz (Diane Guerrero) on board and figure out the origins of Starboy (Elyes Gabriel). There’s so much going on that it feels a little rushed, as all the action means that some of the characters, and the plot, are short-changed. But it’s hard to complain about the veterans taking up space when there’s Kevin Conroy, Susan Eisenberg and George Newbern in their iconic roles. Entertaining, but it could have dug deeper.…

Release Out now Director Dallas Jackson Cast Jessica Allain, Luke Tennie, Pepi Sonuga, Tequan Richmond, RZA Distributor Netflix Certificate 15 Format The old fashioned slasher seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years. Thriller, produced by Blumhouse and released on Netflix, feels like a deliberate throwback without ever relying on retro tropes. Sure, there’s the excellently synth-y score but it’s transplanted the slasher tropes from suburban neighbourhood to Compton. The film begins with a group of kids pulling a cruel prank on outsider Chauncey which turns deadly. They all agree to blame the poor boy, who’s promptly hauled off to juvie while they get on with their lives. Fast forward a few years and everyone’s getting ready for the homecoming dance but when they realise that Chauncey has…

Release Out now Director Riccardo Freda Cast Luigi Pistilli, Dagmar Lassander, Anton Diffring, Arthur O’Sullivan Distributor Arrow Video Certificate 15 Format Giallo heads to Dublin in this rambling thriller from Riccardo Freda (credited as Willy Pareto) which justifies its title thanks to a rather tortured bit of dialogue from the chief inspector. It does rather feel like a film that came together in pieces (the book it claims to be based on was reportedly a fabrication) but it’s never boring, as an ex-cop with a history of violence is recruited to hunt down a serial killer who seems to be targeting people involved with the Swiss ambassador. The Dublin setting certainly feels unusual for a giallo but genre fans will feel right at home with the film’s determination to put…

Release 29 May Director M Night Shyamalan Cast Samuel L Jackson, James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy Distributor Walt Disney Certificate 15 Format After the success of his secret UnbreakablesequelSplit, M Night Shyamalan was in a position he hadn’t been in since the heyday of Signs. He had a commercial hit and an audience eagerly waiting to see how he’d pull the strings to bring Elijah Price/Mr Glass (Samuel L Jackson), David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and The Beast (James McAvoy) together. This is Shyamalan, and we should expect the unexpected. The film subverts the expectations of a superhero movie by keeping its characters separate until the end (with the exception of a group therapy session). Instead, Shyamalan explores the idea that each of these people is suffering from…

Release 13 May Director Travis Knight Cast Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Angela Bassett, Justin Theroux Distributor Paramount Home Entertainment Certificate PG Format Just when you were ready to write off the Transformers movies, along comes a prequel that figures out what they needed all along. Director Travis Knight (Kubo & The Two Strings) and writer Christina Hodson (Birds Of Prey) bring a sense of adventure and fun and a big heart to this Eighties-set prequel, in which 17-year-old Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) finds herself keeping the titular Transformer under wraps as the army and two Decepticons hunt for him. ET is an obvious touchstone here but that’s no bad thing, and that Spielbergian sense of grounded wonder fits the characters perfectly. Steinfeld delivers another excellent performance as the rebellious teen wanting…

Release 16 May Writer Jen Williams Publisher Headline Price £14.99 Reaching the end of a trilogy as brilliant as The Winnowing Flame trilogy is an experience both exciting and sorrowful because you never want it to end and yet know it must. The Ninth Rain, the award-winning first instalment, burst on to the scene three years ago now and instantly affirmed Jen Williams’ status as one of the most fun and entertaining authors working in genre fiction. As withThe Ninth RainandThe Bitter Twins, The Poison Song takes a liberal approach as to exactly which genre it belongs to. Elements of science fiction mingle with traditional fantasy, romance, and folklore to produce something that is constantly a surprise and a real feat of imagination. The Poison Song kicks off almost straight…

Release Out now Writer MG Wheaton Publisher Hodder & Stoughton Price £14.99 The end of the world is coming in this confident debut from MG Wheaton, and the human race is quickly running out of time to find a way out. Ground-breaking AI, Emily, had only just begun to settle into her role as a trauma counsellor when it was revealed that the sun was dying. Since then she’s been working on potential escape plans with her creator and his university lab team with no success. Until she makes a game-changing discovery that comes with some hefty moral questions… just as they’re brutally attacked by a heavily armed team. Now, Emily is on the run with no idea of who to trust and the last day of human life on…

Release Out now Writer Jim Al-Khalili Publisher Bantam Press Price £16.99 The quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili turns to fiction with this apocalyptic tale, aiming for that tricky balance between real hard science and page-turning thrills. In 2041 a series of devastating weather events suggest that the Earth’s magnetic field is failing. Without it, the coronal ejections from the sun will burn through the atmosphere and kill legions of people. When word gets out, the world’s governments finally come together to find a solution but the clock is against them, not to mention the terrorist group who believe that we should accept our punishment for killing the planet. Sunfall kicks off with a series of short chapters introducing the key players (bright scientist Sarah, burned out academic Marc and hacker prodigy…

The end of the world can be a lonely, dangerous place, which is why it’s important to have a companion by your side. Griz may have his family, living on a small island off the coast of Scotland following the apocalypse, but the young man would do anything for his two dogs. When a two-faced trader makes off with one of his pups, Griz doesn’t think twice and sets sail after him, heading into the ruins of civilization with just his dog and his wits… This is the starting point for CA Fletcher’s A Boy And His Dog At The End Of The World, which takes the author of the Oversight trilogy in a bold new direction. What was the starting point for this? I’m just superstitious enough not to…

BY THE TIME you read this, you’ll have almost definitely witnessed what is unquestionably the end of an era for Marvel, on the big screen at least. Over the last ten years or so we’ve lived through a time when costumed heroes have changed the landscape of pop culture entertainment forever, so what better time to dive back into the history and the arcana of the characters who continue to inspire this boom? The new edition of the colossal Marvel Encyclopedia features info on more than 1200 characters, with new cover art by Maury Checchetto and an introduction from the late Stan Lee. With information on characters’ origins, history and essential comic book storylines, it’s both a valuable tome for long-time fans and a fantastic introduction to a dazzling world…

The depiction of John Constantine’s use of magic is key to the character’s portrayal. “I thought it was really important that his use of magic be very subtle, at best,” says comic writer Tim Seeley. “He tries to get out of things using his brain first, because the cost of using magic is so high. My thing was always if he does cast a spell, it has to be the opposite of the way it’s done for just about every other magical character. You know, big shields with runes on them in front of his hands, it can’t be any of that sort of thing.” Which, of course, is exactly how it is done in DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – although arguably TV has to be a little bit flashier…

“We knew we were doing something special,” smiles Chuck Russell, director of 1994’s madcap comedy The Mask. “The original concept was to take Jim Carrey and through physical comedy tell a story that would be universal – and it worked beyond my wildest dreams.” 25 years on, the legacy and success of Russell’s zero-to-hero tale of timid Edge City bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss (Carrey) and his transformation into a green-headed hero thanks to a magical Norse mask is clear to see. Not only did it rocket Carrey into instant overnight acclaim but it also helped to write the rulebook for the burgeoning CGI boom. Back in the early Nineties, however, it was far from a safe bet. Based on the Dark Horse comic, Ipkiss and his unleashed ID were more…

Details on what exactly will be terrorising Hawkins, Indiana in Season Three of Stranger Things are understandably thin on the ground, but the recent trailer for the film put its 4 July setting front and centre and we’d put good money on that mall not making it through the season in one piece. There’s something bigger and deadlier coming out of the Upside Down, there are shady assassins on the way, not to mention puberty, but at least Steve looks like he’s having a great time in his sailor suit.…

The London branch of the Sundance Film Festival returns to Picturehouse Central this month, as 12 cherry-picked movies from Park City will play for the UK audience. Genre fans should get their tickets booked fast, as our pick of the line-up is The Nightingale,the new film fromThe Babadook writer-director Jennifer Kent. Described as “a striking revenge drama”, the 1825-set story follows a young woman’s hunt for vengeance across the Tasmanian wilderness. Then there’s Corporate Animals, which teams Creep director Patrick Brice with Peep Show and Four Lions writer Sam Bain. Demi Moore stars as the head of an edible cutlery company whose corporate caving retreat goes cannibalistic when they’re trapped underground. Non-genre highlights include Sophie Hyde’sAnimals, Lulu Wang’sThe Farewell,Daniel Scheinert’sThe Death Of Dick Longand Penny Lane’sHail Satan?. Sundance London runs…

Since stealing our hearts as Josh Lyman in The West Wing, Bradley Whitford has become one of the most versatile character actors around. We caught up with him to chat Monarch and monsters. So, who is Dr Stanton? I think he’s had a dark past and he’s becoming a part of the team, he’s got a wacky idea about how these beasts may be getting around. There’s kind of a wacky, perhaps drug-induced hollow Earth theory going on. I think he’s a little troubled [laughs]. What’s it like working with Godzilla? The Godzilla I’m working with is a little green dot. I’ve never done anything like this. They have the thing called the pre-vis which is when I saw it I thought ‘oh well they’ve already made the movie’. It’s…

DOGMA Kevin Smith’s 1999 fantasy comedy tackled the apocalypse in true Kevin Smith style, with stoner prophets, literally demonic teenagers and two fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) trying to get one over on God. Linda Fiorentino’s Bethany must stop the angels from nullifying existence in this religious romp with an all-star cast. DR STRANGELOVE Stanley Kubrick’s political cult-classic satirised the Cold War in a suitably unhinged fashion, creating one of the most beloved comedies of all time. Starring Peter Sellers in multiple roles, the American government haplessly tries to stop a nuclear attack order on the Soviet Union. In terms of Doomsday delights, this is one of the best. THIS IS THE END Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s hyper-biblical black comedy from 2013 sees a James Franco housewarming…

A ANKH-MORPORK Probably the most famous city-state of Discworld where a lot of Pratchett’s story takes place. It is described by the author as a mixture of 18th Century London, 19th Century Seattle, and modern-day New York City. It lies on the grossly polluted River Ankh, with the affluent Ankh district on one side and the more effluent Morpork on the other. Protected by the fine officers of the City Watch and full of every kind of guild for every conceivable profession, the city is a labyrinth of buildings on top of buildings, magical happenings, and is twinned with Wincanton, Somerset. B BBC BIG READ The BBC Big Read was a year-long survey that took place in 2003 to ascertain the most-loved books across the nation. Readers could send…

LUCIFER the character has undergone many changes, from angel to Devil to LA-nightclub-owner-cum-crime-solver. Now his series has experienced a similar transformation – from network TV show to streaming show. Lucifer got cancelled by Fox last year just as Detective Chloe Decker finally learned the truth of Lucifer’s Satanic identity. The fans didn’t take that lying down, and their vocal online campaign to save the show resulted in Netflix stepping in. Now, a year after being cancelled, Lucifer is back, and star Tom Ellis is still a bit bowled over by it all. “It’s been quite a whirlwind actually,” he says when we catch up with him by phone. “It was going from feeling rejected to feeling really affirmed in the space of about four weeks.” While Ellis was by no…

Sanchez’s doomed crush on Liz was expressed in an electro ballad for the ages, ‘One Track Lover’. Holness recalls how this Darkplace highlight was put together by composer Andrew Hewitt. “It was interesting because the actual riff that it starts with was a more classical piece, but Rich and I listened to it and said: ‘That sounds really funny and cheesy.’ We put it to Andrew and it took him a while to process that we were slightly amused by it, but he said: ‘Oh, I see what you mean,’ and went off and wrote this song. We knew that Matt did his own music. He had very kindly presented me and Rich with a copy of his album, so we knew that it would be perfect for him to…

LOUNGING ON THE throne at the top of the hierarchy of vampire comedies is Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 film What We Do In The Shadows. An irreverent parody filmed like a documentary, it went right for the jugular as it ripped apart the vampire genre and gained scores of fans as it did it. The film follows Viago (Waititi), Vladislav (Clement), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) and Petyr (Ben Fransham), four vampires that live together in a flat share in a suburb of Wellington. As a group, they dish out chores, frequent night clubs and murder virgins for their blood, all the while being followed by a crucifix-wearing film crew that attempt to capture what it’s like to live as a vampire in modern-day New Zealand. The only thing that…

Release 6 May Director Timo Vuorensola Cast Lara Rossi, Vladimir Burlakov, Udo Kier, Tom Green Distributor 101 Films Certificate 15 Finally arriving a full seven years after the buzzy but frankly disappointing original, Iron Sky: The Coming Race begs the question: where else can you go once you’ve given your audience Nazis on the moon? Well, to director/co-writer Timo Vuorensola’s credit, he hasn’t rested on his laurels. The Coming Race is actually an improvement on its predecessor, although it will still leave you wondering whether you’re actually enjoying the film or whether you’ve simply been beaten into a confused state of submission by the sheer lunacy on display. Twenty years have passed since the events of the original film and the last survivors of the human race fled the nuclear…

Release 27 May Director Mamoru Hosoda Cast Haru Kuroki, Moka Kamishiraishi, Gen Hoshino, Kôji Yakusho, Kumiko Asô, Mitsuo Yoshihara Distributor Anime Limited Certificate PG Format • Writer-director Mamoru Hosoda has a knack for beautiful explorations of childhood and family. Despite their fantastical scenarios, they regularly contain some of the most realistic depictions of children’s behaviour in contemporary cinema. His charming latest, Mirai, the first anime feature to premiere at Cannes, is no exception. Although of a comparatively smaller scale to other Hosoda films like Summer Warsand The Boy And The Beast, Miraistill has fantastical elements informing its story of family relations. It’s closer in spirit to his wonderful drama Wolf Children, which spanned several years in the lives of a pair of lycanthropic kids. Mirai also features troublesome children, though…

Release Out now Director John R Leonetti Cast Kiernan Shipka, Stanley Tucci, Miranda Otto, John Corbett Distributor Netflix Certificate 15 Format Based on Tim Lebbon’s bestselling novel with the same name, this Netflix movie has inevitably drawn obvious comparisons to A Quiet Place but anyone looking for that level of thrilling tension will be left unfortunately disappointed. The set-up should make for some pulpy fun, as a race of killer bat creatures are accidentally unearthed and promptly set off on an apocalyptic murder spree across America, but the tone throughout is determinedly grim. The Andrews family has to set off to find a safe haven from the horror and they’ve been given a leg up in a world where silence is survival thanks to their deaf daughter Ally (Kiernan Shipka).…

Release Out now Director David Barker Cast Ella Scott Lynch, Benedict Samuel, Heather Mitchell Distributor Signature Entertainment/ FrightFest Presents Certificate 18 Format VOD David Barker’s feature is an assured game of role reversal, as complex characters play switcheroo with themselves and each other in their walk on the wild side. Shot on old Hawk anamorphic lenses, this is a film whose visual and auditory landscapes come with a peculiar, dreamlike intensity that displaces all the narrative twists to the realm of the psychological, and makes a nightmare of its noir tropes. As everybody lies, concealing who they are and what they really want, the viewer too becomes lost between competing pathologies and shifting genre boundaries. For it is hard to tell whether this is erotic thriller, rape-revenge, Coen-esque clusterfuck or…

Release Out now Director Richard Friedman Cast Andrew Stevens, Mary Page Keller, David Ramsey, Josh Segal Distributor Arrow Video Certificate 18 Format In the disc’s highly enjoyable documentary, the makers of Scared Stiff claim that they never actually intended to make a parody, and admit to throwing every horror trick in the book at their haunted house movie, which gives you some idea of what to expect with this. For the first hour or so, this 1987 schlocker is a standard issue haunted house movie of the era, and there’s a pretty good chance that your attention will start to drift as Kate and her family wonder what’s going on in their new home. Then, about 20 minutes before the end, the film flies off the rails and becomes all…

Release Out now Director Jeffrey Nachmanoff Cast Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, John Ortiz Distributor Lionsgate Home Entertainment Certificate 12 Format As much as we love him, Keanu is often prone to making questionable movie decisions in between John Wicks and this DTV SF offering definitely isn’t one for his highlight reel. To his credit, Reeves (who also produced) pushes himself as an actor with some heavy dramatic material as he wrestles with the morality of bringing his family back from the dead using his own neural tech and colleague Thomas Middleditch’s (at full Nic Cage twitch levels) cloning tanks. However, for all the dilemmas and soul-searching there are some giant plot holes and the film’s occasionally madcap sense of humour (of which the director is clearly proud, as…

Release Out now Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Cast Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Michelle Gomez, Gavin Leatherwood Distributor Netflix Certificate 15 Format Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina has followed up its confident debut season with even more blasphemy and patriarchy-smashing in Part Two. We pick up where we left off, with the newly platinum-haired Sabrina coming into her own as a witch, joining the Academy of Unseen Arts, and drifting away from her human friends. Now that the witchy world of Greendale has been established, Part Two is able to delve deeper. We get more witch rituals – Lupercalia is a hoot when contrasted with the staid Valentine’s Day – as well as a proper backstory for the brilliant Lilith/Miss Wardwell (Michelle Gomez), and character development all round. The…

The Silver Tide “It ties everything up really well and the final scene is just perfection. #BookClub” @andyangel44 The Amber Spyglass “The Amber Spyglass by@PhilipPullman. The bench... #BookClub” @Jerryturner262 The Dark Tower “The end was inevitable and so right. #BookClub” @LizParkin3 The Adversary “Simply the best sci-fi I’ve ever read. Give it a try. It won’t disappoint you! #BookClub” @TK06h45m089173J Morning Star “Because we didn’t know there would be more books, you were not sure who would survive. #BookClub” @BookMoodReviews…

“Tower Of Dawn by the Queen Sarah J Maas. Loooooooving it. #BookClub” @JasminMaaz “The Wise Man’s Fear. As good as The Name Of The Wind. Love it. #BookClub” @authorjla “The Clockmaker by Drew Neary and Ceri Williams. A really tense gothic thriller. #BookClub” @PokemonLass “Thrawn by Timothy Zahn. Very good so far. #BookClub” @bloodyflicks “Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott - excellent fun. Certainly the right book for right now. #BookClub” @andyangel44 “Hellboy: The Wild Hunt. Much better than the film. #BookClub” @Jbarnes532 “Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. I can’t put it down it’s so good! #BookClub” @Happyperson47 “Re-reading Timothy Zahn’s original Thrawn Trilogy and wishing Disney would announce they are making it as a GOT style epic TV series! #BookClub” @HokusBloke “First time reading Dune and it’s amazing work. @ readvisions arrived…

Release Out now Writer Maya Motayne Publisher Hodder & Stoughton Price £14.99 Prince Alfie isn’t returning to Castallan under the happiest of circumstances: he’s desperate to find his brother, presumed dead after being hurled through a portal by an assassin. His hunt takes him into the path of Finn, a thief with the ability to change her face, who’s wants the same texts which might hold the answers he’s looking for. But when he accidentally awakens a force that might bring about the end of everything, the two are forced to work together. Maya Motayne’s debut offers a rich Latinx kingdom of magic and danger. Alfie’s abilities open as many potentially dangerous doors as they do normal ones, and Finn’s skills are fuelled by her determination to put her dark…

Like many comic book readers, I’ve always had a soft spot for John Constantine. In a strange way, our lives started at the same point: In Alan Moore’s The Saga Of The Swamp Thing. It was where Constantine debuted in 1985, and it was where my name came from – courtesy of Abigail Arcane, Swamp Thing’s supporting character and love interest. This means John Constantine banged my namesake, making him something like my fictional step-dad. That anecdote would be neither here nor there with most comic book characters, but for occult con-man John Constantine, interacting with the real world in unexpected ways and getting under your skin is par for the course. “He’s charming, he’s relatable and he’s a jerk,” says artist Riley Rossmo, who drew him in Constantine: The…

THE SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING: AMERICAN GOTHIC ALAN MOORE, STEPHEN BISETTE The arc that introduced John Constantine is also Moore’s highpoint on his Swamp Thing run and introduced the Parliament of Trees – a must-read for fans of either character. THE DEVIL YOU KNOW JAMIE DELANO, MULTIPLE ARTISTS Original Sins collects the first few Hellblazer issues, but this arc is the one that tells the story of the ‘Newcastle incident’, the death of a young girl which set Constantine on his dark path. HOLD ME NEIL GAIMAN, DAVE MCKEAN Neil Gaiman’s only Hellblazer issue is worth a read, not just because it’s a touching and haunting short story, but because it’s one of the only two occasions that cover artist McKean did the interior art too. DANGEROUS HABITS GARTH…

Jim Carrey’s outstandingly animated turn in The Mask gave us a host of memorable scenes but none are quite as infectious as the impromptu Cuban Pete dance sequence used to outrun a cavalcade of Edge City cops. “Cuban Pete was a Desi Arnaz number from the Forties and I thought it was just the right kind of crazy. It went along with the whole Tex Avery, Looney Tunes thing that we were doing,” laughs director Chuck Russell. “I just made it into a complete street dance with cops magically being transformed – I liked it so much that I wanted him to drag everybody into his world.” However when the time came to capture the scene, some last minute trouble almost turned the shoot into a real song and dance…

GUYS AND DOLLS 1. In what year was the first Child’s Play film released? 2. Who created the franchise? 3.In which US state is Child’s Play set? 4. What is the moniker of serial killer Charles Lee Ray? 5. Which Academy Award-nominated actor voices Chucky? BYE BYE, BABY 6. What is the name of the toy company that is responsible for creating the Good Guys dolls? 7. What is Andy Barclay’s mother’s name? 8.Who voices Tiffany in Bride Of Chucky? 9. Which medium-security facility is Nica transferred to in Cult Of Chucky? 10. What brings Chucky back to life in a new Good Guys doll in Child’s Play 2? REBIRTH 11. What is written on Tiffany’s golden necklace? 12. What is the name of Chucky’s homicide detective arch nemesis played…

AFTER WRITING X-MEN: The Last Stand, producing X-Men: First Class and doing both on X-Men: Days Of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse, Simon Kinberg has finally found himself in the director’s chair for the franchise’s next offering, Dark Phoenix. Though the film will also mark his cinematic directorial debut, Dark Phoenix ought to still be in safe hands: Kinberg has a great love for the subject matter: “Growing up, the Dark Phoenix Saga was my favourite book saga of any comic book,” he explains. “For X-Men fans like me, it is the ultimate X-Men story.” With Dark Phoenix, Kinberg wanted to tell the saga as Jean Grey’s story. However, like with many superhero movies, the film’s plot will deviate slightly from the comic book arcs. “The comics have so many…

Child’s Play EXPECTED RELEASE June 2019 ROLE THE VOICE OF CHUCKY: Male, any age, any ethnicity. Preferably a pre-established genre icon with villainous voice acting experience. CONTACT goodguy@friendtiltheend.com REPLIES Mark Hamill Space Jam 2 EXPECTED RELEASE July 2021 ROLES LEBRON JAMES’ WIFE: Female, 30-40 years old. Must be available to start production during the NBA off-season. CONTACT bugsbunny@warnerbros.com REPLIES Sonequa Martin-Green The Eternals EXPECTED RELEASE TBA ROLES UNNAMED MAN: male, 40-50 years old, Asian. Marvel told us not to give out any details… CONTACT marvelcasting@marvel.com REPLIES Kumail Nanjiani Castle Rock: Season Two EXPECTED RELEASE TBA ROLES ANNIE WILKES: Female, 30-40 years old, Caucasian. Stephen King’s famous psychopathic nurse with a penchant for Paul Sheldon novels. Must be good with a hammer. Real-life nursing experience not necessary. JOHN ‘ACE’ MERRILL: Male,…

1 WHAT’S IN A NAME? From The Big Lebowski to Tombstone through to his long-overdueOscar nom for A Star Is Born,Sam Elliott is a true legend of American cinema, so we can’t help but wonder what he thought when a script called The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot arrived: “I just wondered what could possibly be on the second page after a title like that!” he laughs. “I think it kind of misrepresents itself on many levels, there’s just so much more to it in the telling of it. It was compelling and it made me very curious to read it.” 2 A KIND GESTURE Writer-director Robert D Krzykowski had been developing the film for 12 years, but it was a simple gesture that secured Elliott’s involvement…

Given her incredible rise to stardom, it’s hard to believe that Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is Millie Bobby Brown’s first feature film. But what better way to announce your cinematic presence than the lead role in a monster smash… What can you tell us about your character Madison? She’s bold and she’s strong but she has a vulnerable side to her that kind of gets in the way sometimes. And then she always has her mom by her side from something that has happened to her at a young age so it’s a big thing for her to do what she’s doing and she’s very excited, very ambitious but she also feels very scared and terrified of what’s going to happen to her. What’s her relationship like with her…

WE MEET NEIL Gaiman shortly before Christmas 2018. At a time when most people are winding down their work hours as the year draws to a close, Gaiman is just coming off a workday that started at 8am and ended at 2.30am, and he still has three episodesof Good Omens left to finish. He’s tired, frazzled, and ready for the show to be done. “How can it be December? It was definitely August the last time I looked,” he wonders, still managing a smile. No matter how exhausted he is, there’s no doubt that Good Omens is a labour of love for him – more than that, it’s a final duty performed for a dear friend. It’s most assuredly worth it. “Having watched Bryan Fuller on the first season of…

With recent hits like 13 Reasons Why, Insatiable and Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina, Netflix has become comfortable in the teen TV landscape. Its latest venture comes in the form of The Society, a sci-fi series created by Party Of Five’s Christopher Keyser that takes a group of everyday teenagers and drops them into a nightmare even worse than those brought about by mix tapes, beauty pageants and witchcraft. We meet the teens of The Societyin their cushy upper middle-class hometown of Old Ham on the outskirts of New England as they get ready to take off on a class trip. Instead of reaching their destination, the school buses drop them back off at what appears to be home, except there’s something missing: their parents, their teachers and any kind of…

School’s closed! HOSTS: Stu Macher WHERE: The Macher house WHEN: 1996 INFO: School’s out because of all those murders, so come along to party at my folks’ house while they’re out of town! Double celebration because Billy was released by the cops due to lack of evidence. Reunion dinner HOSTS: Eden and David WHERE: Hollywood hills WHEN: 2015 INFO: Dear friends, I’m sorry for the radio silence over the last two years, but my husband David and I would be delighted if you could make it to our house for a dinner party. We have some exciting news to share… Spooky birthday HOSTS: Frederick and Annabelle Loren WHERE: Ennis House, California WHEN: 1959 INFO: It is my pleasure to present you with the opportunity to enjoy a night you’ll never…

SUPERNATURAL Mostly played by Mark Pellegrino, Lucifer makes his way around the cast of Supernatural, and remains the show’s most compelling villain. BEING HUMAN Captain Hatch (Phil Davis) was a decrepit, manipulative Devil who, unlike most devils in fiction, actually defeated the good guys in Season Five. REAPER Ray Wise’s cheery father-figure of a Devil was one of the highlights of Reaper, but he could get nasty when he had to. PREACHER True to form, Preacher’s Satan (Jason Douglas) looks the part of the classic devil, but with the personality of a weary middle-manager.…

DOUBLE ROOM WITH A FAMILY OF THREE £400 pcm Available October 2019 Minimum term: Six months Maximum term: None My husband Edward and I are looking for a young professional to take the spare double room in our family house in Forks, Washington. Bills included but you need to buy your own food. We have a young daughter but she already has a dedicated babysitter. Not suitable for renters allergic to dogs! YOUNG COUPLE LOOKING FOR A DOUBLE ROOM IN SUNNYDALE Total budget: £550 pcm Available now Minimum term: Six seasons Maximum term: None My name is Spike and my girlfriend Drusilla and I are looking for somewhere to call home. We decided to move to Sunnydale for a change of scenery. Ideally, we’re looking for a double room. Our…

Release Out now Directors Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer Cast Jason Clarke, John Lithgow, Amy Seimetz Distributor Paramount Certificate 15 The recent surge of Stephen King adaptations for the small and big screen makes sense considering what confusing and scary times we are currently living through. King’s prose is ripe for disturbing visual interpretations and laced with the promise of psychological horror. The insidious evil of IT slithered its way to box office success and critical praise, with the second part due later this year. Over the last ten years there’s been a mix of duds and winners. Film-wise, Kimberly Pierce’s Carrieremake andTheDark Towerhave been critical failures while Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game fared better. Maybe the resurrection is down Netflix’sglobalphenomenon Stranger Things, which was then followed a couple of years later…

Release 3 June Director Mike Mitchell Cast Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Stephanie Beatriz, Will Arnett Distributor Warner Bros Certificate U Format With Warner Bros lovingly throwing out success after success when it comes to its LEGO film universe, it was a given that The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part was going to be a good time. Like its predecessors, the film is filled to the brim with great gags and fully-rounded characters, made of plastic as they may be. It also manages to successfully spoof classic genre conventions while at the same time subverting them, and the results are always witty and original. Like the other offerings in the LEGO film universe, the sequel lacks the same sense of wonder that the first film had which usually comes as…

Release 13 May Director Rainer Sarnet Cast Rea Lest, Jörgen Liik, Arvo Kukumägi, Katariina Unt Distributor Eureka Entertainment Certificate 15 Format Genre fans have had to be patient while waiting for Rainer Sarnet’s stunning Estonian folk tale since it made an impact on the festival circuit, and we’re so glad that it has received such a handsome treatment from Eureka. The closest November actually gets to a central story is watching how young peasant girl Lina reacts when her beloved falls for the wealthy daughter of the local landowner. However, the real joys of the movie come from the atmosphere, the dazzling cinematography, and the unpredictability of the various vignettes that make up the bulk of it. Nightmarish but pitiful automata beg for work (the film opens with one helicoptering…

Release Out now Showrunner Gregg Araki, Kayley Sciortino Cast Avan Jogia, Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff, Roxane Mesquida Distributor STARZ PLAY Certificate 18 Format It’s been a little while since queer cinema pioneer Gregg Araki has had the opportunity to explore his particular brand of sex, freedom and anarchy and for fans of the writer-director of The Doom Generation, Mysterious Skin and Kaboom, it’s been way too long. Now Apocalypse is also the least filtered he has been for some time. Together with co-writer Kayley Sciortino (founder of Slutever), he has created another sex-positive sun-soaked slice of weirdness, complete with the crazy dreams and beautiful shoe-gazing soundtrack you’d expect. In fact, it’s pretty much a TV series version of Kaboom, relocated from college to LA apartments as the protagonists try to…

Release 18 April Writer Emma Newman Publisher Gollancz Price £14.99 On a cramped spaceship bound for a distant colony, immersive virtual reality games are the main form of entertainment. In mersives, you can shoot Martians, run your own farm, or compete against other players in incredibly realistic and elaborate spy games. It’s all meant to be harmless fun. But when Dee is invited to play an experimental new game, the man she kills in the game dies in reality – which puts her in a rather tricky position, especially since her best friend, Carl, is the detective investigating the case… Set in the same universe as author Emma Newman’s other threePlanetfallbooks,Atlas Alone is more-or-less a standalone novel: Carl was the protagonist of After Atlas, but he’s a secondary character here,…

Release Out now Writer Adrian Tchaikovsky Publisher Head Of Zeus Price £18.99 Adrian Tchaikovsky’s latest novel, Cage Of Souls, is a tale from the end of the world. The sun is bloated and dying and what remains of humanity has retreated to Shadrapar, the last city and all that is left of a world destroyed by the hubris of its people. However, it is in the hands of a regime that deals with dissenters in the most horrid way possible; they are sent to the Island, a floating prison in a dangerous jungle. This is the fate of Stefan Advani, who narrates his tale of a life lived as a scholar, a rebel, a prisoner, and most importantly of all, a survivor. The question of evolution and survival has cropped…

Release Out now Writer Mark Lawrence Publisher 47North Price £8.99 Fifteen-year-old Nick Hayes and his Dungeons & Dragons-loving friends struggle with reality at the best of times, but when Nick is diagnosed with leukaemia, their games become an even more necessary escape from reality. Then a stranger shows up and offers them a dangerous quest, forcing them to confront their fears, analyse their friendships, and grapple with the power of narrative itself. Deceptively short at just 205 pages, One Word Kill packs in a lot of ideas. It’s about friendship, yes, but also illness, racism, homophobia, love… and time travel paradoxes. The parallels between the game and the real adventure Nick has to navigate are sometimes too on the nose, and author Mark Lawrence can’t resist driving it all the…

THERE ARE VERY few science fiction authors as influential or as prolific as Philip K Dick, so it stands to reason that some of his works haven’t quite infiltrated popular consciousness in the way they perhaps deserve. Ubik is certainly held in incredibly high regard by many, but possibly owing to the fact that it’s never been filmed (although there have been several attempts, with Michel Gondry recently trying and failing to bring it to the big screen), it is ripe for discovery by a wider audience. So, we can’t recommend this beautiful new Folio Society edition highly enough. For theuninitiated, Ubik is the story of Joe Chip, who works for a man named Glen Runciter helping to stop telepaths getting into your head. Glen is killed in an explosion…

John Constantine has a long and strange history of appearing to his creators in the real world. Alan Moore was the first to encounter him – claiming Constantine first gave him a conspiratorial nod in a sandwich bar, and later stepped out of an alley to tell him the ultimate secret of magic: ‘Any cunt could do it’. But, frankly, you’d expect that kind of weirdness from Alan Moore – the really weird thing is that Moore isn’t the only one. Jamie Delano claims to have seen him near the British Museum, Brian Azzarello avoided him in Chicago, and Peter Milligan saw him at a party. “Now, I probably see a few things at parties for one reason or another,” he chuckles, “I can’t vouch for what kind of mental…

16-20 CHUCKY You may be pure evil but at least you’re the star. Children flee when they see you. Parents lose their minds when you walk into a room. Law enforcement makes it their mission to put a stop to your mischief. It’s good to be the king. 11-15 TIFFANY As a fan favourite, being second-in-command isn’t so bad. You get just as much of the glory with less of the hard work. You don’t have the weight of a whole franchise on your shoulders so you get to kick back once in a while. 6-10 GLEN Glen might not be as evil as his parents, but he is a wet blanket. When it comes to quizzes, you have to be ready to overrule and take control at a moment’s…