Eye of the Devil

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A Generation Gap horror film, Eye of the Devil pits old pros Deborah Kerr and David Niven against proto-hippies David Hemmings and Sharon Tate, who may or may not be members of an ancient devil cult. J. Lee Thompson directed this under this radar thriller and assembled a fine supporting cast including Donald Pleasence and Flora Robson. Taking full advantage of its unique location work, including France's Château de Hautefort, this oddball spook show deserves a higher profile.

Trailers from Hell showcases classic previews of past movie attractions punctuated with humorous commentary by iconic filmmakers.

Incubus

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It is often said that films about the Devil are cursed with bad luck, but Leslie Stevens’ Incubus might be the most cursed of them all. By the time it premiered in 1966, two of its stars had tragically taken their own lives; the eccentric director’s insistence on filming in the obscure Esperanto language ensured it failed to receive any distribution; and it was nearly lost forever when the original elements were believed lost in a fire. Decades passed until it was finally saved and unveiled to the public in all its unholy glory!

Wounded in battle, soldier Marc (William Shatner, just prior to being cast in Star Trek) ventures to the remote village of Nomen Tuum to find a well where the waters are said to be blessed with healing powers. Little does he suspect that the inhabitants of Nomen Tuum are demonic seductresses who entice interlopers and lead them to damnation, and one such succubus, Kia (Allyson Ames) has her sights on Marc. As an eclipse shrouds the sun and darkness falls over the village, Marc and Kia’s relationship becomes more passionate… will his soul survive?

Now restored in 4K from the last known surviving 35mm print, this eerie and unforgettable American folk horror from the creator of The Outer Limits survives to chill a new generation as never seen before. Stylishly filmed in Big Sur and other California locations by cinematographer (and future Academy Award winner) Conrad L. Hall, Incubus is a film unlike any other, now accompanied by hours of bonus features delving into the mysteries of this once-thought-lost cult classic.

The Gift

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Director Sam Raimi combined the spooky underpinnings of his early work with his newly proven talent for handling powerful drama in the supernatural thriller The Gift, coaxing nuanced performances from a star-studded cast to bring a gripping script by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson (One False Move) to life.

In rural Georgia, recently widowed psychic Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) works as a tarot reader to support her young family. When she is introduced to her son’s affable school principal (Greg Kinnear) and his socialite fiancée (Katie Holmes), Annie has a grisly premonition of things yet to come. After her violent vision comes true, all eyes turn to Annie, leaving her with no choice but to use her clairvoyant abilities to find the culprit herself. Could it be the abusive husband (Keanu Reeves) of one of Annie’s regular clients (Hilary Swank)? Or the nervy mechanic (Giovanni Ribisi) whose yearning for friendship masks an uncontrollable rage? Or is another terrible secret hiding in plain sight?

Made right before a certain web-slinger finally catapulted Raimi from the cult fringes onto Hollywood’s A-list, The Gift is an underappreciated but vital entry in his filmography that is ripe for reappraisal with this brand new 4K remaster.

The Usual Suspects

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Amidst the wave of neo-noir thrillers that swept American cinema in the 1990s, few films made as much impact as The Usual Suspects, which revolutionised the genre, won two Academy Awards® and is still regarded as one of the greatest crime films ever made.

After a brutal massacre on a cargo ship off the coast of Los Angeles leaves 27 men dead, Special Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) interrogates one of the only two survivors, small-time con artist Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey). During the interview, Kint tells Kujan of how he was recruited by the fearsome crime lord Keyser Söze to commit a series of daring heists with four other crooked misfits: Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Mike McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro) and Todd Hockey (Kevin Pollak). But as Kint’s account of the events leading up to the massacre becomes more convoluted, Kujan becomes increasingly sceptical and determined to discover the identity of the elusive Keyser Söze.

With an unforgettably twisty and tightly written Oscar®-winning script by Christopher McQuarrie, The Usual Suspects is an unmissable entry in the canon of American indie cinema.

The Cell

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Sublime, grotesque and visually ravishing, Tarsem Singh’s debut feature delivers on the extraordinary artistry of his work in music video and commercials as it takes the audience on a journey through the bizarre worlds inside the mind of a killer.

When serial murderer Carl Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) falls into a coma with his latest victim still trapped in an unknown location and waiting to die, the FBI turn to psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) for help. Using an experimental technology she enters the dark dreamscape of Stargher’s mind, attempting to learn his secrets before it’s too late. But his unconscious is a twisted nightmare, a labyrinth that threatens to trap her inside his terrifying world forever. To save a life, she’ll have to risk her own.

With a script by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend), and a supporting cast that includes Vince Vaughn (Brawl in Cell Block 99) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (In Fabric), The Cell is a gripping, edge-of-the-seat thriller, filled with jaw-dropping imagery that will entrance and unsettle in equal measure.

September 5

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During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.

One of Them Days

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When best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa discover Alyssa's boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.

FO&O

B e a t s ,  R h y m e s  &  L i f e

R e w o u n d   2 0 1 7

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Hurt Like We Did, music from FO&O.

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Hitchcock: The Beginning

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For the first time on blu-ray, featuring new restorations and scores, experience ten of Alfred Hitchcock’s early works. From the silent film era to the first talkies, this 11-disc set also contains a newly commissioned, full-length documentary, Becoming Hitchcock, exploring the director’s first sound picture, Blackmail. In 1929, Hitchcock directed Blackmail, the first British sound feature, hailed as a film which “used sound and dialogue with more flair and imagination than any Hollywood or European film of the time.” Hitchcock’s inventive and expressionist use of sound demonstrated that the new technology opened a new realm of possibilities.

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

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A rich teenage runaway and a group of street hustlers seek to find a place for themselves in the world.