The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema, plus our latest exclusives.
News
Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s The Soul Eater (Le mangeur d’âmes, 2024) looks like a blend of police procedural and evil entity flick. It originally premiered at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and now is heading to North American VOD platforms on December 10, thanks to Capelight Pictures.
In the horror comedy Bloody Axe Wound (2024) the protagonist Abbie (Sari Arambulo) is the daughter of a real-life slasher villain. In order to keep afloat the family business – which is essentially making snuff tapes –, Abbie sets out to be the successor, but it seems murdering teens isn’t in her nature. Bloody Axe Wound will be released in select U.S. theaters on December 27, via RLJE Films and Shudder. Watch here its official trailer.
Chasing Chasing Amy (2023) is a documentary directed by Sav Rodgers, who set out to explore the impact of Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy (1997) from an LGBTQ+ perspective. After a successful festival run, the doc will be available on VOD December 17 (trailer here).
Fantastic Pavilion’s exclusives
The Nick Frost penned, Steffen Haars directed horror comedy Get Away (2024) – a fun and violent riff on The Wicker Man (1973) – opens in U.S. theaters this Friday, December 6 (via IFC Films and Shudder). You can check out here our interview with Frost and actress Aisling Bea, conducted by Eric Ortiz (Fantastic Pavilion’s editor-in-chief).
Home video
As part of their Black Friday announcements, Vinegar Syndrome unveiled the details of the 4K UHD and Blu-ray debut of Michael Mann’s The Keep (1983). Released after Mann’s acclaimed debut feature (1981’s Thief), The Keep was discussed not long ago on The Video Archives Podcast, where Quentin Tarantino compared the beginning of it to Sorcerer (1977).
Here’s VS’s official synopsis for The Keep: “Nazi-occupied Romania, 1941. In a small and gloomy village hidden deep in the mountains, German troops have arrived to lay siege. Although warned by the townspeople to stay out of a mysterious and ornately carved structure known only as The Keep, two arrogant soldiers ignore their orders and break into the obelisk, hoping to find stowed treasure, but instead unleash an ancient evil force which, with each new victim, grows stronger and more powerful. After suffering large casualties at its hands, Captain Klaus Woermann is informed that the only person who might be capable of defeating this monstrous and demonic entity is an elderly Jewish historian named Dr. Theodore Cuza, who is being held captive with his daughter in a concentration camp.”
The Spanish movie The Coffee Table (La mesita del comedor, 2022) – which was praised by Stephen King – is now available on special edition Blu-ray from Cinephobia Releasing. An audio commentary and an interview with director Caye Casas are among the bonus features on the disc.
Earlier this year, Eric Ortiz spoke with Casas for the Fantastic Pavilion, about The Coffee Table, the cruelty of life, and black humor.
Arrow Video’s February releases were announced last Friday and they include a new UK 4K UHD and Blu-ray of Tobe Hooper’s cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986).
A limited edition UK Blu-ray of Francis Galluppi’s The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023) is also coming from Arrow Video. This crime thriller was well received at Fantastic Fest 2023, where Eric Ortiz got to interview Galluppi for our site.