Panel Borders radio show on The Phoenix / new British Horror Films

Panel Borders: The Phoenix

In the first of a new series of Panel Borders, we start a month of shows looking at comic book anthologies with a recording of a panel discussion of the children's comic The Phoenix. Creators Daniel Hartwell (writer: ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’), Neill Cameron (artist: ‘Pirates of the Pangaea’, Adam Murphy (‘Corpse Talk’), Robin Etherington (writer: ‘Long Gone Don’) and Patrice Aggs ('Blimpville') discuss creating serialised comics for children and how the title rose from the ashes of The DFC - hosted by David O'Connell and recorded live at Caption Festival, Oxford.

8pm, Sunday 16th September 2012, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

I'm ready for my close-up: Home Invasions

With unfortunately apposite timing, following the case of burglars being shot in a Leicestershire break-in at the start of this month, Alex Fitch interviews the directors of two new British horror films that deal with supernatural home invasions and their consequences. Oliver S. Milburn discusses his debut film The Harsh Light of Day which looks at a home owner's Faustian deal with a vampire to get revenge on the thieves who broke into his home and murdered his wife, and Pat Holden talks about his new movie When the lights went out, starring Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) and produced by Bil Bungar (Moon), and dramatises the story of the 1966 haunting and subsequent exorcism of a semi-detached house in Pontefract.

When the lights went out was released in cinemas on 14th September and The Harsh Light of Day is released on DVD on 1st October - whenthelightswentout.com / www.harshlightofday.com

11.30pm, Tuesday 18th September, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

In Review: Bradford Fantastic Film Weekend

The 9th Bradford Fantastic Film Weekend was held at the National Media Museum from 4 to 6 June. The annual event began in 2002 as a celebration of classic ghost stories and the supernatural and has evolved into a major celebration of horror, sci-fi and fantasy TV and film.

As always, the three-day event featured a packed schedule with movies showing on two screens (as well as classic TV such as Captain Scarlet playing in the TV Heaven viewing area). It's simply not possible to see every film on offer (although attempts are made to make it as easy as possible, with popular films showing more than once) but here are my thoughts on some of the films I was able to see (and boy, I watched a lot!!)...

Modern films included the excellent 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later shown as a double bill and I was also pleased to see eXistenZ, a film unfamiliar to me but which is very thought-provoking and clever and, like 28 Days Later, features Christopher Eccleston. 2009's Shadow, directed by Federico Zampaglione, was very intense, very gory (as in Saw levels of gore!!) but also wonderfully political, topical and very intelligently made. There was also a selection of short films - these included The Cicerones (featuring Mark Gatiss visiting a creepy church to view a painting) and Full Employment (which was so funny it had to be seen to be believed).

There was also no shortage of vintage material including the classic Matthew Hopkins Witchfinder General, a beautiful digital version of Psycho (superb in every way) and The Giant Spider Invasion, one of those 'so bad it's good' movies which the audience loved and which featured a giant spider that looked like a prop from The Goodies!! A highlight for me was Three Cases of Murder, a wonderful British film from the 1950s which consisted of three self-contained stories, including a wonderfully spooky tale of an artist who emerges from one of his own paintings and drags a museum worker into his sinister world. The FFW team always do a great job of digging out rare, overlooked films such as this.

In addition to these amazing films, there were two special guests in the form of director/cinematographer Stanley A Long (who worked with Boris Karloff on The Sorcerers) and writer/director Michael Armstrong (Mark of the Devil). I missed Michael's talk but saw Stanley's and he was absolutely fascinating and very popular with the audience.

The whole event was held together by festival director Tony Earnshaw who gave fascinating and humerous introductions to many of the movies. His insights set the scene for each film. He was well supported by the museum staff who were very helpful and friendly. In fact, the whole event had a very friendly atmosphere with a group of like-minded people coming together to enjoy great films.

Hammer Films Update

The official Hammer Films website has today launched a new online shop selling items associated with the vintage British film studio. Items for sale include DVDs, books and T-shirts, along with some new reproduction film posters.

But that's not the only news from the House of Horror because there's quite a lot happening in the world of Hammer at the moment, including a Hammer exhibition at the Opus Gallery in Newcastle, which runs until 21st February.

The 1967 Hammer film The Lost Continent has also just been released on DVD in the UK for the first time and the recent Hammer production Beyond the Rave, which premiered online in 2008, is also available, as a limited edition.

Meanwhile, there are new Hammer films in production. Let Me In, a co-production between Hammer and Overture Films, will be released in the US in October. The Resident, starring Christopher Lee, should also debut this year and the company has also acquired rights to the Susan Hill ghost story The Woman in Black.

Now, if only someone would collect all those classic House of Hammer comic strips...

Dying to be dead? Forbidden Planet has the answer...

The top comics and specialist store Forbidden Planet London is offering horror fans an exclusive opportunity to win your own gruesome demise in John Meaney’s (Thomas Blackthorne’s) next Angry Robot title – or to get your hands on a gorgeous replica Aztec calendar offered by Aliette de Bodard.

All you have to do is be at the signing of their latest Angry Robot titles Edge and Servant of the Underworld at Forbidden Planet’s London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue on Friday 12th February 6 – 7pm.

There will also be a unique opportunity to interview the authors – and to speak to them about their work – after the signing.

Writing as Thomas Blackthorne, John Meaney - whose credits include Bone Song and Dark Blood, set in a dark, gothamesque city called Tristopolis, and exploring other parts of that strange alternate Earth - brings his readers the terror of Knife Edge – the reality TV show where wannabe blade fighters are the celebrities in a nation going to hell. Take a bloodied trip through a future London where prime-time gladiatorial combat has taken on a deadly bite...

Paris-based author Aliette de Bodard is a winner of the Writers of the Future Award and a Campbell Award finalist. Her short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in a number of venues, such as Interzone, Realms of Fantasy, Asimov’s, and The Year’s Best Science Fiction.

Servant of the Underworld is her debut novel, an Aztec mystery-fantasy featuring ghostly jaguars, bloodthirsty Gods and fingernail-eating monsters – and revealing her passion for, and knowledge of, Aztec mythology and culture.

• For more news about Forbidden Planet London signings visit forbiddenplanet.com/events