Rejoice, horror fans! The expertly curated cult streaming service ARROW is delivering an early Christmas treat this year. As The New York Times praised, ARROW is a “terrific subscription streamer” that consistently impresses with its diverse and compelling lineup of unique, hard-to-find content. Their latest holiday offerings are no exception, catering to a wide range of genre tastes with an impressive array of new and exclusive titles. Highlights include a 4K vampire film featuring the inimitable Christopher Walken, a superb horror debut paying homage to the VHS rental era, a sui generis Far East Western thriller, a pair of absolutely bonkers martial arts films, the complete Pusher trilogy, and personal recommendations from the self-taught genre filmmaking household, The Adams Family, sharing their favorites from ARROW’s vast library of genre gems.
December will see Arrow Video release a brand-new 4K restoration of The Addiction exclusively in the UK on ARROW. Directed by Abel Ferrara, the film reunites him with his King of New York star Christopher Walken for a distinctly personal take on the vampire story. Also starring Lili Taylor (The Conjuring, I Shot Andy Warhol) and Annabella Sciorra (Fresh Kills, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle), The Addiction was shot on location in New York City, as were many of Ferrara’s other seminal works, including The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, and Bad Lieutenant. Visually stunning in its black-and-white presentation, the film showcases the director at his rawest, most shocking, intense, intelligent, and masterful best.
Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford‘s feature film debut, The Last Video Store, is sure to appeal to fans of the genre. Paying homage to the sadly bygone golden age of video rental stores, the film brings to live “Blaster Video”, a time capsule showcasing the glory days when cover art and catchy titles reigned supreme. Centred around Kevin, a walking VHS encyclopaedia who runs the video store, the film tells how a young woman brings a collection of old tapes into the store, unaware that one of them happens to be a legendary “cursed tape”. Much to the protagonists’ chagrin, she and Kevin unwittingly reawaken the tape’s sinister curse – and unleash a horde of cinematic villains.
Next up in December comes the Pusher trilogy: A white-knuckle, nerve-shattering plunge into the Danish criminal underworld. Directed by the uncompromising Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives), the trilogy began with 1996’s critically acclaimed Pusher, which marked the screen debut of Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round). Mikkelsen went on to star in the 2004 follow-up Pusher II, while Pusher III concentrated on Milo, the Serbian drug lord from the first two films, played by Zlatko Burić (Triangle of Sadness). Gritty, grimy, and shocking, the Pusher trilogy packs a punch.
Also next month comes The Good, The Bad, The Weird, genre maestro Kim Jee-woon‘s rollicking kimchi western featuring three of Korea’s biggest stars – Jung Woo-sung (12.12: The Day), Lee Byung-hun (A Bittersweet Life) and Song Kang-ho (Parasite). The film is an audacious action epic set across the dusty plains of Manchuria and was the biggest and most ambitious production ever undertaken in Korea.
ARROW’s selection of short films includes Froggy, written and directed by Amelia Joyce, about a teenage girl who stands up to bullies in the most unexpected way; and Affentanz – Hunter, written and directed by Cyprian Hercka, an eerie forest-set chiller with stunning visuals and atmosphere to spare.
Finally in December, brace yourselves for a Drag-Fu odyssey filled with face-crushing action, corset-busting comedy, gut-munching horror and soul-stirring musical numbers in Lee Demarbre‘s Enter the Drag Dragon; a blast of true independent cinema that will leave you wobbling in your heels; and The Deadly Art of Survival, director Charlie Ahearn‘s Super-8 martial arts epic shot around the projects (next door to his apartment) on New York’s Lower East Side.
Seasons in December include:
Fear of the Dark, a curated collection of cult films where what hides in the shadows is more terrifying than anything you can think of, including The Monkey’s Paw, Legs, BLEEP
The Adams Family Selects, with the director family of The Deeper You Dig, Hellbender, Where the Devil Roams and Hellhole, choosing from exploitation to coming of age, German new wave to video nasties, illuminating documentaries, ’70s sleaze and Austrian folk horror, including The Stylist, Meat Friend and Basket Case
’60s Cult, with plenty of far-out thrills from this wild and creative decade in cult cinema, including Two Thousand Maniacs, The City Tramp and Lady Morgan’s Vengeance
Monochrome Madness, a collection of cult films that, while lacking in colour, are not lacking in horror, imagination and unforgettable thrills and imagery, including A Ghost Waits, At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul and Laguna Ave.
