"Actor: Toni Calvert"

• Proteus | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £17.82   |  Saving you £-14.83 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  A conventional but spirited monster-at-loose quickie, Proteus stars British hulk Craig Fairbrass (Beyond Bedlam) as an undercover cop marooned with a gang of panicky drug dealers (played by Americans no one has heard from since 1995) on an oilrig-cum-unethical-genetics research station where a shape-shifting creature is on the prowl, mostly impersonating human beings but occasionally appearing as a giant shark-person. The Thing-like creature absorbs personality traits from the victims it absorbs, so--in a gag reminiscent of the cancerous liver gambit from Forbidden World (1983)--it is finally defeated because it becomes a heroin addict. There is a neat joke about the way the towering hero is constantly beaten up by people far shorter than he is, and Fairbrass's fed-up mockney patter sometimes wrings a few laughs from lines like "f***ing typical--you can never find a mutated monster when you want one!" The sick humour and weird science that were the strengths of the original novel (Slimer, written by screenwriter John Brosnan and Leroy Kettle under the significantly initialled pseudonym Harry Adam Knight) is hammered out in favour of rubbery goop effects and familiar running-around waterlogged corridors being pursued by a red-filtered subjective camera. Doug ("Pinhead") Bradley shows up in old-age make-up as the evil industrialist behind the monster-making programme in the last reel, and effects man director Bob Keen stages an especially gross death scene for the villain as he chokes on a huge scaly tentacle in what looks like an outtake from a gay porn film. On the DVD: An extras-free package, full-screen transfer, and a lot of strange colour distortions that make some dark scenes look like photographic negatives. --Kim Newman

• Blood Feast | Blu Ray | (09/10/2017) from £13.04   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The filmography of late movie maverick Herschell Gordon Lewis brims with the mad, macabre, and just downright bizarre. But perhaps the most unhinged of all his directorial efforts, and certainly the most influential, must surely be his original gore-fest Blood Feast the first ever splatter movie. Dorothy Fremont is looking to throw a party unlike any other, and she gets just that when she hires the decidedly sinister Fuad Ramses to cater the event. Promising to provide her guests with an authentic Egyptian feast, Ramses promptly sets about acquiring the necessary ingredients the body parts of nubile young women! Featuring a host of stomach-churning gore gags including the infamous tongue sequence and much more nastiness besides, Herschell Gordon Lewis Blood Feast more than lives up to its name and remains essential viewing for any self-respecting splatter fan. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard DVD presentations English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Scum of the Earth - Herschelll Gordon Lewis' 1963 feature Blood Perspectives - Filmmakers Nicholas McCarthy and Rodney Ascher on Blood Feast Herschell's History - Archival interview in which director Herschell Gordon Lewis discusses his entry into the film industry How Herschell Found his Niche - A new interview with Lewis discussing his early work Archival interview with Lewis and David F. Friedman Carving Magic - Vintage short film from 1959 featuring Blood Feast Actor Bill Kerwin Outtakes Alternate clean scenes from Scum of the Earth Promo gallery featuring trailers and more Feature length commentary featuring Lewis and David F. Friedman moderated by Mike Grady Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil

• Blood Feast | DVD | (13/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  A weird and grisly ancient rite horrendously brought to life. When Mrs Fremont hires crackpot Egyptian cultist Fuad Ramses to cater at her daughter Suzette's party she commits the culinary catastrophe of the century. With his radical approach to food preparation and absolute insistence upon the most succulent of ingredients Fuad uses his machete to gather his bloody harvest... Herschell Gordon Lewis' classic has been digitally remastered for this release.

• Blood Feast (Special Edition) | Blu Ray | (24/10/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A