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Win The Horror-Western Blood Moon On DVD! – It could be yours

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It’s cowboys vs the wolfman in this bloody horror-western. Re-imaging the werewolf as the Native Americans’ mythical “skinwalker”, the film sees a stagecoach of passengers, gunslingers and outlaws terrorized by the bloodthirsty beast. With a great cast, fun prosthetic effects, it’s a true horror and weird western gem.

Blood Moon is out on DVD from 5th October 2015.

To be in with a chance of winning the copy of Blood Moon on DVD that we’ve got to give away, sign in to the site below (or click here to register) and answer the multiple choice question (see below for more details on how to enter). The competition closes on October 23rd, 2015, so get answering and good luck!

HOW TO ENTER: This competition is open to all registered Movie Muser members who live in the UK. It’s free to register and obligation free, and once you’ve signed up to the site, you’ll be able to enter any other competitions we run, plus post comments, join in on the forum or even have your own film blog. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. If you’re already a member, sign in below and answer the multiple choice question in the grey box, click enter, and you’re done!

This competition closes at 11.59pm on October 23rd, 2015. Competition open to UK residents aged 15 or over. (For general competition terms and conditions, privacy policy and site T&Cs, CLICK HERE)

The Prize Finder – UK Competitions

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Win The Houses of Halloween On DVD! – You could own the found-footage horror

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To celebrate the release of The Houses of Halloween – on download, DVD from 5th October 2015 – we have a copy on DVD to giveaway courtesy of Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.

A genuinely creepy concept that once again reinvents the “found-footage” horror movie and blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Following five filmmakers on a road trip to find an alternative Halloween tourist attraction, it builds to a nerve-shredding climax that haunt you for days.

Beneath the fake blood and cheap masks of countless haunted house attractions across the country, there are whispers of truly terrifying alternatives. Looking to find an authentic, blood-curdling good fright for Halloween, five friends set off on a road trip in an RV to track down these underground Haunts. Just when their search seems to reach a dead end, strange and disturbing things start happening and it becomes clear that the Haunt has come to them…

The Houses of Halloween stars, Brandy Schaefer (Someplace Better Than Here)

Mikey Roe (producer TV’s Feed the Beast), Zack Andrews (feature debut), Jeff Larson (feature debut) Bobby Roe (TV’s Clubhouse, directing debut).

To be in with a chance of winning the copy of The Houses of Halloween on DVD that we’ve got to give away, sign in to the site below (or click here to register) and answer the multiple choice question (see below for more details on how to enter). The competition closes on October 22nd, 2015, so get answering and good luck!

HOW TO ENTER: This competition is open to all registered Movie Muser members who live in the UK. It’s free to register and obligation free, and once you’ve signed up to the site, you’ll be able to enter any other competitions we run, plus post comments, join in on the forum or even have your own film blog. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. If you’re already a member, sign in below and answer the multiple choice question in the grey box, click enter, and you’re done!

This competition closes at 11.59pm on October 22nd, 2015. Competition open to UK residents aged 15 or over. (For general competition terms and conditions, privacy policy and site T&Cs, CLICK HERE)

The Prize Finder – UK Competitions

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Win Turbo Kid On DVD! – The retro adventure could be yours

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To celebrate the release of Turbo Kid – on digital download 28th September and DVD/Blu-ray 5th October – we have a copy on DVD to giveaway!

Set in a vision of the future, Turbo Kid will be instantly recognisable to anyone who spent a wasted youth in the video store – it’s a retro-adventure for the ages!

It’s packed with nods to 1980s pop culture (even down to Atari-style credits and its synth-tastic score) and riffs on the kids’ adventure movies such The Monster Squad and The Goonies.

With its crazy decapitations, disembowelments, and dismembered limbs, Turbo Kid follows in the footsteps of other hyper pastiche movies such as Wolfcop and Hobo With A Shotgun, with director Jason Eisener bringing his grindhouse touch as a producer!

Also on hand is legendary actor Michael Ironside (Total Recall, Starship Troopers), who brings some serious genre credentials to the movie and leads a cast of up-and-coming talent.

“An outrageous, blood-soaked gore-fest” Joshua Winning, Total Film

“Mad Max on a BMX” Wired

Order your copy today: http://amzn.to/1LMkHV1

To be in with a chance of winning the copy of Turbo Kid on DVD that we’ve got to give away, sign in to the site below (or click here to register) and answer the multiple choice question (see below for more details on how to enter). The competition closes on October 22nd, 2015, so get answering and good luck!

HOW TO ENTER: This competition is open to all registered Movie Muser members who live in the UK. It’s free to register and obligation free, and once you’ve signed up to the site, you’ll be able to enter any other competitions we run, plus post comments, join in on the forum or even have your own film blog. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. If you’re already a member, sign in below and answer the multiple choice question in the grey box, click enter, and you’re done!

This competition closes at 11.59pm on October 22nd, 2015. Competition open to UK residents aged 15 or over. (For general competition terms and conditions, privacy policy and site T&Cs, CLICK HERE)

The Prize Finder – UK Competitions

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New Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension Trailer – Secrets are promised from the final instalment

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After lacklustre box office for Paranormal Activity 4, the main franchise took a bit of a break (although the spin-off The Marked Ones), but now it’s coming back with what’s currently planned as the final instalment. As you’d hope, it promises to reveal all the series’ secrets.

This time the action goes back in time to show us a little more about the entity that plagued various people in the other movies. It follows Ryan, Emily andtheir daughter Leila, who unsurprisingly get plagued by something demonic – all of which is captured of video, of course, as apparently this is a supernatural baddie with a big ego, who must be on camera at all times.

The movie will also feature the return of Katie Featherstone from the first film, in demonic form.

The film will be out towards the end of the month.

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Tatiana Maslany Joins Jake Gyllenhaal In Stronger – David Gordon Green’s Boston Marathon Bombing Drama

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Shortly after the Boston Marathon bombing there was an unsurprising but rather unsightly scramble to start developing movies about the events. Thankfully things slowed down after that initial rush, but now one is moving forward, Stronger, which Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in.

Now Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany is in talks to join him, according to TheWrap.

Gyllenhaal is set to play  Jeff Bauman, who survived the bombing but lost both legs. Bauman had a central role in the event, as film will ‘detail the aftermath of the 2013 attack at the marathon finish line, where Bauman had been cheering for his girlfriend [to be played by Maslany]. A photo of Bauman moments after the blast remains one of the best-known images from the tragedy, which killed three and injured more than 260. When Bauman awoke the next day after surgeries and realized he could not speak, he asked for a pad and paper and wrote: “Saw the guy. Looked right at me.” That set off a massive manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of the murders in April.’

David Gordon Green is set to direct the movie, with John Pollono writing the script, based on a book by Bauman and Bret Witter.

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Mad Max: Fury Road (Blu-ray) – The Road Warrior returns

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After stagnating in Development Hell for donkey’s years, ‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky finally hit the road again for a fourth outing. Sticking Tom Hardy in the driver’s seat vacated by Mel Gibson, George Miller’s psychotic road trip got thumbs-up from everyone and their mum. And so it should – Mad Max: Fury Road is bold, brash and insanely stylish and the anarchic franchise has undoubtedly returned with a bang.

Moving along with breakneck pace, boasting an all-star cast and a simple, effective premise, it turns out that it was indeed a lovely day to catch up with the Road Warrior. However, it’s still only the third best in the series. To put it simply, Fury Road is ace but it falls short of brilliance. While there’s much to love, it’s actually little more than a by-the-numbers slice of fun – albeit a very well-crafted slice.

Yet again, the action picks up a good while after the world has gone to shit. Max is minding his own business in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, but gets picked up by the War Boys (an army led by batshit crazy cult leader, Immortan Joe) and held captive as a walking blood bag for sickly soldier Nux (Nicholas Hoult). With Joe having established a citadel in the desert where he begrudgingly rations out water to his followers, his little operation goes awry when one of his generals, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), takes an armoured truck and jailbreaks five of Joe’s wives that he uses for breeding. With the War Boys in pursuit, it’s soon abundantly clear that they’re going to need a little help from none other than that Rockatansky chap.

Miller’s trek down Fury Road does most things right. Its plot is as straightforward as they get, serving as a basic framework from which to hang a metric ton of bombastic anarchy, while the stellar cast all take to their roles with the grit, determination and respect that the franchise deserves. The production design is impeccable and the effects are flawless, while the dialogue finds that perfect balance between ludicrousness and poetry that such cinematic lunacy requires.

The problem is that it’s just a bit too simplistic in comparison to what’s come before. That wouldn’t be too much of an issue alone, but coupled with Max being reduced to second string as Furiosa takes the lead, it actually feels more like a spin-off for Charlize Theron’s warrior that a new Mad Max movie. For that alone, it’s enough to knock a star off the rating.

Seeing as Fury Road is the first Mad Max film in 30 years, it would have been better to have one where Max is the main protagonist. With a simplistic departure from the more thorough, comprehensive narratives of the first three, it allows you to detach your brain and just enjoy the ride, but it just feels a little smaller than Max deserves – which is odd considering the budget and scale.

Still, while it smacks a little of a film mildly giving the finger to its predecessors from time to time, it remains that Fury Road is fantastic fun bolstered by superb performances from Theron – who handles her strong female lead with ease – and the underutilised Hardy – who makes Max his own.

Where the film really shines though is in its slick visuals. The oversaturated, lush orange and blue palette and the flawless design bring the post-apocalyptic Outback to brash, snarling life, and it’s shown off in stunning fashion with the high-def transfer. Reproducing every garish shade and handling the fast camerawork without a trace of artifacting or blurring, it’s truly a title to show off a quality AV set-up.

Similarly, the audio sticks you right in the thick of it with Max and the gang. Every explosion, every roar of an engine and every guitar strum from the weirdest baddie of the series are rendered with crystalline efficiency. It makes for a truly remarkable treat for your peepers and lugholes.

Elsewhere, the disc, being a Warner title, is rammed with a host of extras including deleted scenes and a ton of featurettes that delve into the characters and the production. Sadly, the hinted-at black and white version of the movie is absent but it’s not enough to stop this from being an essential purchase for any fan of the series.

In all, Max’s return was big, bold, bombastic silliness, expertly crafted by Miller. The issue remains that, despite its inherent craziness, it’s a just a tad safe with its downplayed plot that sidelines the titular hero. As a result, we end up missing out on the post-apocalyptic Aussie epic it could have been. Still, it’s not enough to make Fury Road anything less than an unforgettable, adrenaline fuelled, high octane trip back to the road warrior’s stomping ground.

Overall Verdict: Fury Road is a hyperactive, oversaturated slice of relentless action that falls slightly short of real brilliance, but luckily nowhere near enough to stop it from being a fantastic fun-filled trip back to Max’s savage Outback.

Reviewer: Jordan Brown

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