Next month is sounding pretty awesome for movie fans on the expertly curated cult streaming service ARROW includes a high school slasher chiller, a pair of classic 1960s Japanese assassin actioners, a brilliantly crafted paranoid thriller about a reunion from hell, a season of vampiric Valentine’s, horror film director Jenn Wexler chooses her ARROW favourites, and much more.
First off in February, exclusively on ARROW in the UK, the premiere of the fantastic comedy horror thriller, a Scream for the 21st century, Killer Graduation, starring Ignacio Diaz-Silverio (Primo) as a bullied highschooler pitched against a killer targeting his classmates. A cross between Happy Death Day and Heathers, with a dash of Stephen King-esque psychic powers at play, Killer Graduation is the feature debut of director Clare Cooney, and gives the teen slasher a fresh new coat of blood with its inventive plot and sassy LGBTQ+ vibe.
Then there’s Karyn Kusama’s outstanding thriller The Invitation, starring Logan Marshall-Green (Upgrade) as a man attending a dinner party thrown by his ex-wife, where nothing is quite what it seems. Tense, taut, and steadily building to an unguessable and devastating climax, Kusama’s extraordinarily assured nailbiter won Best Film at the prestigious Sitges genre festival in 2015, and won writers Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay (Destroyer) the Best Screenplay award at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.
Also in February, A Certain Killer and A Killer’s Key – directed by prolific Japanese director Kazuo Mori (Zatoichi at Large), both made in 1967, and featuring Raizô Ichikawa (Conflagration) as a former soldier who becomes a hitman for a yakuza gang. Co-scripted by the director Yasuz? Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast), and featuring masterful scope cinematography with an expressionistic eye for colour by one of Japan’s most esteemed cinematographers, Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu), these are two Japanese crime drama essentials you shouldn’t miss.
ARROW also presents Caverna, a fantastical film directed by Daniel Contaldo and Hannah Swayze, about two students being pushed to their limits at an Italian theatre workshop. Asked to explore their innermost thoughts, the film delves deep into the pair’s psyches, revelling in surreal, intense and astonishing visuals. Watch out for the rampaging cyclops!
Also streaming in February: Rick Sloane’s celebrated cult classic sci-fi comedy horror Hobgoblin and its riotous follow up; genre legend Clint Howard in in the gloriously gruesome Ice Cream Man; acclaimed breakdance documentary Shake the Dust; and the provocative, hilarious and uniquely wonderful 1960s satire Putney Swope, directed by Robert Downey Sr.
Seasons in February include:
Love Sucks, a collection of vampiric Valentine’s delights including Vamp, A Taste of Blood, and Vampire Clay
Jenn Wexler Selects, where the award-winning writer, director and producer picks the films from the ARROW catalogue that have changed the core of her being, including Noroi: The Curse, The Deeper You Dig, and The Addiction.
Where to get it
The Art of Cult. Head to ARROW and start your 30-day free trial. Available on the following Apps/devices: Xbox, Roku (all Roku sticks, boxes, devices, etc), Apple TV; iOS devices, Android TV and mobile devices, Fire TV (all Amazon Fire TV Sticks, boxes, etc), and on all web browsers at www.ARROW-Player.com.
Subscriptions are available for £4.99 monthly or £49.99 annually
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
