The DTV Digest

Mike Parkin

News and Reviews of films that didn't make it to the cinema

  1. 4d ago

    Episode 329: Rage of Stars, Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned, GolemAI, Mag Mag, Death Cycle, Pizza Force One, Thunder Run

    In this episode Mike, Steve and Rich tackle five new releases - as usual, click the links to see a trailer for each film we're discussing! RAGE OF STARS (Sublimity Entertainment) is a Polish sci-fi movie which, incredibly, was made for only $500K! It certainly looks like it would have cost more, but is it any good? Check out the review! WUTHERING HEIGHTS: THE HOUSE OF THE DAMNED (Signature Entertainment) is the latest film to use a known tale and give it a horror twist! GOLEM.AI (GrimmVision) finds two men video-chatting during Lockdown and encountering spooky goings-on... MAG MAG (Blue Finch Film Releasing) starts as a typical J-Horror then tangents off into weird territory! DEATH CYCLE (GrimmVision) is a gritty revenge tale with a unique narrative structure!   Our Short Shot is PIZZA FORCE ONE, a Die Hard style film with a unique protagonist! Click the link to see the whole short film! Our DTV Throwback is THUNDER RUN (1986), in which an old trucker and his grandson agree to transport a shipment of plutonium for the army, while fighting off terrorists intent on stealing their cargo! We watched this on Tubi, but its likely available on other platforms too!

  2. Oct 9

    Episode 328: Crushed, Idiots, American Ripper Unleashed, Long Pork, The Gladiator

    In this episode Mike, Amanda and Rich are joined by filmmaker Rob Howgate, writer of Pigman, The Crucifix: Blood of the Exorcist and the upcoming Rise of the Rats. He was good enough to not only talk about working in low-budget, indie horror films but also joined us in reviewing this week's films...and what a bunch of films we have! As usual, click the links to see a trailer for each... We kick off with the controversial CRUSHED (GrimmVision), in which a priest finds himself questioning his faith in God when his daughter is kidnapped by traffickers. This one is pretty grim and is from the director of Red, White and Blue, so beware! Next we talk about IDIOTS (Vertigo Releasing), in which two down on their luck escort drivers find themselves on a madcap journey trying to deliver a rich kid to rehab. It's always a good day when a Steve Lawson film drops! AMERICAN RIPPER UNLEASHED (High Fliers) posits the unlikely idea that notorious American serial killer H. H. Holmes came to England and unwittingly became Jack the Ripper! Our Short Shot is LONG PORK, starring Lena Headey as a chef living in a very dystopian future which seems a bit too real! Click the link to see the whole 11 minute film.  Out DTV Throwback is THE GLADIATOR, in which Ken Wahl seeks vigilante justice on a killer using a souped up muscle car to kill other motorists, including Ken's younger brother. This is available on several streaming platforms, including YouTube!

  3. Sep 29

    Episode 327: We Go Again, Heresy, Wonder Woman 1944, Steel Frontier

    This week Mike and Steve check out two new releases. As usual, click the links to see a trailer for each film! We kick off with WE GO AGAIN (Darkside Releasing), written by friend of the podcast Tom Jolliffe (see ep 325's Death Among The Pines) and directed by his brother, Oliver. This film is a psychodrama concerning two neuro-divergent women. HERESY (aka Witte Wieven) (GrimmVision) finds a woman trapped by the patriarchy of her medieval village and the creatures living in the nearby forest. Our Short Shot is WONDER WOMAN 1944, a fan film boasting strong production values. Click the link to see the whole 30 minute film! Our DTV Throwback is STEEL FRONTIER, in which Joe Lara is a lone gunman riding into a post apocalyptic nightmare - PM Entertainment style! Cue lots of explosions!

  4. Sep 24

    Episode 326: Gator Face, Where Darkness Dwells, Lenore, The Wave, It Ends, Legend of the White Dragon, Black Ranger, Wheels of Fire

    In this episode Mike, Steve and Amanda check out six new releases - as usual, click the links below to check out a trailer for each film! GATOR FACE (Signature Entertainment) is a TCM style slasher in which a serial killer feeds his victims to real alligators! WHERE DARKNESS DWELLS (GrimmVision) finds a reporter having to face past traumas when she investigates a missing hiker... LENORE (Seven Tales) is an Australian film centred around a man obsessed with a missing influencer... THE WAVE (Miracle Media) pushes its protagonist into a deranged, mindbending nightmare.... IT ENDS (Signature Entertainment) bares similarity to an earlier film DRIVE BACK (which I mistakenly call "Ride Back"...), with its four characters trapped on an endless highway.... LEGEND OF THE WHITE DRAGON (Signature Entertainment) - is a mystical sci-fi thriller which leans into Power Rangers territory... Speaking of Power Rangers, our Short Shot is the fan film BLACK RANGER, which sees ranger Zack facing foes both alien and human. Click the link to see the whole short film! Our DTV Throwback is WHEELS OF FIRE, one of the dozens of post-apocalyptic action movies to come out in the wake of Mad Max 2! We watched this on TUBI, and it's surely available on other platforms.

  5. Sep 16

    Episode 325: Big Shark, Death Among the Pines, In The Shadow of Nuremberg, Knightfall, Marshmallow, Swallowtail and Dragonfly, The Stranger, Tomorrow Group, Ninja Wars

    This week we have a Full House, as Mike, Rich, Steve and Amanda join forces to tackle seven new releases. As usual, click the links to check out a trailer for each film. As soon as we discovered Tommy Wiseau's BIG SHARK was available on Tubi, we knew we had to check it out. Were we as charmed by it as The Room? Could we make head or tail of it? Take a listen! Writer/producer Tom Joliffe is an old compadre of the podcast, who moved on to bigger and better things! His latest production DEATH AMONG THE PINES (High Fliers) is directed by Nathan Shepka and deals with 3 people - a woman, an escaped convict and a policeman -  within a remote house... IN THE SHADOWS OF NUREMBERG (Signature Entertainment) is a Russian production about espionage and continued fighting against the backdrop of the Nuremberg Trials.... KINGHTFALL (101 Films) involves Ian Ogilvy and Geoffrey (son of Roger) Moore in an old-school spy thriller! MARSHMALLOW (Toy Robot Video) is a Summer camp Slasher, but, you know...for kids!  SWALLOWTAIL AND DRAGONFLY (Miracle Media) is a biopic about Chinese artist Lianxia Ziyi Zhou. and her journey through the decades... THE STRANGER (Trinity Content Partners) is another three-hander, about a mother and daughter opening an inn and taking on their first guest... Our Short Shot is TOMORROW GROUP, a short completely generated by AI. Click the link to check it out! The DTV Throwback is NINJA WARS, starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba. Arrow Video are releasing the film on blu-ray (alongside Roaring Fire) via their new Toy Robot Video label, although we did find a copy online, HERE!

  6. Sep 10

    Episode 324: Hungry. Faces of Death, The Extractor, Ignition, The Spirit Lock, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, City of Fear

    This week Mike and Amanda tackle five new releases, while Rich joins in to cover the Short Short and Throwback. As usual, click the links to check out trailers for each of the films being discussed!   We kick off with HUNGRY (Signature Entertainment), a creature feature from director James Nunn! Next is the meta horror film, FACES OF DEATH (Signature Entertainment), in which a serial killer is paying homage to the original video nasty! THE EXTRACTOR (aka Timur) (Signature Entertainment)  sees martial arts star Iko Uwais (The Raid) take the director's chair as well as lead, as a soldier trying to rescue researchers in the jungle. IGNITION (GrimmVision) finds a bomb disposal expert trapped in a room with the only way out are through his own secrets. THE SPIRIT LOCK (Seven Tales) i a device bought by a desperate father convinced his son is possessed by a demon. Our Short Shot is a reimagining of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, but riffing off the remake rather than Tobe Hooper's original. Click the link to see the whole 30 minute film! Our DTV Throwback stars Gary Daniels in CITY OF FEAR. Gary plays a journalist who ends up in Bulgaria, trying to discover what had happened to a life-long friend. This is available on Tubi, and likely other streaming services.

  7. Sep 4

    Episode 323: Match, Ithaqua, Soul Snatchers, Zip Wire, Forsaken Mercenary, Guyver: Dark Hero

    This week Mike and Amanda check out four new releases - as usual, click the links to see a trailer for each film!   MATCH (Signature Entertainment) is a cautionary tale about what NOT to do on a first date! ITHAQUA (Kaleidoscope Film Distribution) sees Luke Helmsworth as a fur trapper/hunter who encounters supernatural shenanigans during a bitterly cruel winter... SOUL SNATCHERS (Seven Tales) finds an evangelical family arrives on a Caribbean island, and butting heads with the local religion... ZIP WIRE (Signature Entertainment) sees a cancer researcher on a mountain climbing holiday trapped on a zip wire! (NB: I erroneously mention the film Alpha, saying it starred Charlize Theron - obviously I was referring to the film, APEX!) Rich joins us to discuss our Short Shot: FORSAKEN MERCENARY is a pilot tv episode for a futuristic action movie.  Click the link to see the whole short! Our DTV Throwback is GUYVER: DARK HERO, which is being re-released via Toy Robot Video.

  8. Aug 23

    Short Shots Episode 26: Horror Roundup!

    In our latest roundup of short films, Mike and Rich take a look at eight recent releases - click the links to see each film! ANOMOLOUS sees a witchfinder interrogating a woman who uses tea leaves to read people's fortunes... DEAD ECHO is a Star Wars fan film about a downed TIE-Fighter pilot... DONT.4GET2SMILE finds an influencer being stalked by a friend's killer... FIVE STAR sees a handyman going to great lengths to secure a yelp review.... FRUIT HEAD sheds light on a banned ad for a fruit candy.... POP MONSTERS involves a group of women undertaking challenges to win a concert ticket... SHADOW YOU finds a graphic designer being shadowed by her 16yr old self as a coping mechanism.... THE FLACALTA EFFECT is set in a zombie apocalypse where two sisters are trying to survive... Our Short Throwback is DIASPORA, in which a young woman wonders why all the persons of colour in her neighborhood are being replaced! Don't forget to also check out our pages on FACEBOOK and BlueSky! Find us here: @thedtvdigest.bsky.social

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

News and Reviews of films that didn't make it to the cinema

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Parkin
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2018 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The DTV Digest