La Serenissima is a two-CD set bringing together organ and harpsichord pieces composed by Richard Rijnvos. He’s a radical Dutch composer whose work is often concerned with stacking melodic patterns. Or utilising non-musical elements such as magic squares and chessboards to create his work. Most of his compositions are themed around locations, as is this collection, which takes its title from a nickname for the historical republic of Venice. 

First published in the year 1979, The Tuxedo Warrior looks at the early bouncer career of Cliff Twemlow. Who later went on to become a key figure in micro-budgeted/ often SOV  action/horror/sci-fi cinema of the UK, which this year has been celebrated by the excellent InterVision/ Severin Blu Ray Boxset Bloody Legend- which brought together a doc about the great man, eleven of his features and much more. Here from Severin/ Encyclopocalypse Publications is a reprint of the book.

The All-Night Video Guide: Slashers 70’s & 80’s is a glorious dive back into the golden age of slash ‘n’ stalk films. Instead of an in-depth/ definitive guide to the genre/ period, this is much more of a personal look at some of the favourite films of writer Robc. And it’s all the better for it, as it’s a wonderful, honest, down-to-earth, sometimes informative book, which feels like you're chatting in a bar with a buddy about films, instead of a stuffy study of the genre.

When visionary producer Haruki Kadokawa inherited his father’s publishing business in the mid-seventies, he promptly set about combining his two great interests - books and filmmaking – and transforming the Japanese film industry. In a bid to compete with the blockbusters that were arriving from the US (and which were very popular), he started to introduce 1970s Japanese audiences to the home-grown version.  First up in 1976 was the instantly popular murderous epic The Inugami Family, followed swiftly a year later by the masterful thriller Proof of the Man. Set in New York and Tokyo, it boasted a stellar cast of George Kennedy, Robert Earl Jones (James’ father)  Ozu favourite Mariko Okada and Kurosawa muse, Toshiro Mifune and went on to become Japan’s second highest-grossing film of all time (for a while anyway). 

Appearing four years before his slasher genre-defining classic Halloween, Dark Star was the first feature-length film directed by John Carpenter.  The film is a low-budget slice of Sci-fi regarding a spaceship manned by bearded, long-haired crewmen, who spend their days in deep space blowing up unstable planets. It’s a low-key parody/send-up of the genre, blending bickering/ bored crewmates, bombs that talk back,  a red ball with claws pet alien, a ship captain frozen in ice, and the odd subtle chuckle. Here from Fabulous Films is a dual UHD/Blu-ray release of the film.  It features two cuts of the picture,  a selection of new and archive extras (including a feature-length documentary), along with repro stills and posters, and a limited edition online exclusive clamshell/o-card package with a Dark Star patch.

Deadly Friend was the seventh film directed by horror icon Wes Craven (Last House On The Left, Nightmare On Elm Street, Scream). And the mid-80s film certainly stands as his most weird and tonally unbalancing creation, as it shifts from cute robot family movie to teenage abuse drama, to mad doctor meets supernatural slasher blend. Here from Arrow Video is a recent Blu-ray release- taking in a new commentary track, and a selection of new/ archive extras.