UK based boutique blu ray label, 88 Films, have released their July docket and will include a wealth of cult oddities throughout the month. It’s worth noting that some of these films only have vague synopsis available and may be inaccurate to the actual content of the film.

These will include:

Pumpkin Head II: Blood Wings (1993)

The follow up to the cult classic, Pumpkinhead, sees a group of teenagers resurrecting an ancient demon and violence ensues. Your standard meat and potatoes goofy monster movie but with extra pumpkin and blood.

Immortal Story (1986)

Very little information about this one which indicates this could be the first major western release of this Sylvia Chang drama. The film depicts the love affair between a chanteuse and her Japanese lover in the Portuguese colony of Macau as well as their later lives as “a fallen woman” and a drug addict. Hopefully this release comes with a poster because the artwork is gorgeous.

An Autumn’s Tale (1987)

Mabel Cheung’s story of a woman from Hong Kong moving to New York for college seems to be a more stripped back performance from Chow Yun Fat. He’s typically known for his intense action movies like Hard Boiled but this seems to be more of a romantic drama. An interesting release for 88.

Night of the Big Heat (1967)

Night of the Big Heat is directed by Terrance Fisher and features Hammer legends, Peter Cushong and Christopher Lee. The synopsis of this sounds interesting, mainland England is hit by freezing temperatures but a small island nearby is experiencing a deadly heatwave caused by aliens.

Sex and Den (1991)

Presumably part of the CAT III collection, Sex and Zen is a sex filled comedy featuring Amy Yip (Robotrix, Blue Jean Monster). A man goes out in search of “knowledge of other people’s wives” only to meet The Flying Thief who agrees to help him if he finds a penis the size of a horses. If that didn’t win you over, nothing will.

Funeral Home aka Cries in the Night (1980)

At long last, more entries in The Slasher Collection and these are some lesser known movies. Funeral Home follows a woman arriving at her grandmother’s house to help convert an old funeral Home into a bed and breakfast only to have strange disappearences occur. Funeral Home has a 12 rating so slasher fans may have to get their fix of sex and violence elsewhere but it does seem like a creepy good time from the very early days of the slasher genre.

Skinned Alive (1990)

Skinned Alive follows Crawldaddy and his family as they go in search of victims to skin and murder. It sounds like a riff on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but with more of an emphasis on gore and comedy. It seems like one of the goofier entries in the slasher collection but it’ll satisfy the average gore hound even if it looks like the budget was £20 and a Costco sized bucket of ketchup.

The Pleasure (1985)

Part of The Italian Collection, The Pleasure is a seldom seen erotic period piece from the king of sleaze, Joe D’amato. It features the likes of Gabriele Tinti and Laura Gemser as well as Italian horror legend Dagmar Lassander. The film follows, Gerard, a wealthy aristocrat listening to tapes of his departed lover only to have her children, Edmund and Ursula, come stay with him. It doesn’t take long for Gerard to notice that Ursula is the spitting image of her mother. Say what you will about Joe D’amato but he knew how to make a family picture.

The Sorcerers (1967)

Part of the newly launched Tigon Collection. The Sorcerers features Boris Karloff as an aging hypnotist who develops a machine that can control other people’s minds only to have it fall  into the wrong hands. The Tigon Collection has been really exciting with classics like The Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan’s Claw getting stellar releases. Only time will tell if The Tigon Collection becomes as notorious as the Italian Collection and The Slasher Collection but it’s certainly an exciting time to be collecting.

Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Robert Manning goes in search of his missing brother at the remote country house he was last heard in and meets the welcoming inhabitants only to feel a sense of dread from The Black Witch of Greymarsh. It all sounds very much like an Edgar Allan Poe story and the inclusion of Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee should give it that extra kick of gothic grandeur.

88 are very careful about what they put out and when they announce it to the public and that helps ensure good favour amongst the collector community. Regardless of the quality of the movie, you’re always going to get a high quality package

Pre orders will be going live on the 88 Films website as well as HMV, Amazon, Zaavi.

You can check their linktree here.