Table of contents for No. 131 in SciFi Now

As the Marvel movie universe continues to expand, the division between lovers and haters has become more and more pronounced. However, there’s one film that everyone can agree on: Guardians Of The Galaxy. James Gunn’s 2014 hit exploded into our lives like a new best friend, and while we’re obviously excited about the new faces, we’re mostly excited to see the return of one of the most loveable ensembles in recent memory and one of the most distinctive and surprising voices in blockbuster cinema, who tells us what we can expect from the gang’s new adventure and why it’s all about family. And speaking of distinctive and surprising, we caught up with Bryan Fuller and Neil Gaiman to discuss how on earth they managed to bring the masterpiece that is…

“BEING A MARVEL FAMILY MEMBER IS SURREAL!” After Spider-Man and Black Panther made their first appearances in Captain America: Civil War last year, Captain Marvel is now the only confirmed superhero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we haven’t yet seen on screen. We’re sure Academy Award-winner Brie Larson will kill as the Captain, but we’re still eager to find out what she will bring to the Marvel table… “To be fair, there are a lot of iterations of her, so there’s going to be some people out there who think this isn’t right,” Larson says. That’s always the worry with taking on a loved character. But the MCU version of Carol Danvers sounds like it’s going to capture everything that made her loved to begin with. “She’s a believer…

There are a handful of reasons you should be especially excited for the Mary Poppins sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, besides the fact that it’s a Mary Poppins sequel. Set to be released 54 years after the original, this film is already starting to sound just as marvellous. Firstly, Rob Marshall is helming it. If we had to put our Poppins trust in the hands of one director, it would probably be the man behind musical extravaganzas like Chicago and, more recently, Into The Woods. Secondly, the cast is bloody fantastic. Emily Blunt, who worked with Marshall on his dark fairy tale, is taking on the leading role, with Lin-Manuel Miranda by her side as her street lamplighter buddy Jack. But that’s not all: Meryl Streep is Poppins’ cousin Topsy, Colin…

MCM Comic-Con 26-28 May Excel, London www.mcmcomiccon.com/london/ £25-£65 Nichelle Nichols! Sam Jones! Summer Glau! LOU FERRIGNO! You cannot afford to miss May’s MCM. EM-Con 29-30 April Capital FM Arena, Nottingham www.em-con.co.uk/ £5-£95 Nottingham’s brilliant con features guests from Battlestar, Red Dwarf, Class, Harry Potter and more. Enniskillen Comics Fest 5-6 May McArthur Hall, Enniskillen www.facebook.com/Enniskillen-Comic-Fest-1030761763641321/ TBA This comics festival is offering an incredible range of events, including a celebration of 2000AD’s 40th birthday. Comic Con Leicester 3-4 June Athena, Leicester www.comicconleicester.co.uk/ £7-£23 The events are still TBA at the time of writing but don’t miss Leicester’s awesome comic con. Granite City Comic-Con 20-21 May Hilton Treetops, Aberdeen granitecitycomiccon.wordpress.com/gccc2017/ £5-£25 Aberdeen’s comic-con is bringing some amazing anime voice talent as well as comic legends like Glen Fabry and Judge Dredd’s John…

Yondu started out in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 as one of the film’s main antagonists. In fact, he ended the film that way too. But something’s about to change for the sequel. Yondu will not just come to the forefront for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2… he is becoming part of the team. The bright blue Ravager was the character we all loved to hate in Vol. 1 but judging by the trailers, and by what actor Michael Rooker has to say about him, it sounds as thought we are all going to simply flat-out love Yondu this time around. “I’m glad I get a chance to express more about Yondu in this second film,” Rooker tells us. “It really feels good to be able to stretch…

THE WORD ‘RELEVANT’ GETS BANDIED AROUND A LOT. YOU HEAR PEOPLE TALKING about how their story fits neatly with the issues of the day, and while it’s often true, it can feel like a slightly hollow or reductive way to describe a story, especially when it’s as rich, complex and downright fun as Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. But there’s no denying that this story of old gods locked in a battle for survival with their young successors across the vast expanse of the United States feels, well, relevant, despite the fact that it was all shot before November’s American election. “I think that, in the world that we’re in right now, things seem, in a weird way, much more transgressive, important and strange to do now on TV than they…

How would you describe Bill? She’s just a real type of girl, a normal young woman. She’s quite like me, she’s quite cheeky. She’s very interested in the Doctor and the way his mind works. The way he sees the world is very fascinating to her. So where is Bill at the beginning of the series? She serves chips, as it showed in the trailer. But that isn’t her lot. That’s not what she wants to do. I think meeting the Doctor is an amazing opportunity for her to explore all of space and time. Which is pretty massive! What kind of dynamic does Bill have with the Doctor? Obviously the Doctor’s very, very clever and worldly, and I think Bill is very inquisitive and quick-witted. Between the two of…

FOR A GREAT NUMBER OF DOCTOR WHO FANS, HE IS ‘THE’ DOCTOR. HE PLAYED him for seven years from 1974 to 1981, once again in 1993 (look up Dimensions In Time if you dare!), and has even been referenced on The Simpsons. In 2012, he returned to his iconic role for Big Finish Productions, and has not looked back since. We caught up with him on the phone, managed not to hyperventilate with excitement, and learned a little about what it is like to be a living legend… WHAT WAS IT THAT FINALLY CONVINCED YOU TO REPRISE THE ROLE? We were at [Doctor Who star] Nick Courtney’s memorial service and the boys from Big Finish – who are so loyal to everything to do with Doctor Who – all happened…

TIMECRIMES (2007) Ingenious and complex time travel mystery about a man being chased by a bandaged figure. This put Vigalondo on the map and with good reason. EXTRATERRESTRIAL (2011) Sci-fi rom-com in which a man wakes up in the bedroom of his one-night stand and has more to deal with than an alien invasion. THE ABCS OF DEATH (2012) ‘A Is For Apocalypse’ finds a couple engaged in a brutal struggle, but their fight is nothing compared to what’s coming… OPEN WINDOWS (2014) Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey and Neil Maskell star in this De Palmaesque thriller about a nerdy movie blogger forced to terrorise a famous starlet. V/H/S: VIRAL (2014) How to describe ‘Parallel Monsters’? Well… a guy swaps dimensions with another version of himself and is in for some…

WILL GORSKI (A COP FROM CHICAGO) • Michael Gorski (Will’s alcoholic ex-cop father) • Jonas Maliki (Will’s sensate guide from another cluster) CAPHEUS ONYANGO (A MATATU DRIVER FROM NAIROBI) • Jela (Capheus’ best friend and business partner) • Shiro Onyango (Capheus’ sick mother) SUN BAK (A KICKBOXING BUSINESSWOMAN TURNED CONVICT FROM SEOUL) • Joong-Ki Bak (Sun’s brother who murdered their father) • Soo-Jin (Sun’s cellmate friend) RILEY BLUE (AN ICELANDIC DJ LIVING IN LONDON) • Gunnar (Riley’s musician father) • Magnús Pórsson (Riley’s deceased husband) NOMI MARKS (A BLOGGER AND HACKTIVIST FROM SAN FRANCISCO) • Amanita Caplan (Nomi’s dedicated girlfriend and sensate ally) • Bug (Nomi’s hacker friend and ally) LITO RODRIGUEZ (A CLOSETED ACTION STAR FROM MEXICO CITY) • Hernando Fuentes (Lito’s art lecturer boyfriend) • Daniela Velasquez (Lito’s…

FILM INFO Released Out now Certifi cate PG Director Bill Condon Screenwriter Stephen Chbosky, Evan Spiliotopoulos Cast Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson Distributor Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Running Time 129 mins If youʼve seen the 1991 animated film then you already know what’s going to happen, as this is a slavishly faithful remake. But in case you had a very deprived, Beauty And The Beast-less childhood, social outcast Belle (Emma Watson) finds herself the captive of an enchanted Beast (Dan Stevens) when she saves her father from him. Romance and joyous musical numbers follow. It’s a little jarring at first to see a human, live-action Belle strolling out of her house and breaking into song, but the film finds its stride almost…

FILM INFO Released 24 March Certifi cate 12A Director Dean Israelite Screenwriters John Gatins, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney Cast Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludi Lin, Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Bill Hader Distributor Lionsgate Pictures Running Time 124 mins “Are we Power Rangers, or are we friends?” That’s the central question of Dean Israelite’s Power Rangers reboot… and an actual line of dialogue from it. When the Earth’s in danger from an ancient, gold-obsessed, pointy-shouldered alien, five troubled teens are recruited to save the world – but first, they’ll need to save each other. Yup, you can forget anything you’d heard about this being a grimdark reboot of the daffy Nineties kids’ show. The costumes might be more muted, the fight scenes a…

Details 12 // 108 mins // 2016 // • // Released 8 May Director JA Bayona Cast Lewis MacDougall, Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell Distributor E1 Entertainment The Impossible director JA Bayona has proven once again that he really knows how to hit you where it hurts, but with A Monster Calls it’s about 50 times more painful. Based on the book of the same name by Patrick Ness, the film follows preteen Connor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall) as he begins being visited by a giant talking tree monster (Liam Neeson) that tells him a series of true stories, always at exactly 12.07am. Once the third and final story has been told, Connor must tell the monster his own truth; one that he is determined to keep hidden.…

Details 18 // 89 mins // 1982 // // Released Out now Director J Piquer Simon Cast Christopher George, Linda Day, Frank Brana, Edmund Purdom Distributor Arrow Video This grisly Spanish-made slasher sold itself on the promise that you didn’t have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre, and there’s enough gruesome dismemberment in Arrow Video’s restoration to satisfy fans of schlock cinema. Just don’t expect it to reach the heights of Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece… or many other gory horrors. A campus is being terrorised by a maniac who is carving up students and making off with body parts. Veteran cop Lieutenant Bracken (a smirking Christopher George) is called into investigate, and he sends his colleague Mary Riggs (Linda Day) undercover as a tennis coach while recruiting horny student…

Details 18 // 91 mins // 1988 // // Released Out now Director Graham Baker Cast James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevyn Major Howard Distributor 101 Films With its portrayal of the struggles facing immigrants in a city that reviles them, time has been kind to Graham Baker’s sci-fi cop thriller, as Farscape writer Rockne S O’Bannon’s screenplay holds up surprisingly well. It’s 1991 and aliens live amongst us. When a gang of ‘newcomers’ and humans kill Detective Sykes’ (James Caan) partner, he teams up with Sam (Mandy Patinkin), the first newcomer detective, to track down those responsible. In a lot of ways, Alien Nation is very much of its time. There are neon-lit bars, gory shoot-outs, gun fetishisation and the only women are wives, daughters or dancers. However,…

Details 12 // 167 mins // 1972 // // Released Out now Director Andrei Tarkovsky Cast Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Yuri Yarvet Distributor Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Here’s another reason to celebrate the Criterion Collection’s arrival in the UK. Andrei Tarkovsky’s stunning sci-fi is beautifully presented in this new restoration, accompanied by an audio essay by experts Vida Johnson and Graham Petrie, deleted scenes, interviews, a documentary excerpt and a booklet featuring essays on the filmmaker. So, if you’re asking whether this upgrade is worth it, the short answer is: “Yes.” The film remains a fascinating and haunting meditation, as Kris Kelvin is sent to find out what is going on aboard the space station orbiting the titular planet. The crew has been reporting hallucinations, but when Kelvin arrives he…

INFO Released Out now Certifi cate 18 Creator Scott Buck Cast Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, Tom Pelphrey, Jessica Stroup, David Wenham Distributor Netfl ix Running Time 718 mins Marvel’s latest Netflix series Iron Fist has been treated as a ‘proceed with caution’ kind of show since the start. This is mostly due to the fact that it’s a show about a superhero with Kung Fu powers played by Finn Jones, a white actor, which seemed to be yet another story about a white character going to Asia to learn martial arts and mysticism and returning to show everyone how it’s done. Many members of the cast and crew defended Jones’ casting, with Colleen Wing actress Jessica Henwick, who actually is Asian, saying that show’s star smashes it out of the…

Details PG // 325 mins // 1972 // // Released Out now Creator Various Cast Ian Holm, John Shaw, Ian Hendry, Patience Collier, Jennie Linden Distributor Network The late Seventies and early Eighties were a golden period for British anthology horror, with Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected and Hammer House Of Horror. The Frighteners, made by London Weekend Television and broadcast for a single series in 1972, has often been overlooked and has been difficult to track down. Thankfully, Network has assembled this grim, ghoulish collection of the 13 episodes and they’re well worth a look. The formidable line-up of writers and directors include Get Carter’s Mike Hodges, John Burke, William Trevor, Andrea Newman and Wilfred Greatorex, and none of the stories involve the supernatural. Instead, they find (mostly)…

Titus Groan Miéville cited Mervyn Peake’s stunning Gormenghast trilogy as an inspiration, with its blend of sprawling Dickensian architecture and profound strangeness. Annihilation Jeff Vandermeer is also one of weird fi ction’s leading lights, and if you’re looking for a good place to start, we’d recommend this enthralling Lovecraftian tale. The Long Small Way To Angry A Planet We love Becky Chambers’ brilliant space-set sci-fi, and if you liked the incredible array of different species all living together in Perdido, you should check this out. The Dispossessed Ursula K LeGuin’s classic blends science-fi ction, science and politics in a way that feels like a clear influence on Miéville. You should also investigate The Left Hand Of Darkness. The City And The City Miéville’s blend of detective fiction, spy thriller and…

1. Exquisite Corpse “Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite. Observing the blurred line of pain, pleasure and fear of dying #BookClub” @ParsonsFiction 2. Reaper Man “Reaper Man particularly for this: ‘No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away...’ #BookClub” @maetria 3. Death With Interruptions “Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago. It’s surreal and hyper-romantic while still being morbid. #BookClub” @KellyMintzer “THIS IS POETIC AND ACCESSIBLE” 4. Death’s Master “Death’s Master by Tanith Lee. A mythological tale of demons, desires, and a queen’s revenge on Death, from an age when the Earth was fl at. #BookClub” @PeteMC666 5. A Dirty Job “A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore was a great one RE: Death. Really funny! #BookClub” @sarawezzie…

Details Author: Meg Howrey Publisher: Scribner Price: £12.99 Released: Out now Fancy a trip to Mars? What if you knew it meant months trapped in a confined space, with only intermittent contact with the Earth, and only two fellow crewmembers to talk to? Where you needed to be alert to every possible sign of danger, yet most of your day was taken up with mindless busywork? And what if you knew your family wanted you back at home? No-one actually gets to Mars in The Wanderers. Instead, three astronauts – Helen Kane, Yoshihiro Tanaka, and Sergei Kuznetsov – are put through their paces in an elaborate simulation in Utah. As well as dealing with all the problems of interplanetary travel, they’re being watched constantly by a team of ‘obbers’, who…

Details Author: SL Grey Publisher: Pan Price: £7.99 Released: Out now A house swap goes horribly wrong in this latest chiller from SL Grey (aka excellent South African authors Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg). The duo are back with a tale of grief, insanity and the dangers of taking a chance on unrated Airbnb users. Literature professor Mark and his aspiring writer wife Steph are still reeling from a home invasion that sent their already delicate sense of stability into a tailspin. Mark’s friend suggests a holiday in Paris and a house-swap means that they can’t use their lack of finances as an excuse. Leaving their daughter with Steph’s parents, they head to Paris but the dark, musty apartment isn’t exactly what was advertised. They try to make the best…

“WHILE BIG STRUCTURES FALL APART, PEOPLE WILL ENDURE” The Girl With All The Gifts by MR Carey showed us a world that no longer had a place for us, ravaged by a contagion that turned the infected into ravenous Hungries, but also at the cusp of a beginning, with young Melanie realising that she was the start of something new. Now, Carey has returned to this world with The Boy On The Bridge, which shows us what happened to scientific expedition crew inside the roving armoured vehicle Rosalind Franklin, and how humanity first met the children who will occupy this brave new world… “I was still reluctant to put the world down,” Carey explains when we sit down with him. “It was irresistible once I did started to think about…

For the best part of 25 years, Tracy Scoggins has been an integral part of a slew of iconic science fiction and fantasy shows on the small screen. From appearing in the first season of The New Adventures Of Superman, to guest starring as a Cardassian in Deep Space Nine, playing the immortal Cassandra who discovered a young Duncan McLeod when she was the witch of Donnen Woods in TV series Highlander, to arguably her most prominent role as Captain Elizabeth Lochley in Babylon 5, Scoggins reveals how she circumnavigated a rich and colourful career in genre and how she believes an instrumental episode, written by renowned British author Neil Gaiman, played a pivotal part in fans finally accepting her as the captain of a space station… You played colourful…

Elsey’s most controversial makeup was the gruesome head-to-toe burns on Hayden Christensen (see above), which ultimately earned the film a PG-13 rating. “Very often when people get burned, parts of them don’t get burned at all, while other parts get burned all the way through, so I thought this could be that kind of situation. The inhalation of smoke and flames would also explain his breathing, so it made sense to push things a bit, but the very first comment I heard from George was: ‘This has to be a PG burn!’, so I went away and struggled with various looks, adding to the makeup and making it more burned and disfigured. “I finally went to George and Rick and said: ‘Look, I really want to push this,’ and to…

1 HUDSON (ALIENS) He’s the arrogant ass who singlehandedly represents military s c in handling this situation and their utter terror when they realise they can’t: “Express elevator to hell, goin’ down!” 2 CHET (WEIRD SCIENCE) John Hughes’ “Nerds make a girl” movie hasn’t aged too well, Chet still stands tall: “I’m gonna tell Mom and Dad everything! I’m even considering making up some shit!” 3 PUNK LEADER (THE TERMINATOR) Okay, so it’s not the biggest role, but who could forget a punk antagonising a naked Arnie? “Nice night for a walk, eh?” It’s that kind of attitude that gets you killed by every major movie monster. 4 DAD MEIKS (FRAILTY) Paxton’s directorial debut was a hugely underrated piece of southern Gothic. He plays a good-hearted single dad who hears…

MS VOL MARVEL .1 , #1-23: THIS WOMAN, THIS WARRIOR The best place to start is at the beginning. Carol Danvers’ first comic appearance is jam packed with action and badassery; from taking on Steeplejack and Doomsday Man to teaming up with the New Warriors. CAPTAIN MARVEL VOL.1 #1-6: IN PURSUIT OF FLIGHT This fast-paced comic sees Captain America himself persuade Danvers to drop Ms Marvel in favour of Captain Marvel as she travels in time, fights alongside the Banshee Squadron and finds out where it all began. CAPTAIN MARVEL VOL. 2 #1-6: HIGHER, FURTHER, FASTER, MORE A natural follow-up Captain Marvel Vol. 1 is, of course, Vol.2. where Danvers goes to deep-space to defend the rights of aliens revolting against the Galactic Alliance, and teams up with the Guardians…

RAW How can one poster possibly manage to look like both a very cute, coming-of-age indie romance flick and a horrifically disturbing cannibalistic horror at the same time? Well...this one for Julia Ducournau’s new film Raw does it pretty effortlessly. The weirdest thing is we would happily frame it to mount on our living room walls. That font. That backdrop. That white border. THE DEVIL’S CANDY The Devil’s Candy has had a wonderful run of posters so far and only an illustration this gorgeous could make the tagline: ‘He will slither into your soul’ sound remotely cool. WONDER WOMAN We challenge any Wonder Woman fan out there to stare at the latest poster without getting goosebumps. We think everything from the sunset to the pose is simply spectacular. COLOSSAL This…

Last time we saw Jesse (Dominic Cooper), Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun), they were leaving Annville to find God. Literally. Oh, and speaking of Annville, that explosion was pretty final, so don’t expect to be seeing any of those locals again. No, Preacher Season Two is hitting the road, which should please those disappointed by the first season staying in one place. Seth Rogen was at SXSW with showrunner Sam Catlin and comic creator Garth Ennis, where he told Rotten Tomatoes that: “We start introducing more characters that are beloved. The Grail becomes part of the show.” We’re excited to see that religious mafia gang, especially given that we had a teasing appearance from Herr Starr in the first season. While there’s been no confirmation as to Season…

Sci-Fi London Film Festival returns this month for its 17th year of bringing indie genre films from around the world together for ten full days of science fiction goodness. As anyone who’s been will tell you, this is a festival where you get to watch the really unusual, daring and unforgettable movies from the UK and beyond. Previous years have seen films like Shane Carruth’s Primer, Claire Carre’s Embers, Panos Cosmatos’ Beyond The Black Rainbow and Michel Gondry’s Mood Indigo. And while you’ll definitely see familiar names and faces, the potential for discovery is just as exciting. Highlights include British chiller Caught, which finds a cosy at-home profile interview becoming increasingly nightmarish; ultra-violent but polite The Rizen, starring Sally Phillips and Adrian Edmonson (a film which the fest describes as:…

WHEN THE FIRST FILM IN A SERIES DOES WELL, THE OVERWHELMING pressure to surpass its predecessor is almost always piled on to the sequel. In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’s case, however, it feels like there’s no pressure at all. Fans have already assumed it’s going to be rad, and we don’t have any reason to believe otherwise. That’s mainly down to the fact that writer/director James Gunn is back writing and directing again. Guardians became the new benchmark the week of Vol. 1’s release. “I think that’s great!” Gunn enthuses. “I mean, you have to be very grateful to be in the business that I’m in and have people use your work as a cultural watermark. That’s been an amazing experience for me, and it’s been an amazing…

THE EYEBROWS Never in the history of Doctor Who has there been a more iconic pair of eyebrows than those of the Twelfth Doctor. Their first appearance in ‘The Day Of The Doctor’ was truly something special. THE TANK AND ELECTRIC GUITAR Capaldi knows how to make an entrance. Only his Doctor would show up to a medieval fight atop a tank while shredding on an electric guitar. It was weird and ridiculous, in a good way. THE WHOLE OF ‘ LISTEN’ Easily the standout episode of Series Eight, ‘Listen’ took us on a sometimes sinister, often emotional whirlwind adventure. Capaldi had only been the Doctor for four episodes, but we trusted him all the way. WHENEVER HE GOT POLITICAL Doctor Who is known for not being subtle when it…

MOORE (The Vault of Horror, 1973) Baker is perfect as the wronged painter using voodoo to wreak vengeance on his enemies – and coming to a sticky end himself! PRINCE KOURA (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, 1973) Just wicked, Koura is an outstanding villain, especially when accompanied by his Harryhausen homunculus. THE DOCTOR (Doctor Who, 1974-1981) What is there to say about Baker’s Doctor that hasn’t already been said? Unpredictable, mad and deliriously wonderful. PUDDLEGLUM (The Silver Chair, 1990) The perfect choice to play everyone’s favourite marsh-wiggle in the last of the BBC’s warm-hearted Narnia adaptations. HALVARTH (Dungeons and Dragons, 2000) Baker’s elf is one of the very few high points of this much-maligned misfire of a movie. MR WYVERN (Randall and Hopkirk Deceased, 2000-2001) Baker is at his barmy…

AFTER THREE OR FOUR EPISODES OF SENSE8 SEASON ONE, MANY NETFLIX SUBSCRIBERS didn’t know what to make of it. That’s understandable: the sci-fi drama follows the lives of eight people from around the world who realise they are psychically linked and have the ‘ability’ to visit each other mentally. But after five or six episodes, many more were hooked and Sense8 has gone on to garner itself a large following. This isn’t a show you watch casually. After a 22-month wait, Sense8 is finally back with a second season. But things are changing this time around, hopefully for the better. The biggest difference between Seasons One and Two is that co-creator, co-director and co-writer Lana Wachowski is now flying solo. With her sister Lilly on a break, Netflix was keen…

THERE’S A LITTLE FRISSON OF EXCITEMENT WHENEVER YOU SEE the Studio Ghibli logo before a film, and while Michaël Dudok de Wit’s The Red Turtle may not have been made in the traditional Ghibli fashion, it is absolutely up there with the rest of the canon. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker stayed in Europe to make his incredible story of a man stranded on a desert island. Every time our shipwrecked hero tries to escape, a giant red turtle stops him, forcing him into an existence that he begins to adapt to… CASTAWAYS AND CLASSICS De Wit tells us that he has always wanted to tell a classic castaway story. “I almost immediately questioned myself,” he remembers. “‘Are you sure you want to make yet another version of it?’ But it’s…

Details 15 // 103 mins // Out now Director Daniel Espinosa Screenwriters Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick Cast Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare Distributor Sony The Foley designers on Daniel Espinosa’s space horror turn the sound of bone crunching and squelching up to 11 to effectively transmit the growing hostility of an organism from Mars as it slithers across a space station destroying anyone that gets in its way. The writing team from Deadpool are on board for this tense and entertaining ride, along with Ryan Reynolds, and they take their lead from Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity and Ridley Scott’s Alien in pairing human drama and grand spectacle with gruesome catastrophe. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Miranda North, the person in charge of disease control and shutting down…

Details 15 // 99 mins // Out now Director Liam Gavin Screenwriters Liam Gavin Cast Catherine Walker, Steve Oram, Susan Loughnane, Mark Huberman Distributor Kaleidoscope Entertainment We’ve seen a million black magic rituals in movies over the years, but rarely have they been put together with so much care, attention and sheer bloody effort as the rite in writer-director Liam Gavin’s debut A Dark Song. Opening doors to the other side isn’t as simple as drawing lines on the floor and lighting a candle. Powerful forces require powerful sacrifices. Catherine Walker (Dark Touch, Versailles) stars as Sophia Howard, who buys a house far from anywhere and hires miserable occultist Joseph Solomon (Sightseers’ Steve Oram) to perform a ritual for her. When she says she’s doing it for love, he dismisses…

Details 15 // 89 mins // 2017 // // Released 22 May Director Dito Montiel Cast Shia LaBeouf, Jai Courtney, Gary Oldman, Kate Mara Distributor Signature Entertainment Shia LaBeouf stars in Dito Montiel’s (A Guide To Recognising Your Saints) Man Down as Gabriel Drummer, a war veteran who finds himself dealing with the after-effects of conflict following a tour in Afghanistan. LaBeouf’s performance is solid from start to finish but, minus the last 20 minutes or so, the film is sadly pretty dull. Gary Oldman’s inexplicable appearance ought to have lifted it up, but it just didn’t. The card that gives more information about PTSD and veteran suicide rates just before the end credits is almost enough to make you feel bad about not liking the film, but not quite.…

Details 18 // 86 mins // 1988 // // Released Out now Director Mark Goldblatt Cast Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo, Lindsay Frost, Vincent Price Distributor 88 Films This cult oddity has come to Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films and it’s no less weird now than it was on release. The script is frequently woeful, the one-liners are terrible, and the chemistry between Treat Williams and then-SNL star Joe Piscopo is non-existent, but there’s something weirdly loveable about it anyway. The duo play cops Roger Mortis and Doug Bigelow, who are on the trail of unkillable jewel thieves when Roger is murdered. He’s brought back to life with a resurrection machine (yep), and they set out to find who did this to him before he decomposes. The humour never really works…

Details 15 // 81 mins // 2017 // // Released Out now Directors Dan Berk, Robert Olsen Cast Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Laura Abramsen, Steven Williams Distributor Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment Director Jim Mickle isn’t back for this follow-up to 2010’s excellent post-apocalyptic vampire movie, but writer-star Nick Damici picks up the story of young Martin (Connor Paolo, now bearded and bitter) as he sets out in search of his vamp-killing mentor Mister (Damici) after a bloodsucker and her gang kills his family. Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Body) are trying to do a lot with a little, and the film works best when it focuses on this broken family unit. Martin’s revenge mission and Mister’s concern about what his ward is becoming offers a nice reversal for the duo, but…

Details 18 // TBC mins // 1986-1992 // // Released Out now Director Steve Miner, Ethan Wiley, James Isaac, Lewis Abernathy Cast William Katt, Arye Gross, Lance Henriksen, Terri Treas Distributor Arrow Video There’s always been something endearingly odd about the House movies. Straddling the line between horror schlock and wacky comedy isn’t new, but these movies, for the most part, refuse to let either genre get in the way of a fun idea. While it’s obviously influenced by Poltergeist and features Vietnam flashbacks, it’s got more of a Jumanji feel than a Shirley Jackson one. So it’s a pleasure to see these genuinely unusual films given the Arrow Video treatment, complete with commentaries, new documentaries and interviews. House came from an idea from Monster Squad writer Fred Dekker, and…

Details 18 // 175 mins // 2017 // // Released Out now Creators Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton Cast Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes Distributor 2entertain/BBC Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s ingenious half-hour anthology series continues to be unmissable. With a fourth series currently in production, there’s no sign that the Psychoville duo are in any danger of running out of ideas. This set of six episodes feels darker than its predecessors; even the stories that don’t slot into the horror genre have some nasty moments and, as feels appropriate for this series, the Christmas Special is absolutely horrible. However, the pair’s ability to seamlessly slip between comedy and horror, and occasionally tragedy, continues to impress. It’s pretty much impossible to talk about ‘The Devil Of Christmas’ without…

Details PG (Wartime)/E (The Doctors) // 247 minutes/350 minutes // 1987/ Various // // Released Out now Creator Keith Barnfather Cast John Levene, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Richard Franklin, Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney Distributor Koch Media Re-released for its 30th anniversary, Wartime was the first offi cial Doctor Who spin-off and sees UNIT operative RSM Benton (John Levene) caught up in ghostly shenanigans. Watching three decades later, it is hard to ignore the fact that Wartime is more interesting for what it represents than for what it actually is. The half-hour running time does not allow for much in the way of action or character development. Occasionally it does strike the Sapphire And Steel chord that it’s aiming for – a gun suddenly becomes a stick, a ghostly couple dance…

“DIALOGUE IS CLEVER WRITING THAT PRETENDS TO BE SPEECH” Back in 2003, I was shopping around for an agent and had sent the manuscript of Old Man’s War to Ethan Ellenberg (who would, in fact, become my agent). He had a number of questions on the novel, but the one that’s stuck with me through the years is this one: “This novel is really dialogue-heavy. Did you originally write it as a screenplay?” The answer was no, I didn’t originally write it as a screenplay, but his question was an astute one nonetheless. Prior to writing the novel, I had been a professional film critic for a number of years – in the Nineties I had worked full-time as a film critic, and in the early Noughties I was doing…

“WHENEVER YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE DIRECTION OF HEKLA’S CHILDREN PEGGED, BROGDEN ” TAKES US SOMEWHERE DIFFERENT Details Author: James Brogden Publisher: Titan Books Price: £7.99 Released: Out now In a country with such a rich history, it is hardly surprising that Britain remains fascinated with the idea of what might lurk beneath the soil and how it came to be there. It is this curiosity that James Brogden mines for in Hekla’s Children, drawing on the thrill of archeological discovery to craft a tale that explores the way in which we shape our landscape and how it, in turn, shapes us. Teacher Nathan Brookes loses four teenagers in his care on a hike through Sutton Park, all but one never to be seen again. A decade later, a skeleton…

Details Author: MR Carey Publisher: Orbit Price: £16.99 Released: Out now MR Carey returns to the world of The Girl With All The Gifts in this tightly focused prequel, which fills in some of the missing bits and pieces from his brilliant end-of-the-world zombie tale. The Boy On The Bridge tells the story of the crew of the Rosalind Franklin; a cross between a mobile laboratory and a tank, which has been sent out in the Hungry-infested wasteland of Britain to conduct vital research. The tension between soldiers and scientists simmers away within these close quarters, and two events threaten to bring them to boiling point: the pregnancy of Dr Samira Khan, and the discovery of feral children who may be humanity’s last hope. The structures of authority from the…

“TAYLOR DRAWS ON EXISTING MYTHS AND LEGENDS BUT SPINS THEM INTO HER OWN LANDSCAPE” Details Author: Laini Taylor Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Price: £14.99 Released: Out now Lazlo Strange is a foundling, raised by monks, but most at home in the library where he spends his time learning about a mysterious city called Weep. Its real name has been lost, a mystery that captivates Strange. When the opportunity comes to join the party tasked with liberating Weep, he jumps at the chance and finds himself thrust into a world of dead gods, haunted men, and a blue-skinned girl. It is a tricky thing to pull off a new fairy tale as the traditional ones are so ingrained in our culture, but that is the feat that Laini Taylor pulls off…

Perhaps the most important and influential horror film ever made, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece, Psycho, not only stripped the genre of its supernatural overtones but indicated that the scariest monster of all was mankind. Prior to Psycho, there was certainly evidence of modernity creeping into the form (Don Siegel’s original Invasion Of The Body Snatchers from 1956 proved jarringly contemporary), but there was not even a minimal ‘fantasy’ element to the Old Master’s monochrome classic. Instead, audiences were introduced to the curious figure of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a shy loner – domineered from off-screen by a matriarchal mother – who remains in charge of the family’s motel business. Hosting a young runaway secretary (Janet Leigh, playing Marion Crane), who is planning to pay-off her boyfriend’s debts with some stolen…

“My character was a powerful, immortal witch named Grace Neville,” Scoggins reflects enthusiastically. “The inspirations I chose to create her were a combination of (former Dynasty co-star) Joan Collins and Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows. “I would say Grace was mercurial of temperament with a scarred heart that made her wicked. There was no-one to give her love so she sought power and revenge. A fan once asked me how I came to play the role and I said: ‘Of all the women, I was the only one at the audition who could make her eyes glow red!’” Billed as ‘escapist pleasure’ the supernatural series centred on a young male couple up against malevolent forces that conspire to keep them apart. It catered to a LGBQ audience and aired for…

“THE FILM PULLS NO PUNCHES WHEN IT COMES TO SHOWING WHAT THEY’RE CAPABLE OF” Film RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes RELEASE DATE: 3 October 1987 DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow WRITER: Kathryn Bigelow, Eric Red CAST: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson, Joshua Miller About Farm boy Caleb Colton picks up seductive waif Mae and quickly realises that he’s never met anyone like her. When her kiss goodnight goes a little deeper than he expects, he finds himself struggling to reach home. In fact, he’s burning up… which is when Mae and her friends grab him. They’re a rag-tag family of vampires, and they’re going to give Caleb a week to see if he can cut it as a bloodsucker. There’s just one catch: he’s going to…

”It stands with Romero’s Martin as the best vampire picture around.” @moviedrone “Only the greatest vampire fi lm. Love it so much gave my daughter ‘Mae’ as her middle name.” @adlow76 “It is the best vampire film bar none... it simultaneously winked at the history while totally modernising it.” @GuruEden “Classic, with one of Bill Paxton’s best performances. Cassidy from Preacher wouldn’t exist without Severen.” @HannahChapter1 “Great movie, except for the last five minutes, which I could totally fix if anyone wants to re-edit it...” @Joannechocolat…

THE ALIEN 5/5 It’s sleek, it’s the perfect killing machine, and it’s so absolutely creepy. It’s never been bettered. THE FACEHUGGER 5/5 It’s not just the way it latches on to your face, or the way it skitters with its horrible legs… it’s the way it breathes! THE ALIEN QUEEN 4/5 The queen is totally breathtaking, yes, and she’s a worthy adversary for Ripley. Still, we’d say she’s more awe-inducing than terrifying. GIANT FREUDIAN NIGHTMARE 2/5 Kind of fascinating with all its obviously sexual bits and bobs, but not really that terrifying. More ‘huh?’. NEWBORN 1/5 Nope. Every time we watch Alien: Resurrection, we think this might look better. Nope.…

1 The right man for the job Everyone can agree that K-2SO stole the show in Rogue One, and Alan Tudyk tells us that getting the role of the brusque droid seemed surprisingly straightforward. “I auditioned at home in my living room,” he remembers. “Gareth Edwards and I talked about it and then he said: ‘Do you want to do it?’ and that isn’t how you get a job. You find out that he’s interested in you but it’s still down to you and three other people and that you’ve got to audition again and there’s more material. This one was very fairly straightforward and fantastic!” 2 Bringing life to the machine As a reprogramed Imperial droid, K-2SO isn’t particularly tactful, especially when it comes to telling Jyn Erso (Felicity…

Welcome to Memory Bank, the corner of the magazine in which we dig through the dusty archives of SciFiNow and flick through issues of days gone by, killing time until the next tea break. This month, we’re looking at issue 97, which featured Gotham stars Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue on the cover for a big, bad superhero TV preview, and our first ever Gotham coverage. Since then, we’ve run around 3895 features on the DC series. Who knew it would be so popular? On a sale of one to five, we gave it five for ‘cool concept’, a four for ‘proven talent’ and ‘comic fidelity’ and one for ‘crossover potential’. Elsewhere, we got hyped for Dracula Untold, chatting to stars Luke Evans and Dominic Cooper on set. But it…

THE BATMAN Status: Delayed What’s the deal?: Matt Reeves is directing but it could be getting a heavy rewrite. But what of Deathstroke? GOTHAM CITY SIRENS Status: Pre-production What’s the deal?: David Ayer will direct this villain movie, featuring Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Tomb Raider’s Geneva Robertson-Dworet is writing the screenplay. SUICIDE SQUAD 2 Status: Director-hunting What’s the deal?: The Legend Of Tarzan’s Adam Cozad is writing, and Mel Gibson, Jonathan Levine, Daniel Espinosa and Ruben Fleischer are in the running to direct. AQUAMAN Status: Moved What’s the deal?: Everything seems fine, but it’s been pushed back a couple of months from its 5 October release to 21 December. THE FLASH Status: Director-hunting What’s the deal?: The Flash can’t hang on to a director. Rick Fumuyiwa left the…

WHEN SCIFINOW STEPPED ON TO THE ATLANTA SET OF GUARDIANS OF THE Galaxy Vol. 2 in June 2016, we were sworn to secrecy. Embargoes were signed that banned us from revealing anything about the set, plot, location or actors; especially the top-secret role of Sylvester Stallone in the sequel. Thankfully, the embargo has finally lifted… “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 will take audiences to the furthest edges of the Marvel universe to embrace the relationship, camaraderie and bickering between the Guardians,” explains our first interviewee, Jonathan Schwartz. The executive producer has a smile on his face as he speaks inside the small conference room at Pinewood Atlanta Studios; an area filled with concept art highlighting new planets, updated costumes and a host of intergalactic spoilers. “The sequel starts a…

TROMEO AND JULIET Writer, actor THE TROMAVILLE CAFÉ Director, writer, actor, creator THE SPECIALS Writer, producer, actor SCOOBY-DOO Writer, producer SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED Writer, producer LOLLILOVE Writer, actor, executive producer SLITHER Director, writer, actor JAMES GUNN’S PG PORN Director, writer, producer, actor, executive producer SUPER Director, writer, actor GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Director, writer, actor THE BELKO EXPERIMENT Writer, producer GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Director, writer…

How was the character described to you? It wasn’t, there was a lot of freedom. The words arrogant and petulant were thrown around; mostly in terms of how other characters would describe him but never how he’d describe himself. I enjoyed the auditions because it was playtime with a gold plate of a character. He does some monstrous things… No one is ever a villain in their own mind. To any normal human, what he does is deplorable, but in his head there’s nothing wrong with it. He’s got his own reasons for doing what he’s doing. He’s a young deity. All he’s known in his short life, has been more people worshipping technology. He’s constantly getting stronger. And we’ve come so far already since the book was written! Absolutely.…

KRIS MARSHALL Odds: 3/1 (suspended) Why they’d be a good Doctor: He can be super serious or infectiously hilarious whenever the moment calls for it. OLIVIA COLMAN Odds: 9/1 Why they’d be a good Doctor: Everyone loves Olivia Colman. It makes sense to put her in as many things as possible. RICHARD MADDEN Odds: 12/1 Why they’d be a good Doctor: Basically we just miss him. Come back, Richard Madden. We miss you. TILDA SWINTON Odds: 9/2 Why they’d be a good Doctor: She’s Tilda goddamn Swinton. Though we fear she’s too big for the TARDIS. RICHARD AYOADE Odds: 16/1 Why they’d be a good Doctor: Ayoade rambles are incredible, but we’d love to hear him do a Doctor ramble. IDRIS ELBA Odds: 40/1 Why they’d be a good Doctor:…

WITH KONG AND GODZILLA COMING TOGETHER AND THE KAIJU battle of Pacific Rim 2 on the way, we had certain expectations when we heard Anne Hathaway was starring in a monster movie. We assumed that she would be leading humanity in a battle against an unstoppable creature. Then we saw that Nacho Vigalondo was behind that movie, and we crumpled those expectations into a metaphorical ball and threw them away. The filmmaker behind Timecrimes and Open Windows doesn’t make films that you can pigeonhole. His movies are weird and unpredictable. “Maybe Colossal is the only way I can make a monster movie right now!” he laughs. “If I tried to make Pacific Rim they wouldn’t give me the film. I can make a film where a monster is fighting a…

THE LOCATIONS Netflix obviously thinks the show is worth investing in, sparing no expenses when it comes to shooting on live locations all over the world. LGBT+ REPRESENTATION Many shows have a tendency to think that only one lead character can be LGBT+ at a time, so Sense8’s focus on that representation is brilliant. THE PLOT It takes a little while to get into the swing of things, but with eight characters to focus on Sense8 is filled with rich and complex storylines. HARD SCI-FI The show often combines genre with romance, drama, action and comedy coming into the mix, but at its core is delicious, hard SF. THE CAST There isn’t a weak link in its cast of main players, and its supporting cast, including Daryl Hannah and Joe…

TRYING TO DESCRIBE MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000 IN ONE SENTENCE IS difficult, but as the cult US TV show has rarely been broadcast in this country, it’s a common undertaking for UK fans eager to recommend its blend of comedy, sci-fi and cheesy movies. MST3K features a man trapped on a satellite, forced to watch terrible B-movies by a pair of mad scientists. Our hero (creator Joel Hodgson in Seasons One-Five, Mike Nelson in Seasons Five-Ten) retains his sanity with the help of his wisecracking robot friends: the cute wobbly-armed, gumball-dispenser-headed Tom Servo and the gold-coloured, bowling-pin-mouthed Crow T. Robot. Joel (or Mike) and the robots then provide 90 minutes of laughs by ‘riffing’ along to the trashy movies, while they sit in the bottom corner of your TV screen.…

Details 18 // 86 mins // Out now Directors André Øvredal Screenwriters Ian B Goldberg, Richard Naing Cast Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Olwyn Kelly, Ophelia Lovibond, Michael McElhatton Distributor Lionsgate The Autopsy Of Jane Doe sounds like a fairly grisly prospect. The bulk of the film is the investigation of a woman’s naked corpse, after all, but a nifty script by Ian B Goldberg and Richard Naing, expert direction from André Øvredal and a pair of excellent performances makes this an effective and surprising chiller. Father-and-son coroners Tommy and Austin Tilden (Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch) are finishing up for the day when the Sheriff (Michael McElhatton) arrives with a rush job. An unidentified woman has been found buried and a cause of death must be established as soon as…

Details 15 // 88 mins // 21April Director Greg McLean Screenwriter James Gunn Cast John Gallagher Jr, Adria Arjona, Tony Goldwyn, John C McGinley, Melonie Diaz Distributor Vertigo Releasing ‘Battle Royale in an office building’ is a nice pitch, especially when it comes from a combination as enticing as James Gunn and Wolf Creek’s Greg McLean. It is also the kind of concept that could result in a rather brainless blood-fest, and The Belko Experiment does its best to satirise and slaughter in an entertaining fasion. The employees of the Bogotabased, US-owned Belko Company are alarmed by the increased presence of armed guards on their way into work. That alarm escalates when a voice comes over the PA to tell them that they have to start killing each other, or…

Details 15 // 97 mins // 2016 // • // Released 10 April Directors Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert Cast Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead Distributor Lionsgate Home Entertainment Emerging from Sundance as the ‘Daniel Radcliffe is a farting corpse’ movie, Swiss Army Man offers many more complex pleasures than Paul Dano’s stranded loner riding Radcliffe like a jetski through the splashing waves, but the fact that the film offers a moment as brilliant and as bizarre as that is a pretty good indicator of what you can expect from this film. As the island-stranded Hank (Dano) begins to bond with Manny (Radcliffe), teaching him what life has to offer and using his erection as a compass to find their way back to civilisation, Daniels Kwan and Scheinert manage…

Details 12 // 116 mins // 2016 // • // Released 8 May Director Morten Tyldum Cast Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne Distributor Sony Pictures Home Entertainment There are so many ways that Passengers could have been made a lot more interesting – perhaps if stars Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence’s roles were reversed, if it ended differently, if it featured two men or two women instead of a man and a woman – but we just have to make do with what we have been given. And what we have been given is a sci-fi romance that’s sometimes sweet, sometimes thrilling and sometimes (unintentionally) very creepy. However, it never really turns the sweet, thrilling or creepy aspects up further than about 60 percent. It’s pretty, but…

Details 12 // 133 mins // 2016 // • // Released Out now Director Gareth Edwards Cast Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Alan Tudyk Distributor Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment To compare Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One with the Star Wars film released right before it, there’s a clear demonstration of the skill with which JJ Abrams drew his new characters in The Force Awakens. The breathing room, of sorts, of that film’s first act is an attribute sorely missed in this spin-off’s whole, where the central motley crew could really use more time to gel as a unit before the story marches them off to their final stand: the theft of the Death Star plans that led to new hope in the very first Star…

Details 15 // 120 mins // 2016 // • // Released Out now Director Anna Biller Cast Samantha Robinson, Laura Waddell, Jeffrey Vincent Parise Distributor FrightFest Presents and Icon Distribution This fantastically realised tribute to 1960s technicolour melodramas and 1970s sexploitation from Anna Biller, who designed every aspect of the film, is absolutely gorgeous and very funny indeed. Its playful modern feminist approach takes a very deadly aim at the patriarchy and traditional gender ideals as seen in tedious romantic comedies. Elaine is a hopeless romantic searching for love and the perfect man. She uses potions and spells to get her way but is often disappointed by the reality that these men only like her for her looks. This cruel misogyny and her rather unrealistic expectations have turned her into…

Details 15 // 293 mins // 2017 // // Released Out now Creator Len Deighton Cast Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, James Cosmo, Maeve Dermody Distributor 2entertain/BBC Based on Len Deighton’s novel of the same name, SS-GB is set in an alternate history where the Nazis succeeded in their invasion of Britain and now occupy the south of the country and London is their stronghold. When a body is found in Shepherd Market, Detective Superintendent Douglas Archer (Sam Riley) begins an investigation into the unusual death. He’s swiftly drawn into a plot that not only involves a power struggle in the Nazi top brass, but also the plans of the British Resistance and their attempts to find allies in the Americans. The show creates an uncanny version of 1940s London in…

“PERDIDO STREET STATION IS A COLLISION OF GENRES IN THE BEST POSSIBLE SENSE” There can be no question that China Miéville is one of our greatest living genre authors. Melding science-fiction, fantasy, horror, noir, political thriller and dark comedy is something that the author does with incredible skill, leading to a brilliant, and brilliantly varied, collection of stories. Which is wonderful for the avid reader, but it does present a slight problem that many of us have surely run into while browsing his back catalogue – if you want to get somebody into Miéville’s work, which book do you choose? Sensible options include the gripping, ingenious (and relatively brief) The City And The City, or the entertaining Kraken, which begins with the theft of a giant squid and features a…

Details Author: Claire North Publisher: Orbit Price: £16.99 Released: Out now The head office for Death is located in Milton Keynes, not far from a nice spa in Leighton Buzzard, according to Charlie who has just been employed as the Harbinger of Death after the completion of a test and a short interview. His new job includes a lot of travel, something which he is excited for, but it soon takes its toll on his love life. He meets a Scottish man who teaches him how to fish and a Peruvian woman whose death marks the end of a language. Claire North explores the profundity and mundanity of life and humanity in her latest novel with heaps of humour, compassion and a fiercely intelligent gaze. North divides her novel into…

“@AnnoDracula’s Angels of Music, I am enjoying the large female cast. #BookClub” @Cascararogue “Returning to Arrakis with Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert. Must know who controls the spice and how. #BookClub” @ParsonsFiction “Remade by Alex Scarrow, love it so far, love his writing style, very easy and enjoyable to read. #BookClub” @BeardedWhovian “Currently reading @ BrianTMcClellan’s Sins of Empire and loving it. It’s so good to be back in the Powder Mage universe again!” @kshoni_gunputh “The Kong: Skull Island novelisation by @timlebbon Great so far with some nice backstory to the characters of Mason and Conrad. #BookClub” @Rozza1210 “Reading Gerald’s Game by Stephen King, pretty good so far #BookClub” @IFLHorror “Rereading Old Man Logan, because... Logan. #BookClub” @Jbarnes532 “Rereading American Gods in prep for the show! Goddamned excited to see…

How would you pitch Strange The Dreamer? I suppose I would say that it’s about a young librarian, a mythic lost city, the surviving children of murdered gods, and how we pick up the pieces and carry on after violence. With moths and ghosts. And cake. And how did this story first come about? The first piece of the puzzle was Sarai, actually. The book was meant to be hers. She’s been in my head for some 20 years: this lonely nocturnal young woman who lives in a tower, high above a city, and who is responsible for sending nightmares to the citizens below. That idea meshed with another, about children who survived a massacre of gods, and a story began to take shape. I was six or seven months…

Details Author: Sylvain Neuvel Publisher: Michael Joseph Price: £12.99 Released: Out now Sylvain Neuvel’s debut Sleeping Giants was one of the best genre novels last year, and his follow-up keeps to that standard. The world is still an uncertain place following the discovery of alien robot, Themis, but the question of who left it there is answered with the arrival of a second colossus that is superior to its predecessor. It soon turns out to be hostile and it’s up to Dr Rose Franklin and pilots Kara Resnick and Vincent Couture to come up with a way to halt the end of mankind. One of the real strengths of Sleeping Giants was Neuvel’s gift for writing characters that were relatable but complex, and our greater familiarity with Rose, Kara and…

With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there was talk that the franchise had finally started to move back from digital to physical creatures again. In actual fact, that shift had already begun a decade earlier with Revenge Of The Sith where such characters as the Emperor, Chewbacca and a critically-injured Anakin Skywalker earned the film its one and only Oscar nomination, for best achievement in makeup. Those characters were the brainchild of veteran makeup effects artist, Dave Elsey, who had just finished work on the critically acclaimed TV series Farscape when he was contacted by producer Rick McCallum about jumping on to the new Star Wars film. “We were originally approached to work on Episode Two,” Elsey elaborates. “ During the third season of Farscape, Rick asked…

“WE KEEP ODD HOURS.”SEVEREN “HOWDY. I’M GONNA SEPARATE YOUR HEAD FROM YOUR SHOULDERS. HOPE YOU DON’T MIND NONE.”SEVEREN “LET’S PUT IT THIS WAY: I FOUGHT FOR THE SOUTH.”JESSE “YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A BIG MAN ON THE INSIDE AND HAVE A SMALL BODY ON THE OUTSIDE?”HOMER “I HATE ‘EM WHEN THEY AIN’T BEEN SHAVED.”SEVEREN “I’LL STILL BE HERE WHEN THE LIGHT FROM THAT STAR GETS DOWN HERE TO EARTH IN A BILLION YEARS.”MAE “HEY, JESSE, REMEMBER THAT FIRE WE STARTED IN CHICAGO?”SEVEREN “I’M DOWN TO MY LAST INCH OF SKIN!”SEVEREN “I GET THROUGH HERE ABOUT ONCE EVERY 50 YEARS. MAKE ME A RESERVATION.”JESSE “I SURE HAVEN’T MET ANY GIRLS LIKE YOU.”CALEB “THE NIGHT HAS ITS PRICE.”MAE “THERE’S A FLY ON THE CEILIN’.”DIAMONDBACK “I AIN’T A…

SHAKE, SENORA 1. In which US state do the Maitlands live? 2. What does Charles Deetz do for a living? 3. What is the name of the Maitlands’ afterlife caseworker? 4. How does Betelgeuse describe his occupation? 5. What does Betelgeuse say Lydia must do in return for his help? WORK, SENORA 6. What is the title of the handbook Barbara and Adam Maitland discover after they die? 7. How many years must the Maitlands remain in their house, on pain of a dire fate? 8. How do you summon Betelgeuse? 9. What does Otho accidentally do instead of performing a séance? 10. Who sang Day-O, the song used in the dinner party possession scene? DANCE, SENORA 11. What kind of creatures live on Saturn? 12. Where did the Deetzes…