The continent of Australia has seen a small renaissance of horror films over the last fifteen years. Considering the continent’s rich history with suspenseful cinema, the frequency of these films is indeed exciting. Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith are two movies that have stuck with me over the years, considering I only watched each title once. I remember the suspense and terror created in the atmosphere of Picnic, through a combination of a simple plot of a missing child and an ominous score. Jimmy Blacksmith’s climax is one of the most psychologically tormenting experiences I have had watching a film. That was the 70’s. In recent years, Australia has released some great horror genre gems that really do a great job of tracing their roots back to the aforementioned films. Wolf Creek, Feed, and The Horseman are some of the Australian horror titles that really have gotten my attention since the early 2000’s. Unfortunately, for every gem in Australian horror, there are over a dozen rocks you must sift through, and 6 Plots is one of those rocks.

The plot description sounds promising: After passing out at a party, the least popular girl in the “popular clique” wakes up to find she and her friends have been kidnapped. As the night progresses, she is able to contact her friends via their cell phones, and she learns that each of her friends have been placed inside boxes located across the small town. The killer allows the cell phones for communication amongst the group, but warns them not to involve parents or authorities.  Rules are broken, some horrifying images follow, and realistically, nothing happens that I have not seen before.

"Did I miss anything while I was gone?"

Did you ever. Banshee came to an end with this, the fourth season, and it did not go quietly, to be sure. But it's not how it ends, but how this final season begins that's a bit of a mystery. There is a time jump of a little over 18 months that will cause you to feel like you might have missed something. If that doesn't confuse you, the season's constant tripping around in time will turn this season into a show very different from the Banshee we've come to know and love. It's not just one or two timelines that are presented here. The time can shift by any number of days, weeks, or months. Still the "current" story takes place nearly two years in the future. Fans appear to be divided on the season's dramatic departure from the show's style. The question has to be whether the team knew it was their final season from the beginning and felt the need to cover more ground to tell what story they had left to tell.

"Over 68 million Americans leave the safety of our borders every year. If danger strikes, the FBI's International Response Team (IRT) is called into action." 

In these days of international terrorism, I'm not sure that anyone feels particularly safe here or abroad. If recent events have taught us anything at all, it's that evil knows no country and that no quarter is completely safe. You would also get the idea that terrorism is one of the biggest issues this IRT deals with. The first 13 episodes of Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders don't really deal with that kind of danger with the single exception one episode.

“Are you food or are you sex?”

When it comes to director Nicholas Winding Refn, he’s a director from whom I’m never all too sure what to expect.  For me Drive is one of my favorite films in the past ten years, while Only God Forgives simply bored me; despite the stunning imagery, it had nothing else going for it.. His films going even further back are just as much of a mixed bag, so coming into The Neon Demon I knew better than to get my hopes up, and that I should just go ahead and let the film stand on its own, as it should. Even reading about its debut at Cannes, it was met with a mix of boos as well as applause, which was all I really needed to get interested in this film after seeing the visually impressive trailer.  At a glance it appears to be nothing more than the story of Black Swan (2010), only instead of following dancers, this is a film that thrusts the viewer into the world of modeling. Just where do I stand on this film? Well, it’s stuck with me since our screening days ago, and I’m still processing everything.

Our new buddies over at Artsploitation Films wanted put some bite into 31 Nights Of Terror. Believe me when I tell you they went right for the jugular by giving us 2 copies of Vampyres on DVD to give to a couple of lucky winners here at Upcomingdiscs. It's a little bit like the 1974 cult classic but with a few wicked modern edges. This one is not for the kiddies as it contains plenty of blood and some killer female vampires wearing only that blood. The disc includes an interview with star Caroline Munro.

To win a copy of this prize, follow these instructions.

“Be the hero of your own story.”

Not the funniest addition to Kevin Hart’s reign as the king of comedy, but still a welcome sight. This time around, Hart teams with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for Central Intelligence. I’ve been anticipating this movie since behind-the-scenes footage leaked earlier this year, and the official trailer did nothing but fuel the flames of my excitement. After watching it, I can say that despite a few predictable plot twists, I still found the overall product to be extremely funny and worthwhile.

"Book 'em, Danno."

It's been 30 years since we first heard that phrase. Still it persisted in the modern lexicon along with the term Five-0, which is still shouted in high-crime areas in cities all over the country whenever a police presence is felt closing in on the bad guys. Hawaii Five-0 ended in 1980. That's when Tom Selleck took over the sets and production crew on Hawaii to work as Magnum P.I. until 1988 when it all closed down for good -- or did it? Wouldn't you know it, the show has been resurrected and become the hottest drama on television. A younger Steve McGarrett and company are back in action and Hawaii ...the world might never be the same again. Not sure what I'm talking about? You've got five seasons of the new Hawaii Five-O to catch up on. Let's give you the quick 411. Roll wave...

Welcome to the first Tuesday Round Up of October! You've probably noticed that the spooky season is in full swing around these parts thanks to our “31 Nights of Terror” and we're going to keep the monster mayhem going thanks to Showtime's Penny Dreadful: The Final Season. In other horror-related news, Level 33 leave us in scary hands with The Caretaker, while Allied Entertainment giddily declares OMG...We're in a Horror Movie. RLJ Entertainment sees things through The Mind's Eye, and Lionsgate digs deep with 6 Plots. (You're in luck: enter to win a copy of 6 Plots by clicking here!) Magnolia bedevils us with Satanic and (in non-horror news) pays respect to The Last King.

Anchor Bay sows some Wild Oats, and Time Life stays up late for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: The Vault Series — Archive Collection (which features the incomparable Joan Embery, who we got to chat with recently). Finally, HBO bids an action-packed farewell to Banshee: The Final Season.

Imagine being able to move things with your mind, no matter the size. To suddenly be able to send a car or a person flying through the air merely through the power of your thoughts. I’m sure we have all thought about having such extraordinary power. For Zach Connors, it is a reality; however, the power is more curse than a gift. The Mind’s Eye presents an engaging and intriguing look into what it would be like to possess this psychic ability. From the inability to control the power, to the isolation, to the envy and lust to obtain the ability for themselves, the movie hits on several key aspect and all the while never loses steam as it heads towards the final battle, which in itself is quite the meeting of the minds. Pun intended.

Zach Connors (Graham Skipper) is a drifter with the ability to move things with his mind. It is an ability that he cannot fully control and has forced him to leave behind everyone he ever loved, from his father to the love of his life, Rachel Meadows (Lauren Ashley Carter). Following a confrontation with police which results in him losing control and injuring the officers, he is arrested and approached by the mysterious Dr. Slovak (John Speredakos). Claiming to be an expert in the field of psychokinesis and offering to help Zach, the stranger offers him a place at his institute in order to help him gain control of his power.  Zach is hesitant until the doctor mentions Rachel, who apparently is undergoing treatment at the institute.

He's been called the King of Late-Night. Today when there are so many talk shows on at pretty much every hour of the day, that might not appear to be such a huge distinction. There were talk shows on before Johnny Carson, but there can be no doubt that he invented the modern late-night show. For 30 years Johnny Carson was like a member of the family for millions of Americans. He was a friendly face at the end of a long, stressful day. He was that dependable routine that you could set your biological clock by. You would lie back in bed and let Johnny bring the world to you. You could count on a wide assortment of entertainment experiences. Johnny would deliver a monolog that often touched on the hot topics of the day. The news programs might be depressing, but Johnny always gave you a reason to crack a smile at the worst of times. There were characters like Aunt Blabby and Carnac who became comfortable old friends. The top names in show business competed for precious minutes on his stage, and if you were very lucky you spent some time on the couch and some face time with Johnny and his faithful sidekick Ed McMahon. Johnny could make or break your career in three minutes. He brought you the best of the new comics and musicians while delivering the big stars just as well. When you made it to The Tonight Show, you really made it.

There will never be a complete season or complete series set for Johnny Carson. There are several problems that present themselves almost immediately. Johnny was on nearly every night for thirty years. Do the math and you'll realize there have been thousands of episodes. The sad fact is that many of these moments are lost forever. Footage has either been lost completely or is in such bad shape as to be almost unwatchable. There was so much variety that having a full season would be a logistic nightmare to find those favorite moments. No, there just isn't ever going to be a complete anything when it comes to Johnny Carson. But leave it to Time-Life to go into the vaults and at least bring out some gems. This is the second volume, so the discs start with # 7.