Arrow Player in October: J-Horror Rising, Michael Dougherty Selects, And More...

A happy first day of October to you all. The folks at Arrow celebrate the best in contemporary and cult genre cinema year round but as more focus is drawn to the realm of weird and wacky during this time of year it is time to share this month's lineup from the Arrow Video Player. 

 

Particular attention shuld be made that the selection of J-horror classics and the selections of Trick 'r Treat's Michael Dugherty. Both House films and Vamp starring Grace Jones feature this month as well. 

 

As always each month's programming features a little something for everyone. Find your spooky season treats in the full announcement below. 

 

 

 

 

Arrow Video is excited to announce the October 2024 lineup of their subscription-based ARROW platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Enjoy a selection of new titles, from carefully cultivated curations to shorts by new talent. For serious enthusiasts, ARROW offers deep dives into the tastes of filmmakers that changed the way we see the genre.

 

 

The October 2024 lineup leads with ARROW's annual curation Shocktober31, leading up to every subscriber's favorite day of the year. ARROW has a candy bag full of tricks, treats, and more for every flavor of film fan. Recent releases and classic scares combine with innovative new shorts and curated content for 31 days of terror.

 

Feature Presentations: October 2024 | ARROW

 

October 1's Seasonal offerings kicks off with the infamous Shocktober31 (UK/IRE/US/CA). ARROW conjures Shocktober31 from its grave for another October highlighting some of our favorite horror titles streaming on ARROW each day. 31 days, 31 movies, guaranteed to make your Halloween go with a scream. Is it even Halloween without an ARROW Shocktober31?

 

Let's get this (pumpkin) party started with a collection of terrifying Cult classics, old and new, to take care of your October viewing for the full 31 days of Hallow— we mean, ARROWeen!

 

Titles Include: Noroi: The Curse, Offspring, Pandemonium.

 

 

On October 4, ARROW goes trick or treating with filmmaking legend and box office smash Michael Dougherty. Reach into the candy bag and explore the cranium that gave audiences Krampus, Trick 'r Treat, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters with Michael Dougherty Selects (UK/IRE/US/CA). As audiences await the next nightmare to come forth from his imagination, Dougherty took some to look through the ARROW dungeons and shine a light on the films that reminded him of his childhood.

 

"Back when I was a kid it wasn’t easy to get your fix of underground cult movies. If you were lucky, you might’ve had one local theater or a drive-in with the balls to screen these gems, or maybe you had a friend whose parents let them rent whatever they wanted from the video store. Now, in an era where corporate streaming services dominate the entertainment landscape, it seems there are even less options for those of us who love movies that are a little rougher around the edges; movies that might not be as slick and polished as their big multiplex counterparts, but are nonetheless just as important and valuable — if not more so. Watching these films is like being placed in the hands of madmen who could give a fuck what the suits want and would rather go out guns blazing in order to provide an experience that might be horrifying, revolting, and maybe even morally questionable, but they’re raw, unfiltered, and generally awesome."

 

Titles Include: One Missed Call, Basket Case, Mako: Jaws of Death.

 

 

The blood flow continues October 4 with three treats exclusively for North American subscribers.

 

Bad Biology (US/CAN): For his first film in 17 years, splatter master Frank Henenlotter returned with the most graphic, transgressive and jaw-droppingly depraved black comedy shocker of his career: Jennifer is a homicidal nymphomaniac who spontaneously births mutant babies. Batz has a monstrous penis with a mind of its own. Will these two made-for-each-other freaks deliver the ultimate orgasmic horror?

 

Curtains (US/CAN): John Vernon (CHAINED HEAT, National Lampoon's ANIMAL HOUSE) and Samantha Eggar (THE BROOD, THE EXTERMINATOR) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre. A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). Unfortunately, a crazed killer in a disgusting "hag" mask is viciously murdering everyone one by one.

 

Zombie Holocaust (US/CAN): It sparked riots on 42nd Street, spawned a generation of gorehounds on VHS and forever set an insane standard for Italian zombie/cannibal carnage worldwide: Ian McCulloch (ZOMBIE), Alexandra Delli Colli (THE NEW YORK RIPPER), Sherry Buchanan (TENTACLES) and Donald O'Brien (EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS) star in this unabashed EuroTrash orgy of gut-munching, eyeball-gouging and face-chopping.

 

 

On October 11, knock on two doors for a taste of ARROW.

 

Trick? (UK/IRE/US/CA): Oops! You knocked on a nasty door. No sweets and candy for you, but instead a choice of plenty of Tricks. Be brave and pick a scary short film with a sting in the tail. After all, it's Halloween. Everyone's entitled to one good scare.

 

Titles Include: The Monkey's Paw, The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras, Death Walks on Nitrate.

 

Treat? (UK/IRE/US/CA): Phew! You knocked on a nice door. Hold out your bucket, we have some Treats for you - a big handful of short films full of fun, laughs and — you got us — maybe the odd gallon of blood too.

 

Titles Include: Bark, Keith, Bad Acid.

 

 

Also on October 11, go back to the 70s with a pair of films more disturbing than any acid trip.

 

Messiah of Evil (US/CAN): A woman arrives in a sleepy seaside town after receiving unsettling letters from her father, only to discover the town is under the influence of a strange cult that weeps tears of blood and hunger for human flesh.

 

The Psychic (US/CAN): It's been called "amazing" (Oh, The Horror!), "classic" (The Geek Show) and "a magnificent film" (Diabolique Magazine). It remains writer/director Lucio Fulci's ultimate giallo masterpiece: Jennifer O'Neill (SCANNERS) stars as a woman tormented by violent visions of past slayings. Or are they premonitions of murders still to come?

 

October 14 is ARROW's ode to the 80s with a launch of classic nightmares for North American subscribers.

 

Creepshow 2 (US/CAN): Titans of terror George A. Romero and Stephen King deliver yet another selection of blood-curdling tales in Creepshow 2, the follow-up to the 1982 horror classic. In "Old Chief Wood'nhead", a group of young hoodlums face retribution from an unlikely source after looting a local hardware store. Meanwhile, "The Raft" sees a group of horny teens wishing they'd read the warning signs first before taking a dip in a remote lake. Finally, an uptight businesswoman finds herself with some unwanted company following a hit-and-run incident in "The Hitch-hiker". Retaining the same EC comic book flavor that made the original such a hit, Creepshow 2, this time directed by long-time Romero collaborator Michael Gornick, is a standout horror anthology from the minds of two of the genre's master craftsmen.

 

House (US/CAN): In the original House, William Katt (Carrie) stars as Roger Cobb, a horror novelist struggling to pen his next bestseller. When he inherits his great aunt’s creaky old mansion, Roger decides that he might just have found the ideal place in which to get some writing done. Unfortunately, the house’s vindictive supernatural residents have other ideas…

 

House II: The Second Story (US/CAN): House II: The Second Story sees young Jesse (Arye Gross) moving into an old family mansion where his parents were mysteriously murdered years before. Plans for turning the place into a party pad are soon thwarted by the appearance of Jesse’s mummified Great Grandpa, his mystical crystal skull and the zombified cowboy who’ll stop at nothing to lay his hands on it!

 

 

Vamp (US/CAN): Two fraternity pledges head to a seedy part of town to find some entertainment for their college friends but are faced with bloodthirsty vampires!

 

Keith (Chris Makepeace, Meatballs) and AJ (Robert Rusler, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge) want to make the right impression at college and so they devise a plan to get them into the best frathouse on campus. They head to the After Dark Club where they want to find a stripper for a party their friends won’t forget, instead they find themselves among vampires led by Kinky Katrina (Grace Jones, A View to a Kill)!

 

Delivering laughs and scares in equal measure, with the added bonus of vampy sex appeal, Vamp is a comedy horror romp with real bite!

 

The Stuff (US/CAN): Are you eating it...or is it eating you? The Stuff is the new dessert taking supermarket shelves by storm. It's delicious, low in calories and - better still - doesn't stain the family carpet... What's not to like?! Well, for a start it has a life of its own, and we're not talking friendly live bacteria... Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn't love The Stuff - in fact he won't go anywhere near it, after having seen the pudding crawling around the fridge one night. What's more, everyone who eats The Stuff has started acting really weird... Grab a spoon and dig on into The Stuff - the taste that delivers... much more than you bargained for!

 

 

On October 18, pick apart the mind of a festival programmer with Celluloid Screams Selects (UK/IRE/US/CA).

 

Celluloid Screams, North England's premier annual horror film festival, celebrates the best in classic and contemporary cinema. This year's event will run from the 24th to the 27th of October, and the Celluloid Screams team have scoured the ARROW vaults to handpick their fave Cult films in Celluloid Screams Selects.

 

Titles Include: The Endless, Hellraiser 2 and Blood and Black Lace.

 

 

On October 25, mini monsters are on the menu with a selection of creature shorts! 

 

Werewolf (UK/IRE/US/CAN): A group of friends decides to play a casual game of Werewolf. Will they survive the night? Or will their secrets spill through the cracks of distrust and draw blood?

 

We Forgot About The Zombies (UK/IRE/US/CAN): The story of two friends who think they found the cure for zombie bites.

 

Blood Shed (UK/IRE/US/CAN): When Jack buys suspiciously cheap second-hand parts to build his dream shed, he and long-suffering wife Helen find they’ve got more than they bargained for: a killer shed with an appetite for blood.

 

Strange Creatures (UK/IRE/US/CAN): Desperate to see her brother again, a young woman visits the site of his death.

 

 

On October 28, prepare for the big day with J-Horror Rising (UK/IRE/US/CA)

Vengeful ghosts returning from beyond the grave, young women with supernatural abilities, investigative narratives, a terror of technology, and an ominous aura of urban alienation and isolation mark the wave of horror and mystery films that emerged in Japan at the turn of the millennium, collectively labeled as "J-Horror".

 

Remastered from the best available elements and alongside a host of new and archival extras, J-Horror Rising presents seven of the genre's most distinctive titles.

 

In the ghostly pastoral horror of Shikoku, a young woman returns after many years to her rural birthplace, only to find her best friend from childhood has died by drowning when just sixteen. The dead girl's mother, the local Shintoist priestess, has embarked on the region's famous pilgrimage - but why is she walking backwards?

 

The aftermath of the devastating Kobe Earthquake of 1995 creates fissures in the already fractured mind of a high-school girl in Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, allowing an unwelcome intruder to set up home in her head and leaving a volunteer worker with psychic powers to determine which of her personas is the fake one.

 

z also provides the mystical backdrop to Inugami, as a teacher from Tokyo finds himself drawn to a local papermaker, only to find himself the subject of some hostility from her extended family, who have long ties to the region and are rumored to be the descendants of the guardians of ancient evil canine spirits.

 

Megumi Okina (Ju-On: The Grudge) plays the art designer for a horror-themed video game in the innovative St. John's Wort, who is forced to confront her childhood traumas when her colleagues ask her to gather visual materials from the creepy gothic mansion she has inherited from her estranged artist father.

 

Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman features the titular predatory murderess drawn from urban legend, where it turns out home isn't the safest place for her potential child victims in this disturbing supernatural horror.

 

A new craze for wearing ceramic masks sweeps the students of a high school, unleashing a wave of anonymous juvenile delinquency amongst the literal fashion-victims of Persona, which boasts early appearances from Battle Royale stars Tatsuya Fujiwara and Chiaki Kuriyama.

 

Last but not least, the chilling Noroi: The Curse adopts a pseudo-documentary format as an investigative reporter into paranormal phenomena is forced to confront horrors beyond his wildest imagination after learning about an ancient folkloric demon.

 

Titles Include: Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman, Shikoku, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Inugami, Noroi: The Curse, St. John's Wort.