Legend – Page 3 – Legend is the channel for people who want to indulge in their favourite genre classics. From action to thriller, suspense to sci-fi, we guarantee to keep everyone on the edge of their seat.

September 24, 2023December 5, 2023

LEGEND has 11 premieres for you this October!

Watch out for plenty of star-studied thrills and spills on LEGEND, as the UK’s most entertaining channel for action, suspense and Sci-Fi presents eleven premieres for October, including the UK TV premiere of ANTI-LIFE, an edge-of-your-seat sci-fi thriller with an (inter)stellar cast including Bruce Willis and John Suits. There also a welcome channel premiere for THE GUEST, a brilliant homage to 1980s action flicks and slasher horror, which showcases ex- Downtown Abbey actor Dan Stevens in an inspired star-making turn.

Other channel firsts include high-octane crime thriller DOG EAT DOG, starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, American road comedy film MIDNIGHT RUN, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, THE QUEST a martial arts thriller directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme in his directorial debut and the controversial drama SLEEPERS, starring Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Robert DeNiro and Minnie Driver.

Plus, there’s British mystery thriller UNDER SUSPICION starring Liam Neeson, action adventure THE RIVER WILD, starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon and Van Damme and Lundgren return for a sixth instalment of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING.

This month’s ever-popular THE VINTAGE VAULT strand on Sunday night double-bills continues its celebration of great horror classics from the Sixties and seventies including DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, THE SORCERERS, TWINS OF EVIL, SCARS OF DRACULA and LUST FOR A VAMPIRE.

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Let’s start on the 5th with the channel premiere of UNDER SUSPICION. Tony Aaron (Liam Neeson) is a disgraced ex-policeman scraping a living as a private detective. When a supposedly routine case goes wrong and leads to the murder of a client and Aaron’s own wife, he is under suspicion of murder. His enquiries lead him to the murdered client’s mistress, the mysterious Angeline (Laura San Giacomo), who stood to benefit heavily. Two legends team-up on Saturday the 7th, MIDNIGHT RUN. When bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert DeNiro) is assigned with finding bail jumper Jon Mardukas (Charles Grodin), he has no idea the Mob and the FBI have the same idea Martin Brest directs this smart and funny ‘Odd Couple’ movie.

If its high-octane action then THE QUEST on the 12th is for you. Acclaimed action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme directs and stars as Chris, a street criminal who has always lived his life in search of new adventures. But his skill will be put to the test when he enters a tournament of the world’s best fighters. Van Dammer’s directorial debut also stars Roger Moore. The we battle the elements on the 14th in THE RIVER WILD. Meryl Streep delivers a tour de force performance as a wife and mother whose family river rafting trip is hijacked by murderous thieves who desire to use her experience as a river guide to get them through a perilous stretch of water known as the Gauntlet. Directed by Curtis Hanson and co-stars Kevin Bacon as the ruthless criminal who threatens their lives.

Based on true events and directed by visionary filmmaker Paul Schrader DOG EAT DOG on the 17th, is a breathtaking crime thriller starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, who, fresh out of prison, are trying to adapt themselves to civilian life. But then they are offered a job by an eccentric mob boss with a payoff too good to turn down. Set in the near future, ANTI-LIFE on the 25th focuses on a spaceship with survivors fleeing a devastating plague on planet Earth. But the ship has a stowaway: a shape-shifting alien whose goal is to kill. Clay (Bruce Willis) and his team of mechanics are picked to maintain the interstellar ark but now they must outwrite and destroy a malevolent cosmic terror.

Back down to Earth on the 27th for UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION. When a terrorist sect uses a new destructive model from the “Universal Soldier” line of humanlike machines, to seize the atomic reactor at Chernobyl, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), is reactivated to save the planet from nuclear Armageddon. Unfortunately, Deveraux will also have to contend with his nemesis, Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren). A-list drama on the 28th in acclaimed 90s thriller, SLEEPERS. Four boys from Hell’s Kitchen enter a reformatory where a cruel guard (Kevin Bacon) abuses them. Years later, two of them avenge their tormenter and stand trial, defended by a lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) and aided by their scheming cohort (Brad Pitt) and other friends from the ‘hood (Robert DeNiro, Minnie Driver), who face the moral dilemma of justice vs. loyalty.

The big news this month is waiting for you on the 31st, THE GUEST. A brilliant homage to 1980s action flicks and slasher horror given a sharp twist by YOU’RE NEXT director Adam Wingard, it showcases ex- Downtown Abbey actor Dan Stevens in an inspired star-making turn. He plays David, a soldier arriving on the bereaved Peterson family’s doorstep, claiming to be the best friend of their son who died in action. Inviting him to stay, at first the charming veteran seems the perfect guest, but then the random killing starts. What’s going on and can the family stop the cold-blooded lethal weapon in their home committing even worse atrocities?

September 19, 2023December 5, 2023

LEGEND shoots from the hip with THE WILDER WEST SEASON

LEGEND shoots from the hip this October as the wilder side of the western is laid bare in a six-shooter season of violent, controversial and revenge-fuelled showdowns.

So be prepared for blood-drenched shoot-outs, outlaw adventures and bandits on the rampage as LEGEND goes way out West with a selection of contemporary Westerns, highlighted by the channel premiere of Ti West’s IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE, starring Ethan Hawke and John Travolta. There is also a channel premiere for Jon Casser’s FORSAKEN, starring Donald and Keifer Sutherland. Ralph Nelson’s brutal Western SOLDIER BLUE still remains one of the most poignant yet horrific dramatisations of America’s dark history and this repeat shoeing gets a primetime slot, as does HANNIE CAULDER, starring Ernest Borgnine and Raquel Welch, intense rural drama WAR ON THE RANGE, starring James Badge Dale and William Forsythe and civil war thriller ANY BULLET WILL DO, starring Kevin Makely and Todd A. Robinson.

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IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE kicks off the week on the 16th. Paul (Ethan Hawke) is a drifter making his way through the Old West with his faithful dog by his side. When Paul bumps into Gilly (James Ransone), a local gang leader and the son of the town’s marshal (John Travolta), their resulting scuffle leads to an act of violence that propels Paul on a mission for revenge. Written and directed by Ti West. Then the following evening a true classic, HANNIE CAULDER. Bandit brothers Emmett (Ernest Borgnine), Frank (Jack Elam) and Rufus Clemens (Strother Martin) botch a heist, and in anger they rape local woman Hannie Caulder (Raquel Welch), murder her spouse and destroy her home. Set on retribution, Hannie seeks out bounty hunter Thomas Luther Price (Robert Culp), who helps her learn to shoot, a skill she that she’ll need as she attempts to track down and take out the merciless Clemens brothers.

On the 18th we witness the WAR ON THE RANGE. In post-Civil War Texas, two neighbouring families are grieving tragic losses while they struggle to survive. When Wade Riley returns from fighting for the Confederacy, he discovers that the McCluskey family have been stealing animals from his family’s traps. He decides to take matters into his own hands, sparking yet another tragic and senseless war. This rural drama stars James Badge Dale and William Forsythe. One of the most challenging and controversial Westerns of all time on the 19th, SOLDIER BLUE. The film follows the adventures of Honus (Peter Strauss) and Cresta (Candice Bergman), the only remaining survivors of a Cheyenne Indian attack, as they journey across the unforgiving wilderness of the old west in search of refuge. It’s a journey that reaches a tragic climax as they bare witness to the relentlessly brutal and cold-blooded slaughter of the Cheyenne tribe. Ralph Nelson’s brutal Western still remains one of the most poignant yet horrific dramatisations of America’s dark history.

ANY BULLET WILL DO on the 20th is set during the great American Civil War where two brothers find themselves on opposing sides. Ten years later, Hollis Ransom, now a ruthless headhunter, sets out on a bloody path through Montana and Wyoming, fighting and evading outlaws, and finally meeting his brother in an epic battle that will seal both men’s fates once and for all. Directed by Justin Lee, starring Kevin Makely and Todd A. Robinson as the warring brothers. We end this special week on the 21st with FORSAKEN. In 1872, John Henry Clayton (Kiefer Sutherland) retires as a gunfighter and returns to his hometown of Fowler, Wyoming in hope of repairing his relationship with his estranged father, Reverend Clayton (Donald Sutherland). However, he soon learns that the town is in turmoil, as a criminal gang is terrorising ranchers who refuse to sell their land. John Henry is the only one who can stop them, but his father does not want his son to return to a life of violence.

August 22, 2023August 31, 2023

LEGEND reveals bumper crop of premieres for September

Watch out for a ‘dirty dozen’ on LEGEND, as the UK’s most engaging channel for action, suspense and Sci-Fi presents twelve premieres for September, including the UK TV premiere of Adrian Bol’s high stakes espionage thriller LEGACY OF LIES, starring John Wick: Chapter 4-star Scott Adkins.

Superior crime and action movies feature this month with the Channel premieres for remarkable Brit true-crime story THE HATTON GARDEN JOB, starring Larry Lamb, Phil Daniels and Matthew Goode, London gangster drama ASSASSIN, starring Danny Dyer, neo-noir thriller SEA OF LOVE, starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, action comedy BIRD ON A WIRE, starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn, revenge crime thriller ACTS OF VIOLENCE, starring Bruce Willis and RED ROCK WEST, starring Nic cage and Dennis Hopper.

There are also Channel premieres for British Cold war spy thriller THE FOURTH PROTOCOL, starring Michael Caine, AFTERMATH, a dark, atmospheric thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT III, starring Burt Reynolds, Ron Howard’s Firefighter thriller BACKDRAFT, and Don Siegel’s cult classic THE KILLERS, starring Lee Marvin and Ronald Regan.

This month’s popular THE VINTAGE VAULT strand on Sunday night double-bills celebrates some great horror classics from the Sixties including CIRCUS OF HORRORS, THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, ISLAND OF TERROR and QUATERMASS AND THE PIT.

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We start on the 1st with Danny Dyer is on top form in ASSASSIN playing Jamie, a former hitman out for revenge. Also starring Martin and Gary Kemp, this is the story of the most corrupt crime bosses in the London underworld, and one man’s crusade to bring them to justice. Espionage and intrigue on the 2nd in THE FOURTH PROTOCOL. The Chairman of the KGB hatches a plan to breach this Fourth Protocol and destroy NATO. He sends an agent, Major Petrofsky (Pierce Brosnan), to assemble the operation. A British spy catcher, John Preston (Michael Caine), must race against an unknown deadline to stop him and his devastating mission. THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 3rd has another terrifying double starting with Hammer’s THE MUMMY. In 1895 Egypt, a team of British archaeologists opens the tomb of Princess Ananka, despite warnings of a death curse. Three years later in England, a vengeful Egyptian arrives and unleashes the living mummy Kharis on the men. This superior Hammer Films production reunites the director, Terence Fisher, with stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. This is followed by a trip to the CIRCUS OF HORRORS. A deranged plastic surgeon takes over a traveling circus, transforming disfigured young women into ravishing beauties, then coercing them to perform in his three-ring extravaganza. But when the re-sculpted lovelies try to escape, they begin to meet with horrific accidents. Donald Pleasence and Yvonne Monlaur co-star in this notorious 1960 British cult classic.

A remarkable true story on the 7th follows four ageing East End criminals, THE HATTON GARDEN JOB. Led by 76-year-old Brian Reader (Larry Lamb) who pull off the largest heist in English legal history. With everyone from the Hungarian mob to Scotland Yard on their tail, these old-school – and just plain old – villains set about achieving the seemingly impossible. But will they commit the crime of the century or pay with their lives? On the 9th Nic Cage is back on LEGEND in RED ROCK WEST. When a promised job for Texan Michael Williams (Nic Cage) fails to materialise, he takes advantage of being mistaken for a hitman hired to kill a man’s unfaithful wife, takes the money and runs. But during his getaway he runs into the real hitman… THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 10th starts with THE BLACK TORMENT. When Sir Richard (John Turner) returns to his manor with his new wife. he hears rumours that he had already secretly returned and had committed several murders. Has he lost his mind, or is something dark afoot? Also stars Heather Sears and Patrick Troughton. This is followed by another classic from Hammer, THE REPTILE. Harry and Valerie inherit the Cornwall home of Harry’s brother, who died under mysterious circumstances. The local villagers are tight-lipped and the couple’s neighbour, the hostile Dr Franklin (Noel Willman), has been investigating a secret tribe of snake-people on his last trip to Borneo, and they react to his intrusion by making is daughter Anna one of them.

Inspired by astonishing true events, AFTERMATH on the 14th is a heart-pounding thriller telling the story of two strangers, Roman Melnyk, (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and an air traffic controller (Scoot McNairy) whose lives become inextricably bound together after a devastating plane crash that resulted in the death of Roman’s family. SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT III on the 15th is the final film is the franchise sees Big Enos and Little Enos open a seafood restaurant and wanting to promote it in their usual fashion. The Bandit is unavailable this time, so they enlist Cletus. “Trigger” is brought out of mothballs, a large fish is strapped to the roof of the car, and the new Bandit is on his way on another wild cross-country run. But where there is the Bandit, and where is Sheriff Buford T. Justice? We’ve rural horror in THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 17th starting with THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES. A mad Cornish squire solves an annoying labour crisis in his tin mines by turning local villagers into voodoo-controlled zombies. Dr Thompson (Brook Williams) and his daughter Alice (Jacqueline Pearce) soon discover the unpleasant nocturnal habits of the shambling undead slaves. Directed by John Gilling, this spooky, atmospheric outing from Hammer Films, came out two years before Romero’s 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. This is followed by one the great British Sci-Fi thrillers, ISLAND OF TERROR! When the inhabitants of Petrie’s Island succumb to a mysterious disease, doctors Stanley (Peter Cushing) and West (Edward Judd) investigate. Puncture marks on the corpses reveal the horrifying truth: the islanders are being killed not by a disease, but by a strange type of organism that sucks the bone from their bodies…

A thrilling UK TV premiere on the 21st, LEGACY OF LIES. Martin Baxter (Scott Adkins) a disgraced MI6 agent, is forced back into the spy game as a young journalist seeks out his help to expose the shocking truth about operations conducted by the Russian Secret Service. With his daughter pulled into the fray will Martin choose family over queen and country. Hollywood A-listers come to LEGEND in SEA OF LOVE. Al Pacino stars as a weary New York police detective who falls in love with the woman (Ellen Barkin) who is the prime suspect in the murder case he’s investigating. Written by Richard Price and directed by Harold Becker, the story keeps its central characters in a state of constant suspicion that ignites dangerous sparks between Pacino and Barkin. More Hollywood stars join us on the 23rd, BACKDRAFT. With stunning fire effects, Ron Howard’s tense thriller concerns two quarrelling brothers in the Chicago Fire Department. William Baldwin and Kurt Russell star with Robert De Niro in this action-packed tale of men against nature. Donald Sutherland has a nasty turn as an arsonist. Our final trip to THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 24th has two classic sci-fi shockers. In QUATERMASS AND THE PIT , an ancient spacecraft is discovered buried in the ground at the site of an extension to the London Underground. Also uncovered are the remains of early human ancestors more than five million years old. Now uncovered the craft begins to exert a malign influence, resurrecting Martian memories and instincts buried deep within the human psyche. Mayhem breaks out on the streets of London as the alien force grows in strength. Then in NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT a freak heat wave sends the temperatures soaring on a remote island. Dr Stone (Peter Cushing) and Callum (Patrick Allen) try to uncover the reason for the sudden change in climate. But it falls to Godfrey Hanson (Christopher Lee) to discover that the rising heat is the start of an invasion of merciless aliens…

We’ve a true classic on the 26th in THE KILLERS. Hired assassins Charlie (Lee Marvin) and Lee (Clu Gulager) gun down Johnny North (John Cassavetes). Afterwards, Charlie wonders why Johnny just stood there, accepting his death. He also starts to wonder about his hefty pay check for the murder. Charlie’s inquiries soon lead him down a rabbit hole of deception and murder. Directed by Don Siegel and based upon a story by Ernest Hemingway, the film also features Ronald Reagan in a very surprising role. Gripping thriller ACTS OF VIOLENCE on the 28th asks the question, “How far would you go for the one you love?” For the MacGregor brothers, that question becomes a life-or-death decision. When his fiancée is kidnapped by human traffickers, Roman (Ashton Holmes) and his ex-military brothers set out to save her. Roman teams up with Avery (Bruce Willis), a cop investigating human trafficking and fighting the corrupted bureaucracy that has harmful intentions. Our final channel premiere of th emonth is the action/thriller/romance BIRD ON A WIRE. Rick Jarmin (Mel Gibson) is put in witness protection after he helps the FBI bust drug dealer Eugene Sorenson (David Carradine). Fifteen years later, he is living with a new identity as a gas station attendant in Detroit. When an old flame (Goldie Hawn) recognises him, his cover is blown. The recently released Sorenson finds out, and both Jarmin and Marianne have to flee across the country with the vengeful Sorenson in hot pursuit.

July 26, 2023July 26, 2023

LEGEND unveils a sizzling summer line-up for August 2023

August is an action-packed month on LEGEND, with gritty crime thrillers, electrifying epics, classic horror double-bills from the fifties and an alien-fighting Nic Cage, who stars in the UK TV premiere of JIU JITSU, a martial arts meets-sci-fi thriller. There is also a UK TV premiere for brutal Brit gangland heist thriller FREIGHT, which stars Billy Murray and Craig Fairbrass.

There also Channel premieres for cat-and-mouse mystery thriller MOJAVE, starring Mark Wahlberg, Canadian heist thriller PRECIOUS CARGO, starring Bruce Willis, epic sword-clashing adventure, LAST KNIGHTS, starring Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen and WAR PIGS, starring Micky Rourke, Dolph Lundgren and Luke Goss.

This month’s popular THE VINTAGE VAULT strand celebrates some great horror classics from the fifties, highlighted by the Channel premiere of THE CREATURE WALKS AMONGST US (1956), THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) and DRACULA (1958).

Plus, we take a nostalgic trip back to the seventies with the Channel premiere of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. This hugely popular, Emmy-nominated series was one of the highest rated programmes of its day. Series 1 and 2 will run through the month.

Here’s all you need to know:

We kick the month off on the 4th with a UK TV premiere, FREIGHT. Gabe (Billy Murray) is thrown into a turf war when his daughter (Laura Aikman) is brutally kidnapped by a group of Eastern European human traffickers. A battle of survival ensues as Jed (Craig Fairbrass) helps Gabe try to save his daughter and the city from chilling mafia boss Cristi (Danny Midwinter). In WAR PIGS on the 5th a disgraced World War II army captain Jack Wosick (Luke Goss) is given the opportunity for redemption when asked to lead a rag-tag unit of misfits known as the War Pigs on a secret mission to go behind enemy lines. With the help of Captain Hans Picault (Dolph Lundgren) and Colonel A.J. Redding (Mickey Rourke), Jack sets out to salvage his reputation.

THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 6th starts underground with THE MOLE PEOPLE. John Bentley (John Agar) leads a Middle Eastern expedition in search of a lost tribe of Sumerians. He and his cohorts follow a tunnel deep below the surface of the earth, coming across a tyrannical tribe of albino Sumerians, who use the semi-human Mole People as slaves. Aware of the danger the scientists pose, the subterranean High Priest wants them eliminated. Then a classic creature feature follows, TARANTULA. This classic science fiction film featuring screen legend Clint Eastwood tells the story of a scientist who, while researching the effects of a new synthetic nutrient, releases a giant spider. Directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar, Mara Corday and Leo G. Carroll.

A Channel Premiere on the 8th of a true TV classic, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. This Emmy-nominated series was one of the highest rated programs of the 1970s. Lee Majors stars as Steve Austin, a U.S. astronaut who is critically injured upon re-entry, and whose damaged limbs are replaced with bionic, atomic-powered appendages. Now equipped with impressive physical capabilities, Austin uses his powers to fight international villains, mad scientists, and alien monsters. This series ranks as a cultural touchstone and one of the greatest superhero serials of all-time. Guest stars include Farrah Fawcett, Lindsay Wagner, and Louis Gossett, Jr.

Back to movies and on the 12th a thriller that will get under your skin, MOJAVE. A violent artist, Thomas, (Garrett Hedlund) has an ominous encounter in the desert with a homicidal, chameleon-like drifter (Oscar Isaac). This absorbing American crime thriller film is written and directed by William Monahan and also features Mark Wahlberg.

Back in THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 13th and we start with an acclaimed sequel, THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US. The final instalment of the “Gill Man” trilogy finds the prehistoric creature far from his Amazon home, kept under close scientific scrutiny in a special facility in Florida. After a laboratory fire severely damages the creature’s gills, the head of the research team (Jeff Morrow) initiates an operation that will allow their subject to breathe through a set of latent lungs. But soon Morrow’s rehabilitation plans are destroyed, leading to a violent confrontation. THE MONOLITH MONSTERS follows where a meteor crashes in the desert, leaving behind huge black chunks. While being analysed in a science lab, the crystalline stones are accidentally drenched with water and begin to grow to gargantuan dimensions. A sudden rainstorm further exacerbates the situation, causing the monoliths to grow to hitherto unimagined heights. Can the world be saved by the saline solution which the scientists are hurriedly developing in the lab?

Another UK TV Premiere on the 17th, JIU JITSU. The future hangs in the balance as a being from another world returns to Earth to face off against the best warriors the human race has to offer. From special ops soldiers to the best in MMA, this epic battle for the survival of Earth will place humanity on the brink of extinction. An all-star action-packed cast lead the fight, including Nic Cage and Frank Grillo. PRECIOUS CARGO on the 18th concerns an international thief Jack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his highly trained team get a run for their money when Karen (Claire Forlani), Jack’s gorgeous femme fatale ex, shows up and drags him into a dangerous billion-dollar heist. Little does Jack know they’re stealing from Eddie, (Bruce Willis) Karen’s ex-boss.

We reopen THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 19th with a real chiller, Hammer’s THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN. An adaptation of a drama by Nigel Kneale, creator of the Quatermass series, this horror fantasy stars Peter Cushing as scientist John Rollason, who, ignoring his wife’s objections, joins an expedition lead by brash American Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker). They are searching for the legendary yeti in the high Himalayas – a quest with deadly consequences. We hit the streets with the next feature, THE DEADLY MANTIS. When a giant insect attacks several people in a remote Arctic region, Col. Joe Parkham (Craig Stevens) swings into action. Parkham and his associates, Dr. Ned Jackson (William Hopper) and Ned’s assistant Margie Blake (Alix Talton), track the predatory mantis as it heads southward to Washington DC.

LAST KNIGHTS on the 26th is set in an age of honour and justice by the sword, Raiden (Clive Owen) is a fallen warrior who must rise up against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge Bartok (Morgan Freeman), his dishonoured master. Our final visit to THE VINTAGE VAULT has a pair of HAMMER classic starting with THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Scientist Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) will stop at nothing in his quest to reanimate a deceased body and assembles a hideous creature (Christopher Lee) out of dead body parts. He succeeds in bringing it to life, but the monster is not as obedient or docile as Frankenstein expected… We end with one of the finest, DRACULA. This horror classic stands as the most famous and celebrated film version of the popular vampire story. Bela Lugosi delivers a star-making performance as the titular villain – his erudite, refined Dracula is at once alluring and terrifying. While director Tod Browning an effectively and haunting atmosphere. Also stars Edward Van Sloan as Dracula’s arch enemy, vampire-hunter Van Helsing.

June 21, 2023June 21, 2023

Stallone, Willis, Lundgren and Jones are ready for you this July on LEGEND

An unstoppable Stallone, a bad-cop Bruce Willis, and classics from the beginning of genre cinema marks a memorable month of premieres on LEGEND, highlighted by the UK TV premieres of the star-filled action thrillers A CERTAIN JUSTICE, starring Dolph Lundgren and Vinnie Jones, and THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME starring Tom Berenger and Bruce Dern.

Fans of American rapper 50 Cent can tune in to see him star in two films – crime thriller GUN, co-starring Val Kilmer and ESCAPE PLAN 3, the final instalment in the Escape Plan franchise, which also stars Sylvester Stallone. Both are Channel premieres. There is also a Channel premiere for action thriller FIRST KILL, which stars Bruce Willis and Hayden Christensen.

Plus, this month’s popular THE VINTAGE VAULT strand celebrates the great days of the movies, spanning the thirties and forties, with four classic Channel premieres: THE GHOUL (1933) starring the great Boris Karloff, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939), starring Bela Lugosi, THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS (1940), starring Vincent Price, and THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1942), starring Lon Chaney Jr.

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We start on the 1st with a thrilling channel premiere, GUN. Put a gun in the hands of a man and it becomes good or evil, depending on whose finger is on the trigger. Starring 50 Cent and Val Kilmer, the movie tells the action-packed story of how men on both sides of the law cross that barrier and turn basic metals into weapons of wealth, justice, revenge and power. The Vintage Vault on the 2nd contains the monochrome masterpiece THE GHOUL (1933). Egyptologist and Professor Henry Morlant (Boris Karloff) thinks an ancient jewel will give him powers of rejuvenation if it is offered up to the god Anubis. But when Morlant dies, his assistant Laing (Ernest Thesiger) steals the jewel. While a gaggle of interlopers, including a fake vicar (Ralph Richardson), descend on the professor’s manor to steal the jewel for themselves, Morlant returns from the dead to punish everyone who has betrayed him. This is followed by another classic from Universal, THE INVISIBLE MAN. Claude Rains plays a mysterious doctor who discovers a serum that makes him invisible. Covered by bandages and dark glasses, Rains arrives at a small English village and attempts to hide his amazing discovery. But the same drug that renders him invisible slowly drives him to commit acts of unspeakable terror. Based on H.G. Wells’ classic novel and directed by the master of macabre James Whale, it fuelled a host of sequels, but also features some special effects that are still imitated today.

ESCAPE PLAN 3 on the 8th brings the celebrated franchise to an action-packed conclusion. After security expert Ray Breslin (Stallone) is hired to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Hong Kong tech mogul from a formidable Latvian prison, Breslin’s girlfriend (Jaime King) is also captured. Now he and his team, including Trent DeRosa (Dave Bautista) and Curtis (50 Cent) must pull off a deadly rescue mission to confront their sadistic foe and save the hostages before time runs out. We’re back in the Vintage Vault on the 9th and first up we meet the SON OF FRANKENSTEIN where, in this second follow-up to the horror film classic, Boris Karloff gives his final performance as Frankenstein’s monster. In this instalment, Basil Rathbone plays the son of Dr. Frankenstein, who inherits not only his father’s home, but also his inert project in the basement. Horror film legend Bela Lugosi gives a commanding performance as Ygor, the monster’s malevolent and haggard caretaker. THE MUMMY’S HAND follows and concerns two broke archeologists, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford), who along with magician Solvani the Great (Cecil Kellaway) and his daughter, Mara (Peggy Moran), head to Egypt to uncover the legendary sarcophagus of Princess Ananka. Not only is the tomb cursed, but it also has its own guard- an eternal mummy named Kharis! When expedition members start dying at the mummy’s hand, it’ll take wits and courage to survive the undying horror uncovered under the sands.

On the 15th we bring you the UK TV premiere of A CERTAIN JUSTICE. After returning home from a tour of duty overseas, John (Dolph Lundgren) finds himself struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. What little peace he has built around him is shattered when he rescues a local prostitute from a group of violent Aryan Brotherhood pimps. Hell-bent on payback, the gang’s leader orders the brutal slaying of John’s family. It is time for John to unleash the full extent of the unrelenting rage and grief within him. THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNSis the first movie showing in the Vintage Vault on the 16th. Wrongly accused of murdering his brother, Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) is found guilty and sentenced to die. But when sympathetic Dr. Griffin (John Sutton) injects him with a serum that renders him invisible, Radcliffe is able to escape and search for the real culprit. With Inspector Sampson (Cecil Kellaway) of Scotland Yard hot on his trail, Radcliffe begins to suspect that a recent hire in his family’s mining company might have the answers he seeks. A classic team-up to beat them all follows, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN..Two of the silver screen’s most fearsome creatures battle it out when the Wolfman seeks to end his life and looks to the notorious Dr. Frankenstein for help. Featuring the original Wolfman, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Bela Lugosi (“Dracula”) as Frankenstein’s monster.

FIRST KILL on the 22nd is a channel premiere that will have you on the edge of your seat. In an attempt to reconnect with his son, Wall Street broker Will (Hayden Christensen) takes his family on a hunting trip to the cabin where he grew up. The trip takes a deadly turn when they witness the murder of a robber. After becoming entangled in a bank heist gone bad, which results in his son being kidnapped, Will is forced to help the kidnappers evade the police chief (Bruce Willis) and recover the stolen loot in exchange for his son’s life. We’re back in the Vintage Vault on the 23rd and start by entering THE MUMMY’S TOMB. Kharis (Lon Chaney Jr.) is back in this sequel to The Mummy’s Hand. Although assumed to have been killed by Stephen Banning (Dick Foran) in the previous film, Andoheb (George Zucco) has miraculously survived and is now, with the help of Kharis. planning a terrible revenge on both Banning and his entire family. Sci-Fi thrills follow in IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. John Putnam (Richard Carlson), an amateur astronomer, is looking at the skies with his fiancee, schoolteacher Ellen Fields (Barbara Rush), when they see what looks like a huge meteor crash into the desert. As events unfold, various townspeople start to disappear, including Ellen, to be replaced by alien “duplicates.” As the townspeople become aware of the danger, the likelihood of bloodshed becomes apparent.

Another UK TV premiere for you on the 29th, we dare you to play THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. A father and son are shipwrecked on a remote island where they are caught up in a trophy hunt held by its mysterious owner, a merciless man who uses the land as an elite hunting preserve for stalking the most dangerous game of all: human. Stars Tom Berenger, Judd Nelson, Bruce Dern, Casper Van Dien. Our final Vintage Vault double is on the 29th and starts with REVENGE OF THE CREATURE. Two oceanographers (John Bromfield and Robert B. Williams) capture the creature and put him on display. Here the hapless Gill-Man is taught a few words of English by compassionate ichthyologists, John Agar and Lori Nelson. Eventually, however, the creature reverts to type, kills one of his captors and goes on a rampage, managing to abduct the heroine and carry her off. Intense underwater photography and practical effects make “The Revenge of the Creature” a horror classic. We stay in the water for the next movie, THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES. When a post-mortem finds that a murdered fisherman was exposed to unusual amounts of radiation, Dr. Ted Stevens (Kent Taylor) decides to investigate. Out looking for clues, he meets a young beauty named Lois (Cathy Downs), whose father runs a local marine biology lab. Ted discovers that the elder King’s secret experiments with atomic energy have resulted in the creation of a murderous aquatic beast, and he must act fast to prevent more needless deaths.

June 20, 2023June 20, 2023

Kim Newman checks out the treats we have in the Vintage Vault this July

This month’s celebrated Vintage Vault selections on LEGEND are all examples of early franchise horror from the great days of the movies, spanning the thirties and forties.

It was in 1931 that the horror film really came together as a film genre at Universal Pictures, when Tod Browning directed Bela Lugosi as a suavely purring vampire Count in Dracula and James Whale put Boris Karloff in flat head and big boots as the Monster in Frankenstein. After that great one-two, not only was the horror film a viable commercial and artistic property, but the studios began to see the genre as what a later film industry would call a franchise – indeed, an interlocking series of franchises which would eventually prove the template for so much 2020s blockbuster cinema. The first assembly line horror picture might have been The Mummy (1932), a rewrite of Dracula tailored for the star of Frankenstein, adding Egyptian curses and bandaged baddies to the canon of classic monster themes.

Here’s the rundown of LEGEND‘s July premieres…

The Ghoul (1933) – Channel Premiere, Sunday July 2, 9pm.

‘What was the idea of bandaging his hand like that?’

I canna say. He had many a queer fancy.’

Dying Egyptologist Professor Morlant (Boris Karloff) insists he be buried with a valuable jewel taped to his hand, so he can revive in the tomb and perform a ritual he believes will give him eternal life. Various parties scheme to get hold of the jewel. Having become a horror star in Hollywood, Boris Karloff returned in triumph to Britain for the first time in decades to take the leading role – reminiscent of his just-completed turn in The Mummy – in this homegrown stab at taking back some of the gothic action from the upstart Americans. A hollow-eyed Karloff expires in bed surrounded by grasping Dickensian grotesques like the club-footed butler (Ernest Thesiger) and an untrustworthy lawyer (Cedric Hardwicke), who then compete to get hold of his fortune. In the climax, Karloff revives in the tomb and lumbers zombie-like as he tries to offer up the sacred scarab to a statue of Anubis. The plot is a combination of proven properties like The Cat and the Canary (heirs and schemers gather in an isolated house to get hold of treasure) and The Moonstone (knife-wielding foreigners out to reclaim the jewel stolen from their ancient culture) and has as much silly comedy, like the spinster who is overly-impressed by an Egyptian on the strength of having seen Rudolf Valentino in The Sheik too many times, as it does proper creepy stuff. A young Ralph Richardson enjoys his screen debut as an unctuous curate who turns out to be another crook who has set enough gunpowder under Karloff’s tomb to allow for an explosive finale.

Son of Frankenstein (1939) – Channel Premiere, Sunday July 9, 9pm

‘What’s going on at Castle Frankenstein? The whole village is alarmed with anxiety!’

‘My men report nothing but quiet.’

‘Quiet? There’s nothing so ominous as quiet.’

Universal discontinued horror production in 1936, reacting to a ban on such films from our old friends at the British Board of Film Censors. However a successful 1938 double-bill reissue of Dracula and Frankenstein convinced the studio there was still commercial life in their monsters. Son of Frankenstein – originally planned to be shot in colour, until make-up tests revealed a less-than-impressive greenish monster – was the super production mounted to demonstrate the continued viability of the genre. Directed not by eccentric visionary James Whale but by solid professional Rowland V. Lee, Son began the second wave of monster films – and is in its own way as deliciously strange and experimental as Whale’s Frankenstein films. With a big horror name cast and Jack Otterson’s stylised production design, it is an A feature, the last of the series to be aimed primarily at an adult audience. Invoking Whale’s black wit, Lee gets fine, hysterical work from top-billed Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, who plays perfectly off Bela Lugosi’s whiskery, sly, broken-necked Ygor and Lionel Atwill’s clipped, one-armed, monocle-polishing Inspector Krogh. Karloff’s Monster is upstaged, reduced to a mute thug, while the plot involves a string of revenge killings which makes the film feel like a precursor to the body count slasher films of the 1980s.

The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – Channel Premiere, Sunday July 16, 9pm

‘Between you and me sir I’ll have to see him before I believe he’s invisible.’

Having made sequels to Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy, Universal sought to add another fiend to their franchise roster by going back to James Whale’s The Invisible Man (1933) – based on H.G. Wells’ novel – and came up with a new spin on the story to showcase the remarkable effects work of John P. Fulton. With Karloff and Lugosi getting on a bit and the original Invisible Man Claude Rains moved on to A pictures, the studio introduced a possible new horror star in velvet-voiced Vincent Price, who purrs maniacally from behind bandages or as a disembodied voice. Here, Frank Griffin (John Sutton), the brother of Rains’ character, helps out a pal, Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price), who has been accused of a murder he didn’t commit. Unseen sleuth Radcliffe sets out to determine which above-suspicion character actor is the real killer. It’s the only invisible man movie in which the see-though megalomaniac is involved in a boardroom battle to get control of his family’s Yorkshire coal mine.

The Mummy’s Tomb (1942) – Channel Premiere, Sunday July 23, 9pm

‘Whether you can believe it or not, the facts are here and we’ve got to face them. A creature that’s been alive for over 3,000 years is in this town.’

The Mummy’s Hand (1940) isn’t a sequel to The Mummy (1932), but a reboot – using images, footage, plot elements and make-up design from the original haunted romance for an action-adventure film which replaced actor Karloff with stuntman Tom Tyler under the bandages. Universal then decided Lon Chaney Jr, a horror star on the strength of The Wolf Man, would play all their monster roles in succession – he returned as the Wolf Man and had stabs at the Frankenstein Monster and Dracula, but also did three curse quickies as Kharis, the limping mummy. In this brisk follow-up to The Mummy’s Hand, Kharis is transported to America by a turban-wearing Turhan Bey, the latest High Priest of Oogedy-Boogedy, and gets vengeance on the survivors of the previous film (Dick Foran, Wallace Ford) – an early instance of the Scream habit of offing legacy characters – before shambling away to menace a new generation of tomb-defilers and lech after the latest nifty number in a smart 1940s nightgown (Elyse Knox).

May 30, 2023May 30, 2023

Howard J Ford chats about his movie Never Let Go which has its UK TV premiere June 3rd on Legend

Ahead of Legend’s UK TV Premiere of revenge thriller NEVER LET GO on Saturday June 3rd, director Howard J Ford reflects on a near family tragic experience, the importance of locations and returning to his horror genre roots.

LC: Your nail-biting revenge thriller NEVER LET GO is having its channel premiere on LEGEND, excited or what?

HJF: It’s always exciting to know one of your movies is going to be on the telly and watched by thousands at one time rather than one streamer at a time! I fine I feel totally different when I watch a broadcast of my film, it accentuates my cringe at all the things I could have done better! Ha.

LC: Looking back at the making of the movie, what memories stand out for you?

HJF: It was a hell of an experience shooting Never Let Go amongst the twisty, turns of the Marrakesh streets. I recall running round with a fully laden Steadicam following our wonderful star Angela Dixon and dripping with so much sweat I almost could not see anything and that I might die of heatstroke at any minute!

LC: You’ve gone on record as saying the film was inspired by a near-tragic experience with your son. Can you tell us more?

HJF: Yes – to say I was ‘Frantic’ is an understatement. I thought my 3-year-old son had been abducted from a holiday resort I was at. I was running around looking for him shouting like a lunatic and I was convinced he has been taken. I remember seeing a guy loading something into the back of a small open back car, like a lump in a sack and I was going to leap on him from a huge height, that turned out to be vegetables. My mind was going at 1000 miles an hour. In the end, he was at the bottom of the swimming pool and I only just found him in time. The ‘miss’ was so near, it affected me greatly and I wanted to make a film where a mother had everything against her in a race against time to get her child back. I even cast my son as a kidnapped kid!

LC: The casting of Angela Dixon as Lucy is inspired. How did you discover her?

HJF: Angela Dixon is an amazing talent and a lovely lady to boot. We had met at a networking event in Cannes and I checked her showreel and realised she was talented and we were both into fitness and 5 years later I needed someone for this part and BOOM, Angela sprang to mind and off we went to Morocco… I love meeting actors and you just never know when you can cast them.

LC: The locations are pretty spectacular, as in all of your films. Is this an important element of the filmmaking process for you?

HJF: Thanks. It really is and the locations are a huge part of the adventure I want to take audiences on. Just like Africa in The Dead, India in The Dead 2, I really like to take my audiences somewhere very different from their living room with a couch in it. I want them to ‘feel’ it and sense it and locations are a huge part of that.

LC: You wrote and produced, as well as directed NEVER LET GO. Do you think having independent creative freedom was crucial to what you wanted to achieve with this film?

HJF: I did, I also camera operated and all sorts and that ‘hands on’ element was important to me. It’s an indie film. No one commissioned it or financed it, I just went and did it as I was desperate to turn that awful feeling I had experienced into something real that could be seen and somehow exorcised from me. It was a scramble with a small band of crew but everyone did a super job both on and off screen.

LC: As an independent filmmaker, what do you find are the greatest frustrations?

HJF: Normally it’s the fact you don’t have the money to make the film so indie film makers spend 90% of their time chasing money and not actually making films which is the thing they fell in love with. Also you don’t have a ‘money hose’ so to speak to wash away your practical and technical problems so that puts you in the corner all too often. You have to think on your feet, often on your hands and knees!

LC: Fast-forwarding, you’ve returned back to your horror genre roots with your latest films ESCAPE and DARKGAME. Tell us what you can about both films?

HJF: Yes, DarkGame has it’s first screening this Cannes and has an amazing cast headed by Ed Westwick who was the star of Gossip Girl. A super performance; he plays Ben a detective in a race against time to stop the presenter of a warped online live murder show on the dark web. Producer Tom George did a super job of developing the film so on this one I had his great support and an amazing team. Escape which is my 10th feature film as director – again we’re back to my indie roots and it’s shot on a desert island. A Beautiful holiday destination where ten young women (a lovely ensemble headed by ‘Scream Queen’ Sarah Alexandra Marks and Sophie Rankin) kidnapped for sex trafficking by a heinous gang – their lead villain played by Sean Cronin who was in Mission Impossible and a Bond movie to name but a few. It’s a revenge thriller and the girls are not going to take it lying down. It should be a real heart pumper and somewhat of a blast!

LC: When can we expect to see them?

HJF: Both DarkGame and Escape should be out before the end of the year. We don’t have the release dates yet and you generally have to wait for the US to release first but as soon as we have them I’ll shout it loud!

LC: Finally, what else does 2023 hold for you?

HJF: I’m working on another film from the team we worked with on The Ledge. Writer Tom Boyle and Producer Fred Hedman of GFM Films. We’re very excited about this one and I hope it’s another nail biter – about a family on an adventure trip in an RV that turns nasty when an altercation with a gang of hells angles becomes a fight to the death! News on this soon.

LC: NEVER LET GO airs on Legend on Saturday 3rd June, 9pm.

May 23, 2023May 23, 2023

You want suspense and action? Well, Legend has both and much more this June

Female avengers, waring brothers and a coffin-bound Ryan Reynolds spearheads and dangerously heart-racing May line-up on LEGEND, highlighted by the UK TV premieres of Howard J. Ford’s award-winning child-abduction horror drama NEVER LET GO, revenge Western ANY BULLET WILL DO, action thriller ACTS OF VENGEANCE, starring Antonio Banderas and British action-adventure war film MERCENARIES.

Plus, there are Channel premieres for English-language Spanish survival thriller BURIED, starring Ryan Reynolds, and INTERVIEW WITH A HIT MAN, starring Luke Goss as a deadly hitman with a secret past.

THE VINTAGE VAULT continues to chill Sunday nights with its popular classic genre double-bills, which, this month, include the channel premieres of Robert Young’s erotic masterpiece VAMPIRE CIRCUS and THE UNCANNY, a gruesome, blood-curdling collection of horror short stories, starring Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Joan Greenwood, Susan Penhaligon and Donald Pleasence.

Here’s the LEGEND LOWDOWN for June:

We kick-off with the UK TV premiere of ANY BULLET WILL DO. During the great American Civil War, two brothers find themselves on opposing sides. Ten years later, Hollis Ransom, now a ruthless head hunter, sets out on a bloody path through Montana and Wyoming, fighting outlaws, evading Indians, and finally meeting his brother in an epic battle that will seal both men’s fates once and for all. Moving to the 3rd and another UK TV premiere, Howard Ford’s NEVER LET GO. Lisa Brennan (Angela Dixon), a single mother on vacation in a foreign land, takes the law into her own hands when her child is abducted. Trusting no one, and stopping at nothing, she weaves her way through the murky backstreets and barren landscapes in an epic journey to find her daughter against incredible odds.

THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD on the 4th is part of THE VINTAGE VAULT. Adapted by Psycho author Robert Bloch from his own short stories, this Amicus horror anthology is set in an English country home where. Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) is called on to investigate the bloody deaths of four tenants. Directed by Peter Duffell, this superior anthology stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Ingrid Pitt and Jon Pertwee. The as part of the same strand don’t miss BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW. When a mysterious corpse is accidentally dug in a small town, a group of local teens starts acting very strangely. The adolescents, led by a girl named Angel (Linda Hayden), are convinced the corpse was once possessed. They start to act out a series of demonic rituals, with devastating consequences. This 17th century British supernatural horror film is directed by Piers Haggard and stars Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, and Barry Andrews.

Another UK TV Premiere comes to Legend on the 10th, ACTS OF VENGEANCE. Action speaks louder than words when a fast-talking criminal lawyer, Frank Valera (Antonio Banderas) takes a vow of silence – transforming his body and his mind to embark on a quest to avenge the murder of his wife and daughter. We’re back in THE VINTAGE VAULT on the 11th where we have a tickert booked for VAMPIRE CIRCUS. A circus arrives at a Serbian village to perform a show for the local inhabitants. Many of them believe that the plague that has gripped their village is the result of a curse inflicted on them years before by Count Mitterhouse, a vampire. Unbeknown to them, the leader of the circus is the Count’s cousin intent on reviving his relative and having his revenge. Keep hold of those tickets for after we’ve been to the circus we’re taking a trip on the DEATH LINE. Set on the London Underground, this moody shocker features brilliant horror icon Donald Pleasance in the lead role as a cockney copper. Hammer Horror star Christopher Lee also shows up in a small cameo. Directed by Gary Sherman this is one of Guillermo del Toro’s all-time favourites.

How about yet another UK TV premiere? On the 15th we meet the MERCENARIES. When the Serbian Prime Minister is assassinated, an elite special ops team, led by ex-British S.A.S serviceman turned mercenary Andy Marlow (Robert Fucilla) is called in to pull Europe back from the brink of war. Also stars Billy Zane. More action on the 17th as we conduct an INTERVIEW WITH A HITMAN. Ater his final mission goes wrong, an elite hitman known as Viktor (Luke Goss), travels to London in an attempt to erase his past, and being a new life. But he encounters a deadly threat and is forced to confront buried secrets.

BEWARE MY BRETHREN on the 18th kicks off another VINTAGE VAULT double. Led by a sinister minister (Patrick Magee), zealous religious sect The Brethren have taken control of widow Birdy Wemys, sending her unstable son, Kenny, into a descent of madness and murder. No woman is safe when Kenny’s religious mania overpowers him and leads to a rampage of carnage and chaos. This gritty story of lust, murder and terror, now a favourite cult horror, is directed by Robert Hartford-Davies. Following on from this we’ve an appointment at HORROR HOSPITAL. Jason Jones (Robin Askwith), a disillusioned songwriter, checks into Brittlehouse Manor, a ‘health resort’ where people are supposedly cured of all their hang-ups. It is run by the sinister Dr Storm (Michael Gough). who performs lobotomies on his young patients, and it isn’t long before Jones realises that his life is in danger.

A claustrophobic contemporary hit on the 24th, take a deep breath for BURIED. Imagine waking up in the dark and realising that you’ve been buried alive with nothing but a lighter, a mobile phone and only 90 minutes of oxygen left. Ryan Reynolds delivers a compelling performance as everyman, Paul Conroy who has to that his fears, frustrations and dark emotion in order to remain focused on staying alive. Our final VINATGE VAULT on the 25th is a multi-story masterpiece, THE UNCANNY Author Wilbur Gray (Peter Cushing), who is convinced that cats are conspiring to replace the human race as masters of the earth, narrates three bizarre tales of feline terror. This blood-curdling collection of horror short stories also stars Ray Milland, Joan Greenwood, Susan Penhaligon and Donald Pleasence. Then it’s Hammer time with TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER. Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) asks occult novelist John Verney (Richard Widmark) to protect his young daughter, Catherine (Natasha Kinski), who, although in the sanctuary of the Order of the Children of the Lord. has attracted the attention of ex-communicated priest Father Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee), who wants Catherine to become the incarnation of one of the crowned princes of Hell, Astaroth. Pitted against black magic, ancient rituals and a clan of Satanists, Verney battles to save the young girl from a diabolical fate.

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023

Legend reveals slate of horror, sci-fi and action premieres for May

Sociopathic drivers, haunted soldiers and a vengeful Nicholas Cage, spearhead an action-packed May line-up on LEGEND, highlighted by the UK TV premieres of Western psychological thriller WAR ON THE RANGE and compelling suspense actioner VENGEANCE, starring Nicholas Cage.

Plus, there are Channel premieres for HIDDEN AGENDA, starring a gun-toting, high-kicking Dolph Lundgren, suicide mission drama LAST PASSENGER, starring Dougray Scott, high-octane crime thriller PAYDIRT, starring Val Kilmer and Luke Goss and John Frankenheimer’s gripping, highly-acclaimed YEAR OF THE GUN, starring Sharon Stone.

THE VINTAGE VAULT continues to haunt Sunday nights with its popular classic genre double-bills, which, this month, include cult favourites WITCHFINDER GENERAL, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT and LUST FOR A VAMPIRE.

The weekends are further enhanced by the continuation of the ever-popular original series of sci-fi anthology classics, THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

We kick off on the 4th with a UK TV premiere, saddle up for WAR ON THE RANGE. In post-Civil War Texas, two neighbouring families are grieving tragic losses while they struggle to survive. The cattle-ranching McCluskeys have lost both a son and their entire herd to the war. The Rileys, mourning the loss of wife and mother Mary to illness, eke out a living trapping animals and selling their pelts. When Wade returns from fighting for the Confederacy, he discovers that the McCluskey family have been stealing animals from his family’s traps. He decides to take matters into his own hands, sparking yet another tragic and senseless war. This rural drama stars James Badge Dale and William Forsythe. High-octane action on the 6th with Dolph Lundgren HIDDEN AGENDA. Former government agent Jason Price (Lundgren) is now a hit man for top government agencies. His high-tech operation never makes a wrong move. But when a mysterious competitor known as The Cleaner infiltrates his system and begins a killing spree, Jason finds himself caught in a frightening spiral where no one can be trusted.

The Vintage Vault on the 7th starts off with a Hammer classic, THE WITCHES. Following a horrifying experience with the occult in Africa, a schoolteacher (Joan Fontaine) moves to a small English village, only to discover that a mysterious magic resides there as well. Directed by Cyril Frankel and co-starring Alec McCowen this production, was adapted from the 1960 novel The Devil’s Own. This is followed by one of the most celebrated British horror movies ever, WITCHFINDER GENERAL. Set during the English Civil-War, Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price), tours the Eastern counties instigating witch-hunts and extracting ‘confessions’ under torture. When a young woman, Sara (Hilary Dwyer), is raped by Hopkins and her priest father murdered, Sara’s lover, Richard Marshall (Ian Ogilvy), vows revenge. The last and best film of director Michael Reeves’ tragically brief career, Witchfinder General has received broad critical admiration.

Moving onto the 13th as Dougray Scott stars in LAST PASSENGER. Lewis Shaler (Scott) is an overworked doctor and devoted single dad heading home with his young son Max on the last train from London. He strikes up a promising relationship with Sarah (Kara Tointon), but events take a dark turn when Lewis discovers the guard has mysteriously vanished and the brakes have been sabotaged. THE CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTER kicks off The Vintage Vault on the 14th. Mark Eden, in search of his brother, stumbles upon a coven led by the civilized-looking Christopher Lee who is enacting the revenge of his witch ancestor (Barbara Steele burned in the 17th century. Also starring Boris Karloff as a local witchcraft expert. this adaptation from Lovecraft’s Dream in the Witch House was shot in the allegedly haunted house of W S Gilbert and is the only time Lee, Karloff and Steele appear in the same film. It is also the last British film that Karloff made. This is followed by another classic, THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR. A 19th-century entomologist’s daughter undergoes a metamorphosis into a giant death’s head moth which needs human blood to survive. Her father creates a giant moth to keep her company, but only succeeds in unleashing more blood-sucking terror. Meanwhile, a police inspector (played by Peter Cushing) tries to find the key to the series of gruesome murders.

A hard-hitting drama has its UK TV premiere on the 19th, VENGEANCE. An adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates novella Rape: A Love Story. Nicholas Cage plays John Dromoor, a police officer investigating a case involving the gang rape of single mother Teena Maguire, which occurred in front of her 12-year-old daughter Bethie. After the attackers get off scot-free, John attempts to get justice by any means necessary. PAYDIRT is showing on the following evening where criminal gang leader Damien Brooks (Luke Goss) is recently out on parole. He reconnects with his old crew to find the cash they stole and buried as a result of a DEA bust. However, they are being monitored by Sheriff Tucker (Val Kilmer), a retired officer who knows that Damien and the gang are still up to no good.

A Hammer double on the 21st starting with THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. The powers of good are pitted against the forces of evil as the Duc de Richelieu (Christopher Lee) wrestles with the deadly Satanist, Mocata (Charles Gray) for the soul of his friend, who has become deeply involved in a satanic society run by Mocata. Furthermore, De Richleau’s daughter is kidnapped by the cult and put up for sacrifice to the Angel of Death. Sex-swapping scares follows, DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE. Young Doctor Jekyll pursues his search for a drug to prolong life. He tries his potion on himself and to his horror finds it changes him into a young and beautiful woman. So Sister Hyde is born, who stalks the dark alleys of Whitechapel for young, innocent, female victims, ensuring continuation of the bloodstained research. With each transformation Sister Hyde becomes the more dominant personality, determined to eventually suppress the ineffectual Dr Jekyll forever.

YEAR OF THE GUN on the 27th concerns American novelist David Raybourne (Andrew McCarthy) who accidentally becomes entangled in the Red Brigade’s terrorist plan to kidnap Italian Premier Aldo Moro during a research trip to Rome. As the terrorists attempt to kill David, he and his photojournalist friend (Sharon Stone) must struggle to stay alive. Our final Vintage Vault visit on the 28th is another Hammer double starting with SCARS OF DRACULA. Count Dracula, (Christopher Lee), once again spreads his evil from his mountaintop castle. When libertine Paul Carlson disappears one night, his more sober brother Simon and his girlfriend trace him to the area, discovering a terrified populace. Thrown out of the inn, they make their way, like Paul before them, towards the sinister castle and its undead host. This sequel to “Taste the Blood of Dracula” (1968), also stars Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Another blood-sucker follows, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE. The enigmatic Carmilla (Yutte Stensgaard) enrols as a student in an exclusive girls’ finishing school and proceeds to wreak havoc among pupils and teachers alike. Among those who fall victim to her striking and sensual beauty is the school’s new English teacher Giles Barton (Ralph Bates), who at first refuses to credit the ugly rumours about her true vampiristic nature. But, following the death of a colleague, and as the toll among the girls mounts, Barto he is reluctantly forced to face the truth…

March 22, 2023March 24, 2023

Vintage Vault leads the way on Legend this April

THE VINTAGE VAULT continues to brighten up Sunday nights with its popular classic horror double-bills, including the Channel premiere of cult sci-fi comedy mystery THE TERRORNAUTS, starring Simon Oates, Charles Hawtrey and Patricia Hayes. You can also journey into the history of 60s genre cinema with Jack The Ripper thriller A STUDY IN TERROR (1965), psycho horror BLACK TORMENT (1964), DR TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966), Hammer’s sole foray into the Zombie genre, THE REPTILE (1966). Another Hammer mid-’60s shift away from the traditional staples of Dracula and Frankenstein, THE SORCERERS (1967), the debut feature of cult-director Michael Reeves, Terence Fisher’s DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966), FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967), the fourth of Hammer’s Frankenstein series starring Peter Cushing and eco sci-fi chiller NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT (1967).

April’s entertaining slate of premieres is spearheaded by the UK premieres of action thrillers EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM, starring Richard Dreyfuss, and MONEY PLANE, starring Kelsey Grammer and Denise Richards. Plus, there are Channel premieres for air highjack thriller EXECUTIVE COMMAND, starring Bryan Cranston, high-octane crime adventure AN EYE FOR AN EYE (1981), starring Chuck Norris and Christopher Lee, and tense detective thriller STANDOFF, starring Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane.

Let’s start on the 1st and the channel premiere of EXECUTIVE COMMAND. A group of terrorists steal a deadly toxin and then hijack a plane that has the vice president on board. But the only man who can stop them is Dr Rick Harding (Michael Didikof), the toxin’s inventor. In a race against time, can Harding be found and can he stop the terrorists? Co-stars Bryan Cranston. The Vintage Vault on the 2nd has double you need to stay in for starting with A STUDY IN TERROR. In this Sherlock Holmes tale, Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary 19th-century British sleuth is on the trail of Jack the Ripper. The trail takes Holmes (John Neville) from the lowest rungs of society all the way to the peak of the aristocracy, discovering blackmail and family insanity everywhere he goes. Also features Judi Dench, Barbara Windsor and Robert Morely. This classic is followed by THE BLACK TORMENT. When Sir Richard (John Turner) returns to his manor with his new wife. he hears rumours that he had already secretly returned and had committed several murders. Has he lost his mind, or is something dark afoot? Also stars Heather Sears and Patrick Troughton.

Moving onto the 7th and a classic, action-packed thriller for you, AN EYE FOR AN EYE. Sean Kane (Chuck Norris) is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department’s Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places. Also stars Christopher Lee. The Vintage Vault double on the 9th starts with the anthology DR TERROR’S HOUSE OF HORRORS. Just as a train departs, a mysterious stranger, Dr Shreck, enters the carriage with his pack of tarot cards to tell the fortunes of five fellow passengers. The cards predict that every one of them will suffer a terrible death, but will fate deal them the same hand. Stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. A Hammer classic is resurrected straight after, THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES. Directed by John Gilling, this is Hammer’s sole foray into the Zombie genre and attracted the scrutiny of the British Board of Film Censors, who expressed concerns over the scene where a lumbering corpse (Jacqueline Pearce) is decapitated with a spade. The support feature to Dracula Prince of Darkness may have been a B movie with no star names, but it is widely regarded to be a superior film.

EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM on the 14th concerns a desperate to find his missing daughter, Jake Hunter (Paul Sloan), tracks her last known whereabouts to a small desert town. As Jake uncovers the truth about his daughter’s whereabouts the answers become terrifyingly clear and he goes on a merciless quest for revenge. Also stars Richard Dreyfuss. Action-packed thrills on the 15th, STANDOFF. When Isabelle (Ella Ballentine), a young girl with a knack for photography, sees something she shouldn’t, an assassin (Laurence Fishburne) follows her to a lone farmhouse, inhabited by grieving Carter Green (Thomas Jane). Unable, and unwilling to hand the girl over, Carter vows to protect her from the ruthless hitman. The Vintage Vault on the 16th starts with a Hammer classic, THE REPTILE. Harry and Valerie inherit the Cornwall home of Harry’s brother, who died under mysterious circumstances. The couple’s neighbour, the hostile Dr. Franklin (Noel Willman), had been investigating a secret tribe of snake-people on his last trip to Borneo, and they had reacted to his intrusion by making Anna, his daughter, one of them. As a result, she turns into a hideous cobra-woman every winter. This is followed by another British chiller, THE SORCERERS. A scientist and his wife possess a device that enables them to impose, through telepathy, their fantasies on people and allows them to experience sensations felt by their subjects. They take control of a teenager and have him live out what they associate with contemporary youth: violence and sex. This disturbing and powerful film is the debut feature of cult-director Michael Reeves and stars Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey and Ian Ogilvy.

A UK TV premiere on the 22nd, Kelsey Grammer stars in MONEY PLANE. A professional thief with $40 million in debt and his family’s life on the line must commit one final heist – rob a futuristic airborne casino filled with the world’s most dangerous criminals. More Hammer goodness in The Vintage Vault on the 23rd starting with DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS. Christopher Lee stars in this chilling tale of four English tourists who become stranded in the Carpathian mountains. When a driverless coach appears and takes them to a sinister castle, can they survive the night? Directed by Terence Fisher and also starring Andrew Keir and Barbara Shelley. This is followed bytThe fourth and one of the best of Hammer’s Frankenstein series, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN. Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) once again experimenting with human bodies. This time he transplants the soul of an executed young man into the disfigured body of the young man’s female lover, Christina, who had committed suicide. But the revenge impulse of her male soul takes over and she seeks out those who brought about her/his unjust execution.

A nerve-shredding thriller will be waiting for you on the 29th, NARROW MARGIN. Robert Caulfield (Gene Hackman), the DA of Los Angeles, has been protecting Carol Hunnicut, a prime witness in a murder case. But he was careless and they are forced to hide on a train going to Vancouver. But the mafia killers are on board. As the train speeds around the Rocky Mountains, how will they escape the trained hit men? The final Vintage Vault double for April starts with a rarely seen classic, THE TERRORNAUTS. Joe Burke heads a radio telescope project at a British observatory, hoping to pick up signs of life from another planet; thus far, the team has reported no positive results. But just when the project is about to be cancelled, Burke discovers a faint signal the same mysterious signal that intrigued and haunted him as a child and decides to respond. Doomwatch star Simon Oates takes the lead role in this cult ’60s sci-fi gem, adapted from visionary author Murray Leinster’s novel ‘The Wailing Asteroid’. Also features typically comedic turns from Patricia Hayes and Charles Hawtrey. Things start to awrm up after this as we experience NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT. A freak heat wave sends the temperatures soaring on a remote island. Dr Stone (Peter Cushing) and Callum (Patrick Allen) try to uncover the mysterious reason for the sudden change in climate. But the arrival of Callum’s former mistress (Jane Merrow) forces the atmosphere to boiling point and it falls to Godfrey Hanson (Christopher Lee) to discover that the rising heat is the start of an invasion of merciless aliens…