Unrated - Cinema of the Extreme                    update 13th May 2009

Plenty of interesting releases about and forthcoming.

The directorial debut of Rich Ambler, Raising Jeffrey Dahmer stars Bo Svenson (Kill Bill: Vol. 2), Rusty Sneary (Suspension) and Scott Cordes (Suspension; Saving Grace B. Jones) takes a fresh spin on the true life tale on one of America's most homicidal necrophiliacs, as seen through the eyes of Jeffrey's father, Lionel, and his second wife, Jeffrey's stepmother. Ambler's take is worth watching and proves one of the better serial killer movies of recent years, Raising Jeffrey Dahmer (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£12.99) by Revolver Entertainment on 18th May 2009.

Fans of David Lynch, eager to unravel further clues about his thought process and gain insight into his chosen thematics will no doubt want to get hold of  Lynch (One), an intimate portrait of the David Lynch's creative process, coming to DVD on 22nd June 2009 courtesy of Scanbox Entertainment. This is, perhaps, the closest fans will ever get to a "making of" documentary, in this instance, the making of "Inland Empire". Compiled from over two years of footage, the film provides a fascinating insight into the creative mind of one of cinema's most original and interesting filmmakers and, as such, is essential viewing for David Lynch fans and general cineastes alike.

Prior to the release of Lynch (One), on 8th June 2009 Scanbox Entertainment will also be releasing David Lynch's Dumbland for the first time on DVD in the UK. Consisting of eight animated vignettes written, directed, voiced and animated by Lynch himself (he also composed and performed the show's music) originally produced as exclusive content for his official website, Dumbland has been described by its director as "a crude, stupid, violent and absurd series." Personally, I thought Dumbland was disappointing, but Lunch completists will no doubt beg to differ.

Arrow Video's have announced a series of DVDs under the banner Masters of Giallo hitting the shelves on 29th June 2009 and priced at £15.99 (tbc), gives a much-welcomed new lease of life to three of the genre's most revered classics - Lucio Fulci's The House by the Cemetery, Lamberto Bava's Macabre, and Dario Argento's Sleepless. Released completely uncut on DVD for the first time in the UK, each film comes with an unholy host of brand new extras, along with two-sided sleeve inserts featuring all-new, specially commissioned exploitation artwork plus the film's original release artwork.

Watch out for Meatball Machine, a wild, Japanese splatter-punk monster of a movie that combines the "body horror" shock tactics of John Carpenter's "The Thing", the "Testsuo" movies and David Cronenberg's most extreme work. Based on an original short made by Yamamoto in 1999, the feature length Meatball Machine is an all out, in-your-face gore-fest - an experimental sci-fi/horror rollercoaster that will have your entire brain and body shaken and stirred. Co-directed by Yudai Yamaguchi (Battlefield Baseball) and Junichi Yamamoto (Kabuking Z: The Movie), Meatball Machine hits DVD on 6th July 2009 from 4Digital Asia.

Finally, The Machine Girl (cert. 18) is available to buy on DVD in Steelbook packaging and on Blue-ray from 18th May. Written and directed by Noboru Iguchi (Sukeban Boy) and starring former Japanese porn star Asami (Sukeban Boy) alongside hot, up-and-coming newcomer Minase Yashiro, The Machine Girl boasts more arterial spray than any gorehound could ever wish for, this fun celebration of gratuitous violence features everything from graphic, bloody dismemberment, decapitation, necrophilia and yakuza ninjas to chainsaw- and machine gun-wielding girls, a flying guillotine and – the showstopper of them all – a flesh ripping drill bra!