"Actor: Michael David Simms"

• Scarecrows | Blu Ray | (11/07/2016) from £12.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (63.69%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Five criminals find themselves parachuting, with their ill-gotten goods into an abandoned cemetery. But this bone-yard is guarded by some nasty scarecrows, and they aren't made of straw ..

• Alien Nation | DVD | (03/06/2002) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Alien Nation is a routine cop thriller with a comedic sci-fi twist. They get drunk on sour milk. They have two hearts and bald, spotted heads. They're highly intelligent, but if you drop them in seawater they'll melt into a puddle of goop. They're "Newcomers", and they arrived as refugees in a massive alien slave-ship, quarantined for three years and then reluctantly accepted as citizens of Earth. To some humans--including seasoned Los Angeles cop Matt Sykes (James Caan)--the Newcomers are unwelcomed "slags". Sykes' own virulent "speciesism" intensifies when Newcomer thugs kill his partner, but he sees logic in teaming up with Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective in the LAPD. Francisco's Newcomer knowledge is vital to their investigation of an alien drug ring, and a friendship grows from life-or-death circumstances.Alien Nation has two things working in its favour: Caan and Patinkin form a memorable duo, and the basic premise--as conceived by Rockne S O'Bannon (who later developed the film as a TV series)--intelligently accounts for the sociological impact of an alien population. The subtle point is made that humans are extraordinary beings who squander their potential, and the evil of drugs--as dealt by a social-climbing Newcomer played by Terence Stamp--leads to a crisis that threatens to generate global intolerance. These points are well presented in a context of overly familiar plotting and standard-issue sarcasm. It's entertaining for a brisk 90 minutes, but in its attempt to be widely appealing, Alien Nation glosses over issues that might have made it more uniquely provocative. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Harsh Realm - Season 1 | DVD | (26/07/2004) from £21.46   |  Saving you £8.53 (39.75%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The dark and fantastic Harsh Realm, a science fiction series about a war fought by flesh-and-blood humans trapped inside virtual reality, was launched by The X-Files creator Chris Carter in 1999 and died a regrettable, premature death on the Fox channel after three episodes. The remaining six shows found sanctuary on the FX network, and then Harsh Realm slipped into history, its wild story, based on a comic book, far from resolved. Perhaps Harsh Realm's ratings failure had something to do with its broad similarities to the hugely popular The Matrix, released only a few months before, or, for that matter, David Cronenberg's 1999 eXistenZ, in which characters fight for their lives inside a video game. Whatever the reason, enough time has passed to take an objective look at Harsh Realm, and there is a lot to be admired in its high level of imagination, complex plotting, and cutting-edge production values. Scott Bairstow stars as U.S. Army Lieutenant Tom Hobbes, a decorated hero who risked his life rescuing a buddy, Major Mel Waters (Max Martini), during a peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia. Set to return to civilian life and marry his fiancée, Sophie (Samantha Mathis), Hobbes is summoned by a mysterious superior (Lance Henriksen) and asked to test-run Harsh Realm, a virtual reality war game devised by the Pentagon. Once he begins, however, Hobbes is mentally imprisoned in the dangerous game (his body, along with those of hundreds of other "volunteers," is cared for in a secret military hospital), where he is identified by other, desperate captives as the savior they've been awaiting. D.B. Sweeney is very good as another soldier, Mike Pinocchio, whose sense of mission is re-awakened by Hobbes and who becomes a partner in an endless effort to defeat a madman named Santiago (Terry O'Quinn), who rules Harsh Realm from within. As with The X-Files, the nine episodes in this boxed set are each very striking on their own terms, with post-apocalyptic sets, constant surprises, and that special Chris Carter touch (fans of his Millennium will like Harsh Realm, too) that makes every story look and feel like a collision of a nightmare and a crisis of faith. --Tom Keogh

• Scarecrows | DVD | (11/07/2016) from £10.98   |  Saving you £5.00 (62.58%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The plan was simple. Boost a few-million, head to Mexico, divide the loot and live it up for the rest of their days. Unfortunately for this band of ex-military criminals, they're about to learn the hard way; that best laid plans often go awry. A double-cross ensues and the group find themselves in an eerie abandoned farmhouse, one that holds a murderous secret in the surrounding cornfields. The malevolent scarecrows that inhabit the fields are alive and are soon stalking and slashing their way through the would-be bank robbers. Featuring outlandish gore effects by FX maestro Norman Cabrera (of the KNB EFX Group), stunningly atmospheric cinematography from Peter Deming (Evil Dead II) and a spine-tingling score from Terry Plumeri (Black Eagle), Scarecrows is essential viewing for any self-respecting horror fan. 88 Films are proud to present this stalwart of VHS rental stores in all its HD glory for the first time in the UK!

• A Father's Betrayal | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £4.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Powerful lawyer Eddie Brannigan is delighted to have his son back in his life and the feelings are reciprocated. The younger Eddie's friend Rebecca however accuses Eddie Senior of date-rape and he could end up sending his own father to jail.

• Scarecrows | DVD | (28/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Five men heist the Camp Pendleton payroll and kidnap a pilot and his daughter who are forced to fly them to Mexico. En route a double cross has one of the thieves parachute with the loot into an abandoned graveyard surrounded by strange scarecrows. The rest of the team jump after their loot and their former partner. Everything happens during the course of one very dark night.