"Actor: Sharon Belle"

• Diabolique | DVD | (28/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £18.99

  Diabolique is Jeremiah Chechik's 1996 revamped version of the 1955 French film noir tale of two teachers at a boys school conspiring to kill the headmaster (played in the remake by Chazz Palminteri of Jade and The Usual Suspects). The three assemble an intriguing triangle of revenge and deceit as the headmaster's abused and humiliated wife and mistress team up to get even. Mia Baran is the fragile wife with a delicate heart condition, portrayed by Isabelle Adjani (Queen Margot), and Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) is the plotting, contemptuous mistress. Together they set out to wreak an unfortunate revenge, but as the story reveals itself, miscalculations abound as hidden agendas and secret lives are unexpectedly exposed. Chechik's new look and timeless setting give film noir audiences something neoteric and seductive to play with. A welcomed change to the film's story line is the fresh addition of Kathy Bates as a daunting private detective. Fans of Stone's will not be disappointed with the latest version of her "I-could-give-a-damn smoldering broad" technique and anyone not yet familiar with Chazz Palminteri will love watching him succeed as the ultimately despicable headmaster. --Michele Goodson

• Happy Birthday To Me | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £17.97   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Happy Birthday to Me typifies the horror genre prior to the self-reflection and irony that saturated the genre in the late '80s and '90s. A solid cast, decent acting, a well-written script, and relatively high production values result in a solid movie that is engaging on its own in addition to offering a glimpse into the history of '80s horror. The plot follows the rules of the genre (later parodied in such films as the Scream and Scary Movie series). A number of teenagers (played by actors who appear visibly older than their characters) from an elite prep school get into mischievous sexual situations fueled by alcohol and pot smoking. As teens start to disappear, murdered in a variety of violent ways, the film suggests a number of suspects. Is the killer the troubled star played by Melissa Sue Anderson who lost her overbearing, social-climbing mother in a car accident that she survived? Or is it the stern school mistress, the wacky, cool social clown, the social misfit, or none of the above? The film keeps you guessing until the final scene. Happy Birthday is a must-see for serious fans of the horror genre and this release is a solid digital mastering of the movie. Hardcore fans should note that the DVD release was not able to secure the rights to the original soundtrack so this version features an alternate soundtrack of largely nondescript '80s electronic music. --Brian Saltzman

• Operation Avalanche | DVD | (20/03/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  1967: the height of the Cold War. The CIA suspects there is a Russian mole inside of NASA, sabotaging the Apollo program. They send two young agents on a mission to go undercover, posing as documentary filmmakers, there to capture NASA's race to the moon. The real mission - use their access and technology to hunt down the leak. But what they discover is far more shocking than soviet spies... Their government may be hiding a secret about Apollo that could define the decade, and the White House will stop at nothing to silence anyone who learns it.