The November 2024 lineup for Arrow Video’s subscription-based ARROW platform has arrived, and the streamer is keeping the Halloween spirit alive with another month of chills, thrills, and cult classics.
The November 2024 lineup leads with “Shawscope Vol. 3,” ARROW’s third curation of films from the Shaw Brothers. Before Hong Kong’s mightiest film studio mastered the art of the kung fu film, Shaw Brothers hit box office gold with a very different kind of martial arts cinema, one that channeled the blood-soaked widescreen violence of Japanese samurai epics and Italian spaghetti westerns into a uniquely Chinese form: the wuxia pain. With all-new exclusive restorations and hours of insightful bonus material, “Shawscope Vol. 3” debuts November 25!
November opened with the arrival of “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things” on November 1. In this cult favorite, six friends in a theatrical troupe dig up a corpse on an abandoned island to use in a mock Satanic rite. It backfires with deadly consequences.
Starting today, November 4, ARROW unsheaths Chang Cheh’s iconic “One-Armed Swordsman” trilogy for all subscribers. “One-Armed Swordsman,” “Return of the One-Armed Swordsman,” and “The New One-Armed Swordsman,” directed between 1967 and 1971, made household names of stars Wang Yu and David Chiang and set the gory template for many of the films to come.
Today also marks the arrival of Jemma Moore Selects. The star of the found footage sensation “Host” and ITV’s “Red Eye” shares her ARROW streaming favorites.
“When ARROW asked me to pick my Selects, my mind went into overdrive! How could I possibly choose from all the amazing movies on their kick-ass streaming service? But after a huge movie marathon, a few trips down memory lane, and a lot of snack breaks, I’ve finally conjured (get it?) up my current top picks. I hope my Selects will bring as much joy and entertainment to fellow film lovers as ARROW has brought to me. Happy streaming!”
Films in the collection include “Heathers,” Eject,” and “A Bit of Fun.”
On November 8, ARROW debuts “The Church,” writer/director Michele Soavi’s first full collaboration with co-writer/producer/mentor Dario Argento. In a Gothic cathedral built on the mass grave of a Teutonic purge, an ancient discovery by the new librarian will release an unholy maelstrom of madness, violence, and demonic vengeance.
Subscribers can also enjoy a trio of new shorts for subscribers across all territories:
- Guts: A guy with his guts on the outside of his body really wants a promotion.
- Memento Mori: This film is one woman’s catalog of the things people said to her during her cancer journey. Family gets closer, friends get weirder, strangers get too personal, and the loudest voice belongs to Cancer itself.
- Crazy For You: It’s difficult to find love when you’re a serial killer, so when Charlie meets the girl of his dreams, he must keep that flaw a secret. Will true love win the day? Or will she become one of his victims?
Also, on November 8, ARROW takes subscribers on a trip through time with “Future Shockers.” How are things going to turn out? Are we going to end up in a utopia or a dystopia? Take a look ahead and see in “Future Shockers,” a collection of Cult films set in forthcoming futures featuring zombies, groovy tech, Afrofuturism, unbreathable atmospheres and more! Titles include “Crumbs,” “Terrible Things,” and “Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway.”
On November 11, The Shaw Brothers shine the light on sisters with a trio of sword-swinging female-centered epics: Cheng Kang’s all-star epic The “14 Amazons,” Ho Meng-hua’s “The Lady Hermit,” with the great Cheng Pei-pei (“Come Drink with Me”) as a virtuous swordswoman called upon to stop a vicious warlord, and Chor Yuen’s scandalous “Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan,” hailed as “the most famous erotic film in the history of Hong Kong cinema.”
On November 15, slice into “Killer Cuts,” featuring a treasure trove of Directors Cuts, Extended Cuts, Theatrical Cuts, and International Versions of some of ARROW’s most popular classics. Titles include “Phantom of the Mall” (Eric’s Revenge Phan Cut), “Shock” (Italian Version), and “Season of the Witch” (Extended Cut).
Also, on November 15, North American subscribers can experience the third feature by director Michele Soavi, “The Sect.” His second collaboration with producer/co-writer Dario Argento. In “The Sect,” as a global satanic cabal grows in ferocity, an unwitting young school teacher (Kelly Curtis, sister of Jamie Lee, in her sole genre role) is chosen to deliver the ultimate evil.
On November 18, ARROW debuts a J-Horror classic and a foursome of 70s Japanese thrills and chills. Based on the smash-hit series of the same name by cult manga artist Junji Itล (“Uzumaki” ):
- Tomie: The tale of an evil high-school seductress identifiable by a beauty mark beneath her left eye, whose bewitching kiss drives men to madness.
- The Magic Blade: Gu Long, the most famous martial arts novelist, provides “The Magic Blade” with just the right plot to give the brilliant swordplay an interesting context, and director Chor Yuen, an acknowledged master of the genre, provides the style to make this one shine above its kung-fu competitors.
- Jade Tiger: The headless corpse of the Chao Clan patriarch and the theft of a jade tiger set in motion another noteworthy collaboration between three of the biggest names in swordplay action dramas: director Chor Yuen, martial arts novelist Gu Long, and kung-fu superstar Ti Lung.
- Clans of Intrigue: With a story by celebrated martial arts novelist Gu Long, direction by movie master Chor Yuen, and a first-rate action cast that includes Nora Miao, fresh from the Bruce Lee blockbusters “Fists Of Fury” and “Way Of The Dragon.” Towering above them all is kung-fu king Ti Lung as the amorous knight. A top-five box office hit in 1977, “Clans Of Intrigue” still packs quite a punch today.
- The Sentimental Swordsman: One of director Chor Yuen’s crowning achievements, “The Sentimental Swordsman” epitomizes the lone, virtuous, heroic swordsman with a twist. Swordsman Li Xunhuan, magnificently played by the highly respected and popular Ti Lung, is also a hero with weaknesses; he drinks too much and believes in love and emotion.
On November 22, subscribers can dig into “Burial Ground.” Mariangela Giordano (“The Sect”) stars in this ’80s splatter classic about a cursed country estate besieged by horny houseguests, undead Etruscans, and the unusual relationship between a mother (Giordano) and her creepy young son (Peter Bark) that will trigger some of the most jaw-dropping scenes in grindhouse history.
November 22 also marks the arrival of “Heidi Honeycutt Selects.” Heidi Honeycutt is a journalist, author, actress, filmmaker, film programmer, and co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Etheria Film Night, a film festival that showcases short films by women directors.
Honeycutt shared, “Because women directors are so important to the horror genre, here is a selection sampling of some very fun, funny, scary, sad, and insane films from women directors for your horror enjoyment! Preserve the legacy of all filmmakers, even women!”
Titles in this collection include “The Stylist,” “The Deeper You Dig,” and “A Lucida Production – Reel Women.”
As mentioned, “Shawscope Vol. 3” arrives on November 25. With their enthralling tales drawn from historical myth and legend of sword-wielding (and often gravity-defying) noble heroes, the wuxia films housed in this Shawscope season demonstrate the sweeping stylistic evolution of the genre, from the righteous stoicism of the late-60s Mandarin period, right through to the wild-and-weird anarchism of the early-80s Cantonese explosion.
Titles include “One-Armed Swordsman,” “Return of the One-Armed Swordsman,” “The New One-Armed Swordsman,” “Buddha’s Palm,” and “Lu Chun-ku’s Bastard Swordsman.”
November 29 marks the arrival of “Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon.” A mysterious man is sent into the forest to investigate the bizarre behavior of the notorious Dr. Tarr. What he stumbles upon is the doctor’s torture dungeon, a hellish asylum completely cut off from civilization and presided over by the ultimate madman. Innocent people have been savagely chained, tortured, and stuck in glass cages, then forced to take part in gruesome games of ritual slaughter.
The lineup closes on November 29 with “On A Mission,” a collection of Cult films full of dangerous adventures and deadly journeys. Titles include “Terra Formars,” “The Navigator,” and “Doberman Cop.”
