Julian Richards’ Darklands Finally Released on UK DVD

Steve Barton |

Dec 9, 2013

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Julian Richards' Darklands Finally Released on UK DVD Following its release in North America last year, director Julian Richards’ debut horror feature, Darklands, is finally now available on DVD in the UK as well courtesy of Metrodome Distribution. Check out its impressive new cover art.

From the Press Release:
Starring Craig Fairbrass (Cliffhanger), Jon Finch (Frenzy), and Rowena King (Wild Saragossa Sea), DARKLANDS is frequently compared to Robin Hardy’s 1970’s cult classic The Wicker Man, but the writer/director also acknowledges a debt to Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby.

DARKLANDS, which won the Melies D’Argent for Best European Fantasy Film in 1997, launched the directing career of Julian Richards, who went on to helm Silent Cry, The Last Horror Movie, Summer Scars, and Shiver, whilst producer Paul Brooks produced Shadow of the Vampire, White Noise, and Haunting in Connecticut.

“Darklands was the first British film to combine horror with social realism, a genre watershed which paved the way for the revival of UK horror in the 21st century,” said MJ Simpson, author of Urban Gothic: The Modern British Horror Film. “Dark, gritty, contemporary, and urban, Julian Richards’ debut reinvented British horror movies. Without this film, there would be no 28 Days Later, no Shaun of the Dead, no Dog Soldiers.”

Synopsis:
After losing his job in London, a newspaper reporter returns to his industrial Welsh hometown to investigate the mysterious death of a steelworker. When a local priest comes to him with a sinister story of animal sacrifices taking place in his church, the reporter finds himself embroiled in a pagan cult. As he delves deeper, he begins to suspect that there is a link between the two investigations, but those involved will stop at nothing to keep their existence a secret.