Competition: Win The Lighthouse on DVD

The Lighthouse is released on DVD October 31st. And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
THE LIGHTHOUSE follows Thomas Howell and Thomas Griffith’s disastrous posting to Smalls Island Lighthouse to ‘keep the light’ 25 miles from land and surrounded by the deadly Irish Sea.

The men are stranded in a freak storm that rages for months, nothing short of an act of God. The film tells a tale of death, madness and isolation; a desolate trip into the heart of human darkness.

Cast: Michael Jibson, Mark Lewis Jones, Ian Virgo, Stephen McDade, Jason May, Nathan Sussex

Win This:
The Lighthouse [DVD] [2016]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 07-11-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Competition: Win The Library Suicides on DVD

The Library Suicides is released on DVD October 31st. And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
The Library Suicides (Y Llyfrgell), the debut feature from award-winning director Euros Lyn, and based on Fflur Dafydd’s bestselling novel Y Llyfrgell, is an offbeat thriller, set in the National Library of Wales, and explores the secrets and lies at the heart of storytelling, and asks who has the right to tell the story.

When a famous author commits suicide, her librarian twin daughters are lost without her. Elena’s final words suggest that her biographer Eben murdered her. One night, the twins set off to avenge their mother’s death at the National Library of Wales, but are disrupted by night porter Dan who becomes unwillingly caught up in the saga.

The cast also includes Ryland Teifi (35 Diwrnod, Tir) and Sharon Morgan (Resistance, Torchwood).

Win This:
The Library Suicides [DVD]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 07-11-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Best Zombies on Screen

The time is ripe for a massive TV zombie show apocalypse and to celebrate the release of season 1 of iZombie, we take a look at the cream of the crop of zombie TV shows gracing our small screens. From the US to Europe, here’s a compilation of those zombie shows, serious and not, that absolutely need to be seen.

iZombie
After a disastrous boat party is invaded by zombies infected with a party drug, medical student Liv awakens zombified. Intent on being a ‘good’ zombie, she enlists at the coroner’s office to eat brains to keep her symptoms at bay. A side-effect is flashbacks of how they were killed, Liv poses as a psychic to help the police solve the murders.

The Walking Dead
Awakening from a coma, Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, AKA Egg from Teachers) leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by the Zombie apocalypse. Battling zombie ‘walkers’ and rival surviving groups, the group try to adjust in a post-apocalyptic world, searching for salvation and a possible cure.

Fear The Walking Dead
A prequel to The Walking Dead, which shows the impending zombie apocalypse as it happens. Action centres on the dysfunctional family of Madison and Travis, and their children from previous marriages, as they witness the apocalypse and prepare themselves for the inevitable collapse of civilisation.

Z Nation
Three years after a zombie virus has wiped out most of America, a few remaining survivors discover Murphy, a prisoner who was experimented on by the government, and subsequently survived a zombie bite. The embittered Murphy could be mankind’s only chance of survival, providing an antidote to the zombie virus.

In the Flesh
A home-grown BBC series, based in Lancashire. Set in the aftermath of ‘The Rising,’ where dead people were resurrected and ran amuck as zombies, until being cured and returned to society. The show concentrates on ‘rotter’ Kieren, a rehabilitated zombie plagued by his own suicide and the atrocities he committed when he was a zombie.

The Returned
A French series based in an Alpine village, where a cluster of discombobulated people appear. It soon transpires that they are actually people who have died, and as they try to adjust and reclaim their lives, strange phenomenon starts happening, including a spate of murders, bearing similarities to a long-deceased serial killer’s modus operandi.

Own iZombie on DVD Now
Buy from Amazon by clicking here

Full Movie (USA Only) - Crazy People (1990) - From The Paramount Vault

When his coworkers start believing that job stress is affecting his performance and his mental health, advertising executive Emory Leeson (Dudley Moore) is sent to a mental hospital. There he befriends Dr. Liz Baylor (Mercedes Ruehl) and develops a crush on fellow patient Kathy Burgess (Daryl Hannah). Eventually, it becomes clear that the work Emory was doing before he was hospitalized wasn't crazy after all, but the business world now interests him less than his new relationships.

Competition: Win All Hallows' Eve - The Reaping DVD

All Hallows' Eve - The Reaping is released on DVD on October 24th And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis:
US horror anthology sequel. On Halloween night, a woman (Andrea Monier) receives an old VHS tape that a killer is using to find his next victim.

Unaware of the gruesome fate that awaits her, the woman watches the eight short tales of horror contained on the tape.

The characters featured in the stories include a group of trick or treating children, a boy struggling with night terrors, a man whose girlfriend has committed suicide and a young woman whose friend has been murdered.

But what will happen when the tales are over?

Win This:
All Hallows' Eve - The Reaping [DVD]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...


Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 31-10-16
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

WIN THE CONJURING 2 ON DVD - OUT ON BLU-RAYtm AND DVD OCTOBER 17

Prepare for the paranormal, as The Conjuring 2 comes to DVD and Blu-ray™ on October 17th. From director James Wan and starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, step into one of the most famous cases in British supernatural history with The Conjuring 2. To celebrate the release, we’re giving you the chance to win a DVD copy!

The supernatural thriller brings to the screen another real case from the files of renowned demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. Reprising their roles, Oscar® nominee Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson star as Lorraine and Ed Warren, who, in one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.


Watch the trailer here:

To be in with a chance of winning this brilliant prize, simply answer the question below.

Competition Closed

Own THE CONJURING 2 on Blu-ray™ and DVD October 17th.
For further information on The Conjuring 2 join us here
https://www.facebook.com/TheConjuringUK  or follow WBHorrorUK

You can buy The Conjuring 2 from Amazon by using the link below

The Conjuring 2 [DVD] [2016]

Terms and conditions

1. Closing date 24-10-16

2. No alternative prize is available 

3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.

4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Children of Horror Films

As embodiments of innocence corrupted by evil, darkness and murderous desire, the children of horror are truly terrifying. Beyond the glowing red eyes, satanic possession and thirst for blood they’re just children, but let’s face it, there’s nothing scarier than an adorable psychopath. With the release of The Conjuring 2 on Blu-rayTM and DVD on October 17th, we’re taking a look at the sinister little sweethearts that scare the living daylights out of us.

Michael Myers – Halloween
Michael Myers looks positively adorable in his new clown costume, it’s such a shame that the little psycho had to go and stain it with his sisters blood. The cult-classic Halloween follows the story of Michael Myers who stabbed his sister to death on Halloween, only to escape from his mental institution 15 years later to track down his next victim. Who knew they were starting so young?

Grady Twins – The Shining
Roaming the halls of the Overlook Hotel, this devilish duo could only be seen by little Danny who was just wheeling around the hotel on his tricycle. Gifted with the power of ‘shining’ Danny saw the twins appear holding hands, where they utter the ever haunting “come play with us Danny. Forever and ever and ever.” These sisters are officially the creepiest kids in the history of cinema.

Samara Morgan – The Ring
Okay, so ‘videotapes’ are majorly outdated, but the idea of a twisted child poltergeist crawling out of the screen still sounds pretty terrifying in the digital age. After watching this video filled with lurid images, the phone rings and a demonic foretells of the watchers death in exactly 7 days. One thing is for sure, Samara’s dripping silhouette crawling from her well is a haunting image that never leaves you.

Carol Anne – Poltergeist
This little girl isn’t even evil, but her conversation with a static TV screen sent shivers down spines worldwide and the unnervingly gleeful “they’re here”, which has become one of the most iconic phrases in horror. The original instalment in the franchise follows the story of an unknowing Californian family whose home becomes haunted with various poltergeists. These beings communicate only with their daughter Carol Anne through the families (very retro) TV set, and drag the poor girl into a swirling portal to their dimension through her wardrobe. And what’s the lesson from this movie? Don’t build on graveyards, it never ends well.

Janet Hodgson – The Conjuring 2
The setting? Enfield, London. The problem? Just a demonic spirit possessing an 11 year old girl and almost killing her entire family… No biggie. The Conjuring 2 follows the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren as they travel to London in an attempt to better understand the strange occurrences. The second oldest daughter of the Hodgson clan quickly begins to show signs of demonic possession when crucifixes begin to turn upside down and she is pinned to the ceiling. Blood curdling screams, hands grabbing from the shadows and a petrifying nun will scare you senseless in the latest addition to The Conjuring series.

THE CONJURING 2 COMES TO DVD AND BLU-RAYTM OCTOBER 17th

Competition: Win Solar Warriors on Bluray

Solar Warriors is out on Bluray on the 17th October, and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copy on Bluray to give away!

Synopsis:
For the first time available in the UK on Blu-Ray.

In the future, a nuclear war has left Earth as a desert wasteland, where the ocean has dried up. The world is now ruled by a sinister corporation known as the E-Protectorate. Beyond ruthless, they hoard water and take children from their families to train them to work for the corporation. But when a group of young rebels discover an extraterrestrial sphere with healing powers, they set out to release the planet from the clutches of the oppressors. With its dazzling visual effects and mesmerizing score, Solarbabies is pure entertainment from start to finish.

Win This:
Solar Warriors [Blu-ray]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question.

Who Solar Warriors?

To enter Email us on competition@mastersofhorror.co.uk with your answer, along with your name and address.

When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.


Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Interview With Lisa Morton By David Kempf

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, novelist, six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, and Halloween expert whose work was described by the American Library Association's Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror as "consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening."

In 2014 she released the novels Netherworld and Zombie Apocalypse!: Washington Deceased, and 2015 saw the publication of Ghosts: A Haunted History and the short story collection Cemetery Dance Select.

She is the author of over one hundred short stories, and her most recent work can be found in Dark Screams 4, October Dreams 2, nEvermore, and Out of Tune.

As a Halloween expert, Lisa has appeared on The History Channel and The Discovery Channel, in the pages of The Wall Street Journal and the LA Times, at such events as the Utah Humanities Book Festival, and online in podcasts at BoingBoing and The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy.


Interview With Lisa Morton By David Kempf

When did you first become interested in writing?

I’ve been writing almost as long as I’ve been reading – my first poem was published when I was 5! – but I didn’t seriously consider making a living out of it until I saw The Exorcist at the age of 15. Seeing the astonishing impact that film had on audiences during its initial release made me realize I wanted to do that, too.


How did you make this a full time job?

Well, it’s not my full time job now. I tried that for a while, back when I was making a fair amount of money as a screenwriter, and it didn’t work for me at all. I know most writers dream of being able to leave their day job and pursue writing all the time, but for me it was too isolating. Plus, I really love being a bookseller.


How did you become President of the Horror Writers Association?

By attrition, sadly. I was serving as Vice President when the President, Rocky Wood, passed away. Before that I’d held a variety of positions within the organization. I do find it satisfying to work with other writers and promote a genre that I love.


Why do you think horror and fantasy books remain so popular?

Because they reach us on such a primordial level. The earliest forms of literature – think The Epic of Gilgamesh or The Odyssey – almost all include considerable amounts of horror and fantasy; I really think it’s a way for us to process some of the more mysterious aspects of existence.


How did it feel the first time you won a Stoker Award?

I didn’t believe it. I actually wrote the vote counters and told them they needed to re-count because they’d obviously made a terrible error!


Please tell us about Meet the Hollowheads. 

Meet the Hollowheads (or Life on the Edge, the original title and the one I prefer) was my first real sale. I’d been working as a screenwriter for about ten years, with just a few options to show for it. For a brief time I worked in the special effects biz in Hollywood, first as a model-maker (on movies like Star Trek: The Motion Picture), then as a sculptor in the special make-up effects field, where I met the legendary Tom Burman. We started writing together, and Life on the Edge was the one we sold. Tom directed it and I worked on it as Associate Producer. It was an interesting learning experience, but the final product was heavily re-edited and kind of disappointing. Welcome to Hollywood!


What inspired you to write A Hallowe'en Anthology: Literary and Historical Writings Over the Centuries?

That was actually my second Halloween non-fiction book, after The Halloween Encyclopedia. For the encyclopedia I had gathered this incredible amount of information; some of the source material was just delightful, but of course in an encyclopedic reference you’re just condensing data. Doing the anthology gave me a chance to present the full versions (with my annotations) of some of that material.


Tell us about your work on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 

I was very young, not even 21! Back then, I used to hang out at a lot of film and science fiction conventions, and through the cons I befriended a guy named Greg Jein. One of my other friends was an absolute genius model-maker named Bill George (he went on to work for ILM and won an Academy Award for Innerspace), and Greg invited us to work for him. I didn’t spend a lot of time on Star Trek, but it was a wonderful experience. I mainly worked on the interior of V’Ger and on this miniature bridge made up of little hexagons. I still have one of those.


What do you think Rocky Wood’s legacy is?

Rocky touched so many lives in positive ways. Although he’ll undoubtedly be remembered for his scholarship on the work of Stephen King, he also brought HWA up to a new level, and he was unsparingly generous with his time in helping new writers.


What are your favorite horror books?

I grew up on the classics – Poe, Lovecraft, Stoker. As a teenager, I discovered writers like Theodore Sturgeon and Ray Bradbury, and later I came to love Shirley Jackson and of course King. One of my favorite authors, though, has to be Dennis Etchison, whose short fiction – much of which is set in a Los Angeles I recognize very well – is one of my biggest inspirations.


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

I’ve already mentioned The Exorcist. I grew up during that golden time when they used to show the Universal horror movies endlessly on television, so I love all of those (though I think I’m especially fond of The Creature from the Black Lagoon). My favorite horror film of the 21st century so far is the Korean masterpiece A Tale of Two Sisters. Over the last few years I think television has overtaken cinema as the place for horror; I’ve loved many episodes of American Horror Story (especially the Asylum season), Penny Dreadful, and Stranger Things.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

Thus far, probably my novel Malediction, although I’m also proud of having authored over 100 short stories.
             

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Persevere. Rejection can be tough; if you’re in the screenwriting end of things (as I still am), even success can be tough! It’s easy to give up, or become cynical. Sometimes the authors we remember aren’t even necessarily the most talented, but they are the ones who hung in there and continued to produce work.

Running a close second, though, is: don’t be a jerk. If you’ve got a temper, channel that into your fiction. If you’re thin-skinned, figure out how to grow another layer because you’ll need it. Nobody wants to work with somebody who starts fights on social media, or insults other writers (or readers!), or sends snarky responses to rejections. Besides which, it’s more fun to be nice.
     

What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

I have tremendous respect for the writers who have figured out how to do it right. Unfortunately, that’s not me!


What are your current projects?

I’m finishing up a piece for Stephen Jones that will be part of his new series The Lovecraft Squad. After that, I’ll be diving into a screenwriting gig that I’m really excited about (for a change!), but shouldn’t really talk about yet.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work. 

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, Bram Stoker Award-winning prose writer, and Halloween expert whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening.”  Her most recent releases include Ghosts: A Haunted History and Cemetery Dance Select: Lisa Morton. She lives in the San Fernando Valley, and can be found online at www.lisamorton.com

FILM NEWS (UK): Horror Channel FrightFest announces line-up for Halloween 2016 event

Horror Channel FrightFest unleashes a six-pack of cracking horror for their much-beloved Halloween event at the Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square, on Saturday October 22nd. The 13-hour trauma marathon includes five UK premieres and the world premiere of Ross Noble’s directorial debut. Shocktoberfest is here!

First up is the UK premiere of BED OF THE DEAD, a crowd-pleasingly ghoulish orgy of sex and gore where four swingers become stuck on a haunted double bed plagued by terrifying hallucinations. Next in the panic-stricken line-up is the UK Premiere of DON’T HANG UP where an evening of prank calls puts two millennials in deadly peril when one recipient decides to fight back. After that comes the UK Premiere of COLD MOON, a chilling tale of supernatural vengeance from the dark imagination of Michael McDowell, esteemed writer of Beetlejuice and The Nightmare before Christmas.

Then it’s time for a proper Halloween trick or treat with the UK Premiere of FEAR, INC, about a sinister company promising to bring all your personal nightmares to life. At 8.30pm comes the UK Premiere of RUPTURE in which The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo star Noomi Rapace is kidnapped and tortured to an extreme limit into another frightening realm altogether. Lastly, it’s the non-stop violent action movie currently wowing fantasy festivals all over the world, The Mo Brothers’ HEADSHOT starring Iko Uwais from The Raid franchise as an amnesiac trying to regain memories about his sadistic and extraordinary past.

Plus, we’ll be showing two fantastic shorts, the world premiere of Ross Noble’s nasty Halloween-set satire THE CATCHMENT, starring the comedy giant himself and Shauna Macdonald and DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?, an Xmas season shocker from, Canadian directors Justin McConnell & Serena Whitney. And of course there will be intros, Q & A’s, give-aways and a few special surprises…

Guests attending include RUPTURE director Stephen Shainberg, THE CATCHMENT director Ross Noble, DON’T HANG UP directors Damien Macé & Alexis Wajsbrot and COLD MOON producer Lee C. Rogers.

Alan Jones, co-director, said today: ““We just know you are going to love this hand-picked half-dozen of the latest and greatest chillers on the shock block. Horror, dread, terror and fantasy - it’s what we do best at FrightFest. So be very afraid and book now”.

Passes for the London event cost £45 and go on sale from noon on Saturday 1 October.
To book:  https://princecharlescinema.com/frightfest-halloween-special
Passes can also be bought at the cinema

FULL LINE UP:

10.30: BED OF THE DEAD (UK Premiere)

Director: Jeff Maher. Cast: Colin Price, Alysa King, Gwenlyn Cumyn, Dennis Andres, George Krissa. Canada 2016. 88 mins.

Out celebrating a birthday, two couples decide to party in a foursome at a sex club. Finding all the fantasy dungeons booked they are offered the mysterious Room 18 and start getting down to orgy business on the antique bed. But Room 18 has a dark history, the bed is haunted and once between the sheets, you can’t leave the mattress or you die. Plagued with frightening hallucinations across multi-dimensions, they must figure out the bed's secrets before they are all doomed. A race against time begins in a gloriously gruesome, gorgeous gore-fest from the LET HER OUT terror team.

PLUS….THE CATCHMENT (World Premiere) 

Director: Ross Noble.

Cast: Ross Noble, Shauna Macdonald, Cariad Lloyd, Richard Herring, Suki Webster

UK 2016. 16 mins.

A couple move into a house to be in the catchment area of a good school for their unborn children. But there’s a catch…


13:00 DON’T HANG UP (UK Premiere)

Directors: Damien Macé & Alexis Wajsbrot. Cast: Sienna Guillory, Gregg Sulkin, Garrett Clayton, Parker Sawyers, Bella Dayne. UK 2016. 83 mins.

I saw what you did and I know who you are! Two teens devise ever more elaborate prank phone calls to share online for their eager followers into impersonal humiliation. But as their
involved practical jokes become increasingly nastier, it never occurs to them they might be playing a very dangerous game. So when a mysterious threatening stranger calls the home landline, they suddenly realize they may not be invincible. In fact, they may be in very real peril, as the caller reveals the violent extremes he’s willing to employ to extract retribution before they’re able to reveal his identity.

15:15 COLD MOON (UK Premiere)

Director: Griff Furst. Cast: Josh Stewart, Candy Clark, Christopher Lloyd, Frank Whaley, Robby Kay. USA 2016. 92 mins.

From Michael McDowell, writer of BEETLEJUICE and THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and STARVE director Griff Furst, a chilling tale of supernatural vengeance. Welcome to the sleepy southern town of Babylon where years earlier the Larkin family suffered a terrible tragedy. Now they are about to endure another when fourteen-year-old Margaret is robbed of her innocent life and sunk in the black waters of the River Styx. The powerful killer thinks he’s beyond the reach of the law. But he’s not beyond the rules of Hell or the spectral nightmares determined to mete out the most shocking justice.

18:00 FEAR, INC.(UK Premiere)

Director: Vincent Masciale. Cast: Lucas Neff, Caitlin Stasey, Chris Marquette, Stephanie Drake, Abigail Breslin. USA 2016. 91 mins.

Nothing is ever scary enough for unemployed horror fanboy Joe. Completely underwhelmed by a haunted house attraction he visits with his girlfriend Lindsay one date night, a creepy stranger gives him a business card for the mysterious service ‘Fear, Inc.’, a company
promising to bring personal nightmares to life… for a price. Despite warnings about the corporation’s dubious reputation, Joe calls the next day – Halloween - and sets off a chain of terrifying events that echoes such classic horror cinema as SCREAM, SAW, THE SHINING and FRIDAY THE 13th. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bump-in-the-night ride!

PLUS….DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? (London Premiere)

Director: Justin McConnell & Serena Whitney. Cast: Caleigh Le Grand, Jorja Cadence, Adam Buller. Canada 2015. 14 mins.
It's the Christmas season, and Sloan is reluctanly helping her over-enthusiastic sister Jessica with the perfect party. But Sloan might have to do some kick-ass fighting to save the partygoers from a terrifying death...

20:30 RUPTURE (UK Premiere)

Director: Steven Shainberg. Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Chiklis, Peter Stormare, Lesley Manville, Kerry Bishé.  Canada. 2016. 102 mins.

Single mother Renee Morgan is trying to keep her life together when she’s suddenly kidnapped by a mysterious organization and held against her will in a sinister facility. Her captors insist they’re just conducting medical research, but to Renee and her fellow prisoners it’s torture! But why are they pushing her to an extreme limit, way beyond being scared to death and into another frightening realm altogether? A surreally spooky sci-fi horror from SECRETARY/FUR director Steven Shainberg, AMERICAN SNIPER producer Andrew Lazar and starring brilliant Noomi Rapace, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and the millennial Sigourney Weaver in PROMETHEUS.

23:00 HEADSHOT (London Premiere)

Directors: Kimo Stamboel & Timo Tjahjanto. Cast: Iko Uwais, Chelsea Islan, Sunny Pang, Very Tri Yulisman, Julie Estelle. Indonesia. 117 mins.

Never forget, never let go in another fast and furious violent action thriller from The Mo Bothers, directors of MACABRE, KILLERS, plus V/H/S/2 and THE ABCs OF DEATH segments. The indomitable Iko Uwais (THE RAID and its sequel star) plays Ishmael, a young man who washes ashore, an amnesiac with a serious head injury whose past comes back to haunt him shortly after being nursed back to health by a young doctor. For Ishmael was a killing machine in his forgotten history and when his memories finally do return he is compelled to take on a vengeful drug lord’s henchmen.