PREVIEW: Forever Home (2026 Film) - Starring Sammie Lideen and Drew Leatham

Preview by Jon Donnis

A new haunted house tale with a mischievous streak is on the way, as Forever Home prepares to land on UK digital platforms on 20 April. Marking the feature debut of director Sean Oliver, this award winning paranormal chiller leans just as heavily into comedy as it does into creeping dread, setting the tone for a lively and unpredictable ride.

At the centre of the chaos are Jules and Ryan, a young couple eager to start fresh in a place they can finally call their own. That optimism does not last long. Their dream home comes with a problem that no survey could have picked up. It is already occupied, and the previous tenants have no intention of leaving.

What begins as a nuisance soon turns into something far more unsettling. Strange disturbances build from irritating to outright disturbing, with sleepless nights, eerie sounds and unsettling sights becoming part of daily life. A phantom violinist makes sure peace is never an option, while more violent supernatural intrusions push the couple to their limit.

Desperate for a solution, Jules and Ryan turn to psychic medium Meg, hoping she can restore some sense of normality. Instead, her intervention opens the door to something far worse. A séance spirals out of control, trapping them inside the house and unleashing a far more dangerous presence, one that threatens not just their lives, but whatever might come after.

Forever Home plays with the familiar haunted house setup but refuses to stay in one lane. It balances absurd humour with genuine menace, shifting from playful to sinister without warning. The result feels knowingly chaotic, as if the film itself is enjoying the mayhem as much as its characters are trying to survive it.

With its mix of eccentric ghosts, escalating horror and sharp comic timing, this is a film that aims to entertain on multiple levels. Whether it is the creeping sense of danger or the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, there is always something happening.

Forever Home arrives on digital platforms in the UK from Miracle Media on 20 April, promising an evening of laughter, shocks and supernatural disorder that refuses to settle down.

Apple TV - https://apple.co/4tLl2no

REVIEW: The Toxic Avenger (2025 film) - Starring Peter Dinklage

Review by Jon Donnis

Macon Blair's reboot of The Toxic Avenger is exactly the sort of noisy, grimy revival fans hoped for. It is the fifth instalment in the series and a remake of the 1984 original. The film knows what it is, an ultra-violent, black comedy that mixes cartoonish gore with broad satire and a measure of heart. It will delight those who came for the shock value and unsettle anyone expecting a straightforward superhero picture.

Peter Dinklage leads the charge as Winston Gooze, a downtrodden janitor who is transformed after a catastrophic toxic accident. Dinklage brings a steady humanity to the role. He makes Winston more than a mask of green fury. When the story asks for pathos, he supplies it. Jacob Tremblay is touching as Wade, Winston's stepson, giving the film its emotional centre. 

Taylour Paige's J.J. Doherty adds fire as the whistleblower whose actions kick some of the plot into motion. Kevin Bacon is gleefully sleazy as company boss Bob Garbinger, and Elijah Wood supplies a twitchy intensity as Fritz. Luisa Guerreiro, credited as the suit performer, does the physical work of the Toxic Avenger with commitment.

The plot is straightforward, which serves the film well. There is a corrupt pharmaceutical company, BTH. There are thugs, a mob connection, a whistleblower in danger and a community under threat. From those raw ingredients Blair assembles a string of violent set-pieces, gross-out gags and darkly comic encounters. The film leans into parody more than into earnest reinvention. It is loud, filthy and frequently funny. Moments of genuine feeling sit between the carnage, so the film never becomes merely a parade of shocks.

That said, it is not flawless. The storyline is thin by design, and at times it feels like a series of skits linked by blood and bile. A few jokes overstay their welcome and the middle section can meander. At about 100 minutes the picture runs a little long for its material. If you want tight plotting and subtlety, this is not the Toxic Avenger to choose.

But those are small complaints in a film that mostly knows its audience. Blair respects the source by keeping the tone filthy and anarchic, while allowing the core relationship between Winston and Wade to give the film an emotional anchor. There are throwaway scenes that land beautifully and others that do not. Overall, the sheer commitment on screen keeps the momentum going. Performances are uniformly strong, the satire lands often enough, and the film finds a strange affection beneath its nastiness.

The Toxic Avenger is not a film for everyone. It will offend, it will shock and it will laugh at its own grotesquerie. For viewers willing to embrace that, it is a raucous, often touching reboot that pays its respects to the original while firmly staking its own claim. I score it an 8 out of 10.

Out Now at https://apple.co/4ozVYwU