All posts tagged: revival

Hellraiser Revival review: Sex, sawblades and plenty of suffering

Hellraiser Revival review: Sex, sawblades and plenty of suffering

Published by Daniella Wilson

A star rating of 3 out of 5. “Insufficient suffering”. That may sound like something your boss would say in your performance review, but it’s actually Hellraiser Revival’s way of telling us we can’t throw saw blades around anymore. In the new game, suffering is a resource for using the Genesis Configuration, Hellraiser’s otherworldly key/weapon/sex toy, and it’s also the ethos of the whole experience. That’s something we mean both positively and negatively, because while Hellraiser: Revival gets so much of the series universe right, arguably even delivering one of the better sequel stories it’s enjoyed for a long time, it’s all wrapped around what’s essentially a very straight forward horror FPS. Want to see this content? This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose ‘Accept and continue’ to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes. Accept and continue It’s a little clunky, tired and – at least in our run through …

Rent review – Gaten Matarazzo succeeds but his co-stars dazzle in a rock-solid musical revival

Rent review – Gaten Matarazzo succeeds but his co-stars dazzle in a rock-solid musical revival

Published by Daniella Wilson

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Increasingly, Hollywood actors seem to arrive on London’s theatre scene to a blare of look-at-me fanfare: through press releases and tube posters, we are made acutely aware that these are big fishes splashing around in our somewhat smaller pond. For Gaten Matarazzo, there was no real splashing to speak of. When it was announced earlier this year that Jonathan Larson’s seminal rock musical Rent was returning to the West End after nearly three decades, the casting of 24-year-old Stranger Things star Matarazzo was never really pushed as the selling point. No, the big draw here is the material: a chance to see what has proven to be one of the most enduring musicals in decades, staged with a careful fidelity to its origins. Here at the Tom Stoppard Theatre (recently renamed from the Duke of York’s), Matarazzo is Mark, budding filmmaker and somewhat nebbish hanger-on to New York’s young, queer, …

Sour times: pickled onions enjoy revival as Britons think outside the jar

Sour times: pickled onions enjoy revival as Britons think outside the jar

Published by Sam Flores

The humble pickled onion, long associated with classic pub culture, the ploughman’s lunch and cold festive buffets, is enjoying a revival as Britain’s appetite for pickles grows. About 8.5m UK households bought pickled onions over the past year, according to the consumer data firm Worldpanel by Numerator, with particularly strong momentum in recent months. In the 12 weeks to early August, the value of pickled onion sales rose 12% year on year, compared with 4% growth across total grocery. While higher prices have contributed to the increase, demand is strengthening, with about 300,000 more households buying them and more than 550,000 additional shopping trips made to buy them. Pickles are more broadly moving beyond their traditional role as a side or accompaniment to become a flavour and ingredient in their own right. Michelin-star chefs are even using them in their dishes, and this weekend marks the launch of London’s first major festival dedicated to pickling and fermentation: the Big Brine. James Goodyear, the head chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, said: “There’s a …

Inside the Revival of Coyote vs. Acme Movie

Inside the Revival of Coyote vs. Acme Movie

Published by Daniella Wilson

On a balmy July Saturday in Southern California, deep in the air-conditioned bowels of the San Diego Convention Center, Dave Green watched his own unreleased movie for the first time in three years. Despite the very long gap, doing so took some convincing. His film, Coyote vs. Acme, had been in development at Warner Bros. for years, only for the studio to shelve it as a tax write-off in 2023 after production completed. Following fan outcry, Warners then decided to explore offers to sell it, only to — after rejecting various bids — seemingly take it off the market. A “funeral screening” was held; the movie sat in indefinite limbo. Outrage on social media did not cease until, miraculously, a savior came through years later in the form of Ketchup Entertainment, an upstart distributor that paid $50 million for the rights last year. At last, it will release the film in theaters on Aug. 28. The first public screening was slated for Comic-Con’s coveted Saturday evening slot, in tribute to the fans who never gave …

The Inland Empire is leading the Latino hardcore punk revival

The Inland Empire is leading the Latino hardcore punk revival

Published by Sam Flores

When the gates opened at St. John’s Episcopal Church in San Bernardino on Good Friday, the music coming from inside wasn’t that of angel-faced choristers or pipe organs; it was the collective scream of electric guitars. As the sky darkened over the white stucco church framed in palm trees and the dry peaks of the San Bernardino Mountains, fringed teenagers made their way inside, shaking their limbs and chattering in excitement. Fluorescent lights shone overhead in a room that, by day, hosted Bible studies and food pantries — that night, it would be the site of Spinkick Dance Hall, a regular underground music series where noses are bound to bleed and limbs to flail along to ear-splitting riffs. It’s just one of many shows taking place from Pomona to Palm Desert, heralding a Latino-led youth revival where the freewheeling movement of mosh pits meets the raw power of punk rock: Inland Empire hardcore. Teenagers congregate in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church in San Bernardino before the start of the night’s hardcore shows on April …

Prawn cocktails and pavlova are back as TV show thanked for 1980s menu revival

Prawn cocktails and pavlova are back as TV show thanked for 1980s menu revival

Published by Daniella Wilson

A wave of nostalgia for 1980s cuisine is sweeping across British supermarkets and restaurants, with demand for retro dishes surging, partly fuelled by the return of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals series to television screens. Waitrose has reported soaring sales of classic items like tiramisu and corned beef, while chef Gordon Ramsay’s establishments now feature pavlova and a modern take on rum baba. A Waitrose survey found almost half of UK adults (48%) believe 1980s dishes are making a comeback. Prawn cocktail was the most desired dish (28%), followed by beef bourguignon (24%) and bread and butter pudding (24%). Rhubarb and custard (20%), banana split (19%), and quiche Lorraine (18%) were also popular. Reinforcing the trend, Waitrose’s luxury prawn cocktail sales have rocketed by 170% year-on-year, with apple tarte tatin up 104%. The grocer is even launching a guide dedicated to hosting the quintessential 1980s dinner party. London stalwart The Savoy Grill said tarte tatin was now one of its most popular choices, while head chef Arnaud Stevens is introducing the mojito baba to the menu – …

An airline revival plan is going viral

An airline revival plan is going viral

Published by Sam Flores

Spirit Airlines was the budget-friendly carrier America loved to hate. But now that it’s out of business, a viral crowdfunding campaign is attempting to resurrect the bankrupt airline. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Once Hunter Peterson heard Spirit would close on May 2 — after attempts to merge with other airlines or get a lifeline from the federal government — the 22-year-old voice actor and content creator posted on social media that day with an idea to revive the airline. If a fifth of Americans each pitched in $45, (the equivalent of a cheap Spirit flight) “we could buy Spirit Airlines,” he said. His initial pitch was to run the airline like the Green Bay Packers, the only publicly owned team in the NFL. It has more than 5 million shares split among more than 530,000 owners. His joke, however, became a call to action. Peterson is not taking actual cash, but he has rallied $337 million in pledges from more than 370,000 verified people, …

‘”Master Harold” … and the Boys’ review: An exquisite Fugard revival

‘”Master Harold” … and the Boys’ review: An exquisite Fugard revival

Published by Sam Flores

The historical situation of “‘Master Harold’ … and the Boys,” Athol Fugard’s apartheid-era classic from 1982, has changed. South Africa’s system of racial segregation that institutionalized white supremacy was dismantled in 1994. Fugard, who died last year, played a role in bringing international attention to the injustices of his homeland through plays that chronicled the human toll of such corrosive governmental policies. The power of his work resides not in ideological argument or moral screed but in the observation of characters struggling to maintain their humanity in an inhuman system. Precisely for this reason, “‘Master Harold’ … and the Boys” has lost none of its emotional validity, as the exquisite new production that opened at the Geffen Playhouse on Thursday reveals. The revival stars Tony winner John Kani (“The Island,” “Sizwe Banzi Is Dead”), a treasured collaborative partner of Fugard’s and one of the best living interpreters of his work. His performance alone makes this an unmissable event, but that’s not the only reason you should see it. At a time when many of us …

How to watch the Malcolm in the Middle revival Life’s Still Unfair

How to watch the Malcolm in the Middle revival Life’s Still Unfair

Published by Daniella Wilson

Another beloved sitcom is stepping out of retirement this week as (almost) all of the original stars assemble for Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair. The hit series made an overnight star of Frankie Muniz, who played the title role, but later stepped away from acting to pursue a career as a race car driver. He returns to set for this four-part miniseries, alongside on-screen parents Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston (who landed the lead role in Breaking Bad shortly after Malcolm in the Middle ended). Other returning cast members include Christopher Masterson and Justin Berfield as Malcolm’s siblings Francis and Reese, but notably absent is original Dewey actor Erik Per Sullivan. He was replaced by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark (Fargo) after declining to reprise the fan-favourite role, despite being offered “buckets of money” to return (according to Kaczmarek in a recent interview with The Guardian). That major substitution aside, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair seems to have captured the spirit of the original – here’s everything you need to know about how to …

Something Is Happening … But Is It a Revival?

Something Is Happening … But Is It a Revival?

Published by Sam Flores

Every generation gets its revival story. In 1971, Time Magazine ran “The Jesus Revolution.” In 1998, the New York Times wondered if evangelicals were “on the threshold of a huge spiritual revival.” And in 2025, headlines screamed that Gen Z was flocking back to church, that young men were leading a religious resurgence, that Charlie Kirk’s death had sparked mass conversions. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy ask: Is any of it actually true? Spoiler alert: not really. We’re joined by Ryan Burge, political scientist and religion data aficionado, who brings receipts. Turns out Gen Z is the least religious generation in American history. There’s no male revival — just a female exodus. And, according to Burge, we’re not so much seeing a conservative surge as a hollowing out of moderates as churches polarize along political lines. But anecdotes remain and there does seem to be something going on in Christian America — even if we wouldn’t call it a revival. Guest: Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and …