iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Thanks Elizabeth, hope you enjoy it!

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Gem Seddon 🏳️‍🌈 @gemseddon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Reposting for the Monday crowd! Always lovely chatting with Johnny, who’s a fabulous host and all-around brilliant person who’s a hoot to chat with. Give it a listen if you like a deep-dive!

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Would love to cover The Others on The Thriller Cabinet podcast, if anyone out there fancies coming on to discuss it...

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Was an absolute pleasure Gem, thanks again for coming on!

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Gem Seddon 🏳️‍🌈 @gemseddon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Had such a blast earlier this summer chatting with Johnny about one of my absolute favourite films— please give a listen if you fancy! And then, subscribe, as Johnny’s relaunching The Thriller Cabinet!!

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The Thriller Cabinet Returns! Join me and the brilliant @gemseddon.bsky.social as we wish a happy 50th birthday to Brian De Palma's iconic 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's CARRIE starring Sissy Spacek & Piper Laurie. Available here, or wherever you get your podcasts: thethrillercabinet.libsyn.com

Artwork for Carrie (1976), done by Laz Marquez for the 2017 Arrow Video edition of the film. This vivid illustration shows a female figure stood in its centre, standing rigid, her arms a little away from her sides and her eyes wide and staring, her expression one of furious, supernatural concentration. She is dropping a bouquet from her right hand, her frame dark against a fiery red and orange background.

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Bat Conservation Trust @batconservation.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

🦇 Despite autumn being a quiet time for bat activity, Halloween means bat decorations are everywhere. We think this is the perfect time for bat lovers to celebrate bats and raise awareness! Learn more: www.bats.org.uk/support-bats...

bats.org.uk

Halloween for bats - Support Bats - Bat Conservation Trust

Despite autumn being a quiet time for bat activity, Halloween means bat decorations are everywhere. We think this is the perfect time for bat lovers to ...

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

It's a little known fact that sharks can only roar at Christmastime...

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David Evans-Powell @davidep82.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Looking forward to being a guest turn for one of these, and a big thank you to Johnny for asking me! 🙂

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Very much looking forward to it, David!

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The Thriller Cabinet Podcast returns next month! Here are a few teaser images for the first few episodes - how many of these faces do you recognise from the depths of your darkest dreams? Previous episodes can be found here (or wherever else you get your podcasts): thethrillercabinet.libsyn.com

A girl sits at a cracked mirror, putting on lipstick. A figure looms in the right foreground, watching her.

A black and white picture of a middle-aged man looking disconsolately down a street in Berlin; his expression world-weary but watchful.

It's Santa Claus! But he looks a bit grimy, and like he might just be going to get you...

A close-up image of a man's face, which is eyebrowless and painted white. His expression seems to express a mocking disbelief, his stare fixed and baleful.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If they'd pushed this harder in their physical shops, the high street would have been so much better...

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Hope you enjoy them - I think all three are wonderful!

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Twins of Doom @twinsofdoom.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Had a brilliant time at Abyssal festival yesterday. All 10 bands were great - my highlights were Witchsorrow, Five the Hierophant, Mountainscape and the mighty AHAB! 🤘

Three members of the doom metal band Ahab stand bathed in purple light in front of a slowly moshing crowd. Above them, a mirror ball hangs.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It was a great day! Ahab are the kings of nautical funeral doom. (Which wouldn't be a niche genre in a sensible world.)

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I think he was calling from my house. While neither of us was there...

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

IT LIVES! The Thriller Cabinet podcast is rising from its tomb, returning to excite your ears with a whole new season of dark cinematic delights! Covering all kinds of classic thrillers from the world of film! Coming soon...

An inky black and white illustration of a woman's face, turning towards the viewer as if in alarm. Her face is partly in heavy shadow, her dark hair flowing out around her like a shroud. At the bottom of the picture, it says The Thriller Cabinet in stylised orange font.

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archivetvmusings @archivetvmusings.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The first episode of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was originally broadcast on this day in 1979. This BBC2 screening was swiftly followed by a two part omnibus repeat on BBC1 during Christmas 1979.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is today! If you're in the Daventry area, you should come down as a) Steve's books are excellent and b) he's an absolutely lovely man.

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On This Day - Scala Cinema @otdscalacinema.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

On this day (5th September) in 1980, the Scala Cinema was showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Phantom Of The Paradise (1974) as a double bill.

Film posters for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Phantom Of The Paradise (1974) on a background of a Scala Cinema programme.

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Coffin Boffin @coffinboffin.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

JAPANESE UMBRELLA BATS associated with happiness and good fortune. Here their wings are seen to resemble the unfolding of the umbrella they are holding! 蝙蝠 #baturday #InternationalBatNight Image: Yoshitoshi

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Somehow the doom-laden lushness of John Barry's score and the beautiful cinematography make it even more wrenching.

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On This Day - Scala Cinema @otdscalacinema.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

On this day (9th August) in 1984, the Scala Cinema was showing The Right Stuff (1983). On its own. No other films required.

Film poster for The Right Stuff (1983) on a background of a Scala Cinema programme.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I'd still say go for it - even with the ending spoiled I think there's a huge amount to enjoy.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I'd make two double bills - 3 Days of the Condor followed All The President's Men, and then Watership Down followed by Secret of NiMH. Brilliant 70s thrillers, then some profoundly beautiful animations - rich material for the head, heart and conscience.

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Steve Hunt @mrstevehunt.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I'm doing my first ever book signing! #boxing #booksky

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Clay Pipe Music @claypipemusic.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Here is a big clue as to what is coming up next on Clay Pipe Music. @andrewwasylyk.bsky.social and @surfacepressure.bsky.social have written a soundtrack to the 1925 horror Phantom of the Opera and will be taking it across the country to these cinemas. All the info: ▶️ awtp.surfacepressure.net

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

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Rob Tyers @thexclaim6.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

JG Ballard on Graham Greene “His fiction is generated by his experience of the world outside England. He couldn't be further apart from someone like Kingsley Amis or Anthony Powell, whose fiction is entirely generated by the closed world not just of England but of a very small part of” #booksky

PRINGLE: I think it was Graham Greene who compared The Crystal World with Heart of Darkness.
Was there any influence there?
BALLARD: I don't know whether I'd read Heart of Darkness at the time I wrote The Crystal World. I honestly don't think I was influenced by Conrad. I don't mind being influenced - after all, we're all influenced to some extent - but if you're talking about conscious imitation: certainly not.
PRINGLE: Were you influenced by Graham Greene - because he was influenced by Conrad?
BALLARD: Probably, yes. There's something about Greene's handling of solitary characters, externalizing the character's mind in terms of the situation in which he finds himself, the particular landscape. He does this so brilliantly. He can have a solitary figure standing by a jetty in the Far East, looking at some sanpans, and he brings in a few things like the local police chief scratching his neck and so on, and within a paragraph one has a marvellous evocation of the psychology of the hero, and of what the hero and of what the book is about. Yes, I probably was influenced by Greene, but I never consciously imitated him.
PRINGLE: Were you attracted to Greene because of your Far East background?
BALLARD: What I liked about Greene, and still do, is that although he's snared by the English literary 'thing', he's very much a twentieth century man, and his fiction is generated by his experience of the world outside England. He couldn't be further apart from someone like Kingsley Amis or Anthony Powell, whose fiction is entirely generated by the closed world not just of England but of a very small part of England. In Greene's fiction one can breathe the smells, see the sights and hear the sounds of the whole world. Not having spent my childhood and adolescence in England, I received a very big shock when I got here in 1946 and found it was a closed little island, containing a whole lot of lesser islands - the world of English professional life. Professional middle-class life of …

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Rue Morgue Magazine @ruemorguemag.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Born on this day in 1889 (d. 1957), Happy Birthday, JAMES WHALE! 🎉

Black and white portrait of a middle-aged man with neatly combed hair wearing a suit and tie, looking confidently at the camera.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Just Published! The mighty @mrstevehunt.bsky.social has compiled a book about boxing films: Knockout Movies! Buy it from Steve himself, or if you prefer evil corporations it's on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/818440005... (Disclosure: I contributed but lots of other exciting people are in it too.)

Cover of the book Knockout Movies by Steve Hunt. A colour illustration of a boxer, slumping to his knees against the ropes, his eye bleeding and his faraway expression filled with exhausted resolve. In the foreground at the top right, an ungloved hand hovers over him, counting down the remaining seconds before he must concede.

Colour posters for the film covered in the book Knockout Movies!, including Rocky I and II, Body & Soul, The Set-Up and Killer's Kiss.

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Steve Hunt @mrstevehunt.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

My new book, Knockout Movies! A History of Cinematic Boxing, is out now. I have some available to sell for £15 + postage. All proceeds go to the Ricky Hatton Foundation. #booksky #boxing

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

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The Finnvisible Man™ @feeblecretin.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Excellent film. So haunting and eerie. Angela Pleasence is a revelation. It's often overshadowed by the other, more well-known horrors of the era, but I honestly think it's among the best and should be talked about more I highly recommend it if you're looking for a slow burn with truly evil vibes!

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Thanks Alex, that's great! My DMs on here should be open (I don't think I can message you directly?). Drop me a line and we'll sort out a plan.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Hi Alex. I run a film podcast called The Thriller Cabinet covering thrillers of all kinds. I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming on to discuss Videodrome, or maybe a favourite Giallo? I think you'd be an excellent guest. Thanks!

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I've just come back from a trip to beautiful Orkney, so it seems a good time to share a song I wrote many years ago about Scapa Flow, in my former life as a musician (under the alias God's Little Eskimo). Have a listen here: godslittleeskimo.bandcamp.com/track/scapa-...

godslittleeskimo.bandcamp.com

Scapa Flow, by God's Little Eskimo

from the album Dives Of Lazarus

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

The Godsend is really good, if you've not read that one. (There is a film adaptation of it too, but I've never seen it.) Nice to see you loved The Moorstone Sickness too - for some reason, it doesn't often seem to get a mention and I adored it.

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

godslittleeskimo.bandcamp.com

Scapa Flow, by God's Little Eskimo

from the album Dives Of Lazarus

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Cheers James, thanks for listening!

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

THE OMEN turns 50 this month! Why not celebrate little Damien's birthday by listening to @grumpyandrew.bsky.social and myself discuss the film in depth on The Thriller Cabinet podcast? Available on Spotify, Apple, and on Libsyn here: thethrillercabinet.libsyn.com/the-thriller...

Gnarly teaser poster for The Omen (1976). In the top right, a small, smartly dressed boy stands, staring at the viewer. An ominous red halo seems to surround him, illuminating his figure against the black background. This sinister light behind him makes him cast a shadow - but rather than it being human, the shadow is an inverted cross. At the bottom, the poster states: "You are one day closer to the end of the world" before giving the title and the legend "Coming this Summer from Twentieth Century Fox." In conclusion, it's a great poster.

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Mondo Mascots @mondomascots.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Hoo-chan, the mascot for Yamano musical instruments, is a musical fairy who dresses in a bird costume because both music and birds can fly freely across borders.

A mascot hiding in the dark inside a white bird costume stands in front of some benches.

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Steve Hunt @mrstevehunt.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I am extremely proud to say that have been involved in curating the boxing noir strand for this year's #FilmNoirFest. I basically got to pick my favourite #boxing noir movies and now will get to see them on the big screen! Get your tickets and come and join me! #moviesky #filmsky #filmnoir

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Jamie @vanjpes.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

On this World Dracula Day, let us remember Jeremy Brett and Raúl Juliá in their stage Count costumes, with Edward Gorey-designed scenery

Jeremy Brett in full seventies/thirties crossover costume as Dracula in front of an Edward Gorey painted library and fireplace set

Raúl Juliá in a similar costume, arms spread wide making his cape look like bat wings, on another Gorey stage, this one an old Gothic building

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ǝoɔsoᴚ ǝʇɐN @nateroscoe.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

‘Mary Poppins’ (1964) / ‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ (1977) #SideBySide

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Dario Argento made his bones with his "animal trilogy" of thrilling whodunits. I'm joined by the great Mr Steve Hunt @mrstevehunt.bsky.social to discuss their visual panache and bizarro science. Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Johnny Restall @johnnyrestall.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy the rewatch.

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