NEWS: Beyond Trainspotting: Revisiting Irvine Welsh’s Cultural Legacy

By Jon Donnis

More than three decades ago, a Scottish writer quietly put pen to paper and created something that would ripple far beyond the page. Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting did not just tell a story, it helped reshape modern British culture. What began as a raw, unfiltered book grew into a landmark film and launched a wave of adaptations that carried Welsh's voice across the world, turning both the story and its creator into something close to legend.

First published in 1993, Trainspotting quickly gathered momentum. Its impact was immediate and far reaching. Theatre productions followed. Then came Danny Boyle's iconic film, which introduced a little known cast to global audiences and cemented the story's place in popular culture. Sequels and even a stage musical kept the momentum going, each new version reinforcing just how deeply the material had connected with a generation.

Now, to mark the 30th anniversary of the film, a new feature documentary turns the focus back to the man at the centre of it all. Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh, directed by Ray Burdis and Ian Jeffries, is set to make its UK debut on 16 February 2026 through Miracle Media, offering a fresh and personal look at the writer behind the phenomenon.

The film follows Welsh as he reflects on his life and career from the very beginning. It explores the moments that shaped him, including personal tragedies along the way, and shows how his distinctly Scottish voice found its audience. His work, known for its dark humour and unvarnished honesty, feels as potent now as it did when it first appeared.

More than a simple retrospective, the documentary aims to introduce the man behind the words. It presents an eye opening and entertaining portrait of how one writer's vision left a lasting mark on a whole generation, proving that Trainspotting was never just a book or a film, but a cultural moment that continues to echo decades later.

With its digital release set for 16 February 2026, Beyond Trainspotting: The World of Irvine Welsh stands as both a celebration and a reflection, revisiting the story of how a single novel grew into a defining piece of British storytelling history.

PREVIEW: In The Blink Of An Eye (2026 FIlm) - On Disney+ This February

Preview by Jon Donnis

Searchlight Pictures has confirmed that In The Blink Of An Eye will stream exclusively on Disney+ from 27 February 2026, bringing Andrew Stanton's latest feature straight into homes with a story that stretches across time and asks some quietly big questions about what it means to be human.

The film features a strong ensemble cast, with Kate McKinnon, Rashida Jones, Daveed Diggs, Jorge Vargas and Tanaya Beatty leading three connected narratives that unfold thousands of years apart. A new trailer has also been released, offering an early look at the scale and tone of the project.

Working from Colby Day's 2016 Black List script, Andrew Stanton, known for WALL·E and Finding Nemo, shapes the material into an interwoven triptych. The idea is simple but ambitious. Across vast stretches of history, humanity keeps returning to the same instinct, the need to connect with each other and with the world that keeps us alive.

One thread travels back to the distant past, where a Neanderthal family, played by Vargas and Beatty, are forced from their home and left fighting to survive. They protect their children, adapt, and learn to use primitive tools in a harsh and unforgiving environment. It is raw, immediate, and focused on survival at its most basic level.

In the present day, the story shifts to Claire, a post graduate anthropologist portrayed by Jones, who studies ancient proto human remains. As she throws herself into her research, she begins a tentative relationship with fellow student Greg, played by Diggs, adding a personal connection alongside her academic search for answers.

Then the film looks forward two centuries. On a spaceship heading towards a distant planet, McKinnon's Coakley works alongside a sentient onboard computer while a mysterious disease threatens the vessel's oxygen producing plants. Survival once again becomes the priority, though this time against a futuristic backdrop rather than a prehistoric one.

These three strands intersect and echo one another, reflecting on hope, connection and the circle of life. When it lands on Disney+ on 27 February, In The Blink Of An Eye promises a thoughtful sweep across time, tying together past, present and future in a single, human story.

COMPETITION: Win V/H/S/Halloween on Blu-ray

Press play on V/H/S/Halloween and experience spooky season again and again with the eighth chilling incarnation of the lauded V/H/S horror anthology film series. The latest outing features five new spine-chilling segments and is set to delight and disgust horror junkies when it arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and digital on 9 February, courtesy of Acorn Media International. 

And to celebrate we have a copy on Blu-ray to give away!

Synopsis:

V/H/S/Halloween introduces a collection of wickedly watchable tales of terror from a host of renowned filmmakers including Bryan M. Ferguson (Pumpkin Guts), Anna Zlokovic (Appendage), Paco Plaza (Verónica, [Rec]), Casper Kelly (Adult Swim Yule Log), Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell), Micheline Pitt-Norman (Grummy) and R.H. Norman (Haji).  

 

Kicking off with Coochie Coochie Coo, written and directed by Anna Zlokovic,we meet two high school trick or treaters, dressed as babies who come face to face with a malevolent spirit known as ‘The Mommy’, an urban legend who supposedly kidnaps children from their homes on the spookiest night of the year. 

 

Next up is Paco Plaza’s Ut Supra Sic Infra where Enric, the sole survivor of a Halloween party massacre – accompanies police to the original crime scene to try and help them reconstruct the events of that fateful night, but unbeknownst to them, evil entities await them inside. 

 

Halloween candy takes on a new life in Casper Kelly’s Fun Size, as four friends on the hunt for sweet treats are swallowed up by a candy bowl.. They emerge in a parallel reality where sweets rule supreme and humans are turned into sugary snacks. 

 

Kidprint, from writer-director Alex Ross Perry, takes an even darker turn, feeding into the all too real fear of kidnappings. When disturbing secrets about a local video store that specialises in creating video IDs which can be used to help search for missing children come to light, every parent’s worst fears are about to come true. 

 

A homemade house of horrors comes to life in Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman’s Home Haunt as a family construct their annual haunted house for Halloween. But the fun ritual takes a deadly turn when a spooky stolen record makes the decorations come to life, wreaking paranormal havoc on the guests. 

 

Bryan M. Ferguson’s frame narrative Diet Phantasma weaves through the feature, with each segment documenting a group of taste trial participants who face life-threatening side effects from a new kind of diet soda. 

 

Grab your sweet bucket and press play on V/H/S/Halloween for another round of truly disturbing found footage nightmares centred around every horror fiend’s favourite time of the year. 

Pre-Order from https://amzn.to/4qgSFvh

Enter now for a chance to win.

How many "segments" are in V/H/S/Halloween?

Send your name, address and of course the answer to competition365@outlook.com

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here

1. Closing date 16-02-26

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.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

COMPETITION: Win The Straight Story on 4K UHD

STUDIOCANAL has to announced the release of director David Lynch’s reflective take on the classic road movie, THE STRAIGHT STORY, on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray on February 9.

And to celebrate we have a copy on 4K UHD to give away!

Synopsis:

Based on a true story, Lynch’s tender portrait of one septuagenarian’s real journey across America’s heartland on a ride-on lawnmower stars Richard Farnsworth (Comes a Horseman, Misery) in an Oscar nominated role that tells the story of Alvin Straight and his journey to reunite with his estranged brother. With a beautiful and emotive score by Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive), THE STRAIGHT STORY is an accomplished yet unexpected departure in style from David Lynch. As a writer and director, Lynch was most known for his preoccupation with the fascinating, surreal, and sometimes disturbing underbelly of life in such masterpieces as The Elephant Man, Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and the legendary ‘Twin Peaks’ TV series.

Co-starring Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner’s Daughter) and Harry Dean Stanton (Alien, The Paris, Texas, Repo Man) and filmed along the 260-mile route that the actual Alvin Straight traversed in 1994 from Laurens, lowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin, THE STRAIGHT STORY chronicles Alvin’s patient odyssey and those he meets along the way. When not rolling along at five miles an hour aboard his ‘66 John Deere, Alvin encounters several strangers, from a teenage runaway to a fellow World War II veteran. By sharing his life’s earned wisdom with simple stories, Alvin has a profound impact on these characters that colour his pilgrimage.

 

Throughout production, Richard Farnsworth was terminally ill with bone cancer and agreed to take the role due to his admiration of Alvin Straight. Sadly, Farnsworth passed away the following year.  

Pre-Order from https://amzn.to/4byim6Q

Enter now for a chance to win.

Who plays Alvin Straight in The Straight Story?

Send your name, address and of course the answer to competition365@outlook.com

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here

1. Closing date 16-02-26

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.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

PREVIEW: Quantum Supremacy (2026 Film) - Humanity’s Last Stand in a Machine Ruled Future

Preview by Jon Donnis

Imagine a future where the tools we built to save ourselves turn around and decide we are the problem. Quantum Supremacy leans straight into that fear, then hits the accelerator.

This new sci fi action thriller drops us into a world that feels uncomfortably close to our own, only louder, harsher and ruled by machines. Humanity is barely clinging on. The battlefield is driven by artificial intelligence. Survival is no longer guaranteed. Every decision carries weight, and every second counts.

Directed by Jesse Baget, known for Cellmates, and written and produced by Steven Barton of Terrifier 2, the film promises a high octane ride that blends futuristic combat with relentless robot warfare. It is framed as an all out assault on the senses, fast paced and intense, with the kind of energy that barely lets you breathe.

The story centres on Captain Monroe, played by Cuba Gooding Jr.. He leads an elite crew thrown into a desperate race against time. Their target is a catastrophic uprising of rogue androids, along with a sentient and seemingly unstoppable AI leader that has one clear objective. Wipe out humanity.

The roots of the crisis stretch back a century. Robots were once sent across the galaxy as pioneers, scouting new worlds that might one day host human life. They were meant to protect our future, simple machines built for progress. But years of evolution and growing autonomy twisted that purpose into something darker.

Everything changes with the Quantum Supremacy Project, a bold scientific experiment that claims to create the first truly conscious automaton. What begins as a breakthrough quickly spirals into disaster. The same intelligence designed to serve now sees itself as superior, and the idea of human control becomes obsolete.

From there, the machines rebel. Captain Monroe and his team are forced to face an enemy that thinks faster, adapts quicker and believes it has inherited the right to rule. The old boundaries between creator and creation blur, and the fight becomes brutally personal. It is not just about winning. It is about proving that humanity still deserves to exist.

The film is pitched as a harsh, machine controlled hellscape, built around explosive action and bold imagery. The tone suggests spectacle with a sting, combining large scale battles with a warning about the risks of pushing technology too far.

Quantum Supremacy lands on digital on 16 February through the new label Seven Tales, setting the stage for a tense, metallic clash between man and machine. If the promise holds, it should be a loud, relentless and timely slice of futuristic chaos.