Powerhouse Films Label of the Month: 6 Essential Releases Every Film Collector Should Own
01 July, 2026Since launching in 2016, Powerhouse Films has established itself as one of the UK's premier boutique labels through its acclaimed Indicator series. The Indicator series doesn’t simply offer upgraded reissues of familiar classics, but restores overlooked gems, cult favourites and international cinema that might have otherwise gone unseen. With hours of bonus features, booklets and additional collector’s items alongside them have made Indicator releases some of the most sought-after releases.
Not only are they our Label of the Month, but you can get their top releases for less right now! So whether you're drawn to gothic horror, surreal fantasy, psychological thrillers or forgotten cult cinema, Powerhouse's catalogue is packed with films waiting to be rediscovered. Here are six essential releases that deserve a place on your shelf.
Requiem for a Vampire (1971)
Few directors embraced dreamlike horror quite like Jean Rollin. Noted for his unconventional filmmaking techniques on low budgets. He blended gothic horror with eroticism and surrealism, Rollin carved out a unique place in European cult cinema, and Requiem for a Vampire remains one of his defining works.
The film follows two young women who flee into the French countryside and eventually stumble upon a ruined castle inhabited by vampires. It’s less a conventional horror film than a haunting visual experience- with some scenes even having to be shot twice for different markets due to their graphic nature.
Powerhouse's Limited Blu-ray Edition includes both versions, with deleted scenes, commentary and behind the scenes also. It is now the definitive way to experience Rollin's hypnotic film.
The Iron Rose (1973)
Staying with Jean Rollin, The Iron Rose was his fifth film and the first not to feature vampires. Instead, this psychological horror centres on a young couple on a date who decide that the best way to progress is apparently to enter a lonely cemetery, only to become trapped inside overnight.
As darkness falls, the sprawling graveyard transforms into an increasingly nightmarish maze as the couple are unable to find their way out. The film presents an atmosphere of indescribable dread through mood and ominous figures in the night, resulting in one of the most distinctly unsettling horror films you’ll probably ever see.
With bonus and deleted scenes, interviews and video essays, Indicator's release provides contextual material that highlight why The Iron Rose has steadily grown in reputation over the decades.
El Vampiro: Two Bloodsucking Tales from Mexico
While Hammer Horror and Universal Monsters often dominate discussions of vampire cinema, Mexico was quietly producing some of their own greats. El Vampiro: Two Bloodsucking Tales from Mexico brings together El Vampiro (1957) and its sequel The Vampire's Coffin (1958), introducing audiences to one of horror's most influential yet often overlooked screen vampires.
El Vampiro helped define the atmospheric black-and-white cinematography, gothic castles, and eerie mood that would become hallmarks of vampire cinema far beyond Mexico's borders. It was also among the first films to depict a vampire with elongated fangs, helping to kickstart Mexico's horror boom while influencing the gothic revival that swept through Europe in the following decade.
Indicator's two-disc blu-ray limited edition features new restorations of both films, audio commentaries, a wealth of newly produced interviews exploring the cast, crew and legacy of the series, original trailers and image galleries, plus an 80-page booklet of essays and archival material.
The Panther Women (1967)
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, The Panther Women proves that you, in fact, have not. Directed by René Cardona, this wonderfully eccentric Mexican fantasy adventure follows masked wrestlers taking on a witch cult (The Panther Women) who resurrect their leader by sacrificing the descendants of the family which murdered him. Told you that you’ve never seen anything like this- unless maybe you’re a pro wrestling fan and tuned into Lucha Underground.
Part creature feature, part wrestling movie and part pulp adventure, it's exactly the kind of gloriously offbeat cult cinema that Indicator thrives on. Beneath its wonderfully bizarre premise lies an endlessly entertaining slice of colourful 1960s genre filmmaking.
Indicator's Blu-ray restoration includes bonus footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes documentaries- making it an easy recommendation for collectors looking to discover something genuinely different.
Thirst (1979)
Whilst vampires were taking time out of mainstream popularity, Australia delivered one of the genre's most interesting modern interpretations. Rod Hardy's Thirst follows an organisation who kidnaps a woman, believing her to be the descendant of Countess Báthory- a real-life Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer who was rumoured to have had vampiric tendencies.
Thirst takes its inventive premise blending horror with science fiction to create an uneasy atmosphere that, in a lot of ways, feels quite ahead of its time. Here, vampirism is presented through corporate control and scientific experimentation.
Powerhouse's edition shines a welcome spotlight on this underrated cult favourite, complete with bonus footage, commentary, interviews and outtakes.
Cold Eyes of Fear (1971)
Enzo G. Castellari’s Cold Eyes of Fear begins as a tense hostage thriller before gradually evolving into an unpredictable blend of giallo, crime drama and psychological mystery surrounding a wealthy playboy who picks up a beautiful woman and takes her back to his uncle’s house, only to discover a corpse.
Starring Fernando Rey alongside Gianni Garko, the film unfolds almost entirely within the house, using its confined setting to build tension and shift audience expectations. Aided also by Ennio Morricone's memorable score, Cold Eyes of Fear is elevated into one of the more distinctive entries in early 1970s European cinema.
Powerhouse's Blu-ray showcases the film with an impressive restoration alongside extras including an audio commentary by critics David Flint and Adrian J. Smith. There’s also a selection of documentaries on the film's production and key contributors, archival bonus footage, image galleries, and trailers.
From gothic vampire tales and psychological nightmares to eccentric cult adventures and stylish European thrillers, Powerhouse Films continues to demonstrate why it has become one of the most respected boutique labels in physical media.
Whether you're discovering these films for the first time or upgrading a favourite classic, these six releases perfectly showcase what makes the Indicator label so special.
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