THE 10th anniversary of a Newport-born director’s cult horror movie is being marked by its re-release on DVD.

Julian Richards’ The Last Horror Movie picked up a string of awards when it initially appeared, and made headlines at the Cannes Film Festival following a marketing campaign that saw the seafront boulevard the Croisette plastered with hundreds of fake police wanted posters featuring the film’s anti-hero Max Perry.

Wedding photographer Perry, played by Kevin Howarth, is a serial killer bent on making the ultimate film about murder. He records his murders over a rented horror film VHS tape before returning it to the store and waiting for the next person – his next victim – to rent it.

National Film School graduate Richards had already made waves in the film industry with his 1997 debut film Darklands, shot in Newport and other parts of South Wales.

The Last Horror Movie debuted at horror film festival FrightFest and picked up 16 awards, including best film at the New York Independent Horror Film Festival, best film at the Eerie Horror Film Festival and the Melies D’Argent prize for Best European Fantasy Film.

Picked up for distribution in the USA following the Cannes marketing campaign, The Last Horror Movie was screened in 20 countries. On its initial DVD release it remained at number two in the UK charts for more than a month, in competition with Hollywood blockbusters.

The 10th anniversary DVD, from Soda Pictures, will be released in the UK on May 5, with a US re-release scheduled for August. It takes the form of a special collectors edition, including a director’s commentary, behind the scenes footage and deleted scenes.