As the stage is set for another bloody awful year of Nicolas Cage releasing eight thousand crappy films, we thought we’d take you on a whistle-stop tour back through his entire demented oeuvre since the Millennium. Not suitable for readers who are sensitive to unpleasant hairstyles.

Ingrid Pitt, bloodstained half-dressed vamp extraordinaire, has taken to her coffin for the final time aged 73.

Production company Hammer continue their return to form with Wake Wood, a chilling horror set in the Irish countryside. On paper it could be dismissed as an Irish version of The Wicker Man, but sets itself apart by grappling with the realities of grief, the occult, and how to safely deal with cattle. It’s not perfect, but strong performances, a strangely Scandinavian feel (part of the filming took place in Sweden) and artistic flair makes Wake Wood an enjoyable addition to Hammer’s canon.

Not content with desecrating the legacy of such horror classics as The Wicker Man, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hitchcock’s own Psycho, Hollywood is now setting out to turn The Birds into yet another lifeless, pointless, remake.

Like some sort of festive Dickensian fable, the good, humble people of Bath were yesterday treated to the kind of visit you don’t even get once a year. Thousands – yes, thousands – of people flocked to the historic city’s centre last night to witness a true Christmas Miracle: Nicolas Cage turning on the local Christmas lights.

The well known and highly respected actor Edward Woodward OBE has died near his home in Padstow. He was 79 years old. Born in 1930, Woodward is probably best known to film lovers for his role of Sergeant Neil Howie in the classic 1973 horror film The Wicker Man.