By James Whittington, 25th February 2026
An action-packed mix of cult classics, popular remakes and contemporary thrillers headline LEGEND's selection of eleven Channel premieres in March, spearheaded by Kathryn Bigelow's gripping, suspenseful, and brilliantly crafted, ZERO DARK THIRTY, which dramatises the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Then there is the 2005 action-packed remake of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, starring Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne, Clint Eastwood's high-stakes assassination thriller THE EIGER SANCTION. and Frank Mitchell's survival drama ALIVE, the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team forced to eat the flesh of their dead companions following a plane crash.
Further Channel premieres include grindhouse-inspired exploitation thriller MACHETE, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, the adrenaline-fueled SAFE HOUSE, starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzil Washington, savage adventure THE ISLAND (1980), starring Michael Caine, gritty action-thriller CONTRABAND, a remake of the 2008 Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam, staring Mark Wahlberg, serial-killer thriller D-TOX, starring Sylvester Stallone, David Twohy's taut submarine supernatural horror-thriller BELOW, and Kim Lee-Woon's Neo-Western THE LAST STAND, that marks Arnold Schwarzenegger's first leading role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
Let's start right at the beginning as on the 1st we have a compelling movie, ALIVE. Based on a true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashes in the remote Andes mountains in 1972, forcing the stranded survivors to resort to extreme measures, including cannibalism, to stay alive while awaiting rescue. It chronicles their harrowing ordeal and remarkable endurance against brutal cold and starvation. Stars Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton and Bruce Ramsay. Wild fantasy on the 6th in MACHETE. A former Mexican Federal agent known as Machete (Danny Trejo) roams Texas streets as a vigilante. Hired to perform a covert hit, he is double-crossed and forced to go on the run. Machete may be down, but not out, and he carves a path of blood, bullets and broken hearts in his quest to settle the score. A star-studded remake of a John Carpenter classic on the 7th, ASSAULT ON PRECINT 13. A bus carrying criminals, including Marion (Laurence Fishburne), is rerouted to Detroit's soon-to-be-closed Precinct 13. All communications with the outside world are cut off, and Jake (Ethan Hawke), an emotionally volatile police sergeant, is forced to work with the criminals to survive an attack on the precinct by a group of armed men.
ZERO DARK THIRTY is a gripping tale of determination and you can catch it on the 8th. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden becomes one of the most-wanted men on the planet. Ultimately, it is the work of a dedicated female operative (Jessica Chastain) that proves instrumental in finally locating bin Laden. In May 2011, Navy SEALs launch a nighttime strike… Crime thrills on the 14th as we visit the SAFE HOUSE. Rookie CIA agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) gets the chance to prove himself when Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), a turncoat operative, is brought to Weston's safe house for debriefing. But soon after Frost's arrival, mercenaries attack, and Weston and Frost barely escape with their lives. The two men must join forces and try to stay alive long enough to figure out who wants them dead. A controversial thriller starring Michael Caine has its channel premiere on the 15th, THE ISLAND. Journalist Blair Maynard (Caine) is assigned to explore the Bermuda Triangle, where thousands of boats have disappeared in a three-year span. When he leaves with his adolescent son, their boat is shanghaied by a group of pirates who see father and son as new blood for their increasingly inbred clan.
We take a peek into the dark side of crime on the 21st in CONTRABAND. Mark Wahlberg stars as a security guard and former alcohol smuggler who is tempted back into the illicit business after encountering financial troubles. The thriller also stars Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Diego Luna, and Giovani Ribisis, and is directed by Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur, re-imagining his original film in this high-octane remake. Sylvester Stallone is at his best in the crime thriller D-TOX on the 22nd. He stars as a cop who goes on a suicidal alcohol binge after witnessing a brutal murder on the job. After he checks into a rehab clinic specialising in police officers, he finds that someone is murdering them one by one. The cast includes Tony Berenger and Emmy winner Charles S. Dutton. Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, THE EIGER SANCTION on the 26th concerns Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood), a fine art professor and retired assassin, who is blackmailed back into service by a secret government agency to avenge a murdered friend, forcing him to join a climbing expedition up the treacherous Eiger North Face in Switzerland to identify and eliminate a Soviet spy among the mountaineers. THE LAST STAND on the 28th focuses on a former narcotics officer in the LAPD, Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarnegger) who has settled into a peaceful life as sheriff of a quiet border town. That peace is shattered when Gabriel Cortez, a vicious crime lord, escapes from FBI custody and speeds toward Ray's town with a band of mercenaries. Ray soon finds he must rally his team and take matters into his own hands. We end the month with the tense thriller BELOW on the 29th. The submarine U.S.S. Manta had a perfect record until the mysterious death of its captain. The next-in-command, Lt. Richard Brice (Bruce Greenwood) is determined to steer his crew back to safety. But after three battle survivors board the sub, bizarre and frightening things begin to happen as crew members begin to disappear, Ensign Douglas O'Dell (Matthew Davis) must piece together the puzzles of the submarine's past before it is too late to resurface alive.
Related show tags: ALIVE, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, ZERO DARK THIRTY, THE EIGER SANCTION, MACHETE, SAFE HOUSE, THE ISLAND, CONTRABAND, D-TOX, BELOW, THE LAST STAND MORE FEATURES September contains channel premiers from Travolta, Lundgren and JCVD! Posted on 26th August 2026
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