★★★ This atmospheric folk horror is the feature debut from Teresa Sutherland (who among other things was a writer on the so-so horror Netflix series Midnight Mass). Georgina Campbell (best known for her starring role in the bonkers Barbarian) takes the lead here as Lennon, a troubled young woman who starts a new job as... Continue Reading →
★★★ If you don’t know the name Rose Dugdale (and I didn’t before watching this film) you probably soon will thanks to Imogen Poots’ exceptional performance in this biopic about this fascinating woman. Dugdale was born into a wealthy English family - her millionaire father was an underwriter at Lloyd's of London who owned an estate... Continue Reading →
The Summer with Carmen is a witty, sun-soaked film set in Athens, following best friends who recall a tumultuous summer and aspire to make a movie. The story cleverly incorporates a film within a film, exploring themes of masculinity, love, friendship, and filmmaking. The strong performances and bold storytelling make it a standout at this year's BFI Flare LGBTQIA+ film festival.
★★★ In 2019, Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak made her English language debut with Dirty God, in which a young woman, played to great acclaim by newcomer Vicky Knight, had to deal with her rage while piecing her life back together following an acid attack which left her disfigured. Knight takes centre stage again in Polak’s... Continue Reading →
★★★★★ Broadcasting stage productions on cinema screens, by way of National Theatre Live for example, has become a commonplace way of widening access and broadening audiences for theatre. Here, director Sean Mathias, has come up with an alternative way of bringing the stage to the screen, via this engaging, modern version of Hamlet. The ever-awesome... Continue Reading →
★★★ Setting out its stall early (the punning title says it all) Matthew Goodhue’s film is not trying to be The Birds, Jaws, Arachnophobia or even Lake Placid, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Imagine if you will something more akin to the daft delights of Eight Legged Freaks or Zombeavers, crossed with Mean... Continue Reading →
★★★ Slacker comedy The Civil Dead is a surprisingly bleak slice of satire from acting and comedy duo Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas. Tatum plays a version of himself, also called Clay, who in this film is a mostly unsuccessful photographer with a terrible haircut cheating his way to earning some cash by pretending to lease his... Continue Reading →
★★ A massive homage to horror or just plain derivative? That’s the question I was left with after watching this 80s style movie from writer/director Michael Bafaro. The film starts with a car accident, triggered when a bunch of thieves try to raid a passing lorry. We don’t find out what it is the robbers were... Continue Reading →
Grimmfest, Manchester’s international horror film festival returns in October with a three day event crammed with shorts and features, many of which are regional, UK or even international premieres. Here's just a selection of what's on offer and for more information and to buy passes for this fantastic event head over to the Grimmfest website. There's... Continue Reading →
★★★★ The unnervingly playful film Good Boy opens gently as we are given a glimpse into Christian and his dog Frank’s day to day life in Christian’s rather grand Norwegian house. Christian is setting up a date on Tinder while Frank happily plays with his dog toys in the living room. There’s just one thing.... Continue Reading →
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