In the opening scene of documentary film Children of The Wicker Man, we see one of Robin Hardy’s sons taking receipt of some of his late father’s possessions – notably reels of film, papers and production notes related to the 1973 film. It’s this which prompts Justin to reach out to some of Hardy’s other […]
Hokum (2026) is all about the periphery of stories. Legends, tales within tales, rumours, fractured biographies. Feelings and memories, not linearity and convention – which works really well in this deliberately splintered, but always impactful horror. Even as the opening credits roll we start with a story within a story, given that our protagonist Ohm […]
‘Tell me a story’, says the therapist at the beginning of Touch Me (2025) – though specifying that it should be a fantastical kind of story. Swap out the details, she says, but find a way of telling me about something which has traumatised you. Well, boy does Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) oblige, offering up […]
In 1983, the Director Of Public Prosecutions published its first list of movies which were tagged with the tabloid-friendly label of Video Nasties. These cinematic outliers were deemed to have to power to deprave and corrupt and, if the title in question had been successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959, any dealer […]
In 1983, the Director Of Public Prosecutions published its first list of movies which were tagged with the tabloid-friendly label of Video Nasties. These cinematic outliers were deemed to have to power to deprave and corrupt and, if the title in question had been successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959, any dealer […]
We start in a giallo-lit spin class as the opening credits of Thinestra (2025) run; the credits are rolling as if they’re on wheels, too. It’s a neat statement of visual intent for a film which takes beauty norms, particularly around weight, as a central theme, playing with aesthetics and style as it goes. In […]
Not short on ideas but perhaps short on ways to finally unite them all, I Know Exactly How You Die (2026) finds a place in that small but dedicated subgenre of horror which takes a fantastical look at the creative process. We start with an incredibly grisly, attention-grabbing start (as is customary, as filmmakers tend […]
An Irish marital body horror? Why not? A Hand to Hold is a highly entertaining short film which melds a recognisably lilting sense of humour with some outrageous practical gore effects. We start with an older couple, Moira (Frances Barber) and Patrick (Murray McArthur). Patrick is in ill-health – rigged up to a morphine drip, […]
Syria: six years previously. Journalist Jason Frey (Aneurin Barnard) and a female colleague have been captured by Isis; the woman’s refusal to fulfil their kidnappers’ demands, to read out an address on video, results in her losing her life, whilst Frey is maimed, having his hand smashed. He, however, does survive, and escapes: once back […]
Oh, we know what’s coming as the opening scenes of City Wide Fever (2025) appear on screen, and it’s good: as soon as we start to roll, the New York cityscape blends with a nightmarish montage of masked figures and gritty set pieces, showing the audience a film which wears its neo-giallo credentials openly and […]
A nameless female gravedigger (director Grace Glowicki) has a work-related issue: she stinks. This has made finding a partner very difficult. Who wants a girlfriend who smells of grave dirt and dead things? She tries to fix the issue by concocting perfumes for herself – which don’t work. The day (or night) job goes on, […]