Whilst the rolling montage of deaths and planned deaths running over the opening credits of The Killer (2023) might promise a piece of ultraviolence to follow, this is instead an often quiet – unbearably quiet – and introspective film, which is utterly carried by Michael Fassbender’s magnetic, if ice-cold performance. As Fassbender’s many-named but ultimately […]
Cliff Twemlow’s life, even if you happen to be as-yet unfamiliar with him, is definitely a life worth examining. Even if you haven’t yet availed yourself of any of his films (and I hadn’t until comparatively recently) then Mancunian Man will almost certainly grant you curiosity about his acting career. But, there’s a lot more […]
“Why don’t people learn from their mistakes?” An elderly woman speaks those words at the beginning of Palimpsest (2022), and it’s a question which shapes the film which follows as we unfold a gentle, sometimes whimsical and sometimes moving story all about the ‘What ifs?’ Back to the lady who opens proceedings: she’s busy pondering […]
Ooh, this is a bleak film. I mean, really, really bleak. Once you think you’ve got through all the different layers of bleakness, there’s more down there to enjoy. When Evil Lurks (2023) certainly doesn’t misrepresent itself with that title; it’s chock-full of lurking evil. And dirty, bloody, grotty evil, too – none of this […]
As Halloween approaches, we might find ourselves wondering how a Celtic winter festival with all its attendant beliefs in the ‘thinning veil’ and the temporary proximity of the dead has managed to hang on through thousands of years of Christianity, but hey – it’s a moveable feast. Depending on where you stand, it’s anywhere from: […]
I had a strange sense of deja-vu several times when watching Robert Morgan’s first feature-length film, and the first of these is because I can never remember who anyone is or what they’ve done. So, when I first glimpsed Morgan’s very distinctive stop-motion style during the opening moments of this feature, I realised that I […]
Review by Darren Gaskell Harry Washello (Anthony Edwards) meets cute Julie Peters (Mare Winningham) and life is good as he prepares for what he believes will be a life-changing first date with her. One power outage later, Harry finds himself three and a half hours late to meet Julie at the diner where she works […]
Short film Vax (2023) is a cynical snapshot of the interplay between medical research and a profits-driven system, and one which has clearly bubbled away in the aftermath of the Covid-19 vaccine, with all of its attendant, sometimes barking mad discourse. But what Covid did was bring the subject of vaccination to the fore; whether […]
Review by Darren Gaskell Whether you’re a horror movie fan or you’d run a mile rather than watch anything remotely scary, chances are you’ll know the name of Robert Englund, propelled to icon status via his memorable portrayal of knife-gloved, stripey sweater sporting child killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare On Elm Street movies. Of […]
Art and horror have a long and fruitful relationship, from every cinematic rendering of The Portrait of Dorian Gray through to Fulci, Barker and Begos. Regrettably, End of Term (2021) won’t be making any ‘best of’ lists for its own treatment of the art theme; neither the art nor the horror are either plausible or […]
Strange goings-on are pressing in at the edges in Vincent (2023): disappearances, despair, double lives. But despite these blue-tinged, Nordic hints of horror, this turns out to be an immensely warm, often touching film about friendship which absolutely deserves to be seen. This is one of those indie cinema gems which you keep on reviewing […]