By Keri O’Shea That lesser-known member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Simeon Solomon, caused quite a stir when he exhibited his painting, entitled Habet! at the Royal Academy in 1865. Up until that point, he had been known for his religious tableaux and his sleepy, rather sexually ambiguous groups of figures – reclining lovers, figures […]
By Ben Bussey The latest from US no-budget indie horror filmmaker Dustin Wayde Mills is based around a simple but potent “what if” question. Our protagonist is an anonymous serial killer played by Reagan Root, who in the opening scene emotionlessly puts a gun to her head and ends her own life. The big “what if,” […]
By Keri O’Shea Well, here’s the thing: although she seems to spend the majority of her time being trailed by the paparazzi while she does mundane things like walking and shopping, apparently Katie Holmes (yes, her) is an actress. Who knew? Well, you probably all knew, and yeah, okay, I knew too – but (whispers) […]
By Keri O’Shea The zombie, one of our most well-worn movie monsters, shows no sign of letting up, and even though zombies have made it into the mainstream, they remain a temptation to indie filmmakers keen to exploit the relatively easy-to-create hordes that bring the horror. All the same, I really wouldn’t want to make […]
This fascinating, equal parts inspirational and cautionary tale might rival Macbeth in its portrayal of the cost of ambition – and for this writer, plus many other British readers who were around in the 1980s, there’s a curiously personal element given how that ambition had rather significant consequences in the UK. The matter only comes […]
By Svetlana Fedotov You ever feel like someone is out to get you? Like someone or something is purposely hounding you, intent on making every day of your life just a tiny bit more miserable than the last? If so, then you’re either batshit insane or completely on point, and luckily (or unluckily) for the […]
Given that Italian exploitation cinema of the 70s and 80s is among the oddest in the world, it seems quite the feat to find an Italian movie of that era which is a bit odd even by the nation’s standards. The principle claim to fame of Luigi Cozzi’s Contamination in the UK is the fact […]
By Ben Bussey I realise it’s bad form to start off a review with a stab at someone else’s, however… as well acquainted as we are with absurd, over-enthusiastic DVD cover quotes which invariably promise far more than the film itself ultimately has to offer, the choice of cover quote for Adam Green’s latest movie […]
It’s no surprise when a low-budget straight to DVD shark movie turns out to be complete and utter garbage, but there’s a particularly bitter sting in the case of Shark Killer. Contrary to the utterly generic ominous fin cover art chosen by distributor Image Entertainment, this was a movie that, on a conceptual level at […]
British contributions to the sword and sorcery genre are surprisingly few and far between. The Americans and Italians churned them out like butter, but the UK was a rather less active participant. It’s not too hard to see why; the genre came to prominence after John Milius struck gold (or perhaps ‘forged steel’ would be […]
Opening disclaimer: at the time of writing I’ve yet to get through the entire seven disc Blu-ray set that Studiocanal have lovingly put together for Series 5 of TV classic The Avengers (in the wake of series 4 enjoying similar treatment earlier this year). However, I just had to bring this review forward a little, […]