By Tristan Bishop Editor’s note: as we come to the close of the year, keep an eye on Brutal As Hell for a run-down of our favourite movies of 2013. First up is Tristan, seeing the year out with a range of movies that feature parallel universes, human trafficking and some old school creepiness along […]
By Kit Rathenar There are certain things that have always, historically, been the province of teenagers in a way that they can never quite belong to any other section of society. Every generation thinks they invented sex, drugs and rock’n’roll; and in a sense they’re right, because these are rites of passage such that it […]
Review by Quin I feel like I have been waiting my whole life to see this movie. I grew up about an hour away from Disneyland. From about the age of 4 until I was 12, my family would spend the day there at least once a year. This was just enough time to not […]
Review by Tristan Bishop Watching a lot of low budget films can be a testing, if occasionally rewarding experience. For every hidden gem you stumble across that leaves you wide-eyed and eulogising its greatness to your friends, there are a least fifteen titles that you could happily sleep through, and a few more that make […]
Review by Ben Bussey “I may see dead people – but then by God, I do something about it.” I won’t deny, as statement-of-intent one-liners go, it’s not a bad one. I haven’t read the 2003 Dean Koontz novel on which this movie is based, but I’m going to go out on a limb and […]
By Comix There’s nothing like a good villain to really make a superhero series pop. Sure, you can say it’s the plot, or the depth of hero’s physique rippling with sexy muscles, but when you see that first curled grin of the protagonist’s arch-nemesis creeping in from the shadows, you get a little tingly in […]
By Stephanie Scaife In the words of John Carpenter, “Cronenberg is better than all the rest of us combined,” and arguably he may indeed be correct; but what is irrefutable is that Cronenberg is the founding father and grand master of body horror, with a singular vision that is quite unlike any other filmmaker. Starting […]
Review by Quin I spent almost the first third of this movie trying to figure out why the lead actress looked so familiar. This probably says something about my reading comprehension or my attention to detail, because in the blurb about the film, it clearly says that Nicole Fox was a contestant on America’s Next […]
Review by Comix For every one successful series to emerge out of the pandemonium that is comic fandom, there are dozens to have appeared and subsequently disappeared into the two-tone background. Untold stories of one-shot superheroes, strange romances, and paranormal mysteries, left behind to rot in the gloated memories of those who say ‘it was […]
By Tristan Bishop Hal Needham, who sadly passed away at the age of 82 earlier this year, was quite the force in modern cinema. Starting his career as a stuntman way back in 1956, he eventually became the highest-paid professional in his field, and was responsible for countless innovations in stunt technique and technology. He […]
Review by Ben Bussey High concept filmmaking is alive and well in the 21st century. Whether it’s a megabudget studio theatrical release or a microbudget straight-to-DVD, if you can sum it up in a sentence chances are you can sell it. Pacific Rim? Monsters versus robots. Megashark Vs. Giant Octopus? Erm… there’s a clue in […]