Review by Ben Bussey Ambition; perhaps both the most vital, yet also most hazardous attribute a filmmaker can have. If you aim high and deliver, you will vindicate yourself and by all rights should be applauded for it. However, if you fall short of the mark you may well end up the subject of a […]
Review by Stephanie Scaife Eureka Entertainment brings us the next instalment from their Masters of Cinema series in the form of the little known pseudo-documentary called Punishment Park, directed by cult British director Peter Watkins (The War Game, Culloden). After a poor critical response and with its tough, political subject matter ensuring distribution near impossible, […]
Review by Ben Bussey In another fortuitous turn of events, our Japanese Exploitation month sees a new release from one of the most eminent contemporary J-sploitation directors, Noboru Iguchi. Now, it’s a bit strange to sit down to watch the ninth film of a film franchise – itself adapted from a long-running manga series – […]
Review by Nia Edwards-Behi If I may, before I begin to review this film properly, get a complaint out of the way. Whoever designed the cover of this DVD needs a pat on the back for having seen the cover for the I Spit on Your Grave remake and a big fat medal for thinking […]
Review by Ben Bussey There is a particular potency to films (or stories told in any medium, for that matter) which go to lengths to establish a naturalistic context, then introduce a supernatural element. When we are presented with a story world which we can swallow as real, it gives that bit more power to […]
by Ben Bussey Right then… 2011. Okay. Man, these end of year reviews don’t half do my head in. There’s always a degree of assumption about them; an implication that the one writing the list has impeccable taste and saw everything of note that was released in the twelve months previous. This year more than […]
Review by Keri O’Shea 2011 has been a bumper year for horror comedies, it seems. At least, I’ve had the benefit of a pretty clear run of horror-comedies this year that have worked very well – which is a nice surprise, as it can be rough terrain at times – neither horror nor comedy, fish […]
Review by Nia Edwards-Behi Editor’s note: be warned that this review contains substantial spoilers. For a less spoilery (though not much more postive) appraisal, see Ben’s review from FrightFest. Alternatively, stop reading once you reach the picture of the person in the funny-looking mask… It’s always pleasing to witness a British genre film gain some […]
by Keri O’Shea At this time of year, you invariably hear a great deal about keeping the ‘true meaning’ of Christmas: it’s too schmaltzy, it’s too commercial, it isn’t what it was… well, it certainly isn’t what it was, but the idea that Christmas has always been a peaceable Christian festival is just plain incorrect. […]
Review by Ben Bussey Okay. At least 600 words on a movie about man-eating sharks that swim in the sand instead of the sea. I can do this. Of course I can. Never mind that it basically requires no review as the title, DVD cover and trailer tell you all you need to know. Never […]
Review by Keri O’Shea I’m going to start this review with a confession: I’m not a huge fan of the giallo genre. Gialli are stylish to look at, but once I get over the visual good stuff I find their plots are often contrived to the point of predictability, even when the eventual outcomes are […]