There has, in recent years, been a modest resurgence in interest in the genre of folk horror, with directors such as Ari Aster and Robert Eggers putting their own spin on recognisable folk horror features such as closed communities, local belief systems and irrational devotion to the edicts of these systems. As such, the likes […]
At this point, a good zombie film feels like a noble tradition for many horror fans but also, given the number and the scope of zombie horrors down through the years, it’s acceptable to be a little picky. Not only did the birth of zombie cinema kickstart a new, nasty, unrelenting kind of horror, but […]
By Gabby Foor and Keri O’Shea We are rounding off our coverage of Fantasia for this year with another block of short films; this time, the uniting factor is that all of these films were directed by a female director. There’s no one genre uniting these films per se, although there do seem to be […]
By Gabby Foor and Keri O’Shea We were delighted to be offered Fantasia’s short film blocks for coverage again this year. Small Gauge Trauma, the festival’s genre short film collection, is a great way to spot upcoming talent, clever homage, brand-new ideas and ingenious storytelling. As ever, the range has been incredible, with everything from […]
We know something’s up as #BOSSBABE gets underway: not only are we at a funeral, but we’re at a very glam funeral, one which could almost be a photoshoot, if not for the sales talk colouring the eulogy. This eulogy – which refers to the entrepreneurial genius of the deceased, marking her out as a […]
New Life (2023) opens in medias res: a bloodied, panicked young woman makes her way along a street, clearly fearful of being seen or stopped. She heads home, cleans herself up – but her safety and her memories of this place soon get left behind, and she’s moving again. It’s immediately clear that an old […]
Rage (2020) contains a lot of recognisable horror elements, though it utilises some intent in how it layers these elements together. The result is a watchable, at times ambitious horror film which struggles somewhat with its later pacing, but at its best offers something visually appealing and engaging. We start with a bit of a […]
There’s a shot of fallen fruit rotting in a gutter as Sometimes I think About Dying (2023) opens, and not to get into a scene-by-scene analysis of the film, but this image symbolises a lot about the story to follow. In a picturesque but doubtlessly dull coastal town, we meet Fran (Daisy Ridley). Fran is […]
Review by Darren Gaskell When directionless Taka (Sho Mineo) receives a mysterious tape containing details as to the whereabouts of his hitherto missing archaeologist brother Mune (So Yamanaka) he sets off on a rescue mission, which also comes complete with side quest relating to the retrieval of a wooden box. Of course, the wooden box […]
Home Invasion (2023) is not your standard style of documentary; there’s no talking heads here, no voiceover, no familiar features as such. Instead, it all unfolds via on-screen text, which displays to viewers via what looks like an aperture, representing the film’s key subject matter (or at least, key for the first hour): the home […]
Слава Україні Героям слава!Glory to Ukraine, Glory to the Heroes! In the early hours of February 22nd, 2022, the Russian state began an illegal and unprovoked military invasion of the sovereign state of Ukraine, heralded by a nationwide blitzkrieg air attack. The country was thrown into instant chaos, as two million people fled their homes […]