Category: Reviews
A Dark Song
An astonishing and brave feature debut that marks director-writer Liam Gavin as one to watch. Highly recommended.
Kuso
With the potential to become an instant cult classic, Kuso is a 90-minute assault on the senses which begs repeated viewing.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Arrow present a limited 4K restoration of Dario Argento's startlingly assured directorial debut.
Demon Hunter
Possessing a strong comic book aesthetic, Demon Hunter echoes the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Blade.
Lake Bodom
Masterfully blends suspense with breakneck violence to produce what is perhaps one of the best teen slashers of the 21st century.
Halfworlds Season One
Halfworlds brings a strong aesthetic via excellent concept but is ultimately let down by poor pacing and a bad cast.
Penny Dreadful: The Awakening #1
A huge deviation in tone from the derelict moodiness captured by director J. A. Bayona, despite some wonderful artwork.
We Go On
A fascinating central premise strongly evokes The Twilight Zone, the focused script ensuring an insular, intimate atmosphere.
Rare Breeds
A dark, terse and keenly paced little chiller that brims with unsettling ideas and nightmarish detail, subverting expectations.
Blind Sun
Explores uncomfortable humanitarian and environmental issues, but these themes fail to harmonise with supernatural elements.
Santa Clarita Diet
Drew Barrymore shines in a stylised affair that revels in a refreshing juxtaposition of viscera with middle-class suburbia.
Under the Shadow
A triumphant debut effort which offers unique tension and poignancy and isn’t afraid to confront uncomfortable cultural realities.
Blair Witch
Dream team Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett bring an unusually hit-and-miss affair that nevertheless delivers in a frenetic final act.
Train to Busan
Sardonic elements balance with emphatic characters and sharp camerawork to ensure the film's anxious torsion maintains its focus.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Cuts to the core of the horror without ever diluting or compromising M. R. James’ carefully woven plots. Recommended for die-hard enthusiasts.
Lucifer (TV Series)
Featuring the Devil in his most vanilla of forms, horror fans will be left wanting; Lucifer is disappointingly sparse on strong imagery.
Wolf Creek (TV Series)
Australian outback killer Mick Taylor returns in Wolf Creek the series, an addictively unsettling watch that comes highly recommended.
Holidays
As is generally the case for an anthology, Holidays is a mixed bag, touching all bases between effectively chillsome and irritating.
Observance
Presented as more a thought piece than coherent story, Observance is a truly psychological film and effectively unsettling.
The Girl with All the Gifts
Uses all the hallmarks of Britain’s distinctive post-apocalyptic zombie cannon to make for powerfully relatable, bleak scenes.
Cell
Stephen King cultists will find the humour and originality of the author firmly intact, but perhaps only in fragments and flashes.
Prime Cuts: Vol. 2
A sardonic and entertaining chapter in an ambitious and bizarre adaptation, but disappointingly lacks allegorical meat.
Bachelor Games
Ultimately, Bachelor Games falls flat due to lacking commitment to its ideas, but the comedy stitches it together, albeit loosely.
Limbo
Ambitious and bizarre, Limbo is a hallucinogenic rollercoaster that takes giddy pride in disintegrating reality and reliability.
Some Kind of Hate
Beautifully filmed, with a bleak karmic mantra that makes for a frequently intense viewing experience.
Night of the Living Deb
A comic, upbeat tone throughout that features more one-liners than you can shake a severed arm at.
The Sand
There is nothing to recommend here; as a creature feature (mostly) missing its creature, The Sand is an arduous watch.
Estranged
Could have been so much more, but still an alluring watch which bursts with style and vengeful violence.
Curtain
Gleefully absurd, a gonzo sense of humour ensures that Curtain is a disarmingly compelling and bizarro genre gem.
Landmine Goes Click
An almost perfect exercise in queasy tension, but would benefit from a tighter script and better characterisation.
The X-Files FAQ
The X-Files FAQ is an enriching and accessible exploration of one of television’s most imaginative and popular shows.
Frankenstein (2015)
Bernard Rose’s Frankenstein is a compelling and thought-provoking yarn that retains an air of unpredictability.
Navy SEALS vs. Zombies
With its pallid execution and rudimentary story, Navy SEALS vs. Zombies is a highly unremarkable film indeed.
Backtrack
With a tenuously linked story that lacks supernatural finesse, Backtrack is confused, and a tiresome experience.
Prime Cuts: Vol. 1
Rawly sketched artwork complements the abstract plot line, which will please the exploitation and pulp fiction aficionado.
The Art of Stephen Jones’ Horror
Horror relies on image to promote terror and bring hideous ideas to life.
The Messenger
A missed opportunity for exploration of the relationship between mental illness and the supernatural.
Bait
Burrows beneath your skin from the off, with a sly edit that ekes out the tension to unbearable levels.
Cub
For a first-time feature, Cub is a multi-faceted approach that proves too ambitious, let down by incomplete narrative.
The Blair Witch Project (Devil’s Advocates)
Successfully posits the film as one of the most influential titles in horror cinema history.
The Curse of Frankenstein (Devil’s Advocates)
A close analysis of Jimmy Sangster’s script and the differences between film and book.
Black Sunday (Devil’s Advocates)
Fascinating reading, further highlighting how groundbreaking Mario Bava’s film was.
Housebound
A well-written, well-paced screenplay gradually builds tension and intrigue, ensuring the viewer is riveted throughout.
100 Bloody Acres
100 Bloody Acres is an excellent example of comedy-horror that gets the balance just right, delivering a thoughtfully layered story.
An Evening of Irish Horror
With their ingenious recreations of radio productions from a bygone era, the troupe afford us a glimpse into the past.
Killer Mermaids
Coming from a confused premise, Killer Mermaids is an empty affair that lacks subplot and character arc.
Unhallowed Ground
A wealth of interesting ideas remain undeveloped, while rudimentary direction fails to make the most of the moody location.
Can’t Come Out to Play
What could have easily been melodramatic drivel is rendered surprisingly powerful with certain moments packing an emotional wallop.
Twisted Tales
Holland would be well advised to place the emphasis on stronger scripts and to dispense with his trifling on-screen introductions.
Burying the Ex
Populated by stock types, the story is backed by little in the way of characterisation, and missing a necessary campiness.