Category: Reviews

All Roads Lead to Hell

Buchan excels at short and twisted love stories, but it’s Simmonds’ graphic artwork that makes the author's prose shine.

/ February 16, 2014

The Thing (Devil’s Advocates)

An excellent study in its own right, well researched, informative and intelligently written in a clear, presentable style.

/ February 15, 2014

The Complex

Atmospheric and beautifully shot, it may not take any original paths, but should appeal to admirers of Japanese horror cinema.

/ January 6, 2014

Frankenstein (TV Miniseries, 2004)

A bloodless take that merely skims the surface of the story’s rich depth. Uninspiring direction further renders this dreary.

/ January 3, 2014

Shackled

A wonderful beginning to a story that promises surreal, and what follows calls to mind David Lynch in its dreamlike quality.

/ November 25, 2013

The People Under the Stairs

While it is often overlooked, it is an effective horror flick with a dark sense of unease that is still incredibly palpable.

/ October 29, 2013

My Amityville Horror

My Amityville Horror poses many questions, but by the film’s conclusion, very few have actually been answered.

/ October 23, 2013

Lifeforce

Unstrained and anarchic, Lifeforce may not be considered Hooper’s best work, but it’s certainly one of his most wildly entertaining.

/ October 10, 2013

Sharknado

Fearless in its idea, but disappointingly lacks the direction and acting needed to pull off its own wacky intellections.

/ September 29, 2013

Citadel

Falls short of its early promise, but a worthwhile experience for picking at the scab of the more desolate side of life.

/ September 27, 2013

Insidious: Chapter 2

Although the plot loses some of its intrigue, Wan superbly distracts us with his talent to make the audience feel constantly unsettled.

/ September 10, 2013

FrightFest: Big Bad Wolves

Deftly balancing genres, it's a remarkable script that never misses a beat, truly belying the writers' inexperience.

/ August 26, 2013

FrightFest: In Fear

A smart screenplay delivers an effective psychological thriller that wastes no time in initiating a tension that remains taut.

/ August 25, 2013

FrightFest: Missionary

Anthony DiBlasi maintains a firm hand on the reins and ensures Missionary slow-burns its way to a satisfying and moving finale.

/ August 25, 2013

FrightFest: No One Lives

Ryûhei Kitamura's second US venture is a riot; revelling in its throwaway nonsense, it's fun from the get-go and knows it.

/ August 24, 2013

FrightFest: The Paranormal Diaries – Clophill

One hell of a dull time, with nothing other than repetitive speculation to lull one to sleep.

/ August 24, 2013

FrightFest: Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman

Crams in every bit of exploitation style it can into the first 10 minutes alone.

/ August 24, 2013

FrightFest: Rewind This!

Nothing but fun is to be had here, the film a catalogue of gore and nudity posing as a behind-the-scenes survey of SFX techniques.

/ August 24, 2013

FrightFest: Haunter

Showcases a great deal of devil in its detail, with a tight-knit, metaphysical framework that may require multiple viewings.

/ August 23, 2013

FrightFest: 100 Bloody Acres

The upbeat tone is maintained so thoroughly that, even when the blood rises in gouts, it doesn't dampen the lightheartedness.

/ August 23, 2013

FrightFest: V/H/S/2

Improves on the formula established by the original film; by slim-lining the segments, and by featuring fewer, the impact is undeniable.

/ August 23, 2013

FrightFest: Wither

An entertaining if not very original demonic possession slash zombie gorefest that, at the very least, showcases energy and zest.

/ August 23, 2013

FrightFest: Hansel and Gretel – The 420 Witch

Incredibly fun with some fantastic gore, but falls just short of its own expectations.

/ August 23, 2013

FrightFest: Antisocial

Compare Antisocial to projects with similar production constraints, and there is no parallel in terms of cinematic experience.

/ August 23, 2013

FrightFest: The Dyatlov Pass Incident

The final act crosses the line between fantastical to slightly amusing ridiculousness.

/ August 23, 2013

Possession

Stark, exhilarating and utterly lacking in compromise, Andrzej Zulawski's film is an emotionally brutal watch.

/ July 29, 2013

The Shadow Out of Time

A smooth read, especially if you’re a well-versed Lovecraft fan. If you’re not, Culbard might be able to convince you.

/ June 24, 2013

The Seasoning House

A sense of conviction and commitment to realism prevents the film from seeming an exercise in exploitation.

/ June 16, 2013

Infection Z

Flounders between drafts, as confused as its one-dimensional characters. A jarring edit does nothing to help matters.

/ June 7, 2013

Hellsing Ultimate Volume 5–8

Follows original events more closely and benefits from this with a much more coherent and progressive storyline.

/ May 19, 2013

La Belle Dame sans Merci

A read with huge amounts of intrigue; there are enough unanswered questions to leave the reader looking forward to part two.

/ May 15, 2013

Konga

A hoot from beginning to end, this is sheer B-movie lunacy of remarkably bad proportions, and all the more essential for it.

/ May 13, 2013

Slice & Dice: The Slasher Film Forever

Enjoyable enough, but is more fond nostalgia as opposed to a true study of the subgenre.

/ May 12, 2013

The ABCs of Death

The real standout is "Dogfight" from Marcel Sarmiento, an unsettling piece that lingers longer than any other story here.

/ April 26, 2013

Evil Dead

Overall, what the film does, which is torture porn, it does well. But Evil Dead does not do The Evil Dead well.

/ April 18, 2013

Evil Dead 2

The extras on offer here earn this release its entitlement to the term 'special edition', where so many others fail.

/ April 15, 2013

I Didn’t Come Here to Die

Thoroughly unlikeable characters played by terrible actors spout unnecessary predictive dialogue in lieu of characterisation.

/ April 14, 2013

The Corridor

A movie which feels like the filmmakers knew what they wanted to achieve, but were unsure on how to go about it.

/ April 4, 2013

Repeaters

Accepted for what it is, an enjoyable experience which admirably avoided becoming Groundhog Day in another guise.

/ March 22, 2013

The Bay

Piecing together its story in multi-format, it's an interesting spin on found footage, but it falls victim to an over-zealous edit.

/ March 18, 2013

247°F

Two opportunities for interesting subplot that could alleviate the tedium of watching an unlikeable trio pant and bicker were missed.

/ March 18, 2013

The Fallow Field

That rarest of films, one that genuinely keeps you guessing to culminate in some palpable tension come the third act.

/ March 11, 2013

Dracula (1958)

This new cut includes previously excised moments, while the top-drawer special features are worth the retail price alone.

/ February 28, 2013

Midnight Son

Eschews many of the vampire subgenre's tropes to present something more akin to a quietly observed character study.

/ February 11, 2013

London Falling

An interesting slab of urban fantasy, but while Cornell is incredibly talented at setting the scene, he isn’t as gifted in capturing dialect.

/ February 4, 2013

Chained

When the film achieves nuance it hints at its unrealised potential. Conversely, attempts at non-visual metaphor are clumsy.

/ February 1, 2013

Piranha

Schlocky good fun, but Piranha straddles the line between dull and entertaining, twiddling its thumbs between fish attacks.

/ January 23, 2013

Vampire Ecstasy

After I had viewed it as many times as I could stand, I had to put on Red Roses of Passion to restore my respect for Sarno.

/ January 21, 2013

Christmas Evil

A classic in its own unique way, embraced now for 30 years by those who savour off-beat films that foil expectations.

/ December 21, 2012

Deadbeats

An incredible amount of humour, some memorable characters, and contextualisation that adds extra depth.

/ December 7, 2012