Tag: Drama
The Witch
Commitment to authenticity creates a genuinely foreboding, oppressive climate that engulfs The Witch and its characters.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
A delirious trip into the culture of the terminally online, with a sense of unease that's repellent and deeply relatable.
Agnes
Peppered with deadpan comedy, Agnes is a film of two halves that examines faith, loss, and what it truly means to be possessed.
The Exorcism of God
Creepy set pieces compound sequences that build to crescendo and do not relent, while quiet moments offer little solace.
My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To
Incredible performances drive an emotional weight that oozes a transcendent power guaranteed to haunt you.
Threshold
An impressive slow burner that develops beautifully through to a spine-chilling climax, with unexpected, shocking results.
Relic
A nuanced study of dementia and its alienating effects; an exceptional screenplay creates thematic cues throughout that can be felt in every microfibre.
Rift
Ambiguous and beautifully insidious as result, Rift is an impressive sophomore effort from Icelandic filmmaker Erlingur Thoroddsen.
A Dark Song
An astonishing and brave feature debut that marks director-writer Liam Gavin as one to watch. Highly recommended.
Frankenstein (2015)
Bernard Rose’s Frankenstein is a compelling and thought-provoking yarn that retains an air of unpredictability.
The Messenger
A missed opportunity for exploration of the relationship between mental illness and the supernatural.
Can’t Come Out to Play
What could have easily been melodramatic drivel is rendered surprisingly powerful with certain moments packing an emotional wallop.
What’s Left of Us
Boasts edgy performances and a script which focuses on the here and now rather than excessive backstory.
We Are What We Are (2013)
Carefully conceals the cannibalism at its heart in favour of the examination of familial roles, rites of passage and ritualism.
Only Lovers Left Alive
Rich characterisation, an intriguing premise and delicately handled direction enhance this full-blooded yarn.
Frankenstein (TV Miniseries, 2004)
A bloodless take that merely skims the surface of the story’s rich depth. Uninspiring direction further renders this dreary.
FrightFest: Haunter
Showcases a great deal of devil in its detail, with a tight-knit, metaphysical framework that may require multiple viewings.
Possession
Stark, exhilarating and utterly lacking in compromise, Andrzej Zulawski's film is an emotionally brutal watch.
The Seasoning House
A sense of conviction and commitment to realism prevents the film from seeming an exercise in exploitation.
The Corridor
A movie which feels like the filmmakers knew what they wanted to achieve, but were unsure on how to go about it.
The Fallow Field
That rarest of films, one that genuinely keeps you guessing to culminate in some palpable tension come the third act.
Midnight Son
Eschews many of the vampire subgenre's tropes to present something more akin to a quietly observed character study.
The Night Child
As the epitome of seventies B-movie charm, it boasts the strong elements of enjoyable kitsch that one would hope for.
Some Guy Who Kills People
Wants to be a comedic horror film with hidden depths, but the horror is scarce and the humour largely average.
Santa Sangre
A trip that was calculated carefully, the near constant use of slightly off-key circus music adding to its hypnotic quality.
Berberian Sound Studio
Strangely accessible for a giallo come art-house film; a pleasure from beginning to end, with lavish attention to detail.
Axed
Intriguing at first with some style to be had and attention to detail, but let down by a lack of direction and poor acting.
Absentia
Will keep you guessing, until all possibilities for explanation are eventually tied together in an excellent balance of subplot.
The Monk
An unusually restrained Vincent Cassel is a pleasure, but it's a drawn-out story that runs out of steam before a rushed conclusion.
Sometimes They Come Back
A painfully average film, its classic horror status somewhat baffling. Purchase to complete your Stephen King collection.
Snowtown
A truly effective film that will stay with you long after the credits roll; to have achieved this in a debut is quite remarkable.
Evil Rising
The script really is slow, with nothing remotely interesting happening until the final few minutes. But what an ending.
The Silent House
Florencia Colucci is superb, easily shouldering the film. Also impressive is some genuine creepiness courtesy of clever lighting.
Let Me In
The performances are faultless, but clumsy CGI removes the delicateness that had us so in love with the original.
Julia’s Eyes
A mixed bag and too ambitious for so early in a career, however Guillem Morales should be noted for the future.
7 Days
A masterpiece that will make the world sit up and take notice of what is the perfect portrayal of the psychology of a man.
Confessions
A cruel indictment on contemporary Japanese youth and their despondency, which unravels its cruel web satisfactorily.
Insidious
With huge jump scares and more subtle, creepy moments, this is a film which has mastered the whole spectrum of horror filmmaking.
Peeping Tom
A timeless and sublime masterpiece that presents an incredibly intelligent and moving picture of psychological struggle.
We Are What We Are
Deftly balances a horror premise with the politics of a family drama, marking Jorge Michel Grau as a filmmaker to watch.
Wake Wood
With nicely subtle handling of its occult element, the film slowly builds an atmosphere and is more chilling as a result.