Set in Australia after environmental disasters and bushfires have brought the world to a standstill, James Branson’s Bunny Rabbit appropriately shows that living in that post-apocalyptic land wouldn’t be all that fun. The bulk of the runtime is dedicated to showing a father-daughter relationship. They scrounge for supplies, food is […]
Alex Paine
Outside the Blue Box: Last Night in Soho (2021)
All you need to see is the recent viral clip of Matt Smith expressing amazement that Keanu Reeves was watching Morbius on a flight, and you’ll realise that the former Eleventh Doctor’s film career has been spotty to say the least. From the bizarre experiments (Lost River), to the aborted […]
Vampire’s Kiss (1988) The Patient Zero of Nicolas Cage Performances
What would us cinephiles do without Nicolas Cage in the world? Internet discussions about the man who successfully shook off the reputation of coming from the Coppola family by simply picking whatever project he felt like (some good and plenty bad), tend to forget that he’s a very strong and […]
Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) A Taut and Terrifying Tale of Abuse and Revenge
The success of 2006’s This Is England, and its subsequent TV continuations, established Shane Meadows’ style of gritty working-class stories that drew on his personal experiences and exposed the darkest sides of humanity. But before the consolidation of his themes in This Is England, there was his previous film, 2004’s Dead Man’s Shoes, […]
Slither (2006) – Silly Schlocky Blast of Smalltown Sci-Fi Fun
There’s always something interesting about seeing the directorial debut of a filmmaker whose work you are very familiar with, and who has carved out their own unique style that is extremely popular with audiences. James Gunn is a mainstay in blockbuster cinema nowadays, turning a D-list group of Marvel characters […]
Outside the Blue Box: Truckload (2025)
Whenever I’ve done an article for Outside The Blue Box, it tends to be a project where its creator uses Doctor Who to raise their profile. Sallie Aprahamian directed some ambitious episodes of Doctor Who after cutting her teeth on Wolfblood, Jamie Childs cast his partner Jenna Coleman in his […]
Exit 8 (2025) Liminal Horror More Emotionally Potent than Horrific
2026 seems to be the year of horror films where our protagonists are trapped in claustrophobic spaces. We had Markiplier emerge onto the film scene with Iron Lung, we’re about to have Kane Parsons capitalise on his Backrooms success with a full feature film, and here, from Japan, we have […]
Redoubt (2026) Turning Video Art Into A Visually Compelling Feature
What film could be more appropriate to release in 2026 than a man building a fortified shelter in case of war? The topical irony of John Skoog’s narrative feature debut Redoubt was certainly not lost on me from the moment the film opens. A pamphlet showing what to do in […]
Matapanki (Slamdance 2026) North American Premiere
In its setup, director Diego “Mapache” Fuentes’s Matapanki struck me as a Chilean version of Josh Trank’s Chronicle: a young man acquires superhero-like powers and soon becomes unable to control his newfound abilities. What Matapanki adds to this story, however, is a really nifty concoction of political satire matched with […]
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) A Sequel That Gains Focus and A Whole Lot More Darkness
By arriving just six months after the previous instalment, The Bone Temple might have unknowingly set itself up for a fall. Those who weren’t particularly keen on 28 Years Later, and particularly its bizarre cliffhanger, might not like a follow-up that dives headfirst into the cult that were responsible for […]