Aren’t you a lucky duck? With these words, writer-director Mike Flanagan and co-writer/star Kate Siegel introduce a special edit on this limited edition of their first collaboration, HUSH, originally released in 2016 on Netflix, and only now granted a physical release. And the owner of this edition is indeed most […]
Vincent Gaine
Sexy Beast 4K (2000) Sweltering Heat & Subversive Gangsters
Jonathan Glazer has a remarkable career. Alongside numerous music videos and memorable commercials, over the past two and a half decades, he has directed only four feature films, each of them highly distinctive. The intense psychological drama Birth could not be more different from the deeply strange science fiction Under […]
Big Baby (Frightfest 2026)
The tagline for SCREAM warns that ‘Someone has taken their love of scary movies one step too far’. With BIG BABY, the love for scary movies is clear from the filmmaker, while the participation of the protagonist in the genre is what goes too far. Despite this apparent convolution, BIG […]
Colony (Frightfest 2026)
Zombies have long been used as an allegory. From the Haitian legend that treated zombification as an extension of slavery to the Civil Rights and consumerist concerns of George A. Romero; from the mindless shuffle of everyday life in ‘Shaun of the Dead’ to the class divisions in ‘Train to […]
Cruel Hands (2026) A Grim and Tense Domestic Horror of Flight and Fire
A simple premise has great potential, especially in genres that aim for a specific emotional reaction such as action and horror. In the case of Al Kalyk’s domestic horror film, CRUEL HANDS, the premise of a mother and child on the run from an abusive husband leads to an effective […]
The Odyssey (2026) Grounded & Terrifying, Nolan’s Boldest Adaptation to Date
‘The Odyssey’ is one of the foundational texts of Western literature, with adaptations ranging from Georges Méliès’ ‘L’île de Calypso: Ulysse et le géant Polyphème’ to the animated series ‘Ulysses 31’, Tony Robinson and Richard Curtis’ children’s book series ‘Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All’ and ‘Odysseus II: The […]
Diabolic (2026) Conventionally plotted Religious Horror that drips with Dread and Atmosphere
The phrase ‘The following story is inspired by true events’ is a double-edged sword. It can serve as useful marketing, but the presence of such words can smack of lending your film additional gravitas, which raises the question why do we need that gravitas? The phrase will likely invite accusations […]
Red Riding (Glasgow Frightfest 2026)
The opening of Red Riding, and indeed the first act, may raise certain expectations in the viewer. The title, as well as an anecdote from a character, suggests that you are in for a particular type of film with various visual cues supporting this expectation, including artwork, a scientific explanation […]
The Ugly Stepsister (2025) A Beautifully Deranged Fairy Tale
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s generally determined by the standards of society, and when that society is patriarchal, women suffer. It’s a fairly trite observation that’s the subject of a fascinating exploration in The Ugly Stepsister – a version of Cinderella that’s dark and malevolent […]
Grizzly Night (2026): A Sombre, Fact-Based Portrait of a Wilderness Tragedy
A rookie park ranger. A holidaying family. Two groups of teenagers. A chalet manager. A hiking couple. Several grizzly bears. These and more characters come together on a fateful night on which extraordinary odds led to dreadful happenings and major ramifications for humans and animals alike. This is the setting of […]