It can be argued that film doesn’t work for someone not because of what it’s about, but how it’s done. Familiar, and even cliched features can receive imaginative and effective treatment that provoke emotions in people and draw us closer to the characters. The Daemon features many familiar tropes, but […]
Vincent Gaine
The Beast Within (2024) An intricate, Slow Burn tale of Dread & Secrets (Review)
From the opening shots of dark woods and a woman calling a name, The Beast Within creates an ominous atmosphere that doesn’t let up throughout its running time. Director Alexander J. Farrell weaves an intricate, slow burn tale of dread, secrets, and various forms of bodily betrayal that both rewards […]
Dial (2024)(Short Film) The Horror of Isolation (Review)
Grief, mental illness and haunting are common bedfellows in cinema, and major feature films like The Babadook, The Father and Relic have interwoven these tropes, manifesting them as something potentially supernatural. Into this fertile emotional ground comes Dial – a short film by writer-director Josh Trett that tells the story […]
Point Break 4K (1991) 100% Pure Adrenaline from Kathryn’s Bigelow’s Iconic Crime Thriller (Review)
The cultural reputation of Point Break might characterise it as a silly film, with gunplay resting alongside homoeroticism, and some new age, hippy-dippy mumbo-jumbo bound up with surfing (Hot Fuzz has a lot to answer for). If one looks closely at the film itself however, Kathryn Bigelow’s action heist/buddy flick […]
Raging Bull (1980) Maintains its place as a Towering Champion of Cinema (Review)
Like an unshaded light bulb, Martin Scorsese’s 1980 classic shines an uncomfortably bright light that casts shadows as stark as what it exposes. What is exposed is the soul of Jake LaMotta, middleweight boxer of the 1940s and 50s, night club entertainer of the 1960s, and an abusive, violent and […]
Peter Five Eight (2024) An Attempt was Made by Spacey (Review)
Film noir casts a long (dark) shadow over cinema. Since French critics retroactively applied the term to crime films of the 1940s, filmmakers across the world and through the decades have attempted to emulate and update the look and feel of what was never designed as a coherent genre. From […]
The Origin of Evil (2022) Two Thirds of a Fascinating Familial Thriller (Review)
We open with a steady tracking shot that moves through a room of women changing, until the camera settles on one of them. From this deliberate opening, director Sébastien Marnier maintains a careful delivery of information, guiding the viewer through a handsomely staged and often twisty thriller. These twists and reveals make […]
Glasgow FrightFest 2024 (In Capsule)
FrightFest, the UK’s premier festival for horror films, takes place three times during the year. Two of these take place in London, the main festival in August and another over Halloween. But before these, the Glasgow Film Theatre plays host to FrightFest for a weekend in March. This year, The […]
Dune Part Two (2024) Powerful Blockbuster Storytelling that leaves you wanting more (Review)
There is a moment in Dune Part Two when Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) is captured in long shot using a device to create a thumping sound. Tiny against the expanse of the desert, his actions nonetheless create expanding ripples. This is a microcosm of the film as a whole, as […]
Mudbound (2017) The Unspoken Face of The American Experience (Review)
Mudbound is a lot of things. Adapted from Hillary Jordan’s novel by co-writers Dee Rees and Virgil Williams and directed by Rees, it is a tale of two families who face challenges that are comparable yet very different. These differences constitute the racial relations and tensions of Mississippi in the […]