Silence is golden in horror right now. From the whole concept of A Quiet Place to a sequence in Alien: Romulus that thrives on sound levels rising no higher than a heartbeat, films are throwing themselves down a gauntlet in keeping their characters schtum to milk tension. E. L. Katz’s post-Rapture survival horror Azrael: Angel […]
Simon Ramshaw
Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs (2024) and the Long Legacy of His Father, Anthony
CONTAINS SPOILERS The shadow of Psycho looms long over many things. What would, say, the modern movie twist be without it? Rug pulls don’t come much more severe than the true nature of Mrs Norma Bates, let alone Alfred Hitchcock’s brutal decision to cut down his protagonist less than halfway through the runtime. Would […]
The Dead Don’t Hurt (2023) Classic Western Fare with a Wistful Edge (Review)
To paraphrase Bob Marley: “who shot the western?” There are a number of smoking guns when it comes to this particular murder. Was it Michael Cimino, the megalomaniacal visionary behind Heaven’s Gate, an epic so wildly out of control that it killed an entire film studio? Was it the audience […]
The Sacrament (2013) Ti West’s true-story Exploitation goes South (Review)
No one does genre pastiche quite like Ti West who, after working his way up from no-budget shorts to no-budget features, finally took off in 2009 with the one-two hits of a ready-made cult classic (House of the Devil), and a straight-to-video sequel (Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever). There’s an […]
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023) But Do Expect a Lot from This Film (Review)
During a film that reckons with (and is a reckoning for) meme culture, there is an intrusive meme that springs to mind. Imagine a picture of a long-in-the-tooth Jean Luc-Godard with a mournful ‘Died 2022’ hovering over him. Now, next to it, imagine the poster of Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, with a celebratory ‘Born 2023’ above it. A […]
Prison Walls: Abashiri Prison I-III (1965) – Layered Yakuza Trilogy takes you on a wild journey (Review)
Rare is the cinematic saga that maintains consistency. For every Lord of the Rings, there’s ten Star Warses (pick any of the trilogies) or Jurassic Parks (ditto), veering wildly from side to side as they try to work out just what put millions of bums in seats to see the […]
Breathe (2024) Starry low-budget thriller is lacking in atmosphere (Review)
Science fiction is often a genre that is complemented by social critique. After all, what better way to rip apart where we’ve been than looking forward to where we may be going? Currently in theatres is the alpha prime of big swing social sci-fi: the latest instalment of the Planet of […]
Boy Kills World (2023) Skarsgård Kills Role (Review)
Is there a family dynasty dominating the film industry harder than the Skarsgård clan? Between dad Stellan and children Alexander, Bill, Eija, Gustaf, Kolbjörn, Ossian, Sam and Valter, the towering Swedes have planted their flag in everything from Mamma Mia! to Barbarian (cinematically), and from Vikings to Succession (televisually). One could make an argument for the Australian Hemsworths being […]
Dogman (2023) Character actor gets plenty to chew on in strange shaggy dog story (Review)
There are many enticing puns a film like Dogman can provoke. The waft of a “dog’s dinner” is a tempting angle to take if the film is a complete mess, and if it’s just plain poor, a reviewer could do a This is Spinal Tap-style Shark Sandwich/”Shit Sandwich” quip and […]
Padre Pio (2022) Hollywood pariah plays pious friar in pandering prayer for pity (Review)
Tales of redemption can come in many forms. The Bible is full of them, from Noah to Moses, depicting flawed individuals picking themselves up and striding into the divine light of the Lord. Hollywood redemption stories are a different kettle of fish. Since 2017, the culture has changed, and victims […]