“Alright troops, here’s the mission. We’re on home turf, but things are going to get gritty and dirty; we’re storming warehouses, derelict buildings, maybe even a drug den or two. The odds will be against us: they’ve got the numbers, but we’ve got the know-how to make this work. Our […]
Simon Ramshaw
Critters: A Four Course Feast! (1986-1992) – Ample pickings of cinema’s forgotten freaks
A physical media habit can be a bit like gorging yourself on junk food. Whenever a label like Arrow Video offers up a curated bunch of greasy, low-brow, nostalgic pleasures, it’s tough not to water at the mouth like a gibbering animal with the mere thought of adding a franchise […]
Tank Girl (1995) Misunderstood 90s disaster plays brilliantly thirty years later
The 4D experience of Rachel Talalay’s Tank Girl isn’t exactly something to recommend. Imagine waking up in the morning, attempting to perform one’s first evacuation (a Number One, thankfully) and ablution of the day, only to discover the water supply of your entire local area is off. Then find yourself […]
Black Tuesday (1954) Roughed-up noir gem with a dark shadow for a soul
The tagline of Hugo Fregonese’s Black Tuesday thunderously announces itself as “the most ruthless Robinson of all time!”, putting its rough-and-ready leading man Edward G. Robinson front and centre of the action. And that’s certainly true; today, not even the cumulative power of Tim Robinson’s screaming sketch comedy oeuvre or […]
Black Cab (2024) – A Frosty reception from a black-hearted cabbie in bleak horror fare
There’s a strange, subtle tension in the experience of calling a cab. Uber gives us a genial thumbnail of our driver and their ratings, some semblance of a comfort blanket of who is going to be taking us from point A to B. But in the traditional lucky dip of […]
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Season 2 (2024) Round-Up
How big a budget is too big a budget? There’s a lot to be said for being economy-wise with blockbuster IP; if your fanbase rejects the latest mushed-up remix of their childhood, it’s probably better to keep things cheap. In that respect, there’s perhaps no bigger gamble currently in production […]
The Valley of the Bees (1968) Brutal Middle Ages yarn with a sting in its tail
It’s easy to think about history in black and white. We’re not just talking about absolute morality here, oh no; some of the best period cinema of all time is defined by its monochromatic stylings, reducing the imaginative colour of times past down to stark impressionism. The leaders of Eastern […]
Vital (2004) Signs of life in a tale of death and decomposition (Review)
There’s something thrilling about a director zigging when you expect them to zag. The best in the biz operate under a distinct style that can be modulated to suit different stories; whatever they’re saying, you can always tell it’s them saying it. Japanese punk auteur Shin’ya Tsukamoto is one such […]
Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) Faithful adaptation preaches to the converted, forgets to shepherd a new flock (Review)
The clue should be in the name: there are fewer franchises more cursed than Hellboy. The first two outings for Mike Mignola’s gentle red giant fared well enough, with Guillermo del Toro’s luscious vision and Ron Perlman’s career-defining take on the character proving to be a leftfield refreshment in the […]
Die Before You Die (2024) Claustrophobic Thriller buries deep into the Modern Zeitgeist (Review)
Is there a worse fate than being buried alive, trapped in the darkness, running out of air, undiscoverable to the rest of the world? It’s everyone’s worst nightmare and then some, but as you’re clinging to what little light, breath and life you have left, what’s happening to not just […]