It never ceases to amaze me how genre cinema can adapt itself to anything. From sociopolitical melodrama to generations divided, whether it be Science Fiction or Horror, there are reasons why so many of us are drawn off the beaten path and into the spooky woods of the cinematic landscape. […]
From the Festivals
Psyche (Glasgow Frightfest 2025)
Take Alex Garland’s Annihilation with a smidgen of the budget and far fewer trees. Blend this with Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal and filter the result through Terrence Malick. That is a reductive description of Psyche, a discordant but striking journey through landscapes and mindscapes alike that received its UK […]
Rumpelstiltskin (Glasgow Frightfest 2025)
The original folk tale of Rumpelstiltskin is one we’ve all had read to us as children or at least know the overarching events of. A miller, eager to elevate his social status, lies about his daughter’s abilities – claiming she can spin straw into gold. The king, soon to remarry, […]
The Doom Busters (Glasgow Frightfest 2025)
Maybe in the future, I should judge what films I watch based on if I crack a smile or not looking at the synopsis, because when I noticed that The Doom Busters was about British citizens serving in the Home Guard uncovering an alien presence during World War II, I […]
The Last Sacrifice (Glasgow FrightFest 2025)
On Valentine’s Day, 1945, the body of a man named Charles Walton, was discovered on the grounds of the farm where he worked on the edge of Meon Hill, Warwickshire. Walton’s demise had been a particularly gruesome one – he had been murdered with a pitchfork and bill-hook in a […]
Succubus (London International Fantastic Film Festival 2024)
Nobody is proud to be on Hinge – least of all Chris (Brendan Bradley), a new father and the conflicted protagonist of Succubus. The film is nothing if not reminiscent of giants of the horror genre in its exploration of cultural unease around sex and vulnerability. In Succubus, R.J. Daniel […]
King Baby (London International Fantastic Film Festival 2024) A Royally Horny Romp
Patriarchy, masculinity, the royal establishment, British theatre duo Kit Redstone and Arran Shearing take it all on in this bizarre lo-fi period comedy. The story takes place in a desolate castle ruin in France, the time period is left ambiguous though. In this kingdom live the King, his loyal Servant… […]
Self Revolutionary Cinematic Struggle (London International Fantastic Film Festival 2024)
Gakuryu Ishii’s second movie of the year is half a dozen things at once, with so much going on that it has taken me a week—after its premiere at the inaugural London International Fantastic Film Festival —to begin processing everything it offers. This menagerie exemplifies the ethos I yearn for […]
The Gesouidoz (London International Fantastic Film Festival 2024)
From its influence on pop culture to the music scenes popping up in every corner of the world, it’s frustrating as a signed-up fan of punk rock to be forever told that it is dead. For one, no music scene can truly die, and two, where is the rebellious spirit […]
Son of Adam (London International Fantastic Film Fest 2024)
The late film critic Manny Faber had an evocative phrase for the kind of movies he preferred. He called them “termite art”, as opposed to the “white elephant art” that proliferates in awards seasons and major festivals. The termite artist was small and unobtrusive, spurning the flash, technique and classicism […]