Isn’t it funny how time can heal all wounds in the world of movies? Just a few short years ago, the words “contained”, “chamber” or “one location horror” had utterly exhausted the genre audience – to the extent that people didn’t want to see another film set in one place […]
Reviews
Jiří Trnka – Puppet Master: The Czech Year (1947), Old Czech Legends (1953), The Hand (1965)
Animation – it’s not just for adults any more! If the most internationally famous Czech animator is still that macabre Surrealist Jan Švankmajer, then Second Run have been doing their best to present global audiences with a more rounded picture of the country’s animated output. They’ve reissued several films by Karel […]
Stolen Kingdom (2026) – A whole new world behind the curtain
If you are a film fan, chances are that you use Letterboxd to log your films. Nestled within the site is Video Store, a rental service which offers a curated selection of films which are worth trying, and one of their recent additions is the fascinating documentary Stolen Kingdom. At […]
Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) A Taut and Terrifying Tale of Abuse and Revenge
The success of 2006’s This Is England, and its subsequent TV continuations, established Shane Meadows’ style of gritty working-class stories that drew on his personal experiences and exposed the darkest sides of humanity. But before the consolidation of his themes in This Is England, there was his previous film, 2004’s Dead Man’s Shoes, […]
Two Boxes: Televised Terror in Franco’s Spain (1972 & 1974) Unabashed horror that puts most feature lengths to shame
As Transmission’s release this week has it, the 1970s were an interesting time in Spain. A country in flux, Spain was beginning to enjoy and increased economic prosperity that clashed with the Francoist fascist regime the nation had endured for, up until that point, almost forty years. Even the cheesy […]
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 […]
Into the Forest: Folktales at DEFA (1955-77) The Film That Made Paul Whitehouse Pee His Pants (as a child)
If you asked a person on the street if they know anything about East German folk tales, there’s a good chance they’ll say no, but if you mention The Singing Ringing Tree to people of a certain generation then some will feel twinges of nostalgia, and possibly trauma. Eureka have […]
Desperate Living (1977) The darkest, cruellest, and most shocking entry in Waters’ Trash Trilogy
John Waters’ filmography is proof that you don’t need to be classy to be canonical, but that being said, the man dubbed as the “Pope of Trash” is by all accounts a witty, intelligent, and stylish individual. It’s delightful to see Waters’ work – not least his more vulgar and […]
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 […]
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 4K (1974) – an underrated work from a legendary filmmaker
Despite a wide filmography made across six decades, there are still people who dismiss Martin Scorsese as someone who solely makes “gangster films”. It’s a shame that such incorrect statements linger as they’re easy to disprove just by watching Scorsese’s back catalogue, and one film that stands out from that […]