Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s generally determined by the standards of society, and when that society is patriarchal, women suffer. It’s a fairly trite observation that’s the subject of a fascinating exploration in The Ugly Stepsister – a version of Cinderella that’s dark and malevolent […]
Reviews
Libido (1965) Argento may be The Artist, but Gastaldi is The Man
Giallo is known by its directors – Fulci, Bava, Argento, maybe Sergio Martino if you do some digging, but someone just as important is screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi. Active for nearly thirty years in Italian cinema, he penned the scripts for some of the most iconic gialli, his many credits including […]
Redux Redux (2025) Reclaiming the Multiverse, One Brutal Reality at a Time
After its UK screening at FrightFest 2025, I’ve long wanted to revisit Redux Redux, the follow-up to Kevin and Matthew McManus’s lo-fi horror The Block Island Sound. That movie felt like something a few friends could knock together in their local community — a modern regional horror piece pitched far […]
Jimmy & Stiggs (2024) The Messy, Mean, DIY Splatterfest Begos Was Born to Make
In returning to his roots with Jimmy & Stiggs, Joe Begos becomes a conflicting and truly beguiling filmmaker. As a fan of independent music and the punk ethos, a filmmaker who champions those ideals should be right up my street — and for his breakout Bliss (2019), he was. However, […]
Charisma (1999) / Cloud (2024): A Showcase for One of the Greatest Living Filmmakers
A new physical release of a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film is always something to celebrate, however what is notable about Eureka’s choices for the latest release in their Masters of Cinema series is that they highlight Kurosawa’s skills outside the horror genre. With films like Cure and Pulse arguably being his […]
Illustrious Corpses (1976): The Paranoid Style in Italian Thrillers
The American historian Richard Hofstadter wrote The Paranoid Style in American Politics, but if you want some truly paranoid style – one which gives equal weight to the paranoia and the stylishness – you have to go to Italy. Late twentieth century Italy, in particular, saw a strange collision of […]
Potwash (2026, Short) An Intriguing and Enveloping Tale of Work, Music, and Escapism
Potwash, the latest film by East Anglian based filmmaker Josh Trett, is a portrait of initially familiar tropes, that receive an intriguing treatment. The titular Potwash, Isaac (Kyle Malan), is a shy pub kitchen worker. His employment and work colleagues occupy most of his time, and the film embraces this […]
Blood of Revenge (1965) A Yakuza Tale Characterised by Beautiful Compositions
It’s a privilege to be sitting down today to write about Blood of Revenge, Radiance Films sixth release from overlooked genre master Tai Kato. 2025 was a year of disruption for me, a seemingly never-ending time of upheaval that left no energy to write about films. Luckily for me, as […]
Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox (2024) The Grandfather Paradox Gets a Splatter-Comedy Makeover
‘Wibbly wobbley, timey whimy’, as a famous Doctor once said, quite accurately sums up the vastly complicated intricacies of time travel. While many of us would enjoy the supposed benefits of jumping through history, seeing the dinosaurs, meeting our favourite historical figure, tasting that sweet, sweet Dodo meat – the […]
The Strange Dark (2024) A Cosy Thriller Where The Twilight Zone Invades a Hallmark Movie
Whether in the age of Star Wars, The Avengers or something smaller, Sci-fi has always been overshadowed by spectacle, which is an odd state of play for a genre fundamentally concerned with ideas. Even if the likes of Star Trek reign supreme on small screens, yet even as spectacle dominates, […]