If Eureka Masters of Cinema’s new Blu-Ray release just contained Marcell Jankovics’s 1981 film Son of the White Mare, that would be enough for an unqualified recommendation. Revered in his native Hungary after making the nation’s first animated feature – of which more later – Jankovics’s work has not always […]
Reviews
Most Horrible Things (2022) The curse of indie horror marketing (VOD review)
Most Horrible Things is the directorial debut of Hiroshi Katagari, and it tells the story of six young strangers who are invited to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. An exclusive dinner party hosted by a charming and enigmatic host on the most romantic night of the year, Valentine’s Day – having nothing […]
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) The Social & Political Consciousness of the MCU (Cinema Review)
Modern science knows more about the surface of the moon than the ocean. It is perhaps therefore fitting that after many excursions through space, it is the thirtieth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that ventures into the deep. Furthermore, Ryan Coogler’s follow-up to the 2018 groundbreaking, box office conquering, […]
Tales of Unease (1970): paperback horror brought to life in an unjustly forgotten series (Review)
Let’s address that title first. As far as horror anthologies go, 1970’s LWT miniseries Tales of Unease might be guilty of under-promising; not Tales of Terror, or Tales of Slaughter, just something to make you a bit uneasy. Two years earlier, BBC Two had given us Late Night Horror, a […]
Come Back Lucy (1978) British Kid’s Horror runs rings around its modern equivalents (DVD Review)
Timeshifts and tantrums in this kids horror throwback from the late 1970s. Adapted from Pamela Sykes’s novel of the same name, this 1978 TV series delivers nostalgia by the bucketload along with high-maintenance little girl ghosts and all the modern music of the late nineteen seventies! Groovy! The titular Lucy […]
Dear Zoe (2022) Sadie Sink and the humanity beyond Cliche (VOD Review)
The voiceover is a tricky cinematic device. It can be overused and feel both clumsy and obvious; or appear as a heavy-handed technique at the beginning and end of the film to explain what the audience should feel. If used precisely, it helps draw the viewer into the world of […]
Count Yorga Collection (1970-71) lacks the bite to compete with other vampire offerings (Blu-Ray Review)
In the blurb for this collection, we learn that “Count Yorga, Vampire” was among the first to successfully transpose the classic vampire, cloak and all, to a modern-day setting as the Count – played unforgettably by Robert Quarry – arrives in the United States and settles in a Southern California […]
The Vanished (AKA Vanishing) (2022) Intelligent International Thriller of social connectivity (VOD Review)
Globalisation can be expressed without globetrotting, as multiple nationalities come together in particular locations and productions can utilise a range of global influences in their production. Such a film is Vanishing, also called The Vanished, depending on which site you find it on, or indeed ‘Salajin’ or ‘salajineun’ in Korean. […]
The Sleep Experiment (2022) As Beautiful as it is Unnerving (VOD Review)
“I wanted to tell a story that explores what a human is capable of when pushed to the brink.” – John Farrelly – Director. John Farrelly’s THE SLEEP EXPERIMENT is a ride of human tenacity and broken wills. Farrelly takes us on a ride that anchors us within a gritty […]
Expired (2022) Dreamy, neon-drenched noir both achingly beautiful and haunting (VOD Review)
Expired, is an independent Australian sci-fi noir by Ivan Sven. In the near future, Jack, a mercenary for hire, lives a monotonous existence. In between murders, he spends his nights paying AI women for company. In a life filled with robotic interaction and cold-blooded murder, comes April, a karaoke performer. […]