One of the most common tropes of all time in media is that of a missing or murdered teenage girl — a horror story that is tragically a reality for far too many. Typically, the narrative opens with the detective protagonist studying the life of the subject of their case; […]
Reviews
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 […]
Bookworm (2024): Offbeat Coming-of-Age Struggles with Tone
A reunion of Come to Daddy director Ant Timpson, writer Toby Harvard and stars Elijah Wood and Michael Smiley, with the addition of Nell Fisher after her star making turn in Evil Dead Rise, would pique the interest of most horror fans, but despite showing at Frightfest earlier this year, […]
Slap the Monster on Page One (1972): A Still Relevent Look at Media Manipulation
Released to Blu-ray by Radiance this week, Slap the Monster on Page One is a 1972 thriller with a political conscience from director Marco Bellocchio. It stars the great Gian Maria Volonté as Bizanti, the editor of Il giornale, a fictitious right-wing Italian newspaper. The action takes place in Milan, […]
The Creep Tapes (2024) Peachfuzz is Back and Scarier than Ever
In 2014 we were introduced to the weird and wonderful world of Josef/Aaron/we never really know his real name, a serial killer who loves collecting video evidence of his kills and the lead-up to their untimely death. Since then we have had an equally weird and wonderful sequel but fans […]
Rough Justice: Two New Shorts from the North West – Before the Law and Disposal (2024)
Before the Law is the follow up to Greater Manchester-based writer/director Brett Gregory’s stunning 2022 debut feature film, Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist. A contemporary adaptation of Franz Kafka’s 1915 parable of the same name, contained within his novel, The Trial, it stars Andrew Joseph as […]
Made in Japan (2018) and Winny (2023) Tales of Modern Strife in Japan (Review)
From Sakka Films we have a double bill from Yusaku Matsumoto, a Japanese filmmaker who brings us two very thematically linked efforts based around morality and justice in modern day Japan. Made in Japan is a 2018 short that opens with a disturbing, violent murder that is then widely publicised […]
The Invasion (2007) Derided in its Day, Terrifying in Ours
When Jack Finney published “The Body Snatchers” in serial form in late 1954, he could never have imagined the life it would have in the American imagination. Its genius lies in the basic premise- that people are slowly replaced by alien duplicates, identical in every way except their lack of […]
The Blair Witch Project (1999) Modern Horror Legend gets Release that matches its Stature
In 1999 the face of not only horror but cinema changed when a little indie movie called The Blair Witch Project hit our screens. The plot is kept simple, we follow three friends as they try to uncover the mysteries behind the Blair Witch stories that consume the small town […]
At Close Range (1986) – One of the most menacing dramas of the 1980s
“Ever been out west, Tommy? Ever heard a coyote? They make this sound like ‘woo, woo, woo!’ Coyote bitch gets in heat. First thing she does, she take care of the males. Then she heads toward town. All the neighborhood dogs, they smell her. They go crazy. They follow her. […]