Nothing quite stirs the imagination when it comes to Japanese history and culture like the time and life of samurai (Japanese “aristocratic” warriors – 侍) in Japan (12th century to early 17th century). Their code, techniques and lifestyle continue to fascinate us, but, though there have been many film lists made that explore stories about…
Tag: Horror
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Review
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a gory brew of some fifty different beetle-juices mixed together in a super-fast Burtonian blender.
7 Films About the World of Miniature People
From Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbelina to Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and beyond, the public fascination with “little people” has transformed into the multitude of stories, which often juxtaposed the wider, often harsher world with these people’s smallness and vulnerability. Equally, many films followed suit, and below are seven films, from thought-provoking animations to experimental oldies,…
“M3GAN” Review
M3GAN [2023] – ★★★ Everything in M3GAN is “in vogue”: sentient artificial intelligence (readers must have had their fill of it with Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun and McEwan’s Machines Like Me, and viewers – with After Yang (2021), Finch (2021) and Brian and Charles (2022)), cinematic mishmash of genres, and, in line with Ari Aster’s popular…
“Titane” Review
Titane [2021] – ★★★★ 🔥 Titane hypnotises and mystifies as it repels and shocks, delivering not only a story, but also “an experience”. Titane is the second feature film of French director Julia Ducournau (Raw (2017)) and the Palme d’Or winner of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film is not for the faint of…
David Lynch: “Rabbits” (2002)
Rabbits is a series of short surreal films with the overall running time of forty minutes. It features three humanoid rabbits (two female and one male) in one single room. They sit on a sofa, enter and go out of the room, talk to each other and recite poetry. Through eerie music, rabbits’ nonsensical dialogue…
Short Reviews: The Servant, A Kiss Before Dying, & Isle of the Dead
The Servant…one of Britain’s most memorable cinematic creations.
“Midsommar” Review
Midsommar [2019] – ★★★★★ ☀️ In this immersive, subtle and unsettling horror master-work, Ari Aster takes his audience by the hand, and slowly and surely introduces the disturbing beneath the festive, relaxing and innocent. Ari Aster takes horror to a completely new level in his latest film Midsommar. Inspired by The Wicker Man and horror…
“Antiviral” Review
Antiviral [2012] – ★★★★ In 2012, a science-fiction film titled Antiviral hit both the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, and what everybody talked about was that this film is from David Cronenberg’s son – Brandon Cronenberg. People started to look for similarities between Antiviral and David Cronenberg’s films and trademarks, and they…
“The Little Stranger” Review
The Little Stranger [2018] – ★★★ In this story, adapted from Sarah Waters’s novel of the same name, Dr Faraday (Domhnall Gleeson) tries to reacquaint himself with one stately house (Hundreds Hall) he used to admire in his childhood. This is the house belonging to the Ayres family who now find themselves in a pitiful…
“The Babadook” Review
📖 A well-made horror film with oppressive atmosphere that also explores deeper, thought-provoking themes of coming to terms with trauma and overcoming grief.
“In Fabric” Review
In Fabric [2018] – ★★★ 👗 A critique of consumerism and employment culture invades a ghost story, and with the 1970s aesthetics, and enough eccentricities and humour, culminates in a very unusual viewing experience. Peter Strickland is known for such unusual and, in some way, “brave” films as Berberian Sound Studio (2012) and The Duke of…
“Hereditary” Review
Hereditary [2018] – ★★★★ 🏠 Ari Aster treats his horror like an epic masterpiece, paying close attention to story, setting, acting, pacing, look and small symbolic details, & the reward is, finally, a quality horror we have all been waiting for. Ari Aster’s debut feature horror film has caused quite a stir so far. With such…
Hitchcock’s “The Birds”
Fifty-five years on, Alfred Hitchcock’s highly atmospheric, suspenseful and original horror creation is still a “must-see” film.
“A Quiet Place” Review
A Quiet Place [2018] – ★★★★ 🤫 Silence never felt as terrifying as in A Quiet Place, a film that is truly scary, without appearing over-done. John Krasinski’s dystopia A Quiet Place is currently on everyone’s lips, a horror that tries to “reinvent” the horror genre (if such thing is possible after Get Out (2017) and The Witch (2015))….
“The Limehouse Golem” Review
The Limehouse Golem [2017] – ★★★★ This film, based on a novel by Peter Ackroyd Dan Leno and The Limehouse Golem, starts with Victorian London being shaken by a series of gruesome murders deemed to be perpetuated by an individual so mythical he is called Golem. Eccentric Inspector John Kildare (Bill Nighy) is assigned to…
The Horrorathon: Les Diaboliques (1955)
🛀 A true classic in the suspenseful thriller/horror genre, with a twist “to die for”.
“Get Out” Review
Get Out [2017] – ★★★ 🦌 An atmospheric, albeit strange, combination of The Stepford Wives (1972) and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), but with some “over-the-top” horror in the mix and hardly offering anything new or subtle by the end. Get Out is one of the best-reviewed films of 2017. It is a debut film…
“Raw” Review
Raw [2016] – ★★★★ 🥩 A staggering film debut with “unflinching” gore and disturbing atmosphere, reviving the best of what became known as the New French Extremity movement. Julia Ducournau’s debut feature film Raw provoked extreme reactions from critics and audiences alike. However, despite its grim story and graphic imagery, the film still managed to…
“Psycho” Review
🚿 A classic which stood the test of time, revolutionising the presentation of horror on screen and showcasing Hitchcock’s unparalleled talent for creating suspense.
Spotlight on Film 