Russell Crowe gives an absolutely terrifying performance in Unhinged. The film is a high-octane, single day thriller, but there are times when Derrick Borte’s movie is a straight-up horror because of Crowe. As the story’s antagonist Tom Cooper, Crowe ditches his inhibitions. He’s purposely underdeveloped to build an aura of mystery and terror. The audience is given minor clues of who Tom could be, but he still resembles a stranger; someone who could break under…
By: Jolie Featherstone Based on a true story, as told in the best-selling non-fiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, Rod Lurie’s The Outpost is a striking tribute to the U.S. soldiers of Troop 3-61 Cavalry, who went on to become the most decorated unit in the war in Afghanistan.
The filmmakers of Buffaloed believe more isn’t enough. It’s a movie that seems to be shouting and swearing for the audience’s enjoyment but, because there’s so much of it, viewers can’t help but zone out until the actors wind back down. A detrimental criticism considering the film’s underdog story requires our full attention.
By: Trevor Chartrand A plain and passable thriller, The Postcard Killings is stamped with mild mystery and timid intrigue that ultimately doesn’t deliver a whole lot of punch.
This doesn’t happen too often – two films of the same specific sub-genre being released so closely to each other. In this case, the genre is the “home invasion thriller”. One’s really good, the other is really bad. Becky, the really good one, did a great job entertaining audiences with lots of inventive action. Its comparable evil twin, Survive the Night, takes us to the upside-down. It’s boring, illogical and its most famous star, Bruce…
By: Trevor Chartrand The debut film effort from the writer/director team Colin and James Krisel, Last Moment of Clarity is a very good try with plenty of room for improvement. The Krisel brothers attempt a Hitchcockian thriller akin to Gone Girl, involving a young man named Sam (Zach Avery) who, three years after witnessing his girlfriend’s death, discovers that she is still alive. Under threat for witnessing mob activity, the girl Sam knew as Georgia…
The possession horror sub-genre has become a formula. A normal family suddenly starts experiencing disturbing behaviour (usually from a child) that can only be described as otherworldly, cueing a priest or a similar follower of the good word to go through with an exorcism. It’s the job of the production to rise above this predictability to offer audiences individual strengths (creepy imagery and atmospheric scares, sometimes a scene-stealing performance like Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s in The…
The Lodge thinks its rooted in gothic horror when its misery might actually be post-emo. Suicide is predominant in this macabre thriller from Austrian filmmakers Severin Fiala and Veronica Franz (Goodnight Mommy) and while it seems to be a topic used to explore the mourning identities of the film’s characters, it’s mostly in existence to add moody atmospheric chills. Surface-level stuff, but very effective.
Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman plays Andre Davis, a stoic NYPD detective who was psychologically affected at a young age by the murder of his father, a policeman in the line of fire. From that tragedy, Davis developed a certain alertness to his job but the experience has made him mentally withdrawn from situations and company. Peers are either impressed with his work or intimidated by his reputation. Davis invests all of his passion in his most…
