The year is 1988. Floods of teenagers flock to a Midwestern heavy metal concert despite controversies sparked by unidentified Satanists on a murder spree and the region’s fearmongering Bible Belt. A trio of rowdy friends (Alexandra Daddario, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth) have a run-in with a group of aspiring metal musicians (Keean Johnson, Logan Miller, Austin Swift). Both parties have a rocky start with each other, but the head-banging camaraderie in the air is enough…
What is the point of making a found footage film when it is surrounded by a traditional narrative style? Not like Cannibal Holocaust, where the traditional style was used as a framing device to present the found footage, but rather a traditional narrative that occasionally cuts to a shot from the point-of-view of a camera with a red record signal in the corner. With Marcel Walz’s Rootwood, there isn’t even a documentary concept surrounding the whole thing, as…
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…
Greenlight works as a thriller, but I can also see it being a cathartic outlet for student filmmakers looking to cut their teeth in an exclusive industry.
What role does the precarity of labour play in young people choosing to take on dangerous jobs? In the #MeToo era, how does one go about separating an artist’s actions from their work? Is anonymity possible in the 21st century? What is the difference between violence and a simulation of violence? If unethical acts lead to brilliant art, is it ethical to consume the art? What do these questions have in common? Well, for one, they…
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.
Most movies build towards a crescendo, yet the first act of Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy is the climax. But then, instead of gradually hitting new heights, Timpson’s film simmers to a tepid temperature. Despite the outrageous feedback you may have heard about the movie’s wild qualities, Come to Daddy is actually family tame (if you’re used to off-the-wall genre pieces).
Color Out of Space is a supernatural invasion film that slowly creeps towards its characters and the audience.
Little Monsters is a common zombie movie that’s been inspired by contemporary horror comedies (especially Shaun of the Dead’s slacker humour). The reason it doesn’t fall into obscurity among the wash of other copycats is because the film stays light and merry while balancing morbid laughs.
