In Arsalan Amiri’s ZALAVA (زالاوا), demons are loose in a small village in pre-revolution Iran and mob mentality grips the village’s people. ZALAVA is a confident, creepy, and at times hilarious Middle Eastern horror film with an impressive cast, striking camera work, and gestures towards wider political discussions. Set before the Iranian Revolution, Zalava is … Continue reading Zalava
Simon Bowie reviews Erin Vassilopoulos’ SUPERIOR and argues that it fails to live to up its many David Lynch references and genre pastiches.
Simon Bowie reviews Cécile Ducrocq’s HER WAY, a film with a strong Laure Calamy performance and a refreshingly positive attitude to sex work.
Simon Bowie reviews Claire Denis’ new film, FIRE (also known as BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE), an intense love triangle drama that skirts the border of melodrama.
Simon Bowie reviews Terence Davies’ BENEDICTION, a biopic of poet Siegfried Sassoon that wrestles gamely with the idea of how to depict the effervescence of poetry on film.
Simon Bowie reviews Gaspar Noé’s VORTEX, a relentlessly heartbreaking but thoroughly entrancing experiment of a film.
Simon Bowie reviews THE GRAVEDIGGER’S WIFE, a well told story that brings to life a profound portrait of life in Djibouti.
Simon Bowie reviews Ruth Paxton’s A BANQUET, a stylish women-led horror film tackling fears around disordered eating.
ASHGROVE boldly takes on heady questions and deftly intertwines the personal with the global in an intensely relatable way for anyone living through the ongoing global pandemic and slow destruction of Earth through climate change.
There is never a shortage of World War II-adjacent films, but Gabriele Mainetti’s latest feature gives a sentimental superhero makeover to the well-trodden narrative of infiltrating the Nazis.
