Violet
Justine Bateman’s feature film debut is full of ideas but desperately needs to triage them to let the best of them – and Olivia Munn’s excellent performance – breathe.
Category Archives: Festival Coverage
Encounter
An awkward narrative transition, combined with a plurality of readings, could indicate a messy and unfocused story, but Riz Ahmed’s performance and the consistent tone created by director Michael Pearce ensure ENCOUNTER remains a captivating experience.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes
BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES takes a clever sci-fi concept and fully explores its limits to the edge of complexity while never losing sight of the people at the heart of this time anomaly.
Agnes
While not devoid of interesting characters or engaging relationships, AGNES is too disjointed to use them fully and not focused enough to explore them. Instead of employing a sudden narrative shift halfway through, AGNES would have been better served by having a little faith in its original premise. Early on, AGNES hits all the marks … Continue reading Agnes
Tombs of the Blind Dead
Amando de Ossorio’s TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD is a stylistic nightmare-scape with enough grindhouse elements to balance out the zaniness of Ossorio’s script. An enjoyable and interesting horror movie, it may have more influence on the trends to follow in horror cinema than its chucklesome B-movie qualities would suggest.
Glasshouse
Thoughtful, intelligent plot turns are exactly what makes low-budget sci-fi effective, and they are what makes GLASSHOUSE an intriguing, engaging watch.
The Last Thing Mary Saw
THE LAST THING MARY SAW is an eerie feature, with a brooding ambience and a fresh approach to the period horror genre. While there are areas of the writing that do not have as much to offer as many horror enthusiasts will expect, there are more elements that work exceptionally well than ones that do not.
Alien on Stage
ALIEN ON STAGE revels in these images contrasting Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking sci-fi horror film with the everyday nature of suburban British amateur dramatics.
Dear Hacker
DEAR HACKER is a short documentary that brings together IT, philosophy, and occult esoterica to discuss the ubiquitous webcams that we point ourselves towards.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched
WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED might not find an audience outside those already obsessed with folk horror, but it’s a real treat for those who are and, through Janisse’s strong arguments and exhaustive research, is an essential text in debates about the definition of this weird subgenre.