If Gus Van Sant’s 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s widely celebrated thriller Psycho (1960) is not one of the most unfairly maligned features of its decade, then it must surely one of the least-well understood. I was an enthused fan … Continue reading REVIEW: Psycho (1998)
On the island of Shishikari, the local economy has been floundering due to an ageing population. Its one hope is farmer Keita Izumi (Tatsuya Fujiwara), whose popular black figs have placed the island in line for a five billion yen … Continue reading REVIEW: Noise (2022)
Karen McCann (Sally Field) has her life thrown into disarray when her 17 year-old daughter is raped and murdered. Delivery man Robert Doob (Kiefer Sutherland) is arrested for the crime, but an evidence mishap sees all charges dismissed, and Doob … Continue reading REVIEW: Eye for an Eye (1996)
“Pilot” In 1996 a plane crashes somewhere in the North American wilderness, isolating the survivors – a high school girls soccer team – for 19 months. In 2021 members of the team are now in their 40s, and it seems … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Yellowjackets 1.01
Craig Zobel’s The Hunt purports to be a satire, but I am unconvinced its makers know precisely what they are satirising. The film begins with a very familiar Most Dangerous Game set-up: a group of kidnapped strangers wake up together in a field … Continue reading REVIEW: The Hunt (2020)
I am not sure what I was expecting from Saint Maud, writer/director Rose Glass’ widely acclaimed psychological horror film. All I can be certain of is that I was surprised at what I saw, and at the same time rather … Continue reading REVIEW: Saint Maud (2019)
During the day Ai (Tomona Hirota) works as a mascot on the streets of Osaka. At night, she supplements her income performing sex acts online. After a one-night stand she discovers her entire encounter has been recorded and uploaded to … Continue reading REVIEW: Videophobia (2019)
It is always a pleasure to see new work from director Park Chan-wook, whose off-kilter and superbly imaginative thrillers played a huge part in bringing contemporary Korean cinema to a world stage. While it was Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019) that became a … Continue reading MIFF REVIEW: Decision to Leave (2022)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was by no means the first Hollywood entertainment made out of serial killers, but its critical and commercial success did stimulate an unprecedented wave of similar and derivative works that barreled along for close to … Continue reading REVIEW: Copycat (1995)
There is a generally held convention that Hammer, the famous British production house behind a string of gothic horror movies, peaked in the 1950s and 1960s before declining in the 1970s. While this is certainly true of the company’s commercial … Continue reading REVIEW: Hands of the Ripper (1971)
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