https://www.starburstmagazine.com
  • Subscribe
  • Featured
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • News
  • Trailer Park
  • Subscribe
  • Film Festival
  • Store
  • Cart (0)
  • (0)
  • Account

Sorry there are no results, please try searching for something else

Please Use the search box on the left to search the site.

Search Results:

News

Out Now – ISSUE 448

STARBURST celebrates the anti-hero with previews ...

News

FrightFest Announces New Headline Sponsor

FrightFest, the annual leading horror film ...

reviews

THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932)

The bona fides of the 1932 film The Old Dark House ...

reviews

I KILL GIANTS

Director Anders Walter’s festival favourite ...

reviews

THEY CAME TO A CITY (1944)

Ealing Studios are best known for their post-war ...

reviews

DARK BLUE (2002)

Dark Blue is based on a story treatment from ...

reviews

STREETS OF RED: DEVIL’S DARE DELUXE

Taking its cues from games like Streets of Rage ...

reviews

FAHRENHEIT 451

With a television adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 ...

reviews

THE WAR IN THE DARK

Followers of occult history will know that our ...

reviews

ADULT FAIRY TALES (1978)

The legendary Charles Band had already been ...

reviews

RAMPAGE

Ever felt a bit like you want to see stuff get ...

Reviews | Written by Ryan Pollard 09/04/2015

PORTAL Episode 4 ‘Wednesday’

As the series is heading towards the end, things start to take shape as, in Episode 4, a kidnap plan goes haywire; John apparently having hidden motives of his own, and after being pushed to the very brink, Sophie’s plans for getting more Portal lead to murder.

After having a slow start with the first three episodes, the action starts to kick in and things get more visceral than before. We see just how desperate Sophie’s situation is as she’s prepared to murder people to get what she wants, but it’s major plaudits to Chelsea Edge that we’re still invested in her character and her story arc. Chelsea makes Sophie believable and you honestly believe that she doesn’t want to murder people, despite how desperate she is to escape from her own harsh reality. She superbly manages to convey the desperation and fear, and without her Sophie could’ve ended up being a bland character as a result.

We also start to learn a little bit more about John and what his possible motives may be. It all seems to suggest towards a revenge scheme due to some unfortunate incident in his past, but Clay Whitter keeps things very controlled and he makes the character emotionally withdrawn in order to give the character more intrigue and mystery about him.

The intrigue and mystery plays a part in the episode’s atmosphere, and this episode is probably the most atmospheric episode to date. Craig Porter’s cinematography is very visceral and striking with creative uses of shadows and blacks used to create an almost noire-esque quality to it at times. Combined with Ashmore’s hand-held direction that is playfully used to crank up the tension and suspense, it makes the whole thing seem like a horror thriller. That horror aspect is also perfectly reflected by the use of music at the very beginning of the episode, which also adds a foreboding tone for what’s to come in the episode.

Portal has so far been playing an interesting game with its clever use of character arcs and intertwining plotlines, and this is the episode where all that starts to come together and take shape, and the cliff-hanger in this episode is actually a great one for once as it doesn’t feel abrupt as previous cliff-hangers before and will certainly leave people impatient for the next episode and what occurs in that.
 

Reviews you may like

Read More

reviews | 20/04/2018

PARTY BUS TO HELL

From writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky, Party Bus to Hell sees a group of ...

View Article Read More

Share

reviews | 16/04/2018

CARTEL 2045

Co-written and directed by Chris Le, Cartel 2045 is a low budget, sci-fi ...

View Article Read More

Share

  • PARTY BUS TO HELL

    From writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky, Party Bus to Hell sees a group of horned-up, boozed-up partiers heading across the desert on their w...

    Read More
  • CARTEL 2045

    Co-written and directed by Chris Le, Cartel 2045 is a low budget, sci-fi action film that’ll likely appeal to B-movie enthusiasts. Set ...

    Read More

© Starburst Magazine - all rights reserved

  • Contact
  • Privacy