Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Beginning with a horribly amateurish pre-titles sequence, all in one uninterrupted five-minute shot and designed to foreshadow the terror the viewer can subsequently expect, Kevin Greutert takes the tricks he learned as editor on the first five Saw films, and director on the subsequent two, and applies them to a genre he’s way behind the curve on rather than having helped create. Jackals isn’t as terrible as those first five minutes might suggest, but equally it has very little to add to a story that’s already been told better and often.

Claiming to be ‘Based on true events’, and set in the early 1980s, the film begins proper with the ‘rescue’ of teenaged Justin Sullivan from the clutches of the cult he’s fallen in with. Except dad Andrew and Jimmy Levine, the ex-marine hired to effect the snatch and to de-programme Justin afterwards, leave Justin’s friend alive at the scene – meaning that when the three men join up with wife Kathy, son Campbell and Justin’s girlfriend Samantha at Andrew’s cabin in the woods for Justin’s detoxification, the murder-happy cult aren’t far behind and – as you probably already guessed – a rather nasty siege ensues.

There’s a few minutes early on when Jackals suddenly picks up and starts to look promising; Stephen Dorff is oddly miscast as the deprogrammer, but still brings enough charisma to his character that for a while you think the film is heading into interesting territory. Levine’s tactics feel prepared and the main cast – including Johnathon Schaech and Deborah Kara Unger as the parents, and a capable Ben Sullivan as Justin – are all very good. But the cult turns up way, way too early (even in a running time several minutes shy of eighty minutes), and the stand-off begins before we have time to really care about any of the family.

Thereafter the trajectory is all very familiar, even if Jared Rivet’s script and Greutert’s direction manage to keep us guessing exactly who’s going to get what and when – and the ending, while jarring if you’re expecting a resolution one way or the other – is quite neatly played. There’s a lot of hand-wringing first, though, and the dialogue is neither snappy nor sharp enough to keep the viewer involved in the Sullivan’s plight.

It’s also murkily shot, so while it’s framed and edited cleanly enough that you’re never lost for what’s going on, it feels like a really well-made home movie – and that can’t have been the plan. Greutert just about manages to wring some tension out of the last half an hour, mainly thanks to the actors he’s assembled, but only the lowest of expectations will make this worth passing your time over.

Extras: None

REVIEW: JACKALS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: KEVIN GREUTERT / SCREENPLAY: JARED RIVET / STARRING: STEPHEN DORFF, JOHNATHON SCHAECH, DEBORAH KARA UNGER, BEN SULLIVAN, CHELSEA RICKETTS, NICK ROUX / RELEASE DATE: 25^TH JUNE

With Traffik, writer/director Deon Taylor has created a movie that may not be for everyone. Looking to highlight a huge problem in the world right now, this is a film that pulls no punches and makes no apologies for being brutal and bleak when called for. The question is, is this intense journey worth the entrance fee, or is it a trip worth avoiding?

In the opening minutes, we get introduced to Paula Patton’s Brea; a journalist who’s lost her way a little. With her birthday on the horizon, her mechanic partner John (Omar Epps) decides to build her a car and take her away for the weekend to the swanky in-the-hills retreat owned by his sports agent best pal, Darren (Laz Alonso). Unfortunately, a mid-trip stop at a gas station sees a biker gang get a tad antsy with Brea and Darren, and those hog-riding Sons of Anarchy sorts have a whole lot more going on than merely roughing up passers-by. By the time Darren and his girlfriend Malia (Roselyn Sanchez) join them at this isolated dream home, it’s not long before the Luke Goss-led bikers turn up at their door with more than a takeaway delivery. You see, Brea has stumbled across a human trafficking plot that the bikers are involved in, and they will do whatever it takes to make sure that their plan goes ahead without a hitch.

The first thing that will strike you about Traffik is the sleek, stylish eye that Deon Taylor has. Even when it’s simply Brea jogging or sitting down with her boss – played by the ever-brilliant William Fichtner – this is a film that eases you in with a sharp, instinctive and effective approach to matters. As the tale unravels though, the movie becomes a tough watch at times. That’s not to say that the film isn’t a solid effort; more that it’s a hard movie to truly “enjoy”. Once the relative tranquillity of the opening act is out of the way, Traffik grabs you and refuses to let you go through this intense, gruelling, and powerful tale.

Front-and-centre, Paula Patton is absolutely phenomenal as her Brea runs through a whole host of emotions and is well and truly put through the proverbial wringer. This is hands-down Patton’s movie as she puts in a strong, stoic performance at the core of the picture, but that’s not to say she’s the only one putting in an impressive turn; Omar Epps is great as the everyman other half of Brea; Laz Alonso is an utter asshole (in the best possible way) as cocksure, money-driven Darren; Roselyn Sanchez is solid and emotive when allowed to be; and Luke Goss is as cold as a winter’s morning as he clinically puts the wheels in motion to make sure that his endgame isn’t disrupted. Similarly, genre fave William Fichtner is another strong presence, even if his screen time is sadly minimal.

When it comes down to it, Traffik is a film with a strong message and good intentions, although it does sometimes struggle to deal with what it ultimately is. Sure, the core narrative centres on human trafficking, but the film is at one moment a romance-laden movie, at others a chilling grindhouse ‘chase’ picture, at others a home invasion effort, at others a brutal, unrelenting, stalking slasher, and others an exploitation film.

This is an intimate, powerful story, albeit one that wavers a little in how it handles its subject matter and one that may frustrate some with the amount of time it takes to get to its key plot point of human trafficking. There are plenty of moments of impactful, claustrophobic terror that are extremely effective, but then the action will veer off in an altogether different direction in terms of tone and feel. Deon Taylor clearly has a whole lot of ideas for Traffik, just it may have served the film better if a tighter, less erratic structure was put in place. Then again, we guess human trafficking isn’t exactly supposed to be a paint-by-numbers simple affair. At times though, the message tends to get a little lost along the way due to the failure to settle on what set way of approaching the points that are trying to be made.

As mentioned, Traffik is a tough movie to enjoy, per se, but it’s a true roller coaster of a ride that will have you gripped to the edge of your seat. Chilling, stylish, and with some mesmerising performances at its core, this isn’t a film that will be for everyone, particularly if you’re not a fan of slow burning efforts, but there’s plenty on show here to showcase that Deon Taylor isn’t afraid to tackle the tough topics, and he is certainly someone to keep your eye on in the future.

Ultimately less that the sum of its parts, although with a slew of plus points to take away from it, Traffik is a mixed bag whose heart is in the right place, has a breathtaking lead performance, but just seems to struggle with how it connects its dots in terms of structure and tone.

TRAFFIK / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: DEON TAYLOR / STARRING: PAULA PATTON, OMAR EPPS, LUKE GOSS, LAZ ALONSO, ROSELYN SANCHEZ, WILLIAM FICHTNER / RELEASE DATE: JULY 2ND (VOD), JULY 16TH (DVD)

When is a sequel not a sequel? Mind Ripper began life as an actual third instalment in The Hills Have Eyes franchise – despite having no connections either through character or incident to the first two films – until Wes Craven changed his mind and left what became a HBO TV movie (with direct-to-video debuts in Europe) to stand on its own merits; Germany was having none of this and released it as The Hills Have Eyes 3 anyway.

You can see why they would. Despite a handful of interesting cast members, there’s very little to mark this out as either distinctive or intriguing enough to warrant your attention. It’s ploddingly written and unimaginatively directed (by Joe Gayton, creator of AMC’s Hell on Wheels for TV), and looks like the poorer cousin to a substandard mid-series episode of The X-Files. Only the Craven affiliation (co-writer Jonathan Craven was Wes’ son) will arouse your curiosity, and you might wish it hadn’t.

Lance Henricksen is head of a secret underground laboratory housed in an old nuclear facility somewhere in the American desert, researching a new life-giving virus when the ultimate test case drops into the team’s lap: a suicide victim. Throwing protocol to the wind, ‘Thor’ (Blom) is injected with the virus and six months later, after Henricksen has quit the project in disgust, is now a laboratory rat intended as the first of a new breed of super-soldier. But when Henricksen’s replacement John Diehl increases Thor’s doses tenfold in order to hurry things along, Thor begins reacting in unexpected and violent ways.

Thenceforth it’s cliché after irrationality as Diehl, and Henricksen’s would-be old flame Claire Stansfield, call their ex-boss back to the facility to help them sort out the mess, while Thor goes on the rampage, murdering the (insanely unlikely) scientists one by one as he begins to mutate into something more, or less, than human.

There are some pretty risible plot developments – even in a low aspiration horror it beggars belief that Henricksen (apparently embarrassed at his involvement in this) takes his teenaged kids on holiday to the covert military base he’s just received a distress call from – but it’s almost rescued by the cast. Henricksen himself is always dependable, and soars above the material he’s given, and a young Giovanni Ribisi is also much better value than his hackneyed character had any right to be. Sadly the female leads – including Natasha Wagner – are rather self-conscious and much less capable, and the music, lighting, effects and camerawork (none of which are flattered by this new Blu-ray edition) mostly serve only to sap any residual tension that might have arisen.

There’s a fairly substantial Jonathan Craven interview included to pique your interest, though.

 

Extras: trailer, Jonathan Craven interview

REVIEW: MIND RIPPER (aka THE OUTPOST) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JOE GAYTON / SCREENPLAY: JONATHAN CRAVEN, PHIL MITTLEMAN / STARRING: LANCE HENRIKSEN, GIOVANNI RIBISI, NATASHA WAGNER, CLAIRE STANSFIELD, JOHN DIEHL, DAN BLOM, GREGORY SPORLEDER / RELEASE DATE: 25^TH JUNE

One Piece (Uncut) Collection 17 brings together episodes 397-421, and combines them with a handful of extra features, mainly compromised of episode commentaries.

This collection begins rather awkwardly. The first episode included starts in the middle of where the previous episode left off. There is an episode catch up segment to bring viewers up to speed on what is happening, but it isn’t a natural place to being. Similarly, the collection’s ending is just as awkward. It just sort of runs out of episodes.

This is a problem that doesn’t affect the main run of episodes present, however. Once it gets going the mixture of genuine drama and goofy anime hijinks is on full display in this collection. The fight against Bartholomew Kuma is incredibly tense.

Luffy’s adventures on Amazon Lily showcase a little of everything that One Piece does well, and the adventures of individual crew members take place on multiple, distinct locals. There is even another Buss Luffy episode. The one major down point is the island on which Sanji finds himself. The theme of the island is that all of its inhabitants are trans women, which might have been an interesting idea were it not used for cheap laughs about how unappealing Sanji finds them, with all of the trans women deliberately drawn as grotesque caricatures.

Marathon play is on offer, and it is the best way to watch this collection for anyone who is seeking to binge through it. Doing so will avoid having to watch the opening titles quite so much, though for some reason part of the title sequence, and the episode catch up segments, are still present. The former is somewhat understandable as a way to help viewers keep track of where they are, but the inclusion of the latter in a marathon mode is pointless.

Most of the special features on hand are episode commentaries. The cast who take part don’t spend a lot of time focusing on the specifics of the episode they are watching but they do offer some insights into their thoughts on their characters, and what it’s like to work as a voice actor in anime. The highlights here are ‘One Piece in the Booth with Sonny Straight’ and ‘A day in the life of ZZZZoro’, which both serve to look at the production of the show through a humorous lens.

The run of episodes to hand offer a good sample of the show’s quality, and there are some noteworthy moments along with a notable plot reveal, combined with the collection’s extras the result is something worth checking out.

Special Features: Episode commentary for episodes 398, 405, 412, 417 / Trailers / Two different textless openings with the song ‘Share the World’ / One Piece in the Booth with Sonny Strait / A day in the life of ZZZZoro

ONE PIECE (UNCUT) COLLECTION 17 / CERT: 12 / DIRECTORS: VARIOUS / WRITERS: VARIOUS / STARRING: COLLEEN CLINKENBEARD, CHRISTOPHER R. SABAT, LUCI CHRISTIAN, SONNY STRAIT, ERIC VAILE, BRINA PALENCIA, STEPHANIE YOUNG, PATRICK SEITZ / RELEASE DATE: 25TH JUNE 2018

Originally released back in 1995, The Addiction is the next Abel Ferrara effort to get a swanky new 4K release from Arrow Video following 2016’s re-release of Ferrara’s notorious Driller Killer. And as ever where Arrow’s releases are concerned, this one’s crammed full of bonus features.

In terms of its premise, The Addiction is a twisted vampiric effort that’s unlike any bloodsucking film you’ve ever seen. The Conjuring’s Lili Taylor plays philosophy student Kathleen, who finds herself bizarrely bitten by Annabella Sciorra’s Casanova in the opening act. Soon becoming extremely ill, Kathleen realises that’s something’s not quite right once she starts to get a thirst for blood. After this “addiction” begins to spiral out of control, it takes a meeting with Christopher Walken’s zen-like Paina for Kathleen to start to question herself and her choices.

Director Abel Ferrara has always been one to split opinion, but there’s absolutely no disputing that The Addiction is his most stylish film to date. The screenplay from longtime Ferarra collaborator Nicholas St John takes a true staple of genre cinema – the vampire – and puts a completely fresh spin on it. The end result is a chilling, atmospheric, multi-layered movie that is full of philosophical questions and social commentary. Ferrara may be best known for the infamous Driller Killer and for the Walken-headlined King of New York, but The Addiction is his most complete film.

Utilizing a black and white colour scheme to add an added layer to St John’s script, Ferrara’s movie is only further boosted by the performances of its key figures. Lili Taylor – largely just known for Mystic Pizza at the time of the effort’s ’95 release – is stunning, putting in an anchoring performance that is everything that the film’s narrative needs her to be as her Kathleen is on a dark and murky roller coaster throughout the tale. To say that this is a one-performance picture would be hugely unfair on the rest of The Addiction’s cast, it’s just that the focus is so heavily and constantly on Kathleen and her journey. That said, Annabella Sciorra and Christopher Walken are fantastic in their minimal and totally opposing roles. Make no mistake though, this is utterly and totally Lili Taylor’s movie and she truly puts in a career-best turn here.

In terms of the special features included here, that’s often one of the main attractions of Arrow releases of the past few years – and The Addiction doesn’t disappoint on this front, either. The brand new interview with Abel Ferrara captures the fascinating Ferrara in all his glory; at times letting the conversation flow with a natural ease, at other times verging on irritated. Similarly, the audio commentary is a must-listen, even if it has been included on previous releases of The Addiction. One other piece of marvellous new material, though, is the Talking with the Vampires documentary, which sees input from Ferrara, Lili Taylor, and Christopher Walken.

Finally, the 4K transfer is crystal clear and only further helps the black and white nature of the movie jump out from the screen. Simply put, The Addiction – a film that has always looked great – has never looked better. Throw in some truly brilliant bonus content, and you have a release that genre fans and Ferrara fans will be chomping at the bit to sink their teeth into.

Special Features: Audio commentary by Abel Ferrara / Brand new Talking with the Vampires documentary / New interviews with Abel Ferrara and Brad Stevens / Abel Ferrara Edits The Addiction featurette / Trailer / Illustrated collectors’ booklet

THE ADDICTION / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: ABEL FERRARA / SCREENPLAY: NICHOLAS ST JOHN / STARRING: LILI TAYLOR, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, ANNABELLA SCIORRA, EDIE FALCO / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 25TH

My Hero Academia: Season 2, Part 2 collects episodes 26-38, comprising the second half of the show’s second season. In these episodes, the main characters have to undertake both internships and examinations.

In the first part of Season 2, the menacing Hero Killer was introduced. This collection follows up on that initial appearance, and the character does not disappoint. The characters’ presence provides My Hero Academia with another opportunity to show how its characters react when they confront a real-world threat, rather than an obstacle that has been set up for them by their teachers. Not all of the students get to take part in such a scene but those who do benefit greatly. Such scenes are both a chance for the show to raise the stakes and provide crucial character growth, a dynamic best exemplified by Asui’s own trial by fire.

As well as character development, these episodes provide some crucial plot advancement. Midoriya’s internship gives a chance for the character to learn more about his powers, and how they work. This ties the exposition into his personal arc.

Not only are the plot and the character relationships up to their usual standard, but the action is too. The fights are fast-paced spectacles which show off the fluid animation of the series, each of them showing what can be done with the vast array of the powers that the cast as a whole have to work with.

The last collection in the series had a wealth of special features, and this release is no exception. Broadly speaking, the extra features on offer can be split into three categories; voice actors discussing their characters, a look behind the scenes of the show, and textless opening/closing videos. The episode commentaries go beyond simple analysis by including shout-outs to charities, and comedic interactions between the cast. The behind the scenes feature shows just how a simul dub is made. With simul dubs becoming more common it will be easy to take them for granted one day, this extra feature shows just how much work goes into making that happen.

With My Hero Academia: Season 2, Part 2 Sony showcases just what can be done with a physical anime release when an effort is made to make purchasing the physical release worthwhile. The episodes themselves are up to the My Hero Academia‘s usual standard, providing the right mixture of action, character growth, and plot advancement. This is backed up by a solid set of special features which are all worth watching individually and add to the value of the box set immensely as a whole. This collection is a prime example of why physical media shouldn’t be discounted just yet.

Special Features: Katsuki Bakguo: Origin / SimulDubs from Beginning to End / San Diego Comic-Con: IGN/ Interview / Textless Opening Song “Peace Sign” / Textless Opening Song “Singin’ to the Sky” / Textless Closing Song “Dakara, Hitori Ja Nai” / Textless Closing Song “Datte Atashi No Hiiroo”

MY HERO ACADEMIA: SEASON 2, PART 2 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTORS: VARIOUS / WRITERS: VARIOUS / STARRING: CHRISTOPHER R. SABAT, JUSTIN BRINER, LUCI CHRISTIAN, MONICA RIAL / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Ang Lee’s 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was such a huge international success, made after he’d acclimatised to Hollywood movie-making techniques, it was inevitable that The West would seek out more of the same in its immediate aftermath. Yuen Woo-Ping’s seven-year-old film Iron Monkey was Lee’s immediate beneficiary. Dusted off by Miramax in 2001, it made $14m and became one of the more high profile martial arts films of the new century, despite its lack of concessions to American audience expectations.

Taking place in a small rural town run by a corrupt governor (James Wong), it concerns the exploits of local doctor Yang Tianchun (Yu, aka Ringo Yu) who overcharges the rich and treats the poor for free, and who by night disguises himself as the eponymous Robin Hood styled crusader, robbing from the administration in order to provide for those less well off – and always evading Governor Cheng’s rather ineffectual chief guard Fox/Wolf (Yuen). Into this situation arrives the real-life historical figure Wong Kei-ying (Yen) and his son Wong Fei-hung (child actress Angie Tsang, playing against gender), who are arrested as potential suspects in the hunt for the Iron Monkey; when the father proves his own prowess against the real Iron Monkey, Cheng holds the son hostage, demanding Wong’s help in capturing the governor’s nemesis. Wong, who is shunned by the villagers for his willingness to assist the crooked administrator, is taken in by Yang’s second Miss Orchid (Wang), and thus the scene is set for the two great martial artists to eventually team up and defeat Cheng’s replacement, the newly arrived and even more dishonest and proficient Hin-hung (Yen Shi-kwan).

Like many of its ilk, Iron Monkey strikes what to non-domestic eyes might feel like an uneasy balance between comedy and action, achieving an easy-going tone we might recognise from TV classic Monkey, in which slapstick and violence become congruous bedfellows. This is particularly evident in the scene where Yang impersonates Hin-hung ahead of his arrival, giving Yu and Wang the opportunity for some broad, almost farcical overacting; the characterisation all around is rather arch, but immensely engaging and agreeable.

Where Iron Monkey really comes alive is with the action, and here’s where the audiences who enjoyed Crouching Tiger are repaid ten-fold; Yuen Woo-ping’s direction of these sequences is frenetic and inventive, yet always very clear and as precise as ballet. Your breath will be taken.

Eureka Entertainment’s lovely restoration on the new Blu-ray is supported by a plethora of extras, including a fascinating interview with the actress who plays the little boy – but for a bonus treat we’d recommend you watch this in the dubbed English language version, while leaving the subtitles on; if the plot is reminiscent of a spaghetti Western, then this experience only enhances the similarities – and you’ll be almost as amused at the changes the American distributor made to the dialogue as you will be by the rest of this classic of its kind.

Extras: trailer, five interview featurettes (including Donnie Yen), two choreography featurettes, 2003 Wu Shu competition footage

REVIEW: IRON MONKEY (1993) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: YUEN WOO-PING / SCREENPLAY: TSUI HARK, CHEUNG TAN, TANG ELSA, LAU TAI-MOK / STARRING: DONNIE YEN, YU RONGGUANG, JEAN WANG, ANGIE TSANG, YUEN SHUN-YI / RELEASE DATE: 18^TH JUNE

If you follow the gloomy long-running series known as the news over the past 12 months, you will likely find Freddie Hutton-Mills and Bart Ruspoli’s Genesis rich for political pickings. Class wars, chemical attacks, killer robots – they all appear here. The murderous machine in this case, however, is no self-driving taxi. Instead, it is the android ABEL (Chiké Okonkwo) who has been created by Dr. Eve Grabriel (Olivia Grant) as humanity’s last hope. ABEL is tasked with collecting food rations to save the underground complex known as Eden, but quickly gets other ideas.

There are more biblical references that you can shake a sacred text at here. The main idea is that ABEL is the product of mankind’s failures and represents their punishment. The problem is it never gets to explore this interesting idea in enough detail, because the film gets distracted by its numerous sub-plots. These mostly involve Paul Brooks (John Hannah) trying to keep his fellow oppressed citizens from holding an all-out riot. Hannah is one of the good things to be had here – someone who is easy to sympathise with and the only real ‘hero’ of the story. His troubles, however, detract from the main story which, halfway through in particular, feels a little bit shelved.

Maybe this is for the best. ABEL is rather dull – more automated traffic warden than Robocop. Okonkwo does his best but is given barely anything to work with, his early interactions with Dr. Gabriel being the only flashes of something that goes beyond blank stares. His creator, on the other hand, is far more fleshed out. Gabriel’s reaction to a sort-of big revelation is pulled off beautifully by Grant; her eyes are full of tragedy and sadness even if on the outside she seems remarkably calm.

This is when Genesis starts to get distinct Blade Runner vibes and is also when it is most watchable. Either side of this moment features some general scene-setting or paranoia boiling over. Tension is used instead of all-out action, but it is hardly on a knife-edge. You never experience the furore that Hutton-Mills and Ruspoli try to whip you into. Its political commentary would feel more significant were it not for the certain engineering marvel who is meant to be centre stage. It’s engaging, but with misguided priorities.

Genesis often feels like a badly-stitched collage of other sci-fi movies, and while that can often still make for decent entertainment for anyone who likes that kind of thing, Grant and Hannah aside, this is an unremarkable effort.

GENESIS / RATING:15 / DIRECTORS: FREDDIE HUTTON-MILLS & BART RUSPOLI / SCREENPLAY: FREDDIE HUTTON-MILLS & BART RUSPOLI / STARRING: OLIVIA GRANT, CHIKÉ OKONKWO, JOHN HANNAH, WARREN BROWN, ED STOPPARD / RELEASE DATE: JULY 16TH 2018

A young man wakes on a bench in a pedestrian square in the middle of an unnamed continental European city, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Before he can make any sense of his predicament, a group of four sharp-suited and white-masked assassins close in on him and shoot him dead. But he immediately wakes on the same bench, alive once more and back at the beginning of the same life-threatening scenario. Trying to control an overwhelming sense of panic and confusion, the murder victim struggles to make sense of what is happening to him and looks for a way to break the repeating cycle.

While Hollywood’s production factories continue to pump out a never-ending supply of mega-buck formulaic sci-fi, it is in the work of the micro-budget European indie fringe that many of the more interesting and experimental genre work continues to be found. Incarnation (Inkarnacija to give it its original title) is an excellent example of a group of filmmakers’ determination to produce a different sort of fantasy thriller with a sensibility and identity all its own.

The film is the debut feature of Serbian writer-director Filip Kovačević, much of it shot in central Belgrade (seemingly amidst the hubbub of unsuspecting shoppers and tourists).

It’s all but impossible to describe how the plot of Incarnation unfolds without spoiling the enjoyment that comes from the viewer sharing the main protagonist’s bewilderment at the inexplicable position he finds himself in. But what it is safe to reveal is that the writers are determined to keep the audience guessing for as long as possible, and not surrender to the expectations of the multiplex for immediate gratification and easy explanations. This is a story shaped by paranoia, existential angst and disconcerting shifts in perception. Kovačević wants the audience to embrace the uncertainty and go with it, as a series of bizarre clues and strange encounters suggest possible explanations for the man’s murderous conundrum.

The result is a movie that is intriguing, sometimes baffling, but rarely predictable. Combined with some excellent set design, first-rate cinematography by Uros Milutinovic (who likes to film the many chase sequences from amidst the runners) and well chosen and eerie locations all enhance the film’s sense of style.

In the lead role of the hunted man, Djordjevic delivers the right mix of distress and determination, but this is a film driven more by the realisation of an idea than by performance. Kovačević maintains an unsettling dreamlike atmosphere throughout, contrasting the everyday normality of the main urban setting with the victim’s disconnection from the world around him – as he tries time and again to escape his fate.

As the story relocates to the barren countryside beyond the city limits, the film moves towards its most surreal moments before some surprising hidden truths are uncovered in the final act, back on the main streets.

Not every plot thread is tied up in the film’s finale, and much is left open to audience interpretation – which may irritate some viewers. But Incarnation is the kind of intelligent, confident European genre filmmaking that rewards the attention it demands.

INCARNATION / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: FILIP KOVAČEVIĆ / SCREENPLAY: FILIP KOVAČEVIĆ, MASA SENICIC, IVAN STANCIC / STARRING: STOJAN DJORDJEVIC, DACA VIDOSAVLJEVIC, STEN ZENDOR / RELEASE: OUT NOW