Review Category: Movie

Following the success of his previous short, Silently Within Your Shadows, director Scott Lyus takes us on an atmospheric ghost hunt in which the spectres of the past may be a little more close to home.

In a deserted ramshackle house, amongst the creaking boards, flickering lights and howling wind, a professor and his assistants set up to spend the night for research purposes. The house is reportedly haunted. As the quartet settle down to begin their evening, Liz (Tergeist) recounts the tale of the family that lived there forty years earlier to the inquisitive helpers Frank (writer Sands, who older readers may remember from eighties TV series Moondial) and Fred (McFadden). It’s a creepy and sinister story that not only puts the pair on edge but provides some palpable tension. The young children of the family had gone missing one night and the parents were accused of their murder. The tragedy doesn’t stop there as the father committed suicide shortly after and the mother died of a broken heart, claiming the ‘house took the children’. As the evening goes on, the past resurfaces with some disturbing revelations.

Lyus’ short is an effective exercise in atmosphere and tension, with the story bringing many spine-tingling and thought-provoking moments. As events unravel, it becomes as much about grief and loss than ghosts and haunted houses.

In the space of just twenty minutes, we’re sent on a rollercoaster of emotions and thanks to the moody cinematography of Sharad Patel and the engaging script by Sands, the tension is soon amped to the max. An impressive sound design bolsters the eeriness, and Tergeist’s delivery is pitch-perfect; not straying into a clichéd campfire recitation but genuinely captivating.

As the short reaches its dramatic but beautifully understated denouement, one can’t help but wish there had been longer to build the tension and deeper character development to increase the emotional impact of the climax. It’s the biggest downside of the short format. It’s a testament to all involved that we’re left thinking this, though.

Like Lyus’ previous release, Echoes of the Passed is set to tour the film festivals of the world over the next months. If you get a chance to see it, make sure you do.

ECHOES OF THE PASSED / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: SCOTT LYUS / SCREENPLAY: TONY SANDS / STARRING: PAUL DEWDNEY, TONY SANDS, SOPHIE TERGEIST, MAC MCFADDEN / RELEASE DATE: TBC

The latest from acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 blends the heady with the heartfelt, becoming a science fiction masterwork that retains the sophistication of the 1982 original even as it pushes the story in a daring new direction. Bolstered by magnetic performances from Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, a stellar supporting cast, and an electrifying final act, the film exposes the sequels-can’t-be-better idea as a fallacy and proves that sometimes bigger can be better.

Set against a symphony of synth and silence, this astounding sequel moves from moments of intense meditation to those of explosive revelation with a deftness of which only Villeneuve is capable. The director understands and respects the spirit of the original enough to both deviate frequently and derive sparingly, gifting its sequel with an autonomy that would drive any self-respecting replicant mad with glee. Here is a sequel that not only knows where it comes from but also knows what it is and what it wants to say. Here is a sequel that’s as sharply written as it is emotionally affecting. It’s this confidence, this competence that pushes this new Blade Runner away from its ilk and into a class of its own.

Don’t mistake the director’s intelligence for pretension; what initially sounds like bombast is actually meant as insight, even if Villeneuve can’t always communicate or convey his ideas as clearly as he’d prefer. The film takes nearly an hour to gain traction, which would make its first third tiresome, difficult, and devoid of excitement and clarity for some. The plot progression isn’t swift or even a priority here; the film keeps its focus trained on Gosling’s stoic K, rarely attending to the many tertiary characters and concepts actually propelling the story. However, it doesn’t overdo. Villeneuve doesn’t bludgeon viewers with his ideas. He does request a certain amount of investment, but that comes with the territory. Its predecessor was no different. Both films go all-in with their concepts, leaving it to viewers to keep up and refusing to slow if they won’t. This is high-concept sci-fi that rewards the patient and disappoints the restless.

Blade Runner 2049 stands tall as one of the finest science fiction films of the last decade, even if it falls just short of perfection. Villeneuve has crafted something truly special here, and it’s likely to become a classic sooner rather than later.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: DENIS VILLENEUVE / SCREENPLAY:  HAMPTON FANCHER, MICHAEL GREEN / STARRING: RYAN GOSLING, HARRISON FORD, DAVE BAUTISTA, ROBIN WRIGHT, JARED LETO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10
Actual Rating:

Armstrong is a serious film. Unrelentingly so. The only mild sniff of humour comes from the title itself, but why so serious when it struggles to know what it wants to be? It is absolutely sci-fi, but is it a chase movie? Is it a morality tale? Is it yet another limp love letter to the eighties that is currently so en vogue? The answer is all of the above. 

Succinctly put, man with enhanced arm needs to get to a place to blow up a thing set by nasty men who are chasing him (the Harbingers) and enlists the help of an Ambulance driver and the driver’s mate, with endless standing around talking about doing the right thing. This reviewer suggests that playing a dialogue cliché drinking game would be a near suicidal undertaking without a medic on standby.

Both directing and writing, Kerry Carlock and Nicholas Lund-Ulrich hail from backgrounds in MTV shows and Special effects respectively. Unfortunately for the script the former is very much evident and, pleasantly for the effects, the latter shines on screen. For what is clearly a low budget film the effects, in places, are astounding. The eighties feel lingers in the look and sound of the piece – an unending mechanical hum and clank soundtracks most of its running time creating, one would hope, an almighty royalty cheque for one Mr. Cameron.

Orange is the New Black actor Vicky Jeudy works with what she’s given as rookie, Lauren, whereas her world-weary partner, Eddie (Jason Antoon), is the antithesis of subtlety. Oddly, Armstrong himself is sidelined for great chunks of the movie, leaving our two ENTs to chew the cud on terrible upbringings, estranged children, divorce, drug abuse and a dead sibling – just in case you fancied a game of ‘Traumatic Past Top Trumps’.

All of that said there is something about the film that draws you in. There is an attempt at world building that leaves the door falling off its hinges for sequels.

Its fun wondering quite where Armstrong’s gadgets keep coming from and listen out for that Wilhelm scream and the Kylo Ren sound-setting on the Harbingers’ helmets.

Armstrong is perfect Friday-night-after-the-pub fodder. It will have you wondering why you are watching it, why you watched it and then crucially – how you somehow enjoyed it.

ARMSTRONG / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: KERRY CARLOCK, NICHOLAS LUND-ULRICH / STARRING: VICKY JEUDY, JASON ANTOON, SHAWN PARSONS / RELEASE DATE: UK RELEASE TBA 

Back in 1963 Francis Ford Coppola got his break into mainstream film through Roger Corman and the quickie Pyscho knock-off Dementia 13, which he wrote and directed (mostly). This ‘remake’ follows to some degree the basic template of that original, updating it a little for today’s busy VOD market. It’s a horror-tinged twist on the old ‘rich family with dark secrets’ tale.

The Halorans are a wealthy family blighted by the death of one of the four children, Kathleen, in a drowning accident as a young child. Each year the matriarch Gloria returns to the ‘castle’ (big country mansion) they used to all call home to hold a ceremony for her lost daughter. Her son Johnny has brought his not-entirely-on-the-level wife Louise with him, while uptight daughter Rose has brought her similarly straight-laced hubby Dale along. Other daughter Billy shows up with her hipster-hippy boyfriend Kane in tow, and also hanging around is long serving handyman Arthur. It’s not long before seedy criminals, murder and the possible spirit of the angry Kathleen start to peel away the secrets the family have kept for years.

Coppola was working at a time when many producers and studios made cheapie versions of the big hits of the day. It’s not an unreasonable assessment of his official debut that his basic calling card is not exactly Apocalypse Now. These days there’s a hell of a lot of VOD and straight to supermarket DVD chart films out there, and this version of Dementia 13 is no Apocalypse Now either. Of course, that’s a ridiculous comparison for what this film is trying to achieve, so let’s say it’s no The Conjuring. What it does is try and throw in a few separate strands and knit them all into a coherent whole. But the home invasion-meets-family-secrets-meets-haunting approach means none really stand out.

Still, in the scheme of these things, the performances vary from okay to fine; it’s only 80-ish minutes long and inoffensive enough. It’s relatively competently made and what little budget they had to use they spent on the right parts of this film. Sure, nothing really pops in it and despite an occasional effective moment it’s pretty bland stuff, but there’s much worse out there of this type of release. We know that’s damning it with faint praise but that’s about the best we can do. If you do manage to catch this, you’re not likely to be thrilled but you’ll probably not hate it either. By no means is this inessential or worth seeking out, but overall, it’s alright for what it is.

DEMENTIA 13 (2017) / CERT: / DIRECTOR: RICHARD LEMAY / SCREENPLAY: DAN DEFILIPPO, JUSTIN SMITH / STARRING: JULIA CAMPANELLI, CHANNING PICKETT, STEVE POLITES / RELEASE DATE: 6TH OCTOBER (USA); UK RELEASE TBA

Ambition in filmmaking is to be applauded and respected. Successful or otherwise, without it we would be left watching the same tired stories repeated endlessly. Horror, in particular, suffers greatly from repetition, with themes and plots regurgitated without so much as a hint of original thought. That said, if you do swing for the fences, you better be confidant you might reach them.

Watch Over Us follows a very familiar horror construct. A family in a remote house are plagued by noises, inexplicable occurrences and are having, on the whole, a rather uncomfortable time. Single father Jon (Link) is unemployed, struggling to find new work, and is awkwardly unsuccessful on the dating scene. Daughters Eliza (Pohl) and Becca (Schaefer) constantly give him a hard time, primarily about their living arrangements, which are as barely welcome guests in their grandfather’s home. As the mysterious disturbances increase they seek a solution, and soon discover it’s all related to a barn on the property.

All very familiar then, but when Watch Over Us makes its play in the second act, you’ll likely chuckle with frustrated disbelief at the audacity of the reveal. Much of the problem stems from a lack of real conviction in what’s gone before. Writer and director (and editor and cinematographer) F. C. Rabbath never manages to instil enough credible dread or threat into the story, rendering the reality of the situation somewhat bland. It’s also ludicrous. Instead of playing around with a more conventional idea, and instilling that with some much-needed originality, Watch Over Us goes entirely left field with no hint of irony, and instantly leaves behind any viewers still persevering with the tired premise.

Further issues come from Rabbath’s history with short films. While not exactly cramp-inducingly long at just 67-minutes, Watch Over Us feels like an extended short film, one that lacks the necessary depth to justify a feature length release. Trimmed down this could have been a neat, lean and entertaining movie, with the preposterousness of the reveal played for darkly comedic effect rather than the solemn severity it is here.

It is a shame when ambition falls short of achieving the heights it strives for. Rabbath clearly has the imagination, and the drive to deliver a decent film, but Watch Over Us is lacking in the necessary components. A story that simply doesn’t work, performances that are patchy at best, and production values that convey the impression of being filmed on a cheap handheld camera. Disappointing.

WATCH OVER US / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: F. C. RABBATH / STARRING: DANIEL LINK, AVERY KRISTEN POHL, ELLA SCHAEFER / RELEASE DATE: UK RELEASE DATE TBA

Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, On Body and Soul tells the unique love story between two introverted people who work at meat processing plant. One’s a world-weary financial director and the other is a strict quality controller, and both find they share a lot more in common than first anticipated. After a break-in at the factory, workers soon find themselves under observation and through a strange turn of events it’s revealed that both characters have been sharing the same dream. Due to this unexpected coincidence they then begin to find out more about each other’s lives and form a unique bond.

Having recently been announced as Hungary’s Foreign Language entry into the 90th Academy Awards, it’s not hard to see why so much praise has been heaped upon Ildiko Enyedi’s long awaited return to the silver screen. The directing is impeccable, the cinematography is breathtaking and the performances are brilliantly executed. It’s the two leads however in which the film hinges upon and both actors are able to portray their characters with aplomb.

Géza Morcsányi plays Endre, a man who has suffered a stroke and has almost given up on love entirely with sincere authenticity whereas Alexandra Borbély is able to put in a deeply mesmerizing performance as Mária, a precise quality inspector who shows signs of autistic behaviour. With both characters suffering from their own personal setbacks, their shared dreams provide them with a platform to escape from the mundanity of everyday life. It’s only after they realise they share the same dreams that they attempt to strive for something more.

The human condition is a running theme throughout, with the abattoir setting being the perfect backdrop for many of the characters that all in one way or another seem to be wounded by life. Whether it’s the breakdown of a marriage, a past crime or the inability to function as most others do, all the characters have their own trials and tribulations in which they’re fighting to overcome. Although the pacing at times can feel excruciatingly slow and the interactions can be brutally awkward, On Body and Soul is a film which requires patience.

Although it may not resonate with mainstream audiences, Ildikó Enyedi has crafted a film that will find its fair share of admirers. Having already won an award and earning heaps of praise amongst the critical community, it’s safe to say that Enyedi’s return has been a resounding success. With an interesting premise, which focuses on two unique individuals, this is a love story like no other that’s been seen before.

ON BODY AND SOUL / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ILDIKO ENYEDI / STARRING:  GEZA MORCSANYI, ALEXANDRA BORBELY, ZOLTAN SCHNEIDER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Watching Jason Figgis’ previous feature Don’t You Recognise Me was a gruelling, yet rewarding experience. Aggressive, unrelenting and unflinching, it tackled themes of revenge and consequence head on, challenging its audience at every turn. Figgis’ new film Torment plots a similar path, but does so in an entirely different way. Where there was vitriol, there is desperation. Where anger manifested into violence, there is internal suffering and grief. The emotional beats are the same, but are rendered physical through subtle, almost imperceptible ways.

Essentially based around two apparently separate storylines, Torment explores how guilt and regret can pollute a soul, and how those individuals handle such strong emotions thrust upon them either by their actions, or those of others. Jane (Cora Fenton) is haunted by the death of a child, traumatised to a point of inaction, and struggling to relate to her ever-patient husband John (Bryan Murray). Their tentative exchanges are filled with love and respect, but also an inherent sadness that keeps them firmly at arm’s length, with the barriers of sadness too strong to break down.

Running concurrently is Jack’s story. Portrayed by Bill Fellows, Jack wakes one morning trapped in a makeshift coffin, with only a breathing tube and a camera for company. Punished for a previous crime, Jack’s emotions range from anger to regret to aggression. Interrogated by his captor, Jack struggles to understand the severity of his situation while attempts at reason fall on deaf ears.

Though Figgis shrouds the arcs of his characters in mystery, there are clear indicators that the stories are in some way intertwined. But where Torment impresses is in its simplicity. The performances are largely reserved, with sporadic outpourings of intensity, but are filmed with a voyeuristic, almost invasive style that pushes the viewer right into the centre of the drama. The editing adds to the discomfort felt while viewing, as Jane, John and Jack move ever closer toward a finale you always sense will deliver little by way of closure.

Blended with Jane’s tragic story, is a disconcerting performance from Figgis regular Darren Travers. Part personification of grief, part psychological accuser, Travers inhabits a role open to interpretation and full of malevolence. His manic, almost cartoonish character contrasts directly with the internal suffering experienced by the main characters and underlines the helplessness felt by the characters.

There are occasional missteps – odd lines of dialogue fall flat and elements of the story in the build toward the finale are a tad confused – but like Don’t Your Recognise Me, Torment is a visceral viewing experience. Well-acted, superbly edited and with a relentless, almost unpleasant electro-pop soundtrack from Gilleathain McLean and Ross Morris that delivers appropriately dour aural punishment to the viewer, this is a film worth seeking out.

TORMENT / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JASON FIGGIS / STARRING: CORA FENTON, BILL FELLOWS, DARREN TRAVERS, BRYAN MURRAY / RELEASE DATE: UK RELEASE DATE TBA

Based on the true story of a kidnapped son of a Mafia informer, Sicilian Ghost Story focuses more on a fictional character intent on finding the missing boy than on the victim of the kidnapping himself. 

Luna (Julia Jedlikowska) has more than a teenage crush on Giuseppe (Gaetano Fernandez). As is so often the way at this age, Luna is can’t-live-without-him in love with him. But Giuseppe is the son of a Mafia boss turned informer. Soon after Luna gives Giuseppe a letter declaring her love, the teenage boy disappears. Worse still, no one seems to care as much as Luna does. Giuseppe’s parents send Luna away when she goes to his house looking for answers. Teachers in school ignore the fact Giuseppe’s chair has been empty for so long. And the corrupt police want Luna’s parents to get better control over her when she starts licking up a fuss. But when Luna begins having visions of where Giuseppe might be held, her fantasies contrast with the harsh reality of what Giuseppe is experiencing. 

Sicilian Ghost Story takes its time setting up the attraction of Luna and Giuseppe. Its pace is unhurried as it explores Luna’s coming of age while occasionally crossing back to show the increasingly tragic circumstances of Giuseppe at the hands of his captors. It’s not a wholly successful juxtaposition and the scenes of Giuseppe’s entrapment feel like they are from a different, far grittier film. As Luna dyes her hair shocking blue and rebels against the society she is stuck in, Giuseppe’s story is slightly buried. But as Luna’s rebellion slips into losing her grip on reality, Giuseppe’s situation gets ever more desperate.

Sicilian Ghost Story flirts with cliché as Luna starts to experience the first throes of womanhood. A more disciplined cut of the film could focus more on her hunt for Giuseppe rather than her unruly streak under the watchful eye of her sinister mother. Time and again the film loses momentum due to its lack of focus. Even though Giuseppe is trapped in a single location, it is his scenes that always carry the most weight and that viewers may find themselves desperate to return to in order to check on the boy’s welfare. This is, after all, his true story and Giuseppe should be more central to the plot than he is. 

Despite this, Julia Jedlikowska is an excellent lead and shines as the determined teen. While her tale does meander, it is her experiences of first love that give Sicilian Ghost Story its hypnotic and tender heartbeat. Aided by eerie cinematography that captures the woods and lakes in impressive wide angles, it’s a frustrating, but ultimately upsetting watch. While the kidnapped Giuseppe’s experience is short-changed, Luna’s love for him shines through and just about manages to glue the film together. 

SICILIAN GHOST STORY / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: FABIO GRASSADONIA, ANTONIO PIAZZA / STARRING: JULIA JEDLIKOWSKA, GAETANO FERNANDEZ , CORINNE MUSALLARI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The gangster lifestyle so brilliantly captured in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas comes to vivid animated life in the confrontationally titled Mutafukaz, as loser kids get caught between gang bangers and mysterious men in black in a down and dirty city full of bums and corpses in the streets. Throw in a subversive alien invasion and you might be close to comprehending the wacky vibe that Mutafukaz has to offer.

While staring at a pretty girl who sprouts angel wings as she walks by, wide-eyed pizza boy Angelino gets hit by a car and a resulting bump on his little round head. This initiates Angelino having nightmarish visions of tentacled-creatures emerging from seemingly ordinary humans. Shady suited men are suddenly hot on his tail as he goes on the run around the sleazy streets of Dark Meat City with his flaming skull-headed buddy Vinz. But Angelino has a secret of his own and he may be the key to fighting off the impending alien invasion. 

Mutafukaz is even more bonkers than it sounds, pulsating with a dubstep and hip-hop infused score and bursting at the seams with visual invention. If you’re left with questions as bullets fly, cockroaches swarm and corpses pile up, the filmmakers have got your back, occasionally flashing up their own questions on screen to ensure you realise that you’re not the only one wondering what the hell you’re watching. 

It’s an anarchic ride, probably dreamed up while bingeing on GTA while particularly bloodshot-eyed. Like the game, it’s violent, cares very little for its fantasy female characters, and seems to come straight from the mind of a hyperactive teenage boy. The animation is kinetic, especially in foot chases, car chases and ballistic fight scenes, and the blending of an ice cream truck’s jingle (what better transport to escape the men in black?) with the bass line of the score is electric and inventive.

Wildly original, but also stuffed with nods to its influences, San Andreas players will recognise a lot of the locations and characters. The hood of Palm Hill features purple clad gangsters fighting on the streets with green clad gangsters and even though everyone speaks French, this is a recognisably dystopian California. While the characters name check GTA, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more, their televisions reference real world politics and couldn’t be any more relevant when it is revealed what the aliens are trying to do to Earth in order for their species to survive and thrive.

It occasionally goes a little too wayward, particularly when introducing mystical warrior wrestlers, but for every silly or sexist misstep, there’s always a Shakespeare-quoting gangster round the next corner to slap a grin right back on your face. Mutafukaz is bound to be the coolest animation you’ll see this year. 

MUTAFUKAZ / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS: SHOUJIROU NISHIMI, GUILLAUME RENARD / SCREENPLAY: GUILLAUME REBNARD / STARRING: ORELSAN, GRINGE, REDOUANNE HARJANE / RELEASE DATE: UK RELEASE TBA 

Thought Aubrey Plaza was scary as a zombie in Life After Beth? Think again. In Ingrid Goes West, Plaza’s desperately sad loner is a single white female who’s stalking of a social media celebrity is positively chilling. And very much like her turn as a decaying ex-girlfriend in Life After Beth, in Ingrid Goes West she mashes together terror and black comedy fearlessly. 

Ingrid’s life is a mess. Her mother has died leaving her a fat inheritance, but she’s left in a psychiatric ward after a meltdown at an old friend’s wedding. Obsessed with Instagram, hashtags about perfection and happiness and the perfect emoji to use when commenting, she’s desperate for a friend, and for someone to notice her (and more importantly ‘like’ her pictures). Discovering the seemingly perfect life of social media sensation Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen) in a magazine, she moves to LA to needle her way into Taylor’s life, no matter what the cost. 

There’s a sledgehammer subtle message here: be careful what you share about yourself online. But Ingrid Goes West isn’t sermonising and plays its concept for pitch-black laughs almost throughout. It’s genius is to make you laugh with recognition at Ingrid’s sad but harmless perpetual liking of other’s Instagram snaps, while in reality she bawls her eyes out with jealousy and loneliness. It shouldn’t be funny, and by the end writers David Branson Smith and Matt Spicer have done a nifty flip-reverse and made sure you care about Ingrid even as her behaviour becomes more repugnant, but ultimately understandable.

Ingrid Goes West is a film about phoniness, from Ingrid’s own antics to the social media celebs that she so idolises. No one here is as perfect as their profile suggests, though director Matt Spicer captures the bohemian chic of those who can afford to live a life shared between hipster cafes in LA and classy getaways in the desert of the Joshua Tree National Park. With its sun-kissed locales, and characters all stuck with their faces in their phones, it’s like an episode of Black Mirror set worryingly in the present. 

Even in its portrait of obsession and desperation, Ingrid Goes West is above all else, hilarious. Whether mercilessly mocking ideas about modern art or how people interact on social media, it’s brilliantly well observed and will have you thinking twice about your own use of Instagram. Only O’Shea Jackson Jr. emerges as a really likeable character, but even his obsession with Batman is played constantly for laughs. 

Though its ending gets suitably dark, the film doesn’t quite go as sinister or psychotic as you might expect. Despite that, Ingrid Goes West is bright, funny as hell and so full of contemporary razor-sharp insight that it will make many in the audience squirm. Fuelled by Aubrey Plaza’s hysterical performance, it’s almost #perfect. 

INGRID GOES WEST / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: MATT SPICER / SCREENPLAY: DAVID BRANSON SMITH, MATT SPICER / STARRING: AUBREY PLAZA, ELIZABETH OLSEN, BILLY MAGNUSSEN / RELEASE DATE: 17TH NOVEMBER