Review Category: Movie

CREEP BOX

In the near future of 2029, a private company known as the HTDA delivers closure to the recently bereaved through a simulation of their recently departed, a voice emerging from the titular Creep Box. Overseeing this procedure is neuroscientist and parapsychologist Dr Caul (Geoffrey Cantor, as seen in Marvel’s Punisher and Daredevil), a man tortured by the past but also by a growing concern over how far these voices are purely simulations.

Both written and directed by Patrick Biesemans, don’t expect any jump scares or gore from Creep Box, a slow-paced film filled with silences and contemplations of empty spaces, which is more interested in the philosophy of consciousness and the afterlife than ghosts or monsters. In fact, in a world otherwise made up of cold, harshly lit and sterile offices, boardrooms, workspaces and empty homes, Dr Caul’s darkly stygian laboratory, as creepy as it is, is one of the few lively interiors, filled with scrolling code, flashing lights and a multitude of eerie voices. With a central philosophy questioning what it is to be alive after death, Creep Box‘s most alive characters are often the dead themselves.

Much of this film is beautifully shot, with the camera work doing much of the storytelling, and the sound design with the ‘simulated’ voices is superb. There are also flashes of excellent, understated acting from all of the main cast. However, Biesemans seems more confident with constructing images and atmospheres than with capturing performances and so the characterisations can seem uneven or even frustratingly underplayed at times.

Creep Box asks a lot of questions and leaves many hanging threads, but it is also somewhat haunted by its own emptiness, feeling in some ways more like a short in its lean storytelling than a feature film. At best, by the end of the film, we know a little more about the central character, but he seems barely changed by the experience, and our understanding of his world is too, leaving behind a whisper of creeping existential dread but sadly little lasting impact once that whisper dies away.

CREEP BOX is released on digital platforms in the US on January 24th.

INTO THE DEEP

The tidal wave of new shark movies shows no signs of slowing, with many small-budget films eager to use increasingly affordable CGI technology to render Great White antagonists on screen. Many recent filmmakers have recognised the need to bring something distinctive to their own story of shark-based shenanigans: a new context for the jeopardy, an unusual and conducive location, or a never-before-seen underwater breed. The makers of Into the Deep mix together three new ingredients in the hope of serving up some irresistible screen seafood.

Cassidy (Scout Taylor-Compton) is a marine biologist, dealing with the childhood trauma of witnessing the death of her father in a shark attack by committing her life to the study of these creatures. She is mentored by her thoughtful grandfather (Richard Dreyfuss), who offers her advice and support in overcoming her fears. Heading out on a research trip, her hire boat is seized at gunpoint by drug smugglers, led by Jordan (Jon Seda), determined to retrieve a cocaine shipment from the sea bed. (No, this doesn’t turn into ‘Cocaine Shark’.) Will Cassidy find the courage to dive beneath the waves to bring back the drugs, or will the lives of everyone on board be sacrificed if she refuses?

Despite the inclusion of its three storytelling novelties (shark-phobic diver, presence of Jaws‘ icon Dreyfuss, and drug pirates), Into the Deep relies on the familiar shark tale template – killing off secondary characters in quick succession as compound perils multiply aboard ship. But there’s little tension in the way this unfolds, not least because the cinematography (including the studio water tank work) is so flat, but also due to some sketchy characterisation. The CGI shark effects rarely convince, and it’s telling how often a thick cloud of digital blood is rendered to cover up a lack of visceral detail. There are occasional bright moments, but even Cassidy’s newfound respect for her shark nemesis ends up feeling fishy. Dreyfuss’ character (Seamus) does not leave shore at any point, but over the closing credits, the actor delivers a lengthy and articulate speech about the need for shark conservation. It’s notable then that the film itself, leaning into all the standard ‘man-eating shark’ tropes, does so little to challenge the dominant cinematic narratives that depict the creature as a vindictive and remorseless killer.

INTO THE DEEP is released on digital platforms on January 27th and Blu-ray/DVD on February 3rd.

COME HOME

An atypical take on the cabin-in-the-woods premise, small-scale ensemble indie flick Come Home eschews all the predictable through-the-window voyeurism and serial killer ‘jump scare’ clichés to offer a slow-burn and off-kilter tale of supernatural malevolence deep in the American wilderness.

Come Home’s disarming early scenes introduce four millennials (two couples unaware of how ill-suited their partnerships are) preparing to enjoy time together in the great outdoors. Newlyweds Mel and Ikenna have given up on the turmoil of New York to embrace the rhythms of rural life. They are joined by friends Taylor and Arjun, all seemingly in awe of the rugged beauty of the Adirondack Mountains. The other three are dismissive when Mel light-heartedly shares a fireside story of the spirit roaming the woodland and the lake, drawing the unwary to their doom. All four soon discover the true horrors lurking in the forest.

The stunning cinematography, excellent sound design and well-crafted musical score all build a sense of unease. The naturalistic performances of the four leads and the everyday dialogue – which feels largely improvised – all suggest that the conceit at the heart of the movie will ultimately have a reasoned, grounded resolution. But as the pace slows and the focus wanders, directors Zoz and Purcell introduce a sense of dislocation, dispensing with rationality and ending the need for characters’ behaviour to be explicable. This awkward tonal shift dilutes the impact of the mystery and ends matters without attempting to explain what’s happened. This unformulaic and unusual ghost story has a winning immersive ambience, but in sacrificing clarity in favour of confusion, it leaves the audience struggling to differentiate the wood from the trees.

COME HOME is available now on Prime Video and other streaming platforms

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Despite many mockingly dismissing The Last Voyage of the Demeter as “Dracula on a boat”, that is kind of a literature oxymoron, because this is not a gimmick but an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s enduring tale itself, albeit one often skimmed over chapter of it (The Captain’s Log), more specifically referring to the doomed (for the ship and crew that is) sea voyage to England.

The film dwells almost entirely on the Demeter, the merchant ship carrying cargo to England from Bulgaria, in the summer of 1897. Clemons (Corey Hawkins), a young doctor, finds his way on board with the crew, who are hoping for an easygoing journey to collect their bonus, but when their livestock is found drained of blood and the crew begin seeing nightmarish things play out, they realise that something evil is on board with them.

It is such a shame that The Last Voyage of the Demeter sunk at the box office, because this gory, dark and atmospheric adaptation of this excerpt of Bram Stoker’s tale is what the failed 2017 Dark Universe should have been going for. It’s a gothic claustrophobic horror tale that presents us with an animalistic and genuinely scary Dracula, brought to aggressive life by Javier Botet.

Troll Hunter and Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark filmmaker André Øvredal has crafted a distinctive vampiric tale, which strands you on board the rough seas with its crew. Despite the fact you know the endgame, the film has some fierce tricks up its sleeve, thanks in no small part to some strong characters and emotional beats that pay off as a result of the connections we form along the way.

There are standout performances by a likeable and noble Corey Hawkins, a brilliant Aisling Franciosi, who becomes the heart of the film as Anna, and especially the frightening Botet, who takes on the iconic part and gives us a ferocious Dracula to relish. Additionally, there are some great supporting turns by Liam Cunningham as the Captain and David Dastmalchian as first mate Wojchek.

There are elements here that will of course be familiar to the seasoned monster movie viewer, but the gothic cinematography by Tom Stern and Bear McCreary’s escalating score put you right in the dark headspace of this accursed vessel’s crew, and this is an effective voyage into hell as a result.

The fantastic (largely practical) sets are impressive, just as the creature design is genuinely unsettling and ghoulish. A lot of work has clearly gone into this, and despite the temptation to go – ahem – overboard always being there, Bragi Schut Jr. and Zak Olkewicz’s longtime-coming screenplay never sinks into those murky waters, and Øvredal expertly steers things forward.

Even if the final tease is now leading nowhere, you ought to be along for the throat-ripping ride all the same. We can see this film attaining a real following somewhere down the line, and it most assuredly deserves to.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER is released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 3rd.

THE DAMNED

Blending psychological horror with classic Gothic supernatural tropes, The Damned offers a chilling look at isolation, guilt, and grief in the perilous backdrop of a 19th-century Icelandic fishing outpost. Directed by Thordur Palsson, the film follows young widow Eva (Odessa Young) who, after the death of her husband Magnus a year prior, has taken control of an isolated fishing outpost and its fisherman, led by Ragnar (Rory McCann). After a shipwreck in the ocean, Eva is faced with the gut-wrenching decision between saving the crew or prioritising her community’s survival by using the drowning sailors’ rations through the winter. She decides upon the latter, but when they find survivors on the wreckage, tragedy strikes as Ragnar and the remaining shipmates are lost to the sea. Wracked with guilt, Eva and the members of the outpost begin experiencing heightened paranoia as strange phenomena and visions lead them to believe they are being punished for their choices.

The vast, snowy wasteland the group lives in, as well as the thrashing tides and crashing waves, are as much antagonists in The Damned as any other, adding to the heightened sense of dread palpable from its opening scenes. While the descent into madness and otherworldly visions are haunting, the very real, impending danger the elements pose act as the source of much of the film’s tension. That is not to say The Damned lacks in ghostly frights, offering plenty of spine-chilling scares that blur the lines between reality and surreality as Eva and the community’s guilt begins to consume their every thought. This guilt and the moral conundrum faced by the group is at the heart of The Damned, exploring a catch-22 situation in which Eva must decide between further depleting the village’s resources and condemning them all to starvation or choosing to let a group of innocents die. It’s impossible not to ask yourself what you would do in the same situation, making the events that unfold feel all the more horrifying. At times, The Damned suffers from the many paths it treads, with the narrative lulling in the second act to a point it almost derails entirely before plunging toward a somewhat predictable ending for genre fans.

Young’s performance as Eva is captivating, bolstered by impeccable supporting performances from Joe Cole and Siobhan Finnernan as Daniel and Helga respectively. Eva acts as the grounded voice of reason among the village, attempting to calm those who spread tales of the undead and ancient spirits that could be behind their misfortune. Coupled with the beautiful yet deadly landscape, moody lighting, and eerie score, The Damned is an effectively unsettling psychological horror that explores the monsters we can become when faced with a fight for survival.

MONSTER (2003)

Initially released in 2003, Patty Jenkins’ heart-wrenching biopic Monster follows the story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a sex worker who murdered seven of her male clients between 1989 and 1990 before being executed in 2002. Charlize Theron stars as the killer, a role which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress as well as a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award, and a BAFTA nomination. More than 20 years after its release, boutique label Second Sight Films has re-released the heart-wrenching drama with a whole host of extras that further highlight the masterful attention to detail that went into Monster’s creation.

Monster tells the story of Aileen from her meeting with her girlfriend Selby Wall – based on her real-life lover Tyria Moore – to her attempts to ‘go straight’ and give up prostitution, and the savage beating and rape she endures from one of her clients that sees her commit her first murder. From there, Aileen kills six more clients before she is apprehended by law enforcement in a biker bar and tried in court. After a lengthy court case, she is found guilty of her crimes and sentenced to death.

Theron’s portrayal of Wuornos highlights her troubled and unpredictable character while never losing sight of the human behind the crimes. Her nuanced performance adds to the tragedy of Monster and the failings Wuornos faced throughout her life from loved ones, police, clients, and the systems that should have been in place to help her. Similarly, Christina Ricci is a force to be reckoned with as Selby, Aileen’s devoted girlfriend who soon realises she is in far too deep in a dangerous situation that threatens the stable, comfortable life she craves.

Monster explores Wuornos’ relationship and struggles to fit into society after enduring years of abuse from those she should have been able to trust, as well as the savage crimes she claims were all in self-defense. The juxtaposition of these facets of her life never lets the audience feel comfortable, creating a palpable sense of dread and a ticking time bomb ready to explode. Jenkins’ approach to the case does not justify Wuornos’ crimes, nor does it paint her as a psychotic killer who revels in death. Monster treads the line between horrific and devastating, culminating in its emotional final scenes which see Wuornos walking toward the final days of her life in prison.

Second Sight’s release includes a stellar array of extras, from an audio commentary with Jenkins, Theron, and producer Clark Peterson, to new interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Monster that showcase the unbelievable amount of research into Wuornos and her life that informed the film. The label has once again produced a must-have for physical media collectors who revel in the art of filmmaking, as well as firm fans of the film or true crime as a whole. It highlights an incredible film that garnered overwhelming critical attention at the time of its release and provides a unique, intimate look at the making of the highly emotionally charged film like never before.

PETER PAN’S NEVERLAND NIGHTMARE

Watch out, world: the hierarchy of power in the Winnie-the-Poohniverse is about to change. Months after Pooh and friends’ massacre in Blood and Honey 2, a new player has entered The Twisted Childhood Universe. Enter Peter Pan, although you’d be hard-pressed to recognise him as such.

As re-imagined by director Scott Chambers and Blood and Honey mastermind Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Peter Pan (Martin Portlock) is a sinister figure preying on the lonely and vulnerable as he sets about recruiting his Lost Boys. After throwing them into the back of his van (who needs fairy dust), Paedo – sorry, Peter – Pan then sends them off to ‘Neverland’ following a period of imprisonment in his shithole dungeon. Oh, Tinkerbell (Kit Green) is here, too, but she’s too zonked out on heroin to be of any use. Peter Pan, you so edgy.

When young Michael Darling (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) is kidnapped, older sister Wendy (Megan Placito) launches a crusade to get her brother back, sneaking into ~~Neverland Ranch~~ Peter’s home for a confrontation with this nightmarish figure and his grotesque menagerie. And, with Peter all set for Michael’s one-way trip to ‘Neverland,’ time is ticking.

Like the preceding Winnie-the-Pooh films, Neverland Nightmare is a deviously macabre take on the classic childhood story, stomping roughshod all over J.M. Barrie’s work and its Disneyfied counterpart. Its titular killer is more demonic horror clown than Peter Pan proper – think Pennywise meets The Black Phone – but Portlock delivers a chilling performance as the boy who wouldn’t grow up. Themes of child murder and abduction put this in a darker bracket than previous entries in the MC-Pooh (Monstrous Cinematic Poohiverse – you can have that one for free, Mr Frake-Waterfield). So too does its troubling depiction and treatment of Tink – here reimagined as a former kidnap victim of Peter’s turned accomplice.

None of this will do much to deflect accusations of the TCU being an exercise in sustained edgelordism, but there’s also more substance to the story than one might imagine from a low-budget horror film about an off-brand Peter Pan murdering children in his stinky hovel.

PETER PAN’S NEVERLAND NIGHTMARE is out on limited release in the US on January 13th, and will be available in the UK soon.

GET AWAY

A holiday to a remote Swedish island turns into the set of a folk horror film when the all-English (plus one Irish) Smith family pick faraway Svalta as their choice of idyllic escape. Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost acts from his own screenplay, playing cuddly daddy Richard. He’s joined by Aisling Bea as mummy Susan, with the family unit completed by Sebastian Croft and Maisie Ayres as the bickering teenage children.

Arriving on a hostile island ahead of the locals’ annual Karantan festival (Swedish for ‘quarantine’), the Smiths quickly become aware that all is not right on the isle of Svalta. What follows is a brutal awakening for those who are about to fall victim to a terrible ritual.

Between this, Krazy House and Black Cab, recent months have seen a resurgence of Nick Frost, the horror star. Get Away is another subverted take on horror tropes, this time turning the vacation-gone-wrong subgenre on its head.

Don’t let the Sky Cinema packaging put you off – while Get Away isn’t as transgressive, blasphemous or, uh, krazy as his other recent escapades, Frost’s fingerprints are all over the thing, from the cheeky sense of humour to the generous bloodshed. Frost and Bea share an electric sense of chemistry as the queasy-sweet man and wife (a savage swipe at parents who refer to each other as ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’), with the comedian having great fun with her horror debut. Meanwhile, Croft and Ayres bring depth to the usual bratty teenager stereotypes, relishing every word of Frost’s swear-laden screenplay.

While the bawdy humour gets in the way of its effectiveness as a horror film, the Swedish contingent (including a scene-stealing Eero Milonoff as creepy B&B host Matts and Anitta Suikkari as the community leader) help maintain a Wicker Man-esque sense of unease. Director Steffen Haars brings Svalta to life with a vibrant supporting cast and rich visuals from cinematographer Joris Kerbosch. The film does the Swedish tourist industry no favours, even if it is gorgeously shot (in Finland!)

In Frost and Haars, Get Away finds an evenly-matched meeting of minds, pitting the creepy Swede (see also: Midsommar) against the obliviously interloping Britons abroad – and all the cultural baggage (colonisation, the whole Brexit thing) that comes with it.

The blood-soaked third act will prove a divisive one, hinging on an unsubtle tonal shift, which gives the slow-burn action a shot in the arm but is too heavily foreshadowed and sends the story down a narrative dead end.

Clumsily introduced finale aside, Get Away is an inventive take on the comedy horror film, featuring energetic performances from a talented cast and a well-staged massacre to top it all off.

GET AWAY is available on Sky Cinema and streaming service NOW from January 10th.

ODDITY

A twisty horror movie from Shudder, Oddity‘s safe but whimsical charms start with its premise. A blind antique dealer, equipped with a strange wooden art piece and divining gifts, makes an unexpected visit after her twin sister’s mysterious death. Already the film is pregnant with promise without mentioning its weird old house, bits of found footage camerawork, or insane asylum packed with villainy. Those many levels of setup compose Oddity‘s biggest strength; it can scare you from multiple angles, with overlapping ideas weaving into a script of strange turns and invigorating thrills. It’s hard to know what will happen next when the villains aren’t necessarily the most terrifying thing in the room. Each twist introduces a new source of fear to keep track of, leaving viewers always on edge as the story unfolds.

With a story full of predictable archetypes, it’s odd (ha!) that the film works as well as it does. But some impactful filmmaking moments and a plethora of things to be afraid of, even if they are clichés, make Oddity a worthwhile watch, whether you know the tropes or not. If you’re already a horror fan who has seen enough glass eyes, annoying girlfriends, and mysterious antique dealers for a lifetime, there’s still the ghostly spirit, mannequin-masked killer, and third-act cannibal to make you squirm. Variety is the movie’s spice. Although it is held back from being a genre-defining work by stuffy performances and a so-so camera, Oddity is a fresh, low-brow horror experience that will keep you guessing where the next scare is going to come from.

ODDITY is out now on Blu-ray.

NOSFERATU

The Witch director Robert Eggers’ homage to the seminal German Expressionist masterpiece Nosferatu, this entry into the folk horror canon is an always-stunning, blood-curdling, beautifully discomfiting film that’s more than worthy of its predecessor.

Through his films, Eggers has consistently demonstrated his love for the history and artistry of cinema, and Nosferatu is an oeuvre that encapsulates both the genuine horror of the 1922 film by F.W. Murnau and the tragic Romanticism of the Dracula lore, all while boldly trekking into the landscape of female sexual psyche. Not only does this film honour its forbearers in its beauty, it invigorates this Gothic tale with a distinctly modern thematic twist.

In the 1830s, estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) travels to the Carpathian Mountains for an unnerving meeting with the mysterious Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), a haunting presence dipped in shadow who lurks at the edge of the frame for much of the film. In his absence, Hutter’s new bride, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp in an Oscar-worthy performance), is left under the care of their friends, Friedrich and Anna Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin). Assailed by horrific visions, bouts of somnambulism and fits, and plagued by a growing sense of dread, Ellen soon spirals out of hers, or anyone’s, control.

Nosferatu is a welcome return to, and celebration of, the long-established connection between vampires and feminine identity and its providing a means of tackling the shame and taboos surrounding women’s historic sexual oppression. This is unequivocally Ellen’s story, about the quieter struggle of internalised self-hatred and desire, or of women’s eternal battle existing within the Madonna-Whore complex. Eggers’ work recognises why vampire stories have so long called to women; Their power is in how it allows us to accept and admire, even just for a moment, some of the most socially unacceptable parts of ourselves. Simultaneously however, Ellen’s relationships with Count Orlok and Thomas recognises the ways in which women are conditioned to accept love in whatever diminished quantity and quality that they can receive it, and will sometimes reject love they don’t believe themselves worthy of.

The story exists within that fundamental conflict between Ellen’s desire and shame. The tension between the perceived destruction she wreaks when she holds agency and her powerlessness in the face of limited choices is ever-engrossing, while her fight to reclaim her autonomy and self-worth is what drives Nosferatu onwards to a haunting, devastating climax that’s equal parts Greek tragedy, Romantic Epic, and raw horror. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a masterpiece on every level: it’s an exquisitely realised artistic vision, a story that’s beautifully brutal and harrowing, and an unapologetically feminist iteration of the vampire lore.

Nosferatu releases in UK cinemas on January 1st, 2025.