Review Category: Movie

The 2008 comic book story The Crooked Man forms the basis for this one-shot Hellboy adventure, starring Jack Kesy as the supernatural superhero. Diverted from course during a mission through rural Appalachia, Hellboy and B.R.P.D agent Song (Adeline Rudolph) encounter a remote community controlled by a sinister entity known as the Crooked Man.

Directed by Brian Taylor (Crank; Mom and Dad) from a script co-written by creator Mike Mignola, this adaptation of the fan-favourite story stands alone from all previous attempts, jettisoning both the beloved Guillermo del Toro version and the less-loved (but still entertaining) Neil Marshall one. In embracing the story’s folk horror trappings, The Crooked Man emerges as one of the most faithful comic adaptations ever made – often replicating its beats word-for-word, and panel-for-panel.

The lower budget may prove a sticking point to those who know the character purely for his previous screen outings. From the uninspiring Hellboy make-up to the distracting CGI, its visual effects are hit-and-miss at best. Still, the less stylised action sequences result in a more grounded movie than previous entries, and its gloomy aesthetic is tonally more appropriate… even if it’s not as nice to look at.

The make-up may not always hold up, but Kesy does good work as the scarlet superhero, largely nailing the character’s laconic energy. That the actor gives Big Red a cadence not dissimilar to that of Ron Perlman doesn’t hurt either. The supporting cast aren’t so reliable, but The Fresh Prince star Joseph Marcell impresses as local priest Reverend Watts, and Martin Bassindale is appropriately grotesque as the titular Crooked Man – successfully translating Richard Corben’s unsettling character design for the screen.

What The Crooked Man lacks in blockbuster bombast, this ambitious comic book adaptation makes up for with gothic chills and bloody action straight out of an Evil Dead film. For all its budgetary constraints, it’s refreshing to see a film take an iconic comic book character and do something that’s so small in scale but essentially true to the spirit of the big guy.

Icon Film Distribution present HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN in UK cinemas on September 27th, 2024.

 

The latest movie from Forbidden Zone (1980) director Richard Elfman is a brisk, fun, demonic romp that revels in its low-budget, gonzo ethos.

A performer in a Grand Guignol burlesque routine, Bridget (Anastasia Elfman), is constantly abused by her employer, the ultra-sleazy Tony (Tom Ayers), her leeching, cheating boyfriend Edwin (Christian Prentice), and fends off an attempted rapist (Adam J. Smith). It turns out he was a high-flying lawyer, and she finds herself in jail. When a prison guard (Kristin West) assaults her, Bridget decides to hang herself, sending her plummeting into the void between life and death, where Baron Samedi (Jean Charles) takes her as a reincarnation of his wife, Maman Brigitte. Offering her a chance to return to the land of the living to take vengeance on those who abused her, he turns her into a heart-chomping Valentine Vampire, but the catch is that she must also marry him.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the shoestring budget, Elfman’s film delights in filling the screen with skin and gore, but it also boasts an independent spirit for not only the artists involved but the characters themselves. As one might expect from the founder of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, music (provided by Richard’s younger brother Danny and Ego Plum) plays a large part of Bloody Brigitte (the director has a standout sequence playing the Devil), and while it’s not as integral as it was in Forbidden Zone, it’s still catchy and adds to the surreal enjoyment of the tale. The simple Chroma key effects have a quaintness rather than provoking a lame reaction, as do the stereotypes (such as the diminutive Jewish lawyers). There are extra points for the evocative illustrations that precede the titles. However, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously and neither should the audience.

Like Forbidden Zone, this has the potential to garner a cult following and is well worth seeking out for lovers of the perverse and is a celebration of female empowerment, the spirit of H.G. Lewis, offensive humour, and performance art.

You can check out the official website here for more information on the film.

A remake of Christian Tafdrup’s tense Danish horror from 2022, this is a psychological slow burner that’s an unnerving watch.

The movie follows an American family, Ben (Scoot McNairy), Louise (Mackenzie Davis), and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) befriends British/Irish family Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough) whilst on holiday in Italy. Paddy and Ciara are much more extroverted and fun loving than Ben and Louise, who are struggling in their marriage. Living in London and bored, they decide to take up the offer from Paddy and Ciara to join them in rural Devon for a weekend.

Effectively studying the price of manners and not speaking up, the weekend takes a dark turn as Paddy’s true nature starts to reveal itself. Particularly disturbing is his relationship with his son, who cannot speak, complicating matters further.

While the twist is obvious from the start, the top-notch acting from the cast and the well-timed descent into feelings of discomfort and dread make the film highly watchable. There are remnants of Straw Dogs, The Vanishing, or a Black Mirror episode at times. If anyone has watched writer/director James Watkins’ previous effort, Eden Lake (2008), you’ll know what to expect emotionally.

SPEAK NO EVIL is in cinemas from September 13th.

You’ve waited a lifetime for this claims the poster. But in this case, we really have. 

Ever since Michael Keaton’s bio-exorcist arrived on the scene in Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 supernatural comedy, we all seem to have been sat in that afterlife waiting room, with the longest number, waiting to see if we would ever venture back into the world of the recently deceased. From a cult animated series to Hawaiian set sequel canned ideas, it really seemed like the ghost with the most was never being conjured again on the silver screen. But never underestimate a director who feels creatively handcuffed and a crew desperate to return. As the man himself might say…”it’s showtime”.

This sequel catches up with a now adult Lydia (Winona Ryder), who is a ghost hunter TV star, but family tragedy brings her, and her estranged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), back home. But the living and the dead are set to clash again, as events begin to spiral out of control with a familiar face at the centre of the chaos.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is not just Tim Burton returning to his creation for money, nor ease, it is a resurrection, a filmmaker dusting off the handbook that made him, and relishing going back to old school macabre magic, resulting in one of the year’s craziest, most enjoyable and irresistibly bizarre films of the year. And the best. 

This sequel delivers on the promise of not compromising on what we loved about the first film, and yet does not just rehash the hits, it takes 12a pushing big swings constantly and delivers the kind of madcap bonkers creative energy that you rarely see on this kind of scale anymore. Some might be encouraged to say Burton is back, but he never went anywhere, he’s just being himself, and being allowed to again by studios.

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar’s screenplay works hand in hand with Burton’s vision, as this sequel avoids the traps of so many, using Betelgeuse (Keaton) perfectly, not over whisking the mixture and allowing for its many interesting plot strands to all play out and clash in glorious mayhem, with an infectious sense of fun and some deep belly laughs, as well as some whizcrackingly inventive sight gags.

The stop motion and practical effects are eye-poppingly effective, welcoming us back to this wonderfully weird and distinctive world of the living and especially the dead. With some fantastic music from both Danny Elfman and perfectly selected songs, resulting in so many wonderfully memorable moments, further strengthened by a returning roster of characters and some exceptional new ones.

Keaton is amazing, fitting back seamlessly into the pinstripe suited part, not toning down the character at all and delivering precisely what you had hoped, and he just knows what makes this madman tick. Ryder is great as Lydia, and allowed real range to pursue her character’s growth and development in the years since we first met her. Catherine O’Hara steals many scenes as Delia and gets even more to work with here than in the first movie. 

Ortega as Astrid is a fascinating new addition and her own journey in the film is one that brings the story full circle, while offering up some real twists, surprises and heart. Monica Bellucci meanwhile gets one of the best character introductions you could wish for as the dark Delores, Justin Theroux throws himself into the influencer inspired idiocy as Rory and Willem Dafoe’s ghost detective is such an inspired and enjoyable creation. And don’t even get us started on dear old ‘Bob’! Plus, the way this film “recasts” a character and sidesteps real world controversy is genuinely one of the most genius moves we have ever seen a movie pull, and it works so well as both a running gag and a deliciously cruel one at times. Marvellous.

Like Burton, this entire crew is having a blast! It shows, and you feel the gothic love in every lovingly crafted aspect of the movie. From the Mario Bava homages to dastardly animated interludes, B-movie lashed send ups, and an all timer song sequence, this is nostalgic without being lazy, crazy without being incoherent and a tribute to the time tested magic of old school cinema and the dark beating heart of a filmmaker recapturing what he loves about the art of making movies for the big screen. 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is Tim Burton firing on all cylinders, and at the most mischievous he has been in years. A sequel that, after years of waiting, delivers an inventive, giddy, laugh out loud funny, tender and a truly special big screen experience that may well prove to be as endlessly rewatchable as the first. 

Oh what a Day-o!

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in cinemas now!

Having moved back to his childhood home in rural Yorkshire in the hope of helping their son’s asthma, the life of archaeology professor Richard (Matt Smith) and his wife, Juliet (Morfydd Clark), isn’t as idyllic as the couple would have hoped in Daniel Kokotajlo’s haunting folk horror.

When tragedy strikes, the pair’s relationship becomes more strained. Juliet, particularly, suffers from mental health issues, and her sister, Harrie (Gotham’s Erin Richards, attempts to intervene. Meanhwile, Richard has become obsessed with the buried roots of an oak tree cut down while he was young. A tree that has links to the occult and, particularly, the local legend of a demon, Jack Grey. When Richard finds a set of bones that ominously regenerates into its prior form, things become more horrifying, and the couple’s relationship even overwrought.

Scarve Acre is a moody, bleak picture that boasts superb performances from all involved, particularly Smith and Clark, who are spellbinding as they are consumed by grief and obsession. Kokotajlo goes full-on with the folk horror tradition of slowly allowing the dread to develop, with nature being the fiercest antagonist. The oppressive sound design of the wind-swept surroundings matches Matthew Herbert’s imposing, brooding score. Likewise, Adam Scarth’s cinematography makes the most of the bleakest surroundings.

There’s a grittiness to Kokotajlo’s film that invokes an underlying feeling of dread throughout. It wouldn’t be out of place as an extended episode of the brilliant ‘70s anthology show Beasts, shifting from melodrama to skin-crawling scares. Scare Acre holds its own within the pantheon of British folk horror and will take its place as a classic in future years.

STARVE ACRE is released In US theatres and On Demand on July 26, 2024. The UK cinema release is on September 6th.

Pascal Plante’s thoroughly disturbing Red Rooms takes the over-saturated true crime courtroom drama and gives it a fresh, surreal twist to create something utterly horrifying. Red Rooms tells the story of Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy), a model who becomes obsessed with the high-profile case of serial killer Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos). As her reality blurs with her morbid fantasies, Kelly-Anne turns to the dark web, where she searches for the missing video of the murder of a young girl, to whom Kelly-Anne bears a disturbing resemblance.

Red Rooms is a bleak look at how judicial systems often don’t hold people accountable for their crimes while damning women and girls to be killed, as well as pointing out the grim way in which our media and true crime ‘fans’ often turn monsters into celebrity figures. This, twinned with the traditional horror elements of Red Rooms, makes the terror of the picture work on two levels and the result is a nightmarish trip that you won’t forget in a hurry.

Pascal handles the crimes in a truly unique fashion for true crime films, forcing audiences to sit with their imaginations as we hear descriptions of the horrors the victims went through via brief snippets of conversations. But the lack of gratuitous gore and crime scene photos doesn’t detract from the disturbing elements of the film, with Gariépy delivering a gripping performance as the obsessive lead Kelly-Anne, and McCabe-Lokos possesses an eerie quality as the passive serial killer, seemingly unbothered by the charges against him.

RED ROOMS is in UK cinemas from September 6th.

Set in 19th-century Luxembourg, this period revenge thriller captivates from the start. As young Hélène (Giusi Carenza) comes of age (a relative term), so her role in the community becomes painfully clear. Village patriarch Graff (Jules Werner) rules with an iron fist, and Hélène and her family flee as she rejects the horrific duties forced upon her.

Years later, Hélène returns to her home town – now all grown up and played by a steely-eyed Sophie Mousel. Having adopted a new identity, Hélène ingratiates herself with the Graff family and sets about destroying the man and everything he has built, one bootlicker at a time.

Part folk Western, part gritty revenge film, The Last Ashes is unique in its setting and historical context. As Hélène faces off against the monstrous Graff, so she also stands against the systemic oppression of the weird little community he has built. Its action is slow to unfold but satisfying when it gets there, and director Loïc Tanson (who co-writes, along with Frederic Zeimet) assembles a grotesque gathering of monstrous men – some more conflicted than others.

Mousel is fantastic as the fiercely determined revenger. She’s ably supported by those around her, including Marie Jung and Jeanne Werner as the other women trapped in Graff’s brutal regime. Timo Wagner also impresses as Hélène’s childhood friend and Graff’s youngest son, both complicit to his monstrosity and a victim to it himself.

True, the rest of the film never quite lives up to the promise of its breathtaking first 20 minutes, but The Last Ashes is a beautiful, horrifying version of the revenge thriller that compels to the last breath. Move over The Northman, the woman from Luxembourg is here.

THE LAST ASHES premiered at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 25th, 2024.