Review Category: Movie

THE UNCANNY

The Uncanny is an arty and unique ghost story that focuses on loss, everlasting grief and the task of processing trauma from the mother-daughter duo Clara Gabrielle (director/writer) and Marie Laurin (writer/actor). A Victorian mourning doll Laurin had found and Gabrielle’s personal experiences with depression inspire the tale. The narrative presents these challenging topics in an ethereal manner, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in fantasy before abruptly returning to the harsh reality underpinning the film. Additionally, the visual aesthetics contribute to the otherworldly ambience, captivating viewers with a beautiful and artistic atmosphere that can swiftly shift to disorienting and unsettling scenes at the drop of a hat.

It’s an incredibly slow burn until the true narrative is realised, so we’d urge you to hold on throughout your viewing as the revelation is truly an eye-opening moment that will gut-punch you. However, if you enjoy a slow burn that doesn’t hesitate to blur the lines of fantasy and reality, dropping you into a space of being unnerved, then you will thoroughly enjoy this.

The Uncanny isn’t a conventional ghost story, it’s a film that isn’t afraid to tackle the difficult triggers of suicide, loss, grief, as well as survivors guilt. It is not for the faint of heart; it’s a film for those who aren’t afraid to confront their grief and trauma and for those who’re willing to be disorientated until they fully realise the true narrative. Beautiful, ethereal, and incredibly heart-wrenching, The Uncanny is unlike anything we’ve seen.

THE UNCANNY TRAILER from Marie Laurin on Vimeo.

THE UNCANNY has no release date at this time.

FREAKS VS THE REICH

Set in Rome in the waning years of World War II, a travelling circus is at the centre of a German attack, leaving four performers and their ringmaster displaced. Israel (Giorgio Tirabassi), the MC and spiritual father, wants to escape to the US (even more imperative as he is Jewish), while Fulvio (Claudio Santamaria), a strongman covered from head to toe in hair, wants to join the Circus Berlin, which Franz (Franz Rogowski) runs. Unbeknownst to the group, six-fingered pianist Franz has the power to see the future, already predicting Hitler’s suicide as well as sketching mobile phones and creating his own swastika-laden Rubik’s cube (a Franz’s cube, we guess!).

When Israel doesn’t return from buying tickets for America, the assumption is that he has betrayed them. Except for the youngest of the four, Matilde (Aurora Giovinazzo), a lithe acrobat who can conduct electricity and produces powerful shocks if her skin is touched, is convinced something is wrong, so they set out to find him.

Freaks vs The Reich (originally known as Freaks Out) is a visually stunning period piece with a very modern slant. The protagonists are a motley bunch, not all likeable, but certainly interesting and sympathetic. Setting the action against the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis allows for the obvious parallel in the way so-called ‘freaks’ are treated by the general public. It also works as a celebration of outsiders – something many of us can relate to.

Gabriele Mainetti directs confidently and despite its 140-minute running time, never loses its focus and maintains the interest. The camera work from Michele D’Attanasio is fantastic, whirling around Franz while he plays piano versions of Radiohead’s Creep and Guns n’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’Mine and particularly during the opening circus scene that ends in carnage at the hands of a Nazi attack. There’s a real emotional heart at the story’s centre, and it’s a twisted, stylish celebration of the underdog.

Dazzler Media presents FREAKS VS THE REICH in selected cinemas on January 12th.
Own it on Blu-ray, DVD, and Download February 26th.

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET

Hard to believe it has been nearly 25 years since a bunch of hens made their great escape in Aardman Animation’s treasured cracker. Now, after avoiding becoming pies all those years ago, Ginger, Rocky and the gang are back and facing the Dawn of the Nugget.

In their idyllic island paradise, Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) are happier than ever, even more so when they welcome their chick Molly (Bella Ramsey) to the world. However like mother like daughter, as Molly becomes curious of what exactly lies beyond their island as she grows up, and when some trucks for ‘Fun-Land Farms’ keep driving past the island on the other side of the lake, Molly heads over to investigate, leading to an all-out rescue mission from Ginger and co. who find that all is far from happy at this ridiculously high tech “farm”.

Ahead of release, there was some degree of controversy towards this sequel’s questionable (and even more bafflingly age-related) select vocal recasts, and certainly it dawns on you early on that you are not listening to Julia Sawalha here. Although some of the original cast are thankfully back in the henhouse!

However, luckily for the film, not only do the likes of Newton, Levi and other new additions like Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays and David Bradley do a great job in some of these vocal roles, but Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard’s screenplay hits the ground running and never really pauses for breath! It is a story that really zips along.

Blending that lovable Aardman British eccentricity with Mission: Impossible break-in espionage thrills, with a shockingly dark ‘70s sci-fi edge that admirably pushes this fast paced story to some moral extremes. In fact there is one particular scene that goes to a place you really are caught off guard by (think back to Edwina’s death in the original) and which feels old school in its embrace of cold hard reality. Good luck getting the family a KFC after this.

Dawn of the Nugget may not be quite as tightly wound or all rounded as the original film and concept, and does repeat some old hits, but it is a wacky, wild and ever so slightly scary follow-up, that has laughs and tail feather shaking delights over a rather pro-vegan story of trauma, freedom and family. Plus the triumphant return of one of animation’s nastiest baddies, who certainly has not lost their touch!

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is unmistakably Aardman and thus quintessentially madly British fun, and is a golden egg in Netflix’s recent film output.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is showing now on Netflix.

BLANK

Natalie Kennedy’s Blank delivers an interesting psychological and claustrophobic take on a modern genre trope that’s already in danger of becoming a tired cliché. We’re in creepy AI territory again as Rachel Shelley’s Clare Rivers, a writer suffering a frustrating bout of writer’s block, books a month-long stay at The Retreat, an isolated facility operated entirely by AI, particularly a seemingly benign perma-smiling android called Rita (Heida Reed). Flickering supervising AI Henry (Wayne Brady) offers Clare a touch of ‘human’ interaction, but her writer’s block is stubborn to shift, and suddenly she finds herself trapped in The Retreat, the palm-control that operates the door to the outside world now doesn’t work. There’s a glitch in the system, and even Rita has become unreliable, failing to recall Clare’s history at The Retreat and identifying her as a new arrival every day. Desperate to escape this strange prison, Clare finds herself fighting for her own survival as her new world closes in around her, and Rita starts behaving evermore erratically.

There’s no denying the Black Mirror vibe of the film, but strong performances in what is essentially a three-hander give Blank an edge missing from films telling a similar story on a broader canvas. There’s a sense of creeping dread as Clare’s situation becomes more desperate, and if the flashbacks to her youth don’t always make the point they’re intended to, they go some way towards explaining why Clare is the slightly uptight and neurotic adult she’s become. Blank descends slightly into histrionics in its last act, but this is still a smart, well-considered spin on what is now well-trodden material and, brought to the screen on a relatively small budget, is something of a low-key triumph.

BLANK is available now on digital platforms.

MOM

Meredith (Emily Hampshire) and her husband Jared (François Arnaud) have just come home with their new son, Alex. As they attempt to get into a routine, Meredith finds the constant need for attention too much, and her collapsing mental state results in a horrific tragedy. With her family and friends all but deserting her, she descends further into madness.

A disturbing psychological study, Mom is a compelling and difficult film and one that sticks with you long after you’ve seen it. It opens with the camera exploring a dilapidated house accompanied by an oppressive drone, a fleeting glimpse of a young child, and a shocking reveal. It’s a gut-punch moment that puts the viewer on edge from the start. The sound design and visuals amplify the postpartum depression and anxiety Meredith is experiencing. Hampshire is brilliantly disturbing in the lead role, expressing emotions that are not often spoken about. The baby’s incessant screaming brings to mind the child from Eraserhead, while Mom’s first third builds up a disorienting atmosphere in which Meredith questions her reality, if the house is haunted, and even if she is capable of being a mother.

Director Adam O’Brien builds up a terrifying picture of a mother’s struggle to cope with the changes childbirth brings, although we hope the rest is not a familiar situation for people.

MOM is released on digital platforms on February 17th.

THE JESTER

A distraught father, John (Matt Servitto), rings his estranged daughter, Emma (Lelia Symington), for the first time in many years. The call doesn’t go well, and it’ll get worse as a tall, mask-wearing chap is following him we’ll know as the Jester (Michael Sheffield). While he might be suicidal, the Jester magically tightens a noose around his neck, deciding for him. Emma turns up at his funeral and meets up once more with her half-sister, Jocelyn (Delaney White). They reluctantly have to join forces to defeat the silent but deadly force of the Jester.

What might strike you with director Colin Krawchuk’s film (which he co-wrote with Sheffield) is the similarity to the Terrifier movies. However, Krawchuk doesn’t take the overly explicit gore route (although it does have its moments), and the comparison pretty much end with a non-verbal stalking mime. Deep inside the horror overtones is a tale of depression, grief, wrong decisions, and forgiving. It may not be handled perfectly – it’s the director and writers’ first feature, after all, which expands on a trilogy of shorts with the same titular character – but there’s something more than just a relentless killing machine. Sadly, the pacing lets it all down. Just as we’re getting to grips with something horrific, there’s a shift to the more drama-based approach.

This mix of drama and horror doesn’t quite gel here, which is a shame. It picks up as it progresses, and there will certainly be times when you’ll question whether you’re being shown reality or if it’s a projection of what’s inside the characters. Like Art the Clown, the Jester is a great, simple concoction that is creepy enough to enter the imagination of fans.

THE JESTER is out now on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download from Dazzler Media.

NIGHT SWIM

Blumhouse Productions kicked off 2023’s horror slate with M3GAN, a slick, sleek and timely “free-thinking killer doll” movie that chimed perfectly with creeping concern about the existential threat posed by the rise of AI. Hopes that they could repeat the trick in 2024 with Night Swim are dashed almost immediately; this one deserves to sink without a trace, offering up little more than a few lukewarm thrills from its thin and watery story of something nasty lurking in a domestic swimming pool.

The house-hunting Waller family – ex-baseball star Ray (Wyatt Russell), his wife Eve (Kerry Condon) and their kids Izzy (Amelie Hoeferle) and Elliot (Gavin Warren) – are attracted to a long-unoccupied property mainly due to the fact that it has a grubby, tarpaulin-covered but alluring swimming pool. Ray is living with the early stages of MS, and when the family move in and tidies the place up – restoring the pool to its former glory – they are amazed to find that regular sessions in the pool are easing his symptoms. But all’s not right with the pool… During an illicit night swim, Izzy is spooked by something in the water (a scene that seems to exist purely to justify the film’s title) with her boyfriend, and a pool party for the neighbourhood nearly ends in tragedy. But as Ray’s health continues to improve, Eve discovers that the house and its pool share a grisly history and that the lives of both Izzy and Elliot are in danger from Ray who isn’t quite the man he was.

Night Swim isn’t terrible, but the truth is that it’s difficult to make a swimming pool seem properly scary. The concept of the bottom of the pool opening up into a gateway to an aquatic domain where previous victims persist as ghoulish, grasping spectres is neither fully explained nor explored, and the film ultimately degenerates into lazy possession cliches as it tumbles headlong into absurdity in its desperation to provide an exciting climax. Inessential horror, your enjoyment of Night Swim will deep-end on how many tepid jump scares you’re prepared to wade through and if that’s enough to float your boat, dive in. But all in all, this is a film that does little more than tread water; it’s a bit of a wash-out.

Night Swim is in cinemas now

LORD OF MISRULE

Fresh off of the success of Orphan: First Kill, director William Brent Bell tackles English folk horror in Lord of Misrule. Nearly a year after moving to the small village of Berrow, Priest Rebecca Holland (Tuppence Middleton) and her family enjoy the local harvest festival until Rebecca’s daughter Grace is led away by a masked man, and a fight for survival begins.

From the outset, Lord of Misrule brilliantly paints a picture of a quaint little village with a dark secret and sticks to that tone throughout its runtime. The atmosphere is palpable, with the village feeling like a character itself – something that is important in the subgenre. Even though many of the beats are familiar to its peers, this film still manages to stand on its own two feet regarding cinematography over its narrative.

The script is elevated by powerhouse performances by STARBURST favourites Tuppence Middleton and the legendary Ralph Ineson. Middleton gives a relatable presentation of a mother possessed to protect her family, and Ineson stands tall as the sinister Master of Ceremonies, using his gravitas and iconic voice to portray a character that is engaging and terrifying in equal measure.

Although it never reaches the dizzy heights of The Wicker Man or Kill List, Lord of Misrule is a solid folk horror package led by two top-quality performances by Middleton and Ineson, making it a worthy watch that may stay with you for a while.

LORD OF MISRULE is released on digital platforms on January 8th.

SCALA!!!

Subtitled Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World’s Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, this documentary picks up the story of the infamous London repertory cinema. In all its guises, it was a magnet for a certain kind of film fan, and the eclectic screenings provided an impressive alternative to the stuffy National Film Theatre.

The full story of the cinema in its three incarnations, including the most famous in Kings Cross, was told in Jane Giles’ enormous book, which was released by FAB Press. Giles co-directs here with the book’s editor, Ali Catterall. With the limited time allowed for a film, the content is a little more focused on one side of the cinema’s appeal rather than taking in every aspect and special guest that appeared there. So we don’t get to hear about the times that outside promoters brought in Hershell Gordon Lewis, Joe D’Amato, or Chow Yun Fat, but there’s still plenty of interesting history brought to life by the recollections of those who were there.

People like actor Ralph Brown (who worked in the coffee shop), musician Barry Adamson (who also provides the impressive soundtrack for the documentary), FrightFest founder Alan Jones (whose ‘Shock Around the Clock’ all-nighter was the precursor for the iconic, world-famous festival), and punter Adam Buxton all have fun and interesting anecdotes about frequenting the cinema. The film takes the cinema’s blending of music and obscure cinema as its basis to tell the story of the member’s only mecca of the weird and wonderful. An important part of what made the cinema successful was its appeal to all sections of counterculture, particularly the gay community. The always-wonderful David McGillivray (writer of Satan’s Slave and House of Whipcord, amongst others) has many of the best moments, recounting some of the debauchery that took place there and is the star of a Marvel-ous post-credit scene.

As a testament to the power of outsider art and off-the-wall characters, Scala!!! is just a mere taster of a place that was the nearest the UK had to a grindhouse cinema and is sorely missed.

SCALA!!! is in UK cinemas from January 5th and Blu-ray/DVD from January 22nd, 2024

DARK OBSESSION

Anne (Blaine Morris) and her husband, Henry (Leonard Amoia) live in a seemingly idyllic remote house, but there are cracks in their relationship. Anne has lost the child they were expecting, and unbeknown to Clark, she’s been taking birth control. When he finds out, he flips out and leaves, telling her to keep the house. Over the following days, he’s not answering her calls or returning her emails. Left alone, she sets about selling her home, but her mental health takes a steep decline, and the solitude is getting to her, making the surrounding woods feel more ominous than ever…

Despite boasting names such as Mena Suvari and Danielle Harris in the cast list (albeit briefly), this is Blaine Morris’ movie (she wrote the screenplay, so why not?). She initially portrays Anne with a sympathetic, relatable edge; she’s in an abusive relationship, dealing with an arrogant husband who flies off the handle when things don’t go his way. As things progress, and the seclusion and frustration come to the fore, there are darker elements she must face. We’re kept guessing about what sinister forces are at play throughout.

Morris is fantastic as the central focus, whose interactions with the outside world are awkward and defensive, even when people try to help her move on. While it doesn’t take a genre genius to work out what’s going on, director George Henry Horton weaves a web of intrigue that makes for an enjoyable ride.

The location plays a large part in building the mood, and Horton utilises it to enhance the feeling of isolation. Swerving between psychological drama and touching the edge of supernatural horror, Dark Obsession is a great example of a low-budget thriller that builds to a powerful punch. Just avoid the spoiler-filled trailer!