Review Category: Movie

PIG KILLER

It seems there’s a film festival for every taste these days. Whatever genre, subgenre, or sub-subgenre you adopt for your movie, you can guarantee that somewhere out there waits the perfect jury panel, one that, perhaps due to a lack of quality programming or pre-viewing indulgences, chooses to look positively upon your creation. Such a convergence of inexplicable contrivances must have occurred at the Anatomy: Crime and Horror Film Festival in 2022 as Chad Ferrin’s Pig Killer, a biopic of one of Canada’s most prolific serial killers, won five awards, which feels like a lot for a film lacking any true redeeming characteristics.

The subject itself is, in a macabre way, an interesting one. Robert ‘Willy’ Pickton was convicted of murdering six women – and is connected to 43 more – at his pig farm in British Columbia, Canada. He held wild parties, supplied drugs, had a questionable relationship with his mother and is suspected of cannibalism. Pickton’s motivations, crimes and subsequent arrest are all intriguing, but instead, Ferrin has focused rather voyeuristically on the more lurid aspects of the story, alleged or otherwise. Pickton fantasising about sex with his mother – played by former porn star Ginger Lynn in one graphically disturbing moment – and prolonged focus on other rather grubby sex scenes fill out the ludicrously long two-hour running time.

Portraying Pickton as a damaged, often confused sociopath, Jake Busey does his best with the material, bringing an erratic, fevered portrayal to a difficult, somewhat flimsily written role. But there are few other positives. Gratefully reaching the end credits, you may feel an urge to shower, but perhaps that is what Ferrin intended.

PIG KILLER is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the US.

TIME ADDICTS

From the hazy realm of independent cinema, where creativity knows no bounds, comes a film so imaginative, witty, and downright bonkers it could only be Australian! Time Addicts is a mind-bending and uniquely funny experience brought to life by the producer of 2014’s The Babadook.

The story follows Denise (Freya Tingley) and Johnny (Charles Grounds), two lovable slackers living in present-day Melbourne. Their lives revolve around drugs, bickering, and playful debates over the validity of some of Johnny’s extensive scrabble-worthy vocabulary! However, their mundane existence takes a sharp turn when they find themselves in debt to their volatile drug dealer, Kane (Joshua Morton).

To settle their debt, Kane presents them with a proposition: break into a decaying stash house and steal a bag of mysterious drugs or lose their thumbs. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Denise and Johnny reluctantly agree to the raid. Little do they know how this decision will quite literally uproot their lives. Despite having been warned off trying the stash, Johnny, ever the risk-taker, decides to sample the new drug and promptly disappears into the past, leaving behind a bewildered Denise.

What follows is a narrative that weaves seamlessly back and forth throughout the decades. Writer and director Sam Odlum takes audiences on a wild journey through time, drugs, and existential crises, resulting in a film that’s equal parts perplexing and enthralling.

There are times when the film’s labyrinthine plot seemingly defies all logic, and more seasoned sci-fi viewers will undoubtedly find themselves questioning the intricacies of time travel in this universe. However, while Time Addicts may not adhere to traditional time-travel lore, the film clearly isn’t concerned with explaining the science; instead, it invites audiences to embrace the chaos and absurdity of the journey.

Odlum’s primary focus is on crafting an unconventional and emotionally resonant narrative. It’s a “fairytale for cunts” as Denise so eloquently puts it, and it revels in its audacious storytelling. By basing the majority of the action within the same house at different points in time, Oldum is able to use the sense of entrapment and claustrophobia to reveal the complex web of relationships and connections between the characters and different time periods.

The film’s strength lies in its ability to blend dark humour with genuine vulnerability. Grounds and Tingley deliver performances that strike a delicate balance between comedic and profoundly human. Their chemistry on screen is palpable, making the audience genuinely care about these flawed individuals despite their dubious choices and circumstances.

Odlum has created a unique and memorable cinematic excursion into the surreal. Time Addicts doesn’t play by the rules but thrives on its own terms, offering an entertaining and thought-provoking escape from the ordinary. If you’re in the mood for a mind-bender that’s both baffling and oddly endearing, Time Addicts is the ticket to a world where time is merely a suggestion, and laughter is the best coping mechanism.

TIME ADDICTS will be available on digital platforms starting November 27th. You can read our interview with the director Sam Odlum here, and an extended version can be read in the new issue of STARBURST available from November 30th.

THANKSGIVING

It has been 16 years since the very concept of Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving went in the oven. That promise started as one of the faux trailers in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse cinema event. Since then, we have seen fellow trailers Machete and Hobo with a Shotgun become a reality. And now Roth’s feats are finally cooked and ready to serve, and that wait was really, really worth it!

Thanksgiving sees an axe-wielding John Carver mask-wearing maniac terrorise the residents of the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, one year after a Black Friday crowd riot ended in tragedy. Picking off particular victims one by one, in a sinister plan centred around that fateful night and Thanksgiving festivities!

Thanksgiving is not only our favourite of Eli Roth’s work by far but is one of our favourite films of the year. A throwback slasher reeking of ’90s whodunnit excellence, in the same joyful vein as Wes Craven’s Scream and Jamie Blanks’ Urban Legend, with the extreme gore of the horror output of the early 2000s.

The kills are especially inventive, with the holiday-themed dispatches proving as ingenious as they are sadistic. Causing us to wince, jump, and squirm at points. While the plot is so very lively and involving, starting off strong with an American consumerism skewering message that is turned up to ten and yet somehow not ridiculous to see, in fact, it’s worryingly digestible as realistic nowadays. From there on, the film never stops swinging! Literally and figuratively.

Roth’s story and Jeff Rendell’s screenplay is dementedly inspired, seasoned with some nice twists, stirred with a welcome undercurrent of pitch-black comedy, and which all simmers to create a new holiday slasher classic and the most definitive Thanksgiving horror of all time, bar none. The film embraces tropes but occasionally twists them, masterfully keeping a firm grasp of where it is going and delivering the goods.

This deserves to be embraced going forward, as does John Carver as a new slasher horror icon. This film’s psychotic pilgrim killer is not only shockingly logical come the end but a genuinely unsettling and very able chameleon, moving through a frantic community and slicing and carving their way through the lead characters with the 18 certificate validating violent abandon.

Thanksgiving is another horror highlight in another vintage year for horror movies and quite possibly the biggest treat you will get this year. Funny, gleefully gory and yet with so much meat on the bone, and most importantly of all, it is all so much fun, coming with instantly rewatchable energy that ought to ensure the film the future status that it richly deserves and earns.

A project so visibly full of passion, Thanksgiving deserves to gobble (gobble) up the box office and find that audience because it is just a complete blast. Plus, it has a very refreshing ethos on animals in horror, as does its director, which is just the added refreshing dessert to a delicious main course and one of the best slashers of the last decade.

What a horror feast… you’ll want second helpings.

Thanksgiving is showing in cinemas now.

LITTLE BONE LODGE

There is something… unsettling from the opening scenes of Little Bone Lodge, something you can’t quite put your finger on. Mama (Joely Richardson) and her teenage daughter Maisy (Sadie Soverall) live off-grid; no internet, no phones, no television. Just them, caring for a disabled Pa (Roger Ajogbe) in what could easily be the 1950s rather than the present day. Life is simple and straightforward until brothers Jack (Neil Linpow, who also wrote the screenplay) and Matty (Harry Cadby) turn up on their doorstep, the former hurt from an accident that wrecked their car. Being nice people, the family bring them in.

Of course, the brothers are not quite what they seem, but then very little is. As secrets and motivations are slowly revealed, the viewer is challenged repeatedly, trying to identify who is the victim or victim in this strange scenario. Themes of grief, familial loyalty and revenge pepper the subtle narrative, either simmering in the subtext of a seemingly innocent conversation or boiling over due to shocking revelations.

Much of this is down to Linpow’s deflecting, unpredictable script and tight, tension-building direction from Matthias Hoene. Yet a great deal of credit must go to the performances. Richardson is outstanding as the protective mother who is absolutely hiding something (clear from the outset, you just can’t quite figure out what) and Linpow as Jack, who is as luckless as he is desperate.

The only real issues arise in the final act when, as each person’s truth finally seeps out, more players are introduced, and the delicate character balance suffers. That aside, this is a taught, twisty thriller that rewards careful viewing.

THE GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY

Released in 2000, Ginger Snaps garnered a cult following for its snapshot of teen life in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and for its interesting use of lycanthropy as a puberty metaphor. It was raw, bloody, and different to what had gone before, and with references to teen suicides and ‘death-obsessed’ characters, it’s also a film that would not be made now. While some of those themes are rightly dated, Ginger Snaps remains a strong, if flawed, entry in the genre.

With sequel Ginger Snaps: Unleashed and prequel Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, Second Sight have gathered a haul of interviews and featurettes for a new, rather fancy boxset release of the trilogy. And while all the extras offer an intriguing insight into the production and impact of the films – a panel discussion on puberty in film being an interesting inclusion – upon rewatch the films themselves do vary in quality somewhat.

Ginger Snaps itself remains an impactful piece, angry and emotional, full of moments relatable to anyone who remembers the bleaker side of teenage life. The other two films are, for varying reasons, less so. The sequel continues from directly where its predecessor ended and feels very much like extended scenes that were rightly left on the cutting room floor. With a curious tonal shift, it’s difficult to root for any of the characters and as such is a rather forgettable follow-up. And the prequel is just dull, woefully attempting to blend Native American mysticism into the lore.

Undoubtedly another lovely release from Second Sight, but perhaps one for the more hardcore fans of the series.

THE GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY is out now on Blu-ray

THE MARVELS

Whilst rumours of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s imminent demise are clearly nonsense, fuelled by Internet scuttlebutt and savage clickbait-chasers, it’s undeniable that the House That Kevin Feige Built has been on shaky ground over the last eighteen months or so. It’s hardly surprising after 33 movies and a string of Disney+ TV shows, a handful of under-performing, poorly-received films and frankly unnecessary TV series have certainly taken the gilt of the once-glittering crown of the MCU. The Marvels, ostensibly a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, is unlikely to do much to restore Marvel’s reputation, but against most expectations, it’s actually a fun, if frustratingly haphazard and fizzy concoction likely to find favour purely because of its sheer energy and pizzazz.

The plot – we’ll be generous and call it that – involves one of Marvel’s usual MacGuffins; this time, it’s a couple of ancient bangles, one of which is buried below the moon’s surface (for some reason), which will give their wearers supreme power, etc. Kree leader Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton, shamefully underserved in a one-note baddy role) recovers one of them, but MCU completists will know that down on Earth, Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) possesses the second, and it’s given her superpowers and turned her into Ms Marvel. Via some sci-fi mumbo-jumbo that needn’t concern us here, WandaVision’s Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) is called in by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to investigate a ‘jump point’ that Dar-Benn has opened up in space. But when she touches it, she, Ms Marvel, and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) find themselves constantly swapping places (it’s quantum entanglement, apparently) whenever they use their light-based powers (except on those occasions when, for plot purposes, they don’t). The trio of feisty females team up to stop Dar-Benn from restoring life to her stricken world by devastating others. That’s about it. Oh, and there are loads of cute alien cats and a planet where everyone communicates by singing. Why not?

The Marvels is a curious cinema-going experience. Its raw energy and blazing colour drag you into its first half-hour before it suddenly becomes a little boring and vaguely irritating. The sequence on the planet of singers is as silly and misjudged as anything Taiki Waititi spewed out in his wretched Thor films, but the pace and excitement pick up towards the end as Dar-Benn plans to destroy the Sun – yes, our Sun – in a last-ditch effort do whatever it is she is trying to do. You’ll have forgotten by now.

This is a film that wears its apparently troubled production, rewrites and reshoots in almost every frame as it leaps and skids and skitters about in every direction all at once. But despite it all, it’s hard not to be won over by its brazen charms, the effortless chemistry between its three leads (Vellani steals the show, just as she made her own series last year so watchable, and Larson is much warmer now as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel) and the inevitable spectacular CGI overkill. It’s a shame, though, that no one took note of the scripts for TV’s recent Secret Invasion series that depicted Nick Fury as battle-weary, worn-out, cynical and dejected; here he’s the bright-[one]-eyed, wise-cracking, order-shoutin’ Fury we grew to love during MCU Phases 1 and 2 – awkward. The final scene delivers a surprise cameo that harks back to the end of the very first Iron Man movie (a mid-credits scene offers up something else entirely) and, like the rest of the film, reminds us of the pioneering early days of Marvel when this stuff was fresh, new, thoughtful, and full of character and real emotional, human drama. The Marvels is entertaining eye candy that, despite a few nods about the importance of family and friends, is 105 minutes of sound and (Nick) Fury that signifies…well, very little at all. The cats are great, though.

THE MARVELS is in cinemas now.

SANCTUARY MOON (Short Film)

Taking place after the Battle of Endor, a pair of stormtroopers and their commander are lost in the dense forest, looking for a way out in the vain hope that there is some remnant of the Empire still out there. They come across a biker scout who has been hung on a tree, completely devoid of flesh. There’s something in this forest that’s deadlier than the Rebels, and the trio have no way out.

This Star Wars fan film – created with love and the help of some crowdfunding – is directed by Gav Chuckie Steel (Preternatural) and written by Thomas J. Campbell, and the simple story draws the interest from the start. There’s a large element of Predator, too, with the unseen Ewoks stalking the Imperials with something far from cute on their minds.

Imagine the characters dressed differently, and there would still be an intriguing tale here. It’s one that certainly could be expanded to feature-length, but we guess the House of Mouse might have something to say about that. There are plenty of moments that recall the original trilogy, but it gets much darker than even The Empire Strikes Back did. It’s good to see that it doesn’t shy away from the gory moments, and there’s a brooding John Carpenter-esque score (also by Steel) to build up the tension.

The production values are surprisingly high for a low budget short. The attention to detail is remarkable and shows the passion of all involved. It’s just a shame it’s so short, as we’d love to see what the team could do with a larger budget.

SANCTUARY MOON will debut on YouTube on November 17th at 7pm.

WEREWOLF SANTA

Santa Claus is coming to town… just in time to get mauled by a rampaging werewolf. Visiting her mum for the festive period, grumpy, punky YouTuber Lucy (Katherine Rodden) and pal Dustin (Charlie Preston) suddenly find themselves on a mission to save Christmas when they are thrown into conflict with the bloodthirsty Werewolf Santa himself.

Written and directed by Airell Anthony Hayles, this comedy-horror is a cut above the usual B-movie concept smash (Velocipastor, Wolfcop, generally most things with ‘cocaine’ or ‘shark’ in the title), bringing a refreshing level of earnestness to the battle between Scrooge and (werewolf) Santa.

In the best of Christmas movie traditions, Rodden’s Lucy is an enjoyably misanthropic lead, a more palatable version of Dashcam‘s Annie Hardy. The film makes its horror bona fides felt with a cameo from the venerable Joe Bob Briggs and Blighty’s own Emily Booth, co-starring as Lucy’s mum, Carol (Christmas Carol, geddit?).

In a canny use of the found footage format, Hayles keeps the actual Werewolf Santa just obscured enough not to look ridiculous while also playing up the more magical elements of the story. Eschewing the subgenre’s usual semi-improvised feel, the writing is tight and funny, with snappy interplay between the characters. Even better, there are no scenes in which a character stares directly, breathlessly, into the camera before being dragged off, kicking and screaming, into the darkness. Indeed, it’s so well-shot that one might occasionally even forget that we’re watching a found footage film here.

While the low budget is evident in some rough animation and use of on-screen text, this is a creative use of the format, enriching the story and cleverly hiding some of the seams. A particularly toothsome – if slightly dog-eared – addition to the Christmas canon.

Werewolf Santa is out now on DVD and digital platforms.

GIVE ME PITY!

If you are old enough to remember the awful, overblown TV variety specials we were almost constantly bombarded with in the ‘70s and ‘80s, then Amanda Kramer’s Give Me Pity! will be a nightmarish prospect. Think Bette Midler, The Osmonds, or even the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, and you’ll have an idea of the vibe Kramer was going for.

It’s performer Sissy St. Claire’s first-ever live TV spectacular, and she’s a fountain of nervous energy. However, mid-way through her opening number, visual glitches begin to interfere with the televised image. As several awkwardly lame skits – with added canned laughter – unfold, things begin to get stranger and a figure appears to be stalking Sissy from the wings of the studio.

Give Me Pity! is presented as a garish variety show with Sissy and her ego and desire to be perfect and the centre of attention despite things going wrong. She perseveres despite everything that happens, from nasty letters in the ‘mail from fans’ sections to celebrity guests cancelling and a hooker sketch that gets incredibly dark.

Sophie von Haselberg confidently embodies the fame-hungry Sissy, and the skits and monologues become increasingly open, betraying her confident façade. She’s mesmerising as she carries the film (and the in-film show) almost singlehandedly, allowing the character’s flaws to gradually seep through. Writer/director Kramer takes the simple conceit and weaves it into a psychotronic nightmare. It’s not an easy watch, you’ll either be drawn into the kitschiness or turned off by the awkwardness of the star who’s desperate for success and adoration and the alarmingly inappropriate skits. It’s a bold venture, and the attention to detail – from the 4:3 framing, ‘70s colour, the diva performance, and the ad break cards – is perfect. It’s more of a performance art piece more than a narrative movie, but it’ll likely pick up a cult audience with the right exposure.

Bulldog Film Distribution presents GIVE ME PITY! in cinemas and on demand from November 10th.

NOWHERE

Albert Pinto’s Spanish language all-at-sea survivalist thriller Nowhere has been making waves, and it’s not hard to see why. Brutal, relentless, absolutely unforgiving, Nowhere is an exhausting, edgy, nerve-shredding film that offers little in the way of optimism and might just leave you feeling hopelessly pessimistic about human nature even as you admire the extraordinary determination to survive, demonstrated by its protagonist Mia (Anna Castillo) in a film that’s pretty much a one-hander.

It’s intimated that society in the near future is at the point of collapse all over the world; societal disorder and food shortages are rife, and governments have become tyrannical as they try to maintain order. Pregnant Mia and her husband Nico (Tamar Novas) decide to flee Spain and head to Ireland – where the situation is far less dire – by cargo ship, and they and other refugees board massive containers that are being transported to the coast. But when the military intercepts them, the pair are separated, and Mia finds herself alone in the container as it’s loaded aboard a ship. A storm sends the containers tumbling into the ocean, and Mia has to use anything and everything she can find in the container – most of which isn’t much use to her – to stay alive as it slowly takes on water and the birth of her baby approaches.

Nowhere is bleak and nihilistic and, more often than not, offers nothing but despair and hopelessness. Mia’s determination to survive and protect her unborn child is really the only beacon in the darkness because anything and everything that can go wrong in her struggle eventually does. There are moments of appalling unpleasantness here, not least when Mia stares out through a bolthole in her container and sees another nearby container sinking beneath the waves, its occupants screaming in abject terror. Castillo’s performance is outstanding, and she endures the terrible ordeals the script throws at her with astonishing strength and resilience. In fact, the very act of watching Nowhere is something of an ordeal, and whilst it’s not a film anyone is likely to say they enjoyed, it’s impossible not to admire the artistry with which it’s been made and the sometimes well-hidden spirit of survival it grimly celebrates. A brilliant but deeply troubling experience.

NOWHERE is streaming now on Netflix