TURNING RED

turning red

Whether we’re aware of it or not, we are all active participants in Pixar’s storytelling. The studio has mastered the practice of imbuing straightforward stories with complex – and universal – emotions. Its latest effort, Turning Red, is another stunning example of that.

The film centres around Mei Lee, a 13-year-old Toronto resident who wants to drink in as much of her youth as possible while allowing her overbearing mother’s expectations to govern her life. As Mei ventures further and further into her teenage fancies (cute clerks at gas stations, wildly popular teen boy bands, sneaking out at night to go to a party… you get it), she discovers that her elevated emotions turn her into a giant red panda. Her biggest shock, though, is realising that this transformation very much runs in her family.

Pixar’s Turning Red is a heart-warming ode to youth that depicts puberty, friendship, and familial bonds as messy, painful, joyous, and necessary without condemning or diminishing any of them. It acknowledges that these feelings and experiences are part of our lives, and that how we navigate them is how we figure out who we are and what we’re about.

Recent examples of this hidden profundity include Soul and Luca, two stories with simple premises and fathoms of emotional depth. Nearly every Pixar outing has gifted us with an actionable takeaway, a depiction or reflection that illuminates pieces of our souls. They consistently find the most beautiful and offbeat ways to validate the human experience. Through Mei, each of us revisits our versions of her struggles. Director Domee Shi’s masterpiece reinforces the idea that for Pixar, there is no distinction between story and substance. The two are inextricable. They need each other. They become different entities when they are apart.

Turning Red is easily one of Pixar’s best, most brilliant efforts in years. Sure, it’s fun, funny, and tender, but what really carries it to greatness is its ability to put us back in touch with our youth and give ourselves a bit more grace.

Turning Red is available to stream on Disney+

STUDIO 666

Searching for inspiration, a band of ageing rockers lock themselves away in a grand old house until they can whip their latest album into shape. Suffering from severe artistic block, the gang’s frontman strikes gold when he discovers a disembowelled raccoon and a Satanic guitar riff in the basement. As is wont to happen when you take songwriting advice from the Necronomicon, the eccentric rocker soon starts going off his… rocker, devouring raw meat, screaming abuse at his bemused bandmates, and experiencing nightmarish visions. Honestly, who does this guy think he is – Dave Grohl? Well, actually… yes.

Dave Grohl plays Dave Grohl in this, the Foo Fighters horror movie. The American rock icon makes for a surprisingly great Scream Queen, switching from frontman to leading man. This isn’t to say that his bandmates don’t get their moments to shine (Rami Jaffee exhibits a curious kind of raw charisma, while the constantly snacking Pat Smear is adorably wooden), but this is essentially the Dave Grohl show.

Directed by BJ McDonnell (Hatchet III), this comedy horror film is part Evil Dead, part Spinal Tap. While the comedy leanings heavily outweigh the scares, it should please fans of 70s/80s era schlock – particularly those brought up on the ludicrous kills of Friday the 13th and its ilk (and check out that nod to The Burning, too!) A roster of all-star cameos keeps the laughs coming while the story potters on to its splattery denouement. A treat for both fans of Foo and old-school slasher films; an indulgent curiosity to the less inclined.

JUJUTSU KAISEN 0: THE MOVIE

Set a few years before the events of the hit shonen series Jujutsu Kaisen, this feature length foray into the world of Jujutsu sorcerers follows young Yuta who, after losing his best friend Rika, is thrust into a battle to not only save humanity but also the soul of Rika.

With some feature films adapted from an established series, the result is just an extension that happens to be on a bigger screen and nothing more. With Jujutsu Kaisen 0, studio MAPPA have taken this opportunity to show how great they are at making an explosive action anime that blows their peers out of the water. The animation, especially the fight scenes, is simply outstanding with every hit and moment feeling bigger than the screen you are watching it on. Accompanied with a brilliant score, you as the audience are sucked into the action like you are right there in the mix.

The story, as previously mentioned, is a prequel – making it a great starting point for new fans, but also rewards old fans with returning characters and easter eggs. It’s always hard with this sort of project to not alienate the uninitiated whilst also not disrespecting those that have pledged time and effort into the TV series. Most of the time when characters mention their past, we rely on wave after wave of exposition to fill in the blanks, so to see these characters and what they went through to make them how we see them in the show is so rewarding.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie is a wonderful companion piece to the award winning show that anime fans will have so much fun with. Although some of the story beats are similar to those that appear in the show, the performances of both the Japanese and English cast provide plenty of heart and emotion that will have you hooked.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie explodes into UK cinemas on Friday 18th March with select cinemas providing advanced screenings from Wednesday 16th March.

THE CELLAR [FrightFest Glasgow 2022]

cellar

There’s a touch of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond in writer/director Brendan Muldowney’s film. There are no zombies or pipe-cleaner spiders, but what lurks in The Cellar may be familiar…

The Woods family have moved into a new house in a new town. Teenager Ellie (Abby Fitz) isn’t too impressed, however. Uprooted away from her friends, she hates the house without even looking around. When she and her brother, Steven (Dylan Fitzmaurice Brady), discover an old gramophone with a record containing a stern-sounding man reciting something that ends with them counting upwards. As it’s not Billy Eilish, they’re not really interested. Ellie is particularly afraid of the cellar in the house, so when the power trips, her mother talks her down to the basement on the phone. We are hearing what the mother, Keira (Elisha Cuthbert), hears through the call as Ellie counts the ten steps down. When Ellie gets beyond the twenties, she figures that something is up. Keira begins to attempt to unravel the mystery of Ellie’s disappearance and what the strange runic symbols above each of her doors might mean and if they are connected to the mathematical equation engraved in concrete at the bottom of the cellar’s steps.

The Cellar mixes an emotional family drama with hockey supernatural horror well, but it brings nothing new to the table. There are the standard shocks and predictable scares, but we don’t really gel with the characters. It doesn’t give us a chance to form an emotional bond with Ellie other than to work out that she’s a moody teen, so her disappearance doesn’t kick as hard as say the loss of Charlie in Hereditary. The plot tries to be a bit loftier than it needs to be, but it’s essentially a gateway to Hell scenario.

Cuthbert is impressive as the distraught mother, while father Eoin Macken isn’t really given much to do. Muldowney’s direction is stronger than the story, but it still manages to provide a few chills and obligatory jumps.

MANDRAKE [FrightFest Glasgow 2022]

Mandrake

A killer released on parole and local legend make for an interesting tale in Lynne Davison’s feature debut.

Cathy (Deirdre Mullins) is a probation officer in a small Irish village who volunteers to take on ‘Bloody’ Mary Laidlaw (Derbhle Crotty), just released from prison after serving twenty years for murder. The locals are convinced she’s a witch, and she certainly doesn’t do anything to dispel the stories. When two children go missing, suspicions and emotions run high but the truth is more sinister than anyone could imagine.

Blending elements of folk horror, Matt Harvey’s script takes a premise that could form the basis of an ITV crime serial and turns it into a mix of pure evil and mounting terror. As Mary, Derbhle Crotty is brilliantly nasty, providing a solid backbone for the malevolence of the story. There’s a risk when a film shows too much ‘behind the curtain’ of the plot too early, which is what happens at around the halfway point here, but Mandrake still has a number of surprises up its grimy sleeve.

Deirdre Mullins is equally good as the conflicted Cathy, hoping for the good in people even when there’s no trace. She appears to be an outsider in the community even though her ex-husband (played by Paul Kennedy) is a local police officer. Her child (Jude Hill) is being brought up by another woman, something Mary exploits when getting under the skin of Cathy.

With a deft blending of styles, Davison has crafted a moody and often bleak nightmare of a film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.

WYRMWOOD APOCALYPSE [FrightFest Glasgow 2022]

wyrmwood apocalypse

Post-apocalyptic sequel Wyrmwood Apocalypse starts as it means to go on: with showers of blood and a violent confrontation. Although the story follows from the 2014 movie, there’s no necessity to have seen that to enjoy this onslaught of carnage.

Our protagonist here is Rhys (Luke McKenzie), who works his way through this dystopia by delivering people he has captured to the Surgeon (Nicholas Boshier), who claims to be looking for a cure to the zombie-like condition that causes the infected to become murderously enraged. The reality is much different, however.

Once again directed and co-written by Kiah Roache-Turner (with sibling Tristan acting as co-writer), Wyrmwood Apocalypse descends further to Mad Max meets Day of the Dead territory. Coming from Down Under as it does, we like to think this could perhaps be taking place in the same universe as George Miller’s classic movies. Despite the nihilistic and simple scenario, the Roache-Turners have managed to craft an immersive ride that carries the momentum of the first instalment, despite a seven-year difference. Fans of the first film will be glad to see a few returning faces, and will also be pleased to see the half-human-half-zombies are just as terrifying as ever. The Surgeon’s lab and the nefarious goings-on add another gruesome element, and those who love their undead terrors nice and gory will not be disappointed. There’s still a big portion of black humour on display, too, as all the elements fall into place nicely.

Tim Nagle’s cinematography is once more an impressive, fluid part of proceedings. The brothers Roache-Turner have produced another gory, glorious homage to the golden age of Ozploitation that is more than capable of standing on its own feet as well as being a fun nod to its antipodean cinematic heritage.

Wyrmwood Apocalypse is released on DVD and Digital from 101 Films on May 16th

YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER [FrightFest Glasgow 2022]

you not mother

Mental illness and family horrors are front and centre in writer/director Kate Dolan’s confident feature debut.

Hazel Doupe is Char, a regular teen growing up in the bleak side of Dublin. When her mother (Carolyn Bracken) suddenly returns after she disappeared unexpectedly, Char begins to notice there’s something a little off with her. Is it mental illness or is there something more sinister going on?

Impeccably acted (Doupe is a particular standout), Dolan’s film straddles genres, often pure drama with superb flashes of intense horror. It’s so well handled that the occasional jump scare seems out of place. There’s clearly a backstory of mental illness with Angela, the mother, of which all the family are aware but her reappearance and subsequent change are revealed to have something to do with Irish folklore, particularly changelings. Char’s school life is equally troubled as she has to deal with bullies who single her out due to the birthmark on her face, her quiet demeanour, and her family’s general strangeness (Char’s grandmother – played by Ingrid Craigie – burns odd talismans as protection). Setting the film at Halloween adds another level of interest as it plays into Gaelic traditions and legends.

You Are Not My Mother is a solid entry into the contemporary folk horror tradition. It has an ominous tone that keeps the viewer on the back foot, wondering if things are exaggerated in the mind of the worried Char or whether her mother is possessed or suffering a total mental breakdown. By not going leaning into regular horror traits as much as you’d think, Dolan’s film is all the more affecting. The result is a patient, atmospheric, and disturbing movie that delivers discomforting performances and a constant layer of unease.

Signature Entertainment presents You Are Not My Mother in Cinemas and Digital April 8th

HOMEBOUND [FrightFest Glasgow 2022]

Homebound

A family reunion doesn’t go as planned as Richard (Tom Goodman-Hill) brings his new girlfriend, Holly (Aisling Loftus), to meet his children. They get a frosty welcome from Lucia (the wonderfully named Hattie Gotobed), Anna (Raffiella Chapman), and Ralph (Lukas Rolfe), who tell their father that their mother has left them alone in their mansion-like home. They make Holly feel particularly unwanted, with Ralph ‘playfully’ trying to drown her when they are in the pool. As things progress she seriously questions her decision to be there.

The feature debut for writer/director Sebastian Godwin, Homebound has an ominous tone and the set-up with the children initially brings to mind Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961), itself an adaptation of Henry James’ oft-filmed The Turn of the Screw. The reality here is much more sinister. The mood of the film is finely-pitched, with plenty of nuances that build up an unspoken malevolence that explodes to an understated but nevertheless disturbing climax.

The younger actors – a part of any film that can come unstuck – are impressive and add to the creepy atmosphere. This along with the location give Homebound the feel of the independent horror features from the seventies such as Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly. The movie’s mystery keeps the audience guessing and we’re discovering things alongside Loftus’ character throughout and she carries the emotional load well. Early on, she’s given the measure of the family dynamic when they ‘play’ with some geese, but she’s horrified when she finds out that one of them will be their dinner.

Sergi Vilanova Claudin’s cinematography is rich with a muted colour range that suits the slow-burning tension well. Jeremy Warmsley’s score also adds to the overall feeling of menace. Homebound is a low-key horror that punches above its weight and will linger with the viewer longer than its relatively brief running time.

THE BATMAN

It’s been less than two years since reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) first donned his cape as Gotham’s avenging vigilante, the audience learns in The Batman’s opening voiceover. Writer-director Matt Reeves situates his Batman at a crossroads in the character’s journey. The Bat-signal projected onto a stormy sky may already strike fear in the hearts of the city’s low-level criminals, but the Caped Crusader is certainly no hero to the people of Gotham. This is a punisher, driven by vengeance, anger and personal trauma – still far from the protector he would become.

Robert Pattinson as The Batman in Matt Reeves film noir

Reeves’ entry into the Dark Knight canon leans into another of the figure’s monikers, one that’s been neglected by recent blockbusters: the World’s Greatest Detective. When Gotham is rocked by a series of sadistic murders targeting high-profile officials, Batman is called upon to stop the mysterious killer (Paul Dano as The Riddler) in a hunt that will lead him straight into the city’s darkest underbelly. There, the Batman will cross paths with Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Colin Farrell, pulling the same stunt Jared Leto did in House of Gucci – though to far greater effect), crime lord Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and of course, Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz).

As the trail of cyphers and riddles leads the Caped Crusader closer to the truth and the scale of the murderer’s plans become clear, Pattinson’s Batman is forced to grapple with his conflicting identities, philosophies, and the knock-on effects his violence creates if he is to weed out corruption and bring justice to his home. Drawing heavily from The Long Halloween, Ego and Year One, Reeves’ The Batman is a fantastic dive into the DC character’s psyche, as he reckons with his hopes and legacy.

The Batman starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne

It’s difficult to assess a film fairly when it takes on a story that’s been told countless times before; the narrative borrows so much from comics, earlier film iterations, and even cinematic pillars like Zodiac that it is almost impossible to call The Batman an original take. And yet, however familiar the whole affair might feel, it still manages to be fresh. The stunningly textured, shadowy cinematography (which comes courtesy of Dune’s Greig Fraser) goes a long way towards bringing a grander flair to the otherwise grounded proceedings, carried along by an unforgettable score (from composer Michael Giacchino). Meanwhile the action, made all-the-more brutal for how contained it is, feels both necessary and consequential.

Despite an almost three-hour runtime, The Batman has the density of 1940s film noir and hardboiled detective fiction, which means that some of its characters inevitably fall by the wayside. Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth suffers most, though Jeffrey Wright’s James Gordon and Turturro’s Falcone are also woefully underdeveloped. Regardless, the all-star cast deliver expectedly solid (and at times great) performances throughout. Though his sullen Bruce Wayne is decidedly lacklustre (and thankfully largely absent), his turn as the Batman could well be the best rendition of the character to bless the big screen. His Dark Knight is all repressed violence, tortured psyche and tempestuous menace.

Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman/Selina Kyle and Robert Pattinson as Batman in Matt Reeves' The Batman

Where the film falters is in its last act. A final twist pushes The Batman over the edge and into the ‘no-holds-barred showdown’ territory that’s become de rigueur for superhero fare, in what seems like a betrayal of the film’s earlier, anchored tone. It might serve a purpose in the figure’s character development, but it still cannot help but feel cumbersome, particularly in how the film half-heartedly attempts to distinguish itself by relating to current events.

Despite that, Reeves’ The Batman is an impressive exploration of the character’s Year Two, a visually stunning, violent and believably gritty detective film to please the purists and introduce casual fans to a different version of the Bat.

The Batman releases in cinemas March 4th. Watch the trailer.

CAVEAT

caveat

“Every job has a uniform.” Issac (Jonathan French), suffering from amnesia, has taken a job looking after Barret’s (Ben Caplan) neice Olga (Leila Sykes). The downsides, she lives isolated on a small island, suffers deep-rooted psychological problems, and insists her helper wears a chained waistcoat harness so he doesn’t go where he shouldn’t. He’s being paid handsomely, though, and despite his reticence, tries to make a go of it. He’s soon troubled by a series of strange events and the eerie atmosphere of the grim-looking house. Isaac walks around the decaying place like the ghost of a man he is without his full memory. When he finds something in the cellar, this get even worse.

Damian Mc Carthy’s debut feature is a tense, claustrophobic thriller that gradually makes its mark on the viewer. Stunningly shot by Kieran Fitzgerald, every part of the run-down house seems to hold a sinister presence, not least a toy clockwork rabbit banging a drum, which is the stuff of nightmares. The imposing soundscape adds to the terrifying quality, building up more dread than any jump scare could. Mc Carthy makes some brave choices – like plunging the screen into darkness save for a flashlight – and certainly knows how to pitch a scare. The cast are all superb – particularly French and Sykes – and as the story unfolds, and Isaac’s memory begins to return, the terror is ramped up to unbearable levels.

A stunningly effective debut and proof that cinema can still be genuinely scary.

Caveat is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and on Shudder.