THE MIDNIGHT SWIM

midnight swim

Three sisters travel back to their childhood home after their mother goes missing while diving in a lake so deep the bottom has never been found. Legend has it seven sisters drowned long ago and that if you take to the cold waters at night, you may not return.

With the sister’s bickering with familial ease, writer and director Sarah Adina Smith draws strong performances from the small cast as unresolved differences surface prompting strong emotions, and her voyeuristic direction subtly places you amidst the delicate balance of their relationships.

From the outset themes of reincarnation and spirituality are prevalent in The Midnight Swim, though throughout Smith is teasing her audience. She hints that the psychological melodrama unfolding on screen could descend into more supernatural territory. But that isn’t her intention. Instead, perhaps to fill time, she presents curious interludes where the sisters perform a music video montage, and then take it in turns to dress as their deceased parent, a scene that becomes awkwardly revealing.

There’s nothing dramatic here, no realisation of hidden horrors, just a slow, tangible tension that is disquieting if not exactly frightening. This is a study in grief, of being unable to let go of one’s former feelings and relations both for good and ill. And sadly, this manifests in a rather bland movie, with little to draw in and retain interest from a casual viewer.

For some, there will be poignancy in The Midnight Swim, even something cathartic, in identifying recognisable traits and emotions. For most, it will be a trying 80 minutes peppered with indulgences that simply do not resonate.

The Midnight Swim is available on digital platforms.

SING A BIT OF HARMONY

In the near future where an AI dominated lifestyle is the norm in Japan, a young high-school girl Satomi is about to have her life changed forever when she meets an AI experiment in human form by the name of Shion in Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s (Patema Inverted) latest anime film, Sing a Bit of Harmony.

Satomi, the daughter of a single mother who works in AI programming, is not a normal high schooler. Although a young woman, she steps up to help out with the housekeeping and other adult activities to help her hardworking mother. Her life seems peaceful and safe, but at school, she is teased and ridiculed for being a “tattletale”. Soon after, Shion a “transfer student” appears and instantly recognises Satomi and asks “are you happy now?”. The two become connected in a way neither of them imagined and through song and the AI’s will to make Satomi happy, she along with the nerdy childhood friend Touma, the popular Gocchan, judo club member “Thunder” and the bully Aya all learn the power of friendship and what truly makes you happy.

The animation of the film is beautifully realised with each of the characters truly having a unique personality. The voice performances are as stellar as you expect from anime in the current era and the songs are catchy enough to remain with you for long after the credits roll. Where the film sadly stumbles in our opinion is the pacing in the second act leading into the finale. A lot of the drama seems to be overcome in quick fashion and can feel quite stilted.

Sing a Bit of Harmony is a delightful little story that although not as powerful or as spectacular as some of its peers, still provides a heartful two hours of entertainment with a strong sentiment of relationships between friends and lovers that will have you wiping tears from your eyes come the closing credits.

Sing a Bit of Harmony is out now in UK cinemas.

NIGHTMARE ALLEY

nightmare city

Guillermo del Toro follows up his hugely acclaimed, Oscar-winning 2017 hit Shape of Water with this gripping, dense, occasionally startlingly bleak remake of the 1947 original based on William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel. Del Toro brings his singular visual style to this more languid new version; it’s a beautifully crafted piece, sometimes achingly ornate and stately, and although it eschews much of the director’s usual propensity for dark and disquieting horror, it fully embraces its film noir aesthetic, creating its own unique visual world full of outsiders, chancers, and moral oddities.

It’s 1939, and Stanton ‘Stan’ Carlisle (Bradley Cooper – never better) drags a body wrapped in a carpet into a hole and burns down his family home. He makes his way to a local travelling carnival, becomes fascinated by its resident ‘geek’ and eventually finds himself working with plausible clairvoyant Madame Zeena (Toni Collette) and her alcoholic husband. As Stan picks up Zeena’s ‘skills’ she warns him not to involve himself with “spook shows”, leading patrons on in matters concerning contacting the dead. Eventually Stan and fellow performer Molly (Rooney Mara)  head for New York where he sets himself up as ‘The Great Stanton’, performing for the city’s wealthy (and gullible) urban elite. Here he attracts the attention of both psychologist Lillith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) and the obscenely wealthy Ezra Grindle (Richard Jenkins), and he sets off on a path that could lead to his downfall…

Nightmare Alley is resolutely not a horror film, but it’s suffused with del Toro’s love of genre filmmaking and world-building. It’s a film of two halves; the carnival is gritty, slightly sleazy, and populated by extraordinary larger-than-life freaks (at this point, the film often evokes Tod Browning’s 1932 classic) and his New York is stylish, all art deco apartments and buildings and with a perpetually bleak and snowy landscape. But both halves of the film are utterly engrossing, occasionally eerie and unsettling despite the fact that the film is very much a psychological thriller and it’s only when the story’s narrative wheels are in motion that we realise that the film isn’t offering us any hero figures, anyone to root for, anyone doing the right thing. Stan has betrayed and abandoned his carnival saviours, and now, in New York, he is ruthlessly exploiting the emotionally vulnerable. But del Toro still manages to make him a figure we are interested in and we believe in (perhaps we even like him?) – and even when we become more aware of his sinister past, we are still on his side despite the fact we can see that he is, encouraged and exploited the magnetic Dr Ritter, taking the darkest of dark paths. There’s a beautiful and wholly satisfying circularity in the film’s stunning ending, a conclusion that delivers its own form of justice to a man corrupted by his own skewed sense of humanity.

Nightmare Alley won’t be for everyone, and it might not be for fans of del Toro’s more traditional offerings. But it’s his most grounded film – quite possibly his best despite being slightly overlong – and with its strange,  doomy, other-worldly sensibility, it’s absolutely a del Toro film for the world today. You won’t regret taking a trip to Nightmare Alley.

THE WANTING MARE

wanting mare

There are times when The Wanting Mare is less feature film, more feature-length perfume ad, with all the style and narrative/anti-narrative features of that most baffling of genres.

The film is the story of Moira, the latest in a long line of dreaming girls who remember the world before it is now, and her encounter with a man who may be able to provide her with her way out of the relentless heat of the city of Whithren.

Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s debut feature is as big on cinematic style as it is short on exposition. It’s a shame because there’s obviously a fascinating world lurking behind the story codes here, and the world of Whithren – what it is, where it is, when it is, and how it came to be – tugs at the corners of your imagination while the characters do some very intense acting in beautifully-filmed scenes to little effect.

The Wanting Mare is an ambitious project, telling a generation-spanning story, but it does it with the scantest attention paid to the structure of storytelling and thus, while exquisitely shot and expertly acted, it falls short of any satisfying filmic experience.

The Wanting Mare is available to rent or own on digital HD from Bulldog Film Distribution on February 7th.

BORIS KARLOFF: THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTER

karloff behind

For fans of classic horror – or those of a certain age – the name Boris Karloff will bring both a smile and a shiver. A versatile actor, he was thrust into the public consciousness when he was cast as the Frankenstein monster in Universal’s 1931 movie.

It was no overnight success story for the British actor, who had appeared in around 80 films by the time he was discovered in the Universal canteen. He was 44 at the time, but his sympathetic yet terrifying performance as the creation in James Whale’s movie set him on a path that would gain him fans worldwide.

Thomas Hamilton’s feature-length documentary celebrates Karloff’s accomplishments with input from his daughter, Sara, as well as a host of well-known filmmakers who themselves were influenced by the actor. These include John Landis, Guillermo del Toro, Joe Dante, Ron Perlman, and the late Peter Bogdanovich, whose feature directorial debut was one of Boris’ final movies, Targets (1968). These famous faces echo the feelings of Karloff’s many fans of all ages. Sara Karloff even acknowledges that her father’s legacy is being kept alive by the passion of the people who admire his work.

The Man Behind the Monster does a fantastic job of reminding us of Karloff’s range as an actor. His horror work might have made him a star but his talent kept him in the spotlight and he never wanted for work throughout the rest of his career. He appeared on stage, on the radio in audio dramas (and famously narrated the perennial animated short The Grinch who Stole Christmas), and appeared on TV, not only acting but as the host of his own anthology series, Thriller.

However, for all the movies he made, it’s a clip from Boris’ appearance on the US version of This is Your Life that sums up the man: when a friend reveals his charitable side, he genuinely is embarrassed and bats away the praise. Whether you’re a fan of classic horror or cinema in general, this is an essential watch.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster is available on Shudder from January 27th

THE WASTELAND

THE WASTELAND

It would be easy to perceive David Casademunt’s The Wasteland as a quarantine movie, with a family struggling to exist in self-imposed isolation. But The Beast that plagues them is less a metaphor for a global pandemic and more one depicting the complexities of mental illness.

Conceived in 2012, The Wasteland follows Salvador, Lucía and their son Diego in 19th-century Spain. It is a country ravaged by war, and a boundary of totems is erected to protect them from the evil of man, a boundary young Diego must never cross. The stoic Salvador and gentler Lucía clash often in how to bring up their son, but when a wounded stranger arrives their insular world implodes, and a mythical Beast begins to haunt them.

This is a slow-burning tale of struggle, which fades in the later stages. Early scenes depict a close bond between mother and son, one that is tested when Salvador leaves to return the stranger’s body to his family. An event that coincides with the arrival of The Beast, its presence edging closer each night until such time as it can no longer be resisted. As the story begins to languish, a claustrophobic, intensely atmospheric and largely simple directing style, coupled with engaging performances carry the film forward. Long static shots convey the terror of isolation while a brooding soundtrack superbly enhances the emotional heft. Their pain, both internal and external is tangible.

The Wasteland is an impressive film, horrifically beautiful at times. But there is a sense of missed opportunity, as initial themes are abandoned in favour of portraying survival amidst a home invasion.

The Wasteland is available to stream on Netflix now. 

CYRANO

cyrano

The oft-film classic tale Cyrano has a fresh look in this moving and heart-warming movie that is also a musical, no less!

The romantic drama is based on Erica Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical of the same name, which itself is founded on Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac. With the film being based on a stage musical based on a play, it’s easy to assume that the story is air-tight. And it is. The protagonist Cyrano is too self-conscious to woo his one true love, Roxanne, so when she falls for another man, Christian, Cyrano attempts to bring the two lovers together through his words instead… He writes beautiful poems to send Roxanne on behalf of Christian, and as she falls in love with the confessions on the page, she falls for the man she believes has penned them.

Cyrano has a way with words, and not just written ones; it’s his wit that makes the comedic scenes so laugh-out-loud and his lyricism aid the intense love scenes, and, of course, the man behind the character, Peter Dinklage, makes all of this possible. Haley Bennett (The Girl on the Train) as Roxanne and Kelvin Harrison Jr (Christian) are both equally as brilliant; the whole cast makes the story believable.

To its credit, the majority of the 2021 film is light-hearted and fun as the audience are deep in the throes of Cyrano helping lover boy Christian court Roxanne and take her away from the villainous De Guiche (her supposed most eligible bachelor played by Ben Mendelsohn), which is set entirely in beautiful, sunny city landscapes. That is until Cyrano and Christian leave to fight in a battle. The setting immediately becomes dark and gloomy; we follow the men as they sit in snowy camps and confess their deepest secrets and wishes while they wait to (probably) be killed. The exchange of sets, bringing a change of mood, would have had a phenomenal impact on stage, however, in a movie world saturated with special effects, it failed to deliver.

Also, when Cyrano returns from battle, and he and Roxanne confess their love to one another before he dies (sob), it feels a tad rushed… The romantic comedy to tragedy progression, again, would work better on stage as the audience is more immersed in the drama.

So, while Cyrano is best left to theatre storytellers, the movie is nevertheless enjoyable, and with that, it gets three stars.

Cyrano is in UK cinemas from February 25th.

MOTHER/ANDROID

The wheels seemed to be coming off Chloë Grace Moretz’s career last year with the risible Shadow in the Clouds followed by the questionable Tom and Jerry Movie. Low budget sci-fi flick Mother/Android, written and directed by Mattson Tomlin, is no masterpiece but it’s a step in the right direction and it allows Moretz to remind us that she still has good dramatic acting chops when she’s got some halfway decent material to sink her teeth into.

In the (presumably) near future, Georgia Olden (Moretz) discovers on Christmas Eve that she is pregnant with the child of her boyfriend Sam (Algee Smith). Unfortunately, she’s not sure she’s yet ready for the commitment of motherhood, nor is she sure she wants to remain in a relationship with Sam. The point appears to become moot when a strange mechanical screeching turns domestic androids violent and murderous. Chaos ensues. Nine months later we find Georgia and Sam sheltering in the woods, determined to reach a fortified Boston where, they have heard, a boat is transporting new mothers to Asia – it’s suggested that the android outbreak is restricted to the United States.  Androids with glowing eyes are on the prowl, wiping out humanity in a style that Skynet itself would be proud of. Can Georgia and Sam stay together and reach their sanctuary or will fate tear them apart even before their baby is born?

Mother/Android belies its low budget – we see only a quick flash of the post-screech carnage and there are some understated but effective background shots of burning/burnt-out cities – by focussing on character and relationships rather than spectacle. Nine months on and the pair are a little more bonded, working together for the sake of their unborn and the often frustratingly-muted dialogue – speak up, the pair of you! – is enlivened by the odd thrilling set piece such as a genuinely-exciting bike chase. The androids are pretty much zombies by another name but they’re really a backdrop to the human drama well played-out by Moretz and Smith and later Raul Castillo as fellow survivor Arthur whose arrival leads to a neat twist that swerves the film off into another direction.

Similarities to A Quiet Place notwithstanding – at one point Georgia even underlines the fact that they need to keep quiet to avoid the android predators – Mother/Android as a diverting, if rather slight, genre piece well-constructed by Tomlin that makes the most of its resources by telling a familiar story with heart, warmth and intelligence and, more importantly perhaps, it provides the first signs of a career resurgence for Chloë Grace Moretz.

MOTHER/ANDROID is streaming on Netflix now

SCREAM (2022)

scream (2022)

The fifth Scream film has been a very long time coming. 2011’s Scream 4 was greeted with a lukewarm reception and disappointing box office (neither of which it deserved), and any further plans were put on hold after Wes Craven’s tragic death in 2015. But now, nearly 26 years after the inception of the franchise, Scream is back – and it’s better than ever. For a myriad of reasons, 2022’s Scream is the best in the series since the original and, in this writer’s view, is one of the best slashers of the century so far.

A self-titled “requel,” the new Scream returns us to the town of Woodsboro as another slate of killings begins, with characters both new and old in play. No one is safe, but the question remains: who is under the Ghostface mask, and what do they want?

Let’s get the basics out of the way first. The bones of the slasher movie: the kills, the characters, the score. All are exceptional. The kills on display here are some of the best in the series – after so long away, it’s a pleasure to revisit a Woodsboro where Ghostface is still a threat. There’s a brutality about him that feels like it’s been missing since 1996: he’s still a bit of a goose (fans of his various slips and falls in previous entries won’t be disappointed), but he’s mean and menacing, almost sadistic in his slaughter, helped along by yet another stunning voice performance from Roger L Jackson. Taking full advantage of the film’s 18 certificate, Ghostface feels vicious and angry in a way that he hasn’t before, and when combined with the behind-the-scenes team of Radio Silence (the folks behind the excellent Ready or Not), it’s no wonder why.

As for characters, both the old guard and the new are on top form. The original trio of Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette are back, and it’s spectacular to see them again. The film’s screenplay (from James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick) does all three massive favours, giving each character a moment to shine and allowing the actors to show off their strengths. One advantage that Scream has over its contemporaries is its long-running, single continuity – no reboots, no do-overs, just one series of films, allowing for consistent character development across its main cast that isn’t undone by later sequels. No spoilers here, but that attachment pays off hugely over the course of the film.

Leading the newbies is In the Heights’ Melissa Barrera, who puts in an excellent shift as Sam Carpenter, the young woman who seems to be the ultimate target in Ghostface’s grand plan. She’s called back to Woodsboro after her younger sister Tara (a scene-stealing Jenna Ortega) is attacked, and is quickly roped into unmasking the killer. The excellent pair are backed up by Jack Quaid, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minette, Sonia Ben Ammar, and Jasmin Savoy Brown, and there isn’t a weak link among the bunch. Every Scream since the original has introduced a new cast, but none have been as good as they are here.

This Scream is also the first to introduce a completely new team behind the camera following series creator Wes Craven’s death a few years after the release of Scream 4. But what’s on display here from Radio Silence and co. would undoubtedly make Wes proud. Composed of producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, Radio Silence’s creative hand in the film is plain to see. The Scream movies have always been about balancing the horror of the slasher movie with the meta-comedy that defines the series, and rarely has that balance been so finely tuned than it is here. For those of us familiar with Radio Silence’s previous work, what’s on show here will be no surprise. A ton of credit, too, must go to Carter Burwell for his stellar score: it booms and jumps like nobody’s business, really tugs at the heartstrings when it needs to, and it’s yet another stellar work from the composer. And really, what more do you want from this series?

Well, some commentary on the state of Hollywood is always a plus in a Scream, and don’t worry: this one has you covered. This time around it’s toxic fandoms in the film’s sights, and it pulls absolutely zero punches in its views. As we’ve seen over the past few years with more and more legacy sequels/requels being released, some fans feel like they’re entitled to see on-screen what they envisioned in their heads, and if they don’t see that then they can get really angry. Scream has no time for such babyish behaviour. With particular reference to a certain final space wizard, the movie dismantles toxic fandom with a precision not seen in this series since the original film. It’s beautiful to behold, and surprisingly funny, too, and lends the final act a much-needed sense of urgency.

That final act is quite possibly the best in any horror in the last few years. Just as the entire film feels like it might go careening off the rails going into the finale … well, it does. But it’s a controlled, meticulous descent into madness that feels incredibly deliberate and purposeful, leaning fully into the film’s meta-commentary to further its argument, not distract from it. The killer reveal is a standout moment purely for its shock value, and even though it might be a little easier to see coming than previous reveals, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing when it’s executed so well. The brutality of Ghostface’s kills carries over into the finale as the filmmakers twist the knife, quite literally, into the guts of both the characters and the audience. It’s mean and nasty, and completely emotionally fulfilling – much like the film as a whole.

If anyone thought franchise horror was dead, Scream is here to prove you wrong. The latest entry in the franchise is the best outside the original, thanks to a stellar script, savage kills, and some surprisingly emotional moments. It’s a love letter to the genre we love, while also being a firm middle finger to entitled fanboys – by turns thought-provoking and tear-jerking, hilarious and horrific, brutal and brilliant, Scream is the first truly great horror of 2022.

SESSION 9 (2001)

SESSION 9

From its original release back in 2001, Brad Anderson’s Session 9 has developed something of a cult following. Often overlooked, Anderson’s stylish, creeping thriller has garnered a loyal following through word of mouth and now Second Sight has given it a polish, added some new interviews and released this fancy Blu-ray boxset. Perhaps twenty years on Session 9 will finally find the audience it deserves.

With the story kept to a minimum – an asbestos disposal firm striving to complete the contract on a former asylum – Anderson focuses on atmosphere, and it pays off. From the beginning, Session 9 unsettles you, allowing barely a moment of respite as the simple, subtle plot threads emerge and intertwine. Peter Mullan’s Gordon displays the stress and anxiety of a man with social and personal troubles, while his team including David Caruso and co-writer Stephen Gevedon each have their own, often conflicting agendas.

What really sets Session 9 apart is the uneasy tension that pervades throughout. Unspoken, often misinterpreted thoughts and intentions cause both confusion and mistrust. And Anderson directs with almost voyeuristic glee, conveying the bleakly stunning, terrifying location through a bleached palette, with little set dressing required to bring this haunting building to life. The opening rotating shot itself is an indicator of the discomfort to come.

Instead of the often rather dull extras accompanying many re-releases the second disc provides real insight into the genesis and production of Session 9. Interviews with Anderson himself, Gevedon and Production Designer Sophie Carlhian among others are as entertaining as they are informative, with enough to satisfy fans new and old.

In short, this is a fantastic new version of a beautifully crafted and unsettling film and one that rewards repeat viewing.

Session 9 is out now on Blu-ray.