Review Category: VOD

CERT: 18 | DIRECTOR: PATRYK VEGA | SCREENPLAY: PATRYK VEGA | STARRING: OLGA BOLADZ, KASIA WARNKE, SEBASTIAN FABIJANSKI, AGNIESZKA DYGANT | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A former police officer who thinks out of the box is hired to go undercover in the Mafia to catch the most wanted criminals in Patryk Vega’s blood-soaked and hard-hitting crime thriller, Women of Mafia.

After his previous film Botoxx, Vega is back with his no-nonsense and blunt filmmaking style in his latest film that, one can presume, to a degree accurately depicts some of the heinous things that mobsters get up to including hardcore drug use, murder and graphic sex. In this story, his female characters – which include a host of returning actresses that he’s worked with before – take centre stage and feel a lot more empowered rather than being an afterthought.

At the forefront is Izabella (Olga Boladz), a former police officer who is let go after an operation to get over twenty wanted criminals in the same place at the same time goes awry. Shortly after she is hired by the ISA to go undercover in the mafia and must leave her husband and son behind – a great segment of character development which was lacking in Vega’s previous work. Quite possibly the most interesting character story ark is Dalia (Agnieszka Dygant) – a nanny for one of the mobsters who is presented with the chance to change her life forever. Along with these two main plotlines, there are also a few other narratives that overlap – but that is the biggest flaw with this film: as with Vega’s other work, the story always feels very top-heavy.

There are a plethora of potentially interesting and solo narratives that, although they cross over with each other quite nicely, it gives the audience a bloated feeling and ultimately makes proceedings confusing and convoluted. For example, Dalia’s storyline and her rise to power across the runtime could perfectly accommodate any 90-minute mob thriller bu itself, but put up against the undercover narrative of Izabella is a tad too much to focus upon – which leads to another major gripe: the runtime. The story beats and set pieces would have packed much more of a punch if approximately 30 minutes were shaved off of the 150 runtime – a lot of it is dowsed in uninteresting padding.

However, the direction of Women of Mafia must be commended – Vega’s eye for brutal detail is clear for all to see when the action kicks off. As far as performances go, it’s wonderful to see Bloadz and Dygant, who also starred in Botoxx, be at the forefront of the move and going toe-to-toe with their male counterparts. They steal each scene that they are in which, in this genre, is incredibly refreshing.

Women of Mafia is a ferocious gang thriller with terrific female leads but unfortunately suffers from a convoluted web of storylines and over-bearing runtime that brings the overall film down a few levels but sets up nicely for its sequel that should tie the loose knots together if approached in the right way.

CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: REMEMBERING GHOSTBUSTERS / CERT: UNRATED / DIRECTOR: ANTHONY BUENO / STARRING: WILLIAM ATHERTON, DAN AYKROYD, RICHARD BEGGS / RELEASE DATE: SELECTED CINEMAS FROM JANUARY 5TH

From a successful Kickstarter campaign, Bueno Productions (Anthony and Claire Bueno) have put their dream into action with a release that looks extensively behind the scenes of one of the biggest fantasy movies of all time. Upon its inception in 1984, Ghostbusters was competing against giant Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and, really, no-one foresaw the global sensation that it went on to be. In its opening segment, Remembering Ghostbusters picks up on this point whilst talking about how the paranormal family concept, which was brainstormed by Dan Aykroyd and then pushed forward by Ivan Reitman & Harold Ramis, came to fruition.

As soon as it talks about the actual plot structure of the film itself, the documentary provides an easy to follow, and exciting format. It goes through memorable storyline moments in order; for example, straight away you see interviews with actors Jennifer Runyon and Steven Tash, who were in one of the very first scenes. The list of special guests is humongous and its relevantly used to support the part of the film that’s under the spotlight. They even feature the legendary librarian Alice Drummond, who was involved in one of the most spookiest but fun scares ever. We are bombarded with layered trivia; one pivotal mention tells how John Belushi would have a long-lasting impact on the spirit of the film and that, before his passing, he was set to play Dr. Peter Venkman.

Other than the quotable lines and improv chemistry between the four Ghostbusters, we take an elevated look at its use of practical effects and monumental set pieces. Steve Johnson, Michael C. Gross, Terri Hardin Jackson, Joe Medjuck and many more reflect on their roles, and you can’t help but smile at their nostalgic glee. From the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (who Ivan Reitman himself was slightly unsure of) through to the puppeteering work on Slimer, it’s all here. Between the “streams” they link components together with exclusive cartoons, rare behind the scenes photos, animations and storyboards. 

If we’re nitpicking then yeah, it would have been great to see Bill Murray and Rick Moranis share their memories but, like everyone interviewed here, it can’t have been easy to get hold of them. Also, there are some small pacing and abrupt editing issues. However, for a Kickstarter project, this is a fanatic outcome that has to be cherished and, if you have to pick just one documentary to get an exceptional look at every aspect of this classic, then this is your best bet.

I SEE YOU / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: ADAM RANDALL / SCREENPLAY: DEVON GRAYE / STARRING: HELEN HUNT, JON TENNEY, LIBE BARER, OWEN TEAGUE / RELEASE: DECEMBER 6TH (US), TBC (UK)

New thriller I See You is an ill-balanced mixture of three familiar tropes from the contemporary cinematic crime playbook: the deadly consequences of the collapse of trust inside a family unit; the hunt for a serial assailant who begins a new spree of attacks; and the terror of home invasion. Only the last of these themes is handled with any degree of accomplishment.

The Harper family is in meltdown, following the discovery that professional counsellor Jackie (Hunt) has been having an affair with an old school friend. Her husband Greg (Tenney), a detective with local law enforcement, is unable to forgive her; and their truculent teenage son Connor (Judah Lewis) seethes with resentment at his mother’s betrayal. Meanwhile, a spate of new child abductions leaves Greg’s partner Spitzky (Gregory Alan Williams) in the throes of self-doubt. He’s now unsure if he helped to convict the wrong suspect during an identical earlier case in the same area.

The problem is that the film makes almost no effort to establish the characters of the family, or to ground the backstory of the serial abductor. Family members shout at each other, and storm out of arguments, but not in a way that would encourage the audience to believe that these relationships are real, or to have any empathy with the state of dysfunction this trio are now stuck in. Hunt is a talented and versatile actor, but there’s precious little for her to do here, other than to look pained at the reactions of the angry and frustrated men in her life. The audience learns that Jackie is a counsellor only because Greg reminds her that she is. But the lives of all three are left just as sketchy. In a similar reversal of the ‘show, don’t tell’ cinematic mantra, all the viewer discovers about the earlier crime wave and conviction comes through a garbled verbal info dump from Spitzky (though that’s no fault of Williams).

It’s difficult to care about either the fate of the family, or the question mark over the guilt of an unseen individual sent to jail on the basis of undisclosed evidence. What salvages the movie’s plot is the film’s third element and, in particular, the way that it is seeded into the timeline of events. Without giving away too much, the arrival of unexpected visitors at one residence leads to a series of disturbing developments. The film’s most effective conceit is to reveal only gradually how the actions of these hidden squatters fit into the film’s wider narrative. Events are replayed from a different character’s point of view, their presence as an unseen voyeur only brought to light in these re-runs. This paves the way for some deftly delivered shocks, twists, and unexpected revelations.

As alienated and mischievous teens Mindy and Alec, both of whom are joyfully up to no good, Libe Barer and Owen Teague make good play of what are easily the best drawn and most charismatic characters in the film. Their complex and strained personal dynamic is certainly more interesting than the domestic travails of the Harpers. The realisation of these intruders’ actions, and the back-and-forth timeline, provides the film’s most creepy and unsettling moments. The final showdown replays many crime film drama favourites, whilst straining at the limits of credibility more forcefully than the script has earned the right to. The wrap-up is, though, nowhere near as disconcerting as the psychological mind games and near-misses of the home invasion that have preceded it.

CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: SEVERIN ESKELAND / SCREENPLAY: SEVERIN ESKELAND / STARRING: MAGDALENA FROM DELIS, SONDRE KROGTOFT LARSEN, DAMIAN GALLAGHER / RELEASE DATE: TBC

After a famous crime writer is sexually assaulted, her life is dramatically altered and, during recovery, she begins to suspect that those around her who are offering support may have sinister intentions in the bloodsoaked Norweigian thriller, Lyst.

Revenge films can be a mixed bag as filmmakers must find a harmonious balance between giving the protagonist a deep character profile and also respecting real-world victims. In the case of Lyst, that balance is accomplished to great effect. However, after a strong start, the film, unfortunately, falls into disarray with the pacing faltering creating a jumbled narrative and a handful of scenes and story beats being recycled repeatedly which leaves the audience confused. Topped off with an incredibly over-ambiguous ending which abandons a solid relationship between film and viewer that has developed for the sake of shock value – you will be left with more questions than answers which just makes you feel angry rather than clever.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is a handful of things that Lyst does right. For a start, newcomer Magdalena From Delis is fantastic in the lead role. Her realistic performance enhances the subject material and truly brings the audience on board and involved from the outset. The scenes in which she is breaking down are hard-hitting, uncomfortable and emotional. Also done right is the gore. When shit hits the fan, Director Severin Eskeland clearly had a great time with the tools at his disposal. It’s bloody, messy and shocking – a perfect combination for a revenge film that encapsulates how much your life can change when something like this happens.

Lyst truly feels like a film of two halves – a superb start that invests the audience held great promise before it becomes clear that the filmmakers were over-ambitious when it came to deciding on how to end the story. That being said, the ideas were certainly inventive, the gore was solid and the film has given birth to a great new Scandinavian talent in From Delis.