Five stereotyped American teenagers go for a weekend away in a remote woodland cabin and foolishly read passages of Latin from a scary diary they find buried in a sinister cellar. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Evil Dead type shenanigans will ensue, but with The Cabin in the Woods, writer Joss … Continue reading
Slightly trimmed by the censors to get a 12A rating, The Woman in Black is nevertheless a nerve rattling gothic horror experience nigh-on guaranteed to cause sleepless nights. I’m pleased to report I have had at least one so far – a sign this film has done its job well. Why the filmmakers wanted a … Continue reading
I really, really did intend to see The Descendants this week. After all, it features an Oscar nominated George Clooney and it’s directed by Alexander Payne, whose films I like a great deal. But darn it all – The Grey has Liam Neeson trying to survive wolf attacks in an Arctic wilderness following a plane … Continue reading
Some of the best horror films are those that aren’t immediately and obviously horror films. I don’t mean the ones that suddenly and pointlessly switch genres midway (such as From Dusk Till Dawn). I mean those that gradually evolve from one kind of story into another, even though – in retrospect – there were plenty … Continue reading
Here are six random things that make Norway brilliant: 1) It has stunningly beautiful landscapes. 2) A-ha. 3) It was sensible enough to stay out of the EU. 4) It has a royal family. 5) The Empire Strikes Back was partly filmed there. 6) Troll Hunter. It is with the latter point that this review … Continue reading
Pedro Almodovar’s latest is the closest thing he has ever made to horror film, although in reality it’s more akin to a sexually charged gothic melodrama with an unsettling 21st Century twist. It might even be argued that at heart it is little more than a pseudo-intellectual entry in the lamentable “torture porn” subgenre, carefully … Continue reading
Guillermo Del Toro, acting as producer, has been involved in a couple of notable offerings in the recent renaissance of Spanish horror. Two years ago bone-chilling ghost story The Orphanage had audiences cowering behind their fingers, and now Julia’s Eyes – directed Guillem Morales – is another Del Toro produced gem. When Julia’s blind sister … Continue reading
No, I haven’t had a sneak preview of the forthcoming remake starring Colin Farrell. My wife and I are regular listeners to Film Sack, a wonderful podcast featuring breakdowns of normally pretty average to bad movies by a group of four American pop culture geeks (Scott Johnson, Randy Jordan, Brian Dunaway and Brian Ibbott, who also puts … Continue reading
Attack the Block – about an alien invasion in a South London council estate – is a neatly constructed homage to a very specific kind of 1980s movie: the kids empowerment flick. Such films included The Goonies, Gremlins, The Lost Boys, Stand By Me, ET and a number of others. Not all the afore-mentioned were … Continue reading
As part of a great Friday night snacks-and-drinks TV line-up which included Salt (with Angelina Jolie) and some comedy on TV, this works fine. It is very derivative of other monster movies though, and nothing to write home about really. I still want to see The Descent as the definitive caving horror, but this saw … Continue reading
