See cinema differently
When we first meet Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) it's tough to size up exactly what kind of man he is. We initially encounter him caught by a security guard, pilfering chain-link fencing to sell to a scrapper's yard. That he is next seen successfully having navigated this obstacle intrigues as much as it alarms. What of the …
The V/H/S series has already become a scattershot if worthwhile experiment in reviving the portmanteau horror film; each instalment inviting a selection of guest directors to produce their own found footage video nastie. As with any anthology series, the results so far have not always worked, but the misses have been forgivable in light of the …
Maps To The Stars seems to cement David Cronenberg moving into a new third phase in his career. Having made a name for himself in the 70's and 80's with provocative and perverse body horror pictures, his output since has been almost entirely literary, adapting disparate or 'unfilmable' source materials (his last self-written film was 1999's eXistenZ). …
Year: 1986 Director: Tobe Hooper Stars: Dennis Hopper (Lieutenant 'Lefty' Enright), Caroline Williams (Vanita 'Stretch' Brock), Jim Siedow (Drayton Sawyer), Bill Moseley ('Chop-Top'), Bill Johnson (Leatherface). Genre: Horror / Comedy As Halloween approaches, I veer back toward the genre I have a soft spot for; horror. Realising I haven't added many new additions to my Why …
Continue reading "Why I Love… #71: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2"
Full disclosure; my interest in this film comes solely from the directing talent of Jen & Sylvia Soska, the 'Twisted Twins' who were behind one of last year's finest surprises, American Mary. That movie - a chilly surgical horror with a healthy streak of black humour - was enough to put them on the map for …
Last year James Wan had a spectacular hit with derivative horror The Conjuring, one of the finest examples in recent times of marketing and hype boosting the reputation of a distinctly average film. The Conjuring falls down largely thanks to the feeling throughout that it is a patchwork movie; one made from countless pieces of more inspired …
It's all too rare that you see a film so humbling that it takes you out of your daily life and puts you somewhere else. On a more reflective plain. Ida, a Polish film from director Pawel Pawlikowski, is one such diamond in the rough; a quietly astonishing piece of filmmaking which has taken me out …
The unnecessary sequel is a prevalent beast in horror. Later this month a sequel to the dire 2006 WWE slasher See No Evil will appear direct to VOD. What would be a lamentable non-event has been lent an air of anticipation thanks to the involvement of Jen & Sylvia Soska, the twisted twins who last year brought …
Gone Girl, the new film from director David Fincher, lives or dies, aptly, on appearances. The veneer of things. The assumption that what you can see is what something is. Watch the trailer and you'll be given the impression this is another Fincher procedural. Something mixing the sensibilities of Dragon Tattoo with Zodiac. It almost seems a …
