Anyone afraid of snakes and creepy crawlies should probably look away now. In the vein of Arachnophobia and Eight Legged Freaks and their ilk comes yet another horror film featuring a nasty and lethal spider. Sting is the work of writer/director Kiah Roache-Turner, who specialises in low budget horror films like 2014’s Wyrmwood: Road of…
An unrecognisable Nicolas Cage features in the decidedly creepy crime-horror-thriller Longlegs. A figure sits in a car looking at a little girl in a small house. She comes out to see who it is. Suddenly he confronts her. At first, we only see him from the nose down and says: “There she is, the almost…
Sex, religion and violence are again the key driving forces behind the dramatic action in this final instalment in Ti West’s trilogy of horror films starring Mia Goth. The series began with X, in which a group of amateur filmmakers headed to a remote ranch in Texas to shoot a pornographic movie but became caught…
Yorgos Lanthimos can be polarising. Even among his own fan-base, his films can be divisive. Recently, something of a split has emerged between fans of his “old stuff” (like Dogtooth and The Lobster) and those of his “new stuff” (The Favourite and Poor Things). I’m a bit on the fence here, because I’m certainly a…
I have fond memories of Twister (1996), starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. Even though plot points may differ, I felt like I was getting a repeat dose in Twisters. This is a special effects movie, with romance thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it will resonate more strongly with those that haven’t seen the…
The title says it all you need to know about this visceral, ultra-violent action thriller from India. Kill delivers a high body count and plenty of gore and mayhem. Most of the action is confined to a train, so it comes across like The Raid set on a train. The film takes place on a…
Queensland Theatre’s Cost of Living comes with a number of audience warnings, including as to its occasional strong language and nudity. It is not, however, a confronting work, so much as an honest and tender balance of heart and humour. Indeed, the Australian premiere of Polish-American playwright Martyna Majok’s seemingly unassuming play, is, through Priscilla…
Inspired by the reflections of a photojournalist who spent four years as a member of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, The Bikeriders is about testosterone. It’s based around a fictional biker gang known as the Vandals and its founder, Johnny Davis (Tom Hardy). Married with two children, Johnny is a truck driver, although all we…
One of the most lauded plays of the 20th century, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a high stakes cat and mouse game. Husband and wife adopt a take no prisoners’ attitude to the unfolding conflict. Before this is over, both will be metaphorically beaten up, as will their unwitting younger guests who become part of the…
Based on a true story and set in Denmark in the mid 1700s, The Promised Land reunites star Mads Mikkelsen with director Nikolaj Arcel (who directed him in 2012’s A Royal Affair). Impoverished former soldier Ludvig Kahlen (Mikkelsen) lives on his meagre army pension. But he has a grand dream and sets out to tame…
