In Rambo II and Cobra, George Pan Cosmatos directed two Sylvester Stallone films which could hardly be more 80s; these movies stand as two of the more memorable examples from that decade’s glut of violent action cinema. Cosmatos died in 2005, but with Mandy his son Panos revisits the era of his father’s greatest successes…
The first thing that came to my mind while watching Apostle, was the movie The Witch. It takes place in the same time period. Here, too, an old-fashioned sounding English is spoken. And it’s also a religion-tinted theme. The biggest difference with The Witch is that I thought that one was rather boring and not…
Each year ends with a bang. You’ll have the end-of-year festivities and people party themselves into the New Year. But when it’s about movies, this one created an end-of-a-film-year-bang. Frankly, I didn’t expect too much of it. But maybe my prejudice about Sandra Bullock has something to do with that. I readily admit that I’m…
I was really curious about Slender Man. Not that I expected anything spectacular. But the photos with this cult figure, which popped up on the internet, were rather intriguing. Not really scary but mysterious. A faceless figure with disproportionate limbs who appears in the background while observing children playing. A kind of Pied Piper of…
If you’re into the Yuletide spirit, perhaps a British teenage zombie musical should be an early Christmas present. Yep, when you’ve seen Anna and the Apocalypse, you’ve seen it all; although perhaps you have better things to do. Director John McPhail based Anna and the Apocalypse on his BAFTA-winning short Zombie Musical. The late Ryan McHenry,…
As the director of delicate human dramas like Call Me by Your Name, Luca Guadagnino probably wasn’t the obvious choice to direct a remake of Dario Argento’s blood-spattered cult favourite, Suspiria (1977). But that’s exactly what he’s done and the results are impressive. Guadagnino hasn’t gone for a straight remake. This is a marked departure…
I defy you to try to make sense of Ghost Stories. The central character is Professor Philip Goodman (Andy Nyman), a renowned sceptic. Most unexpectedly, his idol, psychologist Charles Cameron – who had mysteriously disappeared – sends Goodman a message that he wants to see him. When Goodman rocks up, a curmudgeonly Cameron reveals he…
This revisit of Halloween from the ‘70s features a good story – and it’s genuinely scary. \In this Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, as she comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers. He of course is the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped…
You know what’s fun sometimes? Haphazardly starting a film without knowing what it is about and afterwards admitting you were pleasantly surprised. That’s my experience with Don’t Hang Up. A film with a bit of suspense and tension. And thanks to the short playing time you don’t have the feeling it was a waste of…
