The fourth film in The Conjuring series, in which the possessed doll Annabelle originally had a small role, Annabelle: Creation is the origin story of said toy. It also serves as a prequel to 2014’s Annabelle. The story starts in the mid-1940s, but the majority of the action is set in the mid-to-late `50s. This…
A low-rent noir thriller with some questionable acting, Detour nevertheless keeps the twists coming. The film focuses on Harper (Tye Sheridan – X-Men: Apocalypse), a tense, privileged young law student. The young man suspects his stepdad, Vincent (Stephen Moyer) caused a car accident, leaving Harper’s mother in a coma. Harper is livid that Vincent has barely visited his…
A slow-moving, intense jigsaw puzzle, a mood of unease permeates nearly every scene in UNA. Based on David Harrower’s Olivier Award-winning one-act play Blackbird, the film follows a young woman’s journey to reclaim her past. Fifteen years ago, 13-year-old Una ran away with and had sex with an older man, Ray – a crime for which…
A pall of foreboding hangs over almost every scene in the harrowing thriller Hounds of Love. That foreboding turns to dread and then white-knuckle fear. The film marks an auspicious feature debut from writer/director Ben Young. Hounds of Love is set in Perth during the summer of 1987. Teenage girls are disappearing from the streets. They…
Right off the bat, here are three reasons you should see Alien: Covenant: Ridley Scott is back. The xenomorphs are back. If you’ve seen Prometheus, it will finally make sense. Yes, Ridley Scott is once more in the director’s chair to take us back into the dark, unforgiving world of the Alien franchise. The result is, thankfully,…
Who would have thought that one of the more perceptive observations on race in America would come via a comedy-horror movie? And while Get Out is a world away from well-meaning documentaries on the same topic, it probably has more to say and does so more deftly. Get Out is the brainchild of Jordan Peele,…
After caning the majority of Australian releases recently, I am delighted to be able to sing the praises of the slow-burn thriller Berlin Syndrome. Unease permeates almost every scene. Clare (Teresa Palmer), a twenty-something Australian photojournalist, arrives in Germany on a sabbatical from work. She intends to photograph Soviet-designed architecture in the hope of publishing…
I haven’t read any of French author Michel Bussi’s novels before After The Crash, but I think that’s about to change. I was hooked fast by this novel. Here’s the blurb: On the night of 22 December 1980, a plane crashes on the Franco-Swiss border and is engulfed in flames. 168 out of 169 passengers…
