Festival Coverage
Joe – EIFF 2014
Arguably the most impressive proof of a director’s versatility at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, Joe is the latest offering from David Gordon Green. It’s a striking kind of American film, miles away from the dark Gothic Americana of Jim Mickle’s Cold in July but still very much a Deep South film of dusk […]
Honeymoon – EIFF 2014
For the most part, Leigh Janiak’s debut feature is a romantic melodrama in which its newlywed couple grapple with the overwhelming concept of what marriage really is. It’s not long before things begin to go wrong; thin slivers of doubt creep in and the whole film’s central relationship seems hopelessly stranded on the shores of […]
Night Flight – EIFF 2014
Night Flight is the name of an old abandoned gay bar, once covertly operated in an apartment block. Here two young men meet up periodically to discuss gay life in contemporary Korea. As they stand on the roof, chain smoking under a sunset sky, the ominous sounds of the planes overhead and traffic down below […]
13 Sins – Dead By Dawn 2014
Daniel Stamm’s 13 Sins, a remake of Thai film 13: Game of Death, is the disturbing tale of one man’s descent into crime and degradation. After receiving a mysterious phone call, debt-ridden Elliot Brindle (Marc Webber) is set on a path to riches, all he has to do is complete a bizarre series of tasks. […]
Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla – DBD 2014
Stuart Simpson’s Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla is a strange but welcome kind of cathartic character study. Warren (Glenn Maynard) is an ice cream man, he lives alone with his cat and tunes in daily to his favourite soap opera. However, after an awful accident, Warren’s life begins to spiral out of control: he becomes dangerously obsessed […]
Oculus – Dead By Dawn 2014
If you’re a horror fan, chances are you’ve come to peace with the fact your viewing career will be a long and arduous journey punctuated with few notable ventures. Luckily, films like Mike Flanagan’s Oculus pop up every now and again to seed new hope in the mainstream genre.
Killer Legends – Dead by Dawn 2014
In 2010 Joshua Zeman’s Cropsey investigated the point where folklore and real life merge. Killer Legends builds on Zeman’s fascination with the true-crime origins of urban legends, exploring how such tales are manufactured and perpetuated.
Killers – Glasgow FrightFest 2014
The final, and arguably best, feature and Glasgow’s Frightfest 2014 was Killers, the latest project from the so-called Mo Brothers, Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel. The Indonesian writer-directors have already introduced their dark vision to western audiences via their entries into recent anthologies. Tjahjanto directed the most gruelling entry to The ABC’s of Death in […]
Mindscape – Glasgow FrightFest 2014
The problem with Jorge Dorado’s debut feature Mindscape is that in the three years since Nolan’s Inception, a whole slew of lesser imitators have unfortunately avalanched over any possibility of this film being considered as any kind of unique take on the memory/dream infiltration sub-genre. Which is a shame because his first is an accomplished […]
Savaged – Glasgow FrightFest 2014
The opening feature at Glasgow Frightfest 2014 was arguably one of the best choices in programming over the entire weekend. Savaged, written and directed by Michael S. Ojeda, is a brutal revenge slasher hovering somewhere between I Spit on Your Grave and Evil Dead.
