Snow Woman – EIFF 2017
Ghost Woman, the debut feature film from Kiki Sugino, draws inspiriation from Japanese folklore and the classic story of Kaidan. For some viewers, the film may feel overly familiar but it’s a charming, fresh-faced, and self-aware take on an old story. Sugino draws inspiration from the two previous film adaptations, but allows her own eerie […]
Bad Kids of Crestview High – EIFF 2017
Bad Kids of Crestview High, the sequel to 2014’s Haunting at Crestview High (aka Bad Kids Go to Hell), is every bit as daft and inane as it’s predecessor. Based on Barry Werwick’s graphic novel, its a silly slasher
Rage – EIFF 2017
Following in the footsteps of complex murder dramas like Memories of Murder and I Saw the Devil, Rage, from Japanese director Sang-il Lee, has a tense yet tender approach to traditional thrillers. In it, three seemingly unrelated stories of love and loss slowly draw together around a vicious murder.
Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell
Thankfully, Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell is as fun as it sounds. The debut film from Japanese director Shinichi Fukazawa is an adoring love-letter to the age of V/H/S and the morals cheap direct-to-video entertainment. In it, Shinji
Train to Busan – DVD Review
Last year Yeon Sang-Ho’s animated horror Seoul Station plotted the course of a viral outbreak in South Korea with solid, but not groundbreaking, results. The hype for Sang-Ho’s debut live-action film has been unparalleled and the reviews overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Thankfully its deserved. Seok-Woo (Yoo Gong- Age of Shadows) is a self-serving businessman with little time […]
Resident Evil The Final Chapter: A Perfect End to a Perfect Romance
It’s no secret that I adore the Resident Evil films. Paul W.S. Anderson’s sprawling multi-million dollar adaptation of the classic Capcom video games has been a rollercoaster of joyous inconsistency and big-budget thrills since its inception back in 2003. Anderson’s franchise full-stop The Final Chapter elicits as buoyant a response as you might expect.
Age of Shadows – GFF 2017
Korean director Kim Jee-Woon made a name for himself in horror, with films like A Tale of Two Sisters and gruelling serial killer thriller I Saw the Devil. From there he’s made outlandish Western The Good, the Bad, and The Weird, not to mention reintroduced Schwarzenegger in US mad action caper The Last Stand. Age of Shadows is his latest film and follows the exploits of Korean rebels seeking to overthrow Japanese invaders during the 1920’s After an exhilarating opening the film launches straight into an exhilarating, freight train of espionage. Train […]
Headshot – GFF 2017
Headshot, the latest film from Indonesian exports Timo Tjanto and Kimo Stamboel, is a rip-roaring action extravaganza and the true culmination of the directors’ passion for farce, black comedy, and action. Surprisingly the so-called Mo Brothers have remained relatively low-key, even though Headshot marks their third feature film. In their native Indonesia the directors don’t fare much better, with most of their flicks never seeing the light of a cinematic release. It may prove the price […]
The Demons – GFF 2017
French Canadian film The Demons, from director Philippe Lesage, peaks behind the curtain of suburban civility for a slow but powerful discussion on childhood, sexuality, and social relationships. In it, an adolescent boy named Felix begins to encounter the adult world in subtle, but dramatic ways. Lesage is clearly an inquisitive and open-minded documentarian whose curiosity allows him to pry the deepest most private parts of life without seemingly rabidly intrusive. That’s an important […]
Tlmea
Kevin Kopacka’s Tlmea is an elusive, jarring, but enthralling journey for the curious colour-loving viewer. Only Kopacka’s second short film, Tlmea acts as a prequel to last year’s Hades, a similarly expressive multi-coloured nightmare, which follows a woman’s dreamy interpretation of her romantic relationship. TLMEA is Kopacka’s crack at an arthouse thriller/melodrama through his own […]
