Tag: Horror
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Krampus.
The opening sequence of Krampus is delightful. An instant, visual judgement of consumerist Christmas, wrapped up in a cynical bow. Overweight Americans thunder down the aisles of supermarkets, children sob their hearts out on Santa’s lap and others, dressed up as shepherds and angels, attempt to punch the life out of one another. In a suburban…
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Crimson Peak.
A new Guillermo del Toro movie is always an intriguing thing. A versatile director who’s championed many a genre by refusing to stick to their conventions, he now greets us with his take on gothic horror. Gothic horror was in its prime during the reign of Vincent Price, and has never managed to fully resurrect…
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The Club.
Following on from his triumphant success No from 2012, Pablo Larrain returns with The Club – an unsettling story about four priests living in repentance in a cottage by the sea. Their warden – an ex-nun – cares for them without judgement and with affection. All are guilty of a variety of heinous crimes. The priests’ livelihoods…
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Maggie.
Henry Hobson’s debut Maggie is an indie zombie-drama about an unshakeable bond between a father and daughter. We first meet Midwest farmer Wade as he’s searching for his oldest child. Once reunited we quickly learn that he’s been looking for her for a fortnight. His efforts to bring his daughter home pay off, but only temporarily.…
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Jurassic World.
About half way through Jurassic World, lead actors Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard kneel down beside an injured Brachiosaurus. A close-up encounter with the beast reminds us of what was so great about Spielberg’s original. Relying so heavily on CGI up until now, this moment in Jurassic World finally captures some of the magic of…
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A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.
Ana Lili Amirpour’s directorial debut feeds on an array of different influences and inspirations whilst experimenting with style and tone. Its playfulness is counteracted by its gothic undertones. Based on the director’s own graphic novel and described by her as “the first Iranian vampire spaghetti western”, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night has individuality…
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Beyond Clueless.
The high school experience is cemented in all of our minds. Whether you loved it or hated it, whether you were the bully, the bullied or the lucky few who slipped under the radar, we all remember it vividly. For most, high school was about the social experience rather than the academic. It’s where puberty…
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It Follows.
American suburbs and crunchy autumn leaves set the scene for David Robert Mitchell’s second feature film. Like so many great stalker horrors before it, the film opens with a teen girl bursting from her house onto the street. She’s being followed but it is not apparent by who or what. The camera pans around the street…
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The Wicker Man (1973).
It is a rare and beautiful thing when everything that is wrong with a movie is everything you love about it. It usually happens with bad films but Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man is made great by all of its problems. Last year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this British horror staple, I attended a…
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The Wicker Man (2006).
There is something majestically terrible about Neil LaBute’s The Wicker Man. It is undoubtedly the worst American horror-remake to ever be made, making a conscious effort to highlight references to Robin Hardy’s sensational original but simultaneously pushing aside everything that made its predecessor so unique and artistic. The action is moved from rural Scotland to a…
Hannah McHaffie 