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Beyond Fest · 2024

Beyond Fest 2024

Features

Programme

78 films · 50 reviews

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Above The Knee

Review preview for Above The Knee

Although Jonas describes his leg as rotting, we get only the briefest hints of what this looks like to him. For the most part, it just looks like an ordinary leg, and our understanding of his position comes from Singh’s performance.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Amir has a secret. He's tormented by visions of his leg rotting and longs to cut it off, convinced it doesn't belong to him. So, he devises a plan - one that will drag everyone around him into his relentless quest for relief.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2024; Director: Viljar Bøe; Writer: Viljar Bøe, Freddy Singh; Stars: Freddy Singh, Julie Abrahamsen, Louise Waage Anda, Viggo Solomon)

Full review

AJ Goes To The Dog Park

Review preview for AJ Goes To The Dog Park

It’s a decidedly quirky tale of the sort that will infuriate some viewers, who will feel they’ve been egregiously ripped off – but if you like that sort of thing, you’ll be in your element.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A man who finds contentment in the simple pleasures - buttered toast, bicycle rides and walking his dog - discovers that his beloved dog park has been transformed into a 'blog park', a digital sanctuary where youths gather to open their laptops. He feels compelled to take action, to set things right.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Toby Jones; Stars: AJ Thompson)

Full review

Anora

Review preview for Anora

What isn't untrue is that Anora is brilliant.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Sean Baker; Writer: Sean Baker; Stars: Mikey Madison, Yura Borisov, Ivy Wolk, Lindsey Normington, Karren Karagulian, Ross Brodar, Mark Eydelshteyn, Emily Weider, Alena Gurevich, Paul Weissman, Luna Sofía Miranda, Masha Zhak, Vache Tovmasyan, Charlton Lamar)

Full review

The Apprentice

Review preview for The Apprentice

It finds room for those who despise weakness, and are weaker for it, and is stronger because of it.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.

(Country: US, Denmark, Ireland, Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Ali Abbasi; Writer: Gabriel Sherman; Stars: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong, Martin Donovan, Emily Mitchell, Patch Darragh, Stuart Hughes, Michael Hough, Joe Pingue, Eoin Duffy, Randy Thomas, Chloe Madison, Ben Sullivan, James Downing, Joel Labelle)

Full review See: Q&A with Jeremy Strong about The Apprentice , Q&A with Sebastian Stan about The Apprentice

The Babadook

Review preview for The Babadook

Jennifer Kent's film creates something original, even frightening

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A character in a pop up book haunts the nightscape of a six-year-old boy

(Country: Australia; Year: 2014; Director: Jennifer Kent; Writer: Jennifer Kent; Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Tim Purcell, Benjamin Winspear, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall)

Full review See: Interview with Jennifer Kent about The Babadook

The Banished (Baal)

Review preview for The Banished

A film that will get under your skin, unsettling to a rare degree.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young woman reluctantly returns to her crumbling hometown, only to discover her brother has mysteriously gone missing. Consumed by guilt, she embarks on a harrowing journey to find him, which leads her deep into the dark wilderness surrounding the town.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2024; Director: Joseph Sims-Dennett; Writer: Joseph Sims-Dennett; Stars: Meg Clarke, Di Smith, Rasmus Toyra, Lawrence Ola, Raphael Sikic)

Full review

A Bell From Hell (La Campana Del Infierno)

After being falsely accused of being insane and put in a asylum so his wicked aunt and her daughters could steal his money, a recently released young man returns to seek the ultimate revenge against them.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 1973; Director: Claudio Guerín, Juan Antonio Bardem; Writer: Santiago Moncado; Stars: Renaud Verley, Viveca Lindfors, Alfredo Mayo, Maribel Martín, Nuria Gimeno)

Blue Velvet

Review preview for Blue Velvet

One of the great masterpieces of modern cinema

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A young man befriends a woman in trouble and discovers a sinister side to life in his small town.

(Country: US; Year: 1986; Director: David Lynch; Writer: David Lynch; Stars: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Hope Lange, Dean Stockwell, George Dickerson, Priscilla Pointer, Frances Bay, Jack Harvey, Ken Stovitz)

Full review

Bring Them Down

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2024; Director: Chris Andrews; Writer: Chris Andrews, Jonathan Hourigan; Stars: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Colm Meaney, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready, Aaron Heffernan, Susan Lynch, Conor MacNeill, Adam Behan, Diarmuid de Faoite, Gail Fitzpatrick, Youssef Quinn, Grace Daly, Tom Leavey, Martin Gilligan)

The Brutalist

Review preview for The Brutalist

A past shines through another layer of the past into a silver screen present that is both familiar and brand-new.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
When visionary architect László Tóth flees post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild his legacy and witness the birth of modern America, his life is changed forever by a wealthy client.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Brady Corbet; Writer: Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold; Stars: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Isaach De Bankolé, Alessandro Nivola)

Full review See: Alessandro Nivola in conversation on The Brutalist and Brady Corbet , Alessandro Nivola on Costantino Nivola, Le Corbusier, and The Brutalist; Paul Giamatti and Yale; Emily Mortimer and Coco Chanel connections

A Boy And His Dog (Psycho Boy And His Killer Dog)

Review preview for A Boy And His Dog

With a post-apocalypse setting - deserts, service corridors, junk yards at night - the film lacks the vision of Silent Running.

Paz Newis · 2.5 out of 5
Sci-fi tale about a scavenger and his hound.

(Country: US; Year: 1974; Director: L Q Jones; Writer: L Q Jones, based on a novella by Harlan Ellison; Stars: Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, Jason Robards, Alvy Moore, Helene Winston, Charles McGraw, the voice of Tim McIntire)

Full review

Chain Reactions

Exploration of the impact of Texas Chain Saw Massacre 50 years after it was made.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Alexandre O Philippe; Writer: Alexandre O Philippe; Stars: Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, Karyn Kusama)

Chime

Tashiro, a student at a culinary school, hears voices in his head. His teacher, Matsuoka, remains unconcerned. But then Tashiro claims that half of his brain has been replaced by a machine.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2024; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Stars: Mutsuo Yoshioka)

Cloud (Kuraudo)

Review preview for Cloud

Even though we’re essentially talking about a basic shot-reverse shot exchange, framed in creeping wide angles, juxtaposed with close-ups, the feeling is comparable to watching a getaway heist.

Nikola Jovic · 4 out of 5
An online scammer, reselling faulty products at preposterously high rates, is on the run after some of his customers decide to hit back.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2024; Director: Kurosawa Kiyoshi; Writer: Kurosawa Kiyoshi; Stars: Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa, Masataka Kubota)

Full review

The Crow

Review preview for The Crow

Full of gothic visuals and brooding melancholy, the bleak gloom is striking.

Stephen Carty · 3 out of 5
A restless soul comes back from the dead to seek vengeance.

(Country: US; Year: 1994; Director: Alex Proyas; Writer: James O'Barr, David J. Schow, John Shirley; Stars: Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Ling Bai, Tony Todd)

Full review

The Cell

Jennifer Lopez enters the mind of a serial killer in scary scientific experiment.

(Country: US; Year: 2000; Director: Tarsem Singh; Writer: Mark Protosevich; Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Weber, Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Patrick Bauchau, Gerry Becker, Tara Subkoff, Catherine Sutherland, Jake Thomas)

Full review

Daniela Forever

Follows a man as he joins a sleep trial that allows him to rebuild his life with his girlfriend who died in an accident through the use of lucid dreams.

(Country: Spain, US, Belgium; Year: 2024; Director: Nacho Vigalondo; Writer: Nacho Vigalondo; Stars: Henry Golding, Beatrice Grannò, Aura Garrido, Rubén Ochandiano, Nathalie Poza)

Darkman

A brilliant scientist left for dead returns to exact revenge on the people who burned him alive.

(Country: US; Year: 1990; Director: Sam Raimi; Writer: Sam Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, Ivan Raimi; Stars: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, Larry Drake, Nelson Mashita, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson)

A Desert

Review preview for A Desert

There’s a fantastically unhinged performance in here which it would be a spoiler to say too much about. Everyone is good at what they do.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A photographer on a road trip meets a carefree young couple and finds himself in danger.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Joshua Erkman; Writer: Joshua Erkman, Bossi Baker; Stars: David Yow, Kai Lennox, Sarah Lind, Zachary Ray Sherman, Ashley B Smith, Rob Zabrecky)

Full review

Devara Part 1

An epic action saga set against coastal lands, which briefs about rip-roaring, emotionally charged incidents in the periodic timeline, also comprises the titular protagonist being the rescuer of the deprived and fear itself to evildoers.

(Country: India; Year: 2024; Director: Koratala Siva; Writer: Koratala Siva; Stars: NT Rama Rao Jr, Saif Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Prakash Raj, Meka Srikanth, Shine Tom Chacko)

Dune

Review preview for Dune

The film's real trouble stems from the fact that Lynch just wasn't the right man for the job.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
Epic science fiction set around rival clans on a desert planet which is home to giant worms.

(Country: US; Year: 1984; Director: David Lynch; Writer: David Lynch, based on the book by Frank Herbert.; Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Kenneth McMillan, Richard Jordan, Virginia Madsen, Jürgen Prochnow, Dean Stockwell, Patrick Stewart) , Trailer

Full review

Drag Me To Hell

Review preview for Drag Me To Hell

Manages to include a whole stack of annoying cliches, stereotypes and habits that it could well do without.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
A bank clerk having a bad day crosses an old gypsy woman and is afflicted with terrible curse.

(Country: US; Year: 2009; Director: Sam Raimi; Writer: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi; Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, David Paymer, Dileep Rao, Reggie Lee, Bonnie Aarons, Tony A. Angelo, Joanne Baron, Adriana Barraza, Michael Peter Bolus, Gerry Carbajal, Tom Carey, Flor de Maria Chahua, Ksenia Jarova, Ted Raimi) , Official site , Trailer

Full review See: Profile of Sam Raimi

Ed Wood

Review preview for Ed Wood

Alternately hilarious and touching.

Gator MacReady · 5 out of 5
Biopic of 'the worst director of all time'.

(Country: US; Year: 1994; Director: Tim Burton; Writer: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski; Stars: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, G.D. Spraldin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bill Murray, Lisa Marie)

Full review

Escape From The 21st Century (Cong 21 Shi Ji An Quan Che Li)

The story follows three friends who discover they have the power to travel back and forth 20 years with a sneeze. However, the future is not as good as they hoped, and they need to take on the responsibility of saving the world.

(Country: China; Year: 2024; Director: Li Yang; Writer: Li Yang; Stars: Zhang Ruoyun, Zhong Elane, Song Yang, Wu Xiaoliang, Zhu Yanmanzi, Chen Yichen)

Event Horizon

Review preview for Event Horizon

Way too inspired for the end result to be intentional.

Gator MacReady · 3 out of 5
Deep space rescue mission crew are tormented by evil from another dimension.

(Country: US/UK; Year: 1997; Director: Paul WS Anderson; Writer: Philip Eisner; Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Sean Pertwee)

Full review

The Fall

Review preview for The Fall

To see it on any screen other than the biggest you can is to do yourself a disservice, and to miss it is to miss a masterpiece.

Andrew Robertson · 5 out of 5
Tarsem Singh's visually opulent fantasy epic borrowing the narrative device of The Princess Bride to widen and scorch the eyes.

(Country: India, UK; Year: 2006; Director: Tarsem Singh; Writer: Dan Gilroy, Nico Soultanakis, Tarsem Singh, Valeri Petrov; Stars: Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Lee Pace, Kim Uylenbroek, Aiden Lithgow, Sean Gilder, Ronald France, Andrew Roussouw, Michael Huff, Grant Swanby, Emil Hostina)

Full review

Ghost Killer

After being possessed by the ghost of vengeful hit man Kudo, college student Fumika Matsuoka agrees to help him finish his quest for vengeance from beyond the grave.

(Country: US, Japan; Year: 2024; Director: Kensuke Sonomura; Writer: Yugo Sakamoto; Stars: Akari Takaishi, Mario Kuroba, Masanori Mimoto)

The Girl With The Needle (Pigen med nålen)

Review preview for The Girl With The Needle

Illusions are everywhere in this film.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In Copenhagen in the aftermath of World War one, a young woman in desperate circumstances takes on a job which will lead her to still greater depths of despair.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2024; Director: Magnus von Horn; Writer: Line Langebek Knudsen, Magnus von Horn; Stars: Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri, Ava Knox Martin, Joachim Fjelstrup, Tessa Hoder, Søren Sætter-Lassen, Thomas Kirk, Dan Jakobsen, Anna Tulestedt, Ari Alexander, Benedikte Hansen, Per Thiim Thim, Peter Secher Schmidt, Agnieszka Przyborowska-Mitrosz)

Full review

The Green Fog

Compiles bits from 98 films and 3 TV shows set in San Francisco and re-imagines a post-modern version of Hitchcock’s classic Vertigo.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin)

Hellboy

Review preview for Hellboy

Hellboy holds his head high above the mass of superhero characters thanks to a terrific performance by Ron Perlman.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A comic book hero with alien ancestry battles an undead Rasputin for the soul of man.

(Country: US; Year: 2004; Director: Guillermo del Toro; Writer: Guillermo del Toro, based on the comic books by Mike Mignola; Stars: Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, Karel Roden, Jeffrey Tambor, Doug Jones, Brian Steele)

Full review

The Hidden

A cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.

(Country: US; Year: 1987; Director: Jack Sholder; Writer: Jim Kouf; Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, Claudia Christian, Clarence Felder, Clu Gulager, Ed O'Ross)

Hold Your Breath

In 1930s Oklahoma amid the region's horrific dust storms, a woman is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Karrie Crouse, William Joines; Writer: Karrie Crouse; Stars: Sarah Paulson, Amiah Miller, Alona Jane Robbins, Annaleigh Ashford, Ebon Moss-Bachrach)

The Hot Spot

Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities - and the local women - after he robs a bank.

(Country: US; Year: 1990; Director: Dennis Hopper; Writer: Charles Williams, Nona Tyson; Stars: Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, Charles Martin Smith, William Sadler, Jerry Hardin)

It's What's Inside

A pre-wedding party descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Greg Jardin; Writer: Greg Jardin; Stars: Brittany O'Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden, David Thompson)

Jimmy And Stiggs

Review preview for Jimmy And Stiggs

The pace is so manic, the action so intense, that it’s easy to be fully immersed in Jimmy’s experience.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A filmmaker spirals into an out of control bender, during which he comes to believe that he has been abducted by aliens. Fearing they’ll come back, he contacts an old friend to help him gear up for war.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Joe Begos; Writer: Joe Begos; Stars: Joe Begos, Matt Mercer)

Full review

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Review preview for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Usually with a comedy you're lucky to get one genuine laugh-out-loud moment. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang has at least half a dozen.

Steve Harwood · 4 out of 5
Small time crook is groomed for Hollywood with hilarious consequences.

(Country: US; Year: 2005; Director: Shane Black; Writer: Brett Halliday, Shane Black; Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen, Dash Mihok, Larry Miller, Rockmond Dunbar, Shannyn Sossamon, Angela Lindvall, Indio Falconer Downey, Ariel Winter)

Full review

Lake Mungo

Review preview for Lake Mungo

Anderson’s use of the documentary framework is an inspired choice, since it lends what we’re seeing an air of reality that helps build the tension to jangling point.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A family are haunted by their daughter's death.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Joel Anderson; Writer: Joel Anderson; Stars: Talia Zucker, Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Steve Jodrell, Tamara Donnellan, Scott Terrill, Chloe Armstrong, Charles Armytage, Claire Astbury)

Full review See: Australian Film Festival preview, plus Richard Brennan and Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan talk about film Down Under

The Last Boy Scout

A private detective's protected female witness is murdered, prompting him and the victim's boyfriend to investigate the crime that leads to a corrupt politician and a crooked football team owner.

(Country: US; Year: 1991; Director: Tony Scott; Writer: Shane Black, Greg Hicks; Stars: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris)

The Last Sacrifice

Review preview for The Last Sacrifice

In this tangled tapestry, Russell has captured the soul of a nation.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A documentary about the real-life 1945 witchcraft killing of Charles Walton - the terrifying event that inspired The Wicker Man and birthed the folk horror genre.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Rupert Russell; Writer: Rupert Russell; Stars: Ronald Hutton, Geraldine Beskin, Leila Latif, Gavin Bone, Janet Farrar, Jonathan Rigby, Tim Stanley, Diane Rodgers)

Full review See: Interview with Rupert Russell about The Last Sacrifice

Lethal Weapon

Review preview for Lethal Weapon

Gibson’s got intensity on tap, balancing internal grief with edgy energy and natural comic timing for the performance of his career.

Stephen Carty · 4 out of 5
A grief-stricken cop is teamed with a more staid veteran. The pair must overcome their differences to solve a case.

(Country: US; Year: 1987; Director: Richard Donner; Writer: Shane Black; Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Jackie Swanson, Damon Hines, Ebonie Smith, Bill Kalmenson, Lycia Naff, Patrick Cameron, Don Gordon, Jimmie F Skaggs)

Full review

Little Bites

In a desperate attempt to protect her ten-year-old daughter, a young widow allows a nightmarish monster to slowly eat her alive.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Spider One; Writer: Spider One; Stars: Krsy Fox, Jon Sklaroff, Elizabeth Caro, Barbara Crampton, Heather Langenkamp, Bonnie Aarons, Chaz Bono)

Maldoror

Review preview for Maldoror

Although this is set in the Nineties, the gritty feel makes it redolent of Seventies-set thrillers, a mood reinforced by the way that du Welz embeds us in Paul’s life from the start.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Two girls vanish. Police recruit Paul Chartier joins a covert unit tracking a sex offender. After the operation falters, Chartier pursues the perpetrators independently, disillusioned with legal constraints.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2024; Director: Fabrice du Welz; Writer: Domenico La Porta, Fabrice du Welz; Stars: Anthony Bajon, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Alexis Manenti, Sergi López, Laurent Lucas, David Murgia, Béatrice Dalle, Lubna Azabal, Jackie Berroyer, Mélanie Doutey, Félix Maritaud)

Full review See: Maldoror director Fabrice du Welz on the lingering trauma of the real case behind his film and the questions he hopes to provoke

A Man Escaped

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from a German prison in France.

(Country: France; Year: 1956; Director: Robert Bresson; Writer: André Devigny, Robert Bresson; Stars: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Molod, Jacques Ertaud)

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Review preview for Martha Marcy May Marlene

As a moody, atmospheric study of paranoia, it is hard to beat.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A woman is traumatised after fleeing a cult.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: T Sean Durkin; Writer: T Sean Durkin; Stars: Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Brady Corbet, Elizabeth Olsen, Louisa Krause, Maria Dizzia, Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, Diana Masi, Allen McCullough, Michael Chmiel)

Full review See: Keeping score: Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians talk about Last Days In The Desert, Enemy and Wolfpack , New York Film Festival: Diary piece - Fassbender, Cronenberg, Durkin, Olsen, Payne talk about clothes and authenticity , New York Film Festival: Photo Gallery Three , Sundance 2011: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same and Restless City

Melvin Goes To Dinner

A lonely young man finds himself at a restaurant with two strangers and his best friend.

(Country: US; Year: 2003; Director: Bob Odenkirk; Writer: Michael Blieden; Stars: Michael Blieden, Stephanie Courtney, Matt Price, Annabelle Gurwitch)

A Mother's Embrace

Review preview for A Mother's Embrace

A Mother’s Embrace has an organic quality. Even its strangest elements feel convincingly part of the whole.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
During massive 1996 Rio storm, firefighter Ana and her firefighter team must evacuate a collapsing nursing home, but the mysterious residents have other sinister plans.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2024; Director: Cristian Ponce; Writer: Gabriela Capello, André Pereira, Cristian Ponce; Stars: Marjorie Estiano, Pablo Guisa Koestinger, Javier Drolas, Chandelly Braz, Rafael Canedo)

Full review

The Nice Guys

Review preview for The Nice Guys

Gosling and Crowe are wondrous sparring partners.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
An unlikely duo of detectives searches for a missing girl in 1977 Los Angeles.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2016; Director: Shane Black; Writer: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi; Stars: Starring: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, Angourie Rice, Margaret Qualley, Lance Valentine Butler, Jack Kilmer, Maddie Compton, Ty Simpkins, Murielle Telio)

Full review See: Interview with Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling and Shane Black, about The Nice Guys

Nightbitch

Review preview for Nightbitch

Nightbitch is of an ilk that is off-kilter. It is unreliable and unstable. It is visceral and dark. It is taxidermy and what I think are freezer potato pancakes.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A woman pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mother, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal turn.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Marielle Heller; Writer: Marielle Heller, Rachel Yoder; Stars: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Zoë Chao, Jessica Harper, Mary Holland, Kerry O'Malley, Ella Thomas, Laura Meadows, Roslyn Gentle, Michaela Baham, Stacey Swift, Michael Andrew Baker, Adrienne Rose White, Preston Galli, Garrett C. Phillips)

Full review

The Nightingale

Review preview for The Nightingale

A film that looks back, that gazes also into you.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A young convict in a penal colony seeks revenge.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Jennifer Kent; Writer: Jennifer Kent; Stars: Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Aisling Franciosi, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, Matthew Sunderland, Harry Greenwood, Sam Smith, Michael Sheasby, Ben McIvor, Baykali Ganambarr, Luke Carroll, Claire Jones, Magnolia Maymuru, Dallas Mugarra)

Full review

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Review preview for A Nightmare On Elm Street

A Nightmare On Elm Street remains an atmospheric and genuinely unsettling film with a chilling, universally relatable central motif: sleep gets everyone in the end.

James Gracey · 5 out of 5
A child molester killed by vigilantes seeks revenge on their children through their dreams.

(Country: US; Year: 1984; Director: Wes Craven; Stars: Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Johnny Depp)

Full review

Night Call (La Nuit Se Traîne)

This night is like all the others for Mady, student by day, locksmith by night. But Claire, the enigmatic young girl he helps out that night, is not who she claims to be. Mady has only one night to prove his innocence in a city in turmoil.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2024; Director: Michiel Blanchart; Writer: Michiel Blanchart, Gilles Marchand; Stars: Jonathan Feltre, Natacha Krief, Jonas Bloquet, Thomas Mustin, Romain Duris, Sam Louwyck)

The Platform 2 (El Hoyo 2)

As a mysterious leader imposes their rule in the Platform, a new resident becomes embroiled in the battle against this controversial method to fight the brutal feeding system.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia; Writer: David Desola, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, Egoitz Moreno; Stars: Natalia Tena, Óscar Jaenada, Hovik Keuchkerian, Milena Smit, Antonia San Juan)

Presence

Review preview for Presence

A film that is so focused on the presence we can’t see it forgets to fully flesh out the lives that we can.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Steven Soderbergh; Writer: David Koepp; Stars: Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Chris Sullivan, West Mulholland, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday)

Full review

Pulse (Kairo)

Review preview for Pulse

The combination of subtlety and indeterminacy makes for an uncanny treat.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
Facing the apocalypse, as a secret website devotes itself to the terrible isolation of ghosts and the parable of techno terror.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2001; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Stars: Haruhiko Kato, Kumiko Aso, Koyuki, Karume Arisaka, Masatoshi Matsuo, Shinji Takeda, Jun Fubuki, Shun Sugata, Sho Akaiwa, Koji Yakusho, Kenji Mizuhashi)

Full review

The Quick And The Dead

A female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father's death.

(Country: US, Japan; Year: 1995; Director: Sam Raimi; Writer: Simon Moore; Stars: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobin Ball, Roberts Blossom)

A Rare Grand Alignment

In the winter of 1982, three American boys find themselves stranded in a cable car with a dead body, suspended midair in the mountains of Norway during a rare celestial event.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2024; Director: Cinqué Lee; Writer: Cinqué Lee; Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Felix Jamieson, Charlie Price, Kristofer Hivju)

A Real Pain

Review preview for A Real Pain

Eisenberg takes us through the entire journey in a brisk 90 minutes, but the film never feels rushed.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honour their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Jesse Eisenberg; Writer: Jesse Eisenberg; Stars: Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey, Jesse Eisenberg, Will Sharpe, Ellora Torchia, Liza Sadovy, Kurt Egyiawan)

Full review

Rich Flu

Review preview for Rich Flu

There is certainly some pleasing schadenfreude, but it doesn’t have the nerve to go all out, and ultimately it’s not as clever as it thinks it is.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A strange disease threatens to kill anyone with any sort of fortune.

(Country: US, Colombia, Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia; Writer: David Desola, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, Pedro Rivero; Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lorraine Bracco, Timothy Spall, Jonah Hauer-King, Rafe Spall, César Domboy)

Full review

Rumours

Review preview for Rumours

The writing is sharp and succinct.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
World leaders become stranded in the woods during a G7 summit.

(Country: Canada, Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin; Writer: Evan Johnson; Stars: Alicia Vikander, Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Takehiro Hira, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Denis Ménochet, Roy Dupuis, Zlatko Buric, Ralph Berkin, Rolando Ravello, Alexa Kennedy, Tomi Kosynus)

Full review See: Guy Maddin on Rumours in Cannes

Seconds

A middle-aged banker is re-born as a young painter - but at what cost?

(Country: US; Year: 1966; Director: John Frankenheimer; Writer: Lewis John Carlino, David Ely; Stars: Frank Campanella, John Randolph, Frances Reid, Barbara Werle, Edgar Stehli, Aaron Magidow, Young De De, Françoise Ruggieri, Murray Hamilton, Thom Conroy, Jeff Corey, Will Geer, Richard Anderson, Rock Hudson, Khigh Dhiegh)

Southern Comfort

Review preview for Southern Comfort

The oppressive atmosphere of the swamp and the tension between the frustrated alpha males are so thick right up to the final frame you could cut the air with one of their knives, while the trauma of the experience lingers long after the credits roll.

David Graham · 4.5 out of 5
National Guardsmen on an remote exercise run into trouble on the bayou.

(Country: US; Year: 1981; Director: Walter Hill; Writer: Walter Hill, Michael Kane, David Giler; Stars: Keith Carradine, Peter Coyote, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, TK Carter, Franklyn Seales)

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The Saddest Music In The World

Review preview for The Saddest Music In The World

Hilarious throughout.

Andrea Mullaney · 4.5 out of 5
Depression-era melodrama where beer baroness runs competition to discover the saddest music in the world.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2003; Director: Guy Maddin; Writer: Guy Maddin, Georges Toles. Based on the screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro; Stars: Mark McKinney, Isabella Rossellini, Maria de Medeiros, David Fox, Ross McMillan) , Trailer

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Salem's Lot

Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Gary Dauberman; Writer: Gary Dauberman, based on the book by Stephen King; Stars: Lewis Pullman, Spencer Treat Clark, Pilou Asbæk, Bill Camp, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard)

Saw

Review preview for Saw

Just enough is revealed to keep you glued while shocking, sucker-punches blindside you at all the right moments.

Stephen Carty · 4 out of 5
Gruesome horror film with serial killer pretensions.

(Country: US; Year: 2004; Director: James Wan; Writer: Leigh Whannell; Stars: Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Mike Butters, Paul Gutrecht, Tobin Bell)

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Sayara

When her sister is murdered by a group of politically connected rich kids, Sayara, a quiet gym cleaner from Turkmenistan, begins to follow in her father’s footsteps, seeking a path of revenge.

(Country: Turkey; Year: 2024; Director: Can Evrenol; Stars: Duygu Kocabiyik, Emre Kizilirmak, Özgül Kosar)

Scarface

Review preview for Scarface

Overrated and extremely dated.

Stephen Carty · 2 out of 5
A migrant Cuban thug attempts to claw his way to the top of the drugs trade in Florida.

(Country: US; Year: 1983; Director: Brian De Palma; Writer: Armitage Trail, Ben Hecht, Howard Hawks, Oliver Stone; Stars: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Miriam Colon, F Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Ángel Salazar, Arnaldo Santana, Pepe Serna, Michael P. Moran, Al Israel, Dennis Holahan)

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Serpent's Path (Hebi No Michi)

In the suburbs of Paris, Albert, a freelance reporter, vows to take revenge for the brutal murder of his young daughter while Sayoko, a Japanese female doctor, assists him in his quest for revenge.

(Country: Japan; Year: 1998; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Hiroshi Takahashi; Stars: Shô Aikawa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yûrei Yanagi, Shirô Shimomoto, Kaei Okina, Kaoru Sunada, Takumi Tanji, Kana Satô, Satoshi Morihiro, Ayami Oda, Mizuho Tanaka, Kazutaka Niyama, Yoshitaka Kowashi, Hideo Usui, Takeshi Ôshima)

Shadowland

Review preview for Shadowland

Tiainen copes impressively with a film which swerves far off its original course, and what emerges is more interesting for the diversion.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A study of an esoteric community hidden within the French Pyrenees, supposedly the home of the Holy Grail.

(Country: Finland; Year: 2024; Director: Otso Tiainen; Writer: Kalle Kinnunen, Otso Tiainen; Stars: Richard Stanley)

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Shush Cut

A deaf writer who retreated into the woods to live in solitude must fight for her life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.

(Year: 2016; Director: Mike Flanagan)

Sky Peals

Review preview for Sky Peals

An unusually intimate, exploratory film underscored by dry humour, Sky Peals has an atmosphere that you won’t find anywhere else.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A lonely man starts to piece together the story of his estranged father after his death and discovers the older man didn't believe he was human.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Moin Hussain; Writer: Moin Hussain; Stars: Faraz Ayub, Natalie Gavin, Claire Rushbrook, Simon Nagra, Steve Oram, Jeff Mirza, Bill Fellows, Adrian Hood, Maizie Wickson, Alan Cammish, Teresa Mondol, Junaid Arshad, Christian Foster, Vicki Hackett, Lynne Payne)

Full review See: Interview with Moin Hussain about Sky Peals

Speed

Review preview for Speed

A heart-in-your-mouth experience.

James Benefield · 4 out of 5
A blackmailer places a bomb on a bus. The bomb will explode if the bus slows down.

(Country: US; Year: 1994; Director: Jan de Bont; Writer: Graham Yost; Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels) , Trailer

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Terrorvision

Review preview for Terrorvision

Whilst very, very cheap, Terrorvision goes beyond standard spoof territory and fleshes out its characters into people the viewer can care about.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
A monster beamed away as unwanted waste from an alien planet finds its way into a suburban American home through a satellite dish.

(Country: US; Year: 1986; Director: Ted Nicolaou; Writer: Ted Nicolaou; Stars: Chad Allen, Diane Franklin, Mary Woronov, Gerrit Graham, Jon Gries, Bert Remsen, Jennifer Richards)

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Terrifier 3

Review preview for Terrifier 3

Leone demonstrated that he is a talented director with a perfect instinct for set pieces, but that he is less capable as a screenwriter.

Marko Stojiljkovic · 3.5 out of 5
Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Damien Leone; Writer: Damien Leone; Stars: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Jason Patric, Daniel Roebuck, Charlotte McKee, Bryce Johnson)

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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

Review preview for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Hooper infects characters and viewers alike with the thrill of a madness from which there can be no real escape.

Anton Bitel · 5 out of 5
A tragedy that befalls five youths in the Texas outback takes horror to a new dimension.

(Country: US; Year: 1974; Director: Tobe Hooper; Writer: Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel; Stars: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Paul A Partain, Allen Danziger, Edwin Neal, William Vail, Terri McMinn, Jim Siedow)

Full review See: Interview with Alexandre O Philippe about Chain Reactions

Total Recall

Review preview for Total Recall

At first glance it seems like a rollercoaster action movie but underneath it's full of ambiguities, hidden clues and red herrings.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Unable to afford his dream holiday, Doug decides to have false memories of one implanted instead, leading to a shocking discovery.

(Country: US; Year: 1990; Director: Paul Verhoeven; Writer: Ronald Shusett, based on the short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K Dick.; Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson Jr., Michael Champion, Roy Brocksmith, Ray Baker, Rosemary Dunsmore, David Knell, Alexia Robinson, Dean Norris, Mark Carlton)

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V/H/S/Beyond

Review preview for V/H/S/Beyond

This isn’t up there with the best of the V/H/S series overall, but it’s entertaining enough.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Six bloodcurdling tapes unleash horror in a science-fiction inspired hellscape, pushing the boundaries of fear and suspense.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Christian Long, Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel; Writer: Evan Dickson, Jordan Downey, Mike Flanagan, Christian Long, Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kevin Stewart, Benjamin A Turner; Stars: Phillip Andre Botello)

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Who's Watching?

A metalhead loner becomes obsessed with his new coworker and begins invading every aspect of her life. As his infatuation escalates from inappropriate to criminal, we are left questioning who is really watching whom.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Tim Kasher; Writer: Tim Kasher; Stars: Zachary Ray Sherman, Gracie Gillam, Olivia Luccardi)

Zero

Review preview for Zero

Well shot and well paced, Zero has a lot to offer in spite of its twee moments.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Two Americans find themselves in Dakar, Senegal with bombs strapped to their chests and ten hours to find out why.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Jean Luc Herbulot; Writer: Jean Luc Herbulot, Hus Miller; Stars: Gary Dourdan, Moran Rosenblatt, Hus Miller, Annabelle Lengronne, Cam McHarg)

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