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Fantasia International Film Festival · 2022

Fantasia International Film Festival 2022

Features

Programme

121 films · 68 reviews

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Acción Mutante

A terrorist organisation made up of disabled people kidnaps an heiress and takes off for outer space.

(Country: Spain; Year: 1993; Director: Alex de la Iglesia; Stars: Antonio Resines, Álex Angulo, Frédérique Feder, Juan Viadas)

Alienoid (Oegye+in 1bu)

Review preview for Alienoid

All very big and spectacular and in your face.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The door of time opens between the swordsman who wants to seize the legendary divine sword at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty and those who chase after an alien prisoner imprisoned in a human body in 2022.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Choi Dong-hoon; Writer: Choi Dong-hoon; Stars: Kim Tae-ri, Woo-bin Kim, So Ji-seob, Ryu Jun-yeol, Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Hanee, Yum Jung-ah)

Full review

All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms

Review preview for All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms

Whilst the film may appear chaotic, there’s real artistry behind the scenes, and not just when it comes to special effects.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A wriggling, drug-induced creature feature.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Alex Phillips; Writer: Alex Phillips; Stars: Betsey Brown, Phillip Andre Botello, Noah Lepawsky, Trevor Dawkins, Mike Lopez)

Full review See: Interview with Alex Phillips and Ben Gojer about All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms

Anime Supremacy!

Soft-spoken yet strong-willed anime director Hitomi has climbed the ranks, and is now set to direct a series of her own. Meanwhile, the difficult but undeniably brilliant director Chiharu is gunning for his big comeback… and there can be only one number-one!

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Kohei Yoshino; Stars: Riho Yoshioka, Tomoya Nakamura)

The Artifice Girl

Review preview for The Artifice Girl

Smarter than most films of its ilk and refreshingly free of misplaced sentiment.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When an internet vigilante develops a revolutionary new computer program to combat online predators, its rapid advancement leads to serious questions about autonomy, oppression, and what it really means to be human.

(Year: 2022; Director: Franklin Ritch; Writer: Franklin Ritch; Stars: Tatum Mathews, Sinda Nichols, David Girard, Lance Henriksen, Franklin Ritch)

Full review See: Interview with Franklin Ritch about The Artifice Girl

Baby Assassins

Review preview for Baby Assassins

This is a delight. From me it drew outpourings of laughter as sharp and as bright as the splashes of blood from a punctured neck.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Chisato and Mahilo are two high school girls who are about to graduate. They also happen to both be highly skilled assassins. When the organisation they work for orders them to share a room, the relationship between turns sour.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Yugo Sakamoto; Writer: Yugo Sakamoto; Stars: Yukina Fukushima, Saori Izawa, Saori Izawa, Masamori Mimoto)

Full review

Blue Sunshine

A bizarre series of murders begins in Los Angeles, where people start going bald and then become homicidal maniacs. Could the blame rest on a particularly dangerous form of LSD

(Country: US; Year: 1977; Director: Jeff Lieberman; Writer: Jeff Lieberman; Stars: Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard, Robert Walden, Charles Siebert)

Bodies Bodies Bodies

When a group of rich twentysomethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game turns deadly.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Halina Reijn; Stars: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Lee Pace)

The Breach

Review preview for The Breach

What really holds it all together is Hawco’s down to earth performance as a detective striving to retain his focus on the practical side of the job.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
John Hawkins, who is set to retire as police chief is tucked away in deep wood. Following the discovery of a gruesome body with uncanny injuries, he's pulled into an investigation to solve the horrifying mystery, which evades explanation.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Rodrigo Gudiño; Writer: Ian Weir, based on the book by Nick Cutter; Stars: Natalie Brown, Allan Hawco, Emily Alatalo, Eva Weiss, Wesley French)

Full review See: Interview with Rodrigo Gudiño about The Breach

Chilli Laugh Story

Work-from-home has led to a daily cage match with Coba's family. When he inadvertently learns his mother's homemade chili sauce is a hit with his co-workers, he convinces his family to turn the chili sauce into online business.

(Country: Hong Kong, China; Year: 2022; Director: Coba Cheng; Stars: Ronald Cheng, Gigi Leung, Edan Cheuk-On Lui)

Chorokbam

A night guard discovers a dead cat hanging by its neck. As if struck by a bad omen, his family life starts crumbling. Soon, the death of a relative leads to the unearthing of buried secrets.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2021; Director: Seo-jin Yoon; Writer: Seo-jin Yoon; Stars: Lee Tae-hoon, Kim Min-Kyung, Kang Gil-woo, Byun Euin-young, Oh Min-ae)

Chun Tae-Il: A Flame That Lives On

The story of Chun Tae-Il, whose ultimate sacrifice galvanized the labour rights movement in South Korea.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Hong Jun-pyo)

Compulsus

Review preview for Compulsus

There’s a self-consciousness about the film which sometimes allows style to overwhelm substance.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Women who have experienced misogynistic violence decide to take justice into their own hands.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Tara Thorne; Writer: Tara Thorne; Stars: Koumbie, Lesley Smith, James MacLean, Hilary Adams, Kathryn McCormack)

Full review See: Interview with Tara Thorne and Lesley Smith about Compulsus

Confession (Jabaek)

Review preview for Confession

Both leads are excellent.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A story about a man who has been pointed out as the culprit of a locked-room murder and his lawyer approaching the truth.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2020; Director: Yoon Jong-seok; Writer: Yoon Jong-seok; Stars: So Ji-seob, Kim Yunjin, Im Jin-Ah, Choi Kawng-il)

Full review

Convenience Story

Review preview for Convenience Story

Much tighter and less purely whimsical than it looks on the surface.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
One day, when a struggling screenwriter steps out to buy dog food, he stumbles into a mysterious convenience store where he discovers he can find anything his heart desires.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Satoshi Miki; Writer: Satoshi Miki)

Full review

Country Gold

Review preview for Country Gold

Shot in lush black and white with a depth and tonality which makes every frame look worthy of becoming an art print.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
George Jones invites country music superstar Troyal Brooks out on the town in Nashville the night before George is to be cryogenically frozen in 1994.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mickey Reece; Writer: Mickey Reece, John Selvidge; Stars: Cate Jones, Colleen Elizabeth Miller, Mickey Reece, Ben Hall, Lisandro Boccacci, Danielle Evon Ploeger)

Full review See: Interview with Mickey Reece about Country Gold

The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future

Review preview for The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future

The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future emerges as part of a growing body of work which is striving to address desperation with imagination, to find new ways to be.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Cecilia and her children travel to her ageing father’s dairy farm after he has a heart attack. Back in her childhood home, Cecilia is met by her mother, a woman dead for many years, whose presence brings to life a painful past chorused by the natural world around them.

(Country: Germany, France, US, Chile; Year: 2022; Director: Francisca Alegria; Writer: Francisca Alegria, Manuela Infante; Stars: Leonor Varela, Mía Maestro, Alfredo Castro, Luis Dubó, Marcial Tagle, Laura Del Rio Rios, Enzo Ferrada Rosati)

Full review See: Leonor Varela in conversation on The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future

Cult Hero

Review preview for Cult Hero

There are a lot of cute ideas here which don’t all successfully come to fruition but which entertain nonetheless.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Manager-summoning control freak Kallie Jones attempts to rescue her husband from a 'wellness center' with the help of a washed-up expert cult buster.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Jesse Thomas Cook; Writer: Tony Burgess, Liv Collins, Jesse Thomas Cook; Stars: Liv Collins, Ry Barrett, Justin Bott, Tony Burgess, Jessica Vano)

Full review

Dark Glasses (Black Glasses, Occhiali Neri)

Review preview for Dark Glasses

The colour saturation in these images is simply delicious. Gorgeous costume work by Guido Bongiorno makes the most of it, and Rome itself seems to have set out to please.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A woman who has lost her sight in her car crash and is guided by a young Chinese orphan tries to escape the serial killer who is stalking the streets of Rome armed with deadly cello strings.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2022; Director: Dario Argento; Writer: Dario Argento, Franco Ferrini; Stars: Ilenia Pastorelli, Asia Argento, Andrea Gherpelli, Mario Pirrello, Maria Rosaria Russo, Gennaro Iaccarino, Andrea Zhang)

Full review

Dark Nature

Review preview for Dark Nature

Brady knows the landscape well and makes effective use of it.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Members of a therapy group are forced to confront the monsters of their past when an isolated weekend retreat tests their emotional resilience and ability to survive.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Berkley Brady; Writer: Berkley Brady, Tim Cairo; Stars: Hannah Emily Anderson, Roseanne Supernault, Kyra Harper, Griffin Cork, Madison Walsh)

Full review See: Interview with Berkley Brady about Dark Nature

Deadstream

Review preview for Deadstream

Comedy and horror are well balanced in a film which demonstrates a sharp understanding of social media but is also ready to deliver on the more explicitly gruesome side of the bargain

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A washed up internet personality tries to win back his followers by livestreaming himself spending one night alone in an abandoned haunted house.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter; Writer: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter; Stars: Joseph Winter, Melanie Stone)

Full review

Demigod: The Legend Begins

Witness the legend's origin.

(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2022; Director: Chris Huang; Writer: Chris Huang)

Detectives Vs. Sleuths

When Hong Kong is rocked by multiple gruesome murders, the police forms a task force to investigate, and discover that the victims were all themselves suspects in cold cases.

(Country: Hong Kong, China; Year: 2022; Director: Wai Ka-Fai; Writer: Lu Jia, Li Jie, Wai Ka-Fai; Stars: Ching Wan Lau, Charlene Choi, Raymond Lam)

The Diabetic

A story about how dark and dirty a desperate diabetic’s desolate night out can turn.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Mitchell Stafiej)

Dobaaraa

A woman gets an opportunity to save the life of a 12-year-old boy who witnessed a death during a thunderstorm which happened 25 years ago, by getting connected through the television set during a similar storm in the present.

(Country: India; Year: 2022; Director: Anurag Kashyap; Writer: Nihit Bhave; Stars: Rahul Bhatt, Saswata Chatterjee, Pavail Gulati, Taapsee Pannu)

Dr. Lamb (Goh Yeung Yee Sang)

An abnormal taxi driver lusts for blood every rainy night, and several young women are killed as a result.

(Country: Hong Kong; Year: 1992; Director: Danny Lee, Billy Tang; Writer: Law Kam-Fai; Stars: Danny Lee, Simon Yam, Kent Cheng. Pik Yu Chung, Hui Si-Man, Eric Kei)

The Deadly Spawn (Return Of The Aliens: The Deadly Spawn)

Review preview for The Deadly Spawn

What the movie does best is gore and ickiness.

James Benefield · 3 out of 5
A toothy alien horror goes on the rampage.

(Country: US; Year: 1983; Director: Douglas McKeown; Writer: Ted A Bohus, John Dods, Douglas McKeown, Tim Sullivan; Stars: Charles George Hildebrandt, Tom DeFranco, Richard Lee Porter, Jean Tafler, Karen Tighe, James Brewster, Elissa Neil, Ethel Michelson, John Schmerling, Judith Mayes, Andrew Michaels, John Arndt, Diane Stevens, Darlene Kenley, Madeline Charanis)

Full review

The Elderly (Viejos)

Review preview for The Elderly

Cerezo and Gómez remind us that we are living through some of the strangest days our world has known right now.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
An octogenarian, who enters into a state of dementia after the sudden suicide of his wife, sparks a series of paranormal events that will put his family's lives at risk.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Raúl Cerezo, Fernando González Gómez; Writer: Raúl Cerezo, Rubén Sánchez Trigos, Javier Trigales; Stars: Irene Anula, Zorion Eguileor, Josele Román, Gustavo Salmerón, Paula Gallego)

Full review

Employee Of The Month (L'Employée du mois)

Review preview for Employee Of The Month

Where the film shines is in the incidental details, the small observations and asides which contribute to setting the tone.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Black comedy. An employee at a cleaning products company accidentally commits a messily bloody crime – and must figure out how to cover her tracks with the help of her young trainee.

(Country: US, Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Véronique Jadin; Writer: Véronique Jadin, Nina Vanspranghe; Stars: Peter Van den Begin, Philippe Résimont, Laurence Bibot, Alex Vizorek, Thomas Ancora, Achille Ridolfi, Ingrid Heiderscheidt, Jasmina Douieb, Christophe Bourdon, Laetitia Mampaka)

Full review

Face/Off

Review preview for Face/Off

Cheerful, bullet-strewn entertainment.

Scott Macdonald · 3.5 out of 5
A government agent chases a criminal mastermind.

(Country: USA; Year: 1997; Director: John Woo; Writer: Mike Werb, Michael Colleary; Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain, Nick Cassavetes, Harve Presnell, Colm Feore, John Carroll Lynch, CCH Pounder)

Full review

Fast & Feel Love

When a world champion of sport stacking is dumped by his long-time girlfriend, he has to learn basic adulting skills in order to live alone and take care of himself.

(Country: Thailand; Year: 2022; Director: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit; Writer: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit; Stars: Nat Kitcharit, Urassaya Sperbund, Anusara Korsamphan)

The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra

Review preview for The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra

Where it could easily have been gimmicky or relied on comedy, instead it achieves something magical and illuminating.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After a couple splits up, mould left behind on a mattress slowly grows into a creature that steals the vertebrae of humans who inhabit the bed.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Park Syeyoung; Writer: Park Sye-young)

Full review

The Fight Machine

Review preview for The Fight Machine

As critiques of the wealth gap are concerned, it’s not very deep, but it’s buoyed up by some strong supporting performances and Hunt’s skill at capturing the action in the ring.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Two young men from different backgrounds find their destinies linked when they meet up in the world of illegal bare-knuckle fighting.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Andrew Thomas Hunt; Writer: Craig Davidson, Andrew Thomas Hunt; Stars: Greg Hovanessian, Bianca Melchior, Joseph Wibe, Dempsey Bryk, Noah Dalton Danby)

Full review

Final Cut (Coupez!)

Review preview for Final Cut

An homage to truly bad film-making - but it sails perilously close to self-parody

Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
Things go badly for a small film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie when they are attacked by real zombies.

(Year: 2022; Director: Michel Hazanavicius; Writer: Michel Hazanavicius; Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Grégory Gadebois, Finnegan Oldfield, Matilda Lutz, Raphaël Quenard)

Full review See: Cannes Final Cut press conference with Bérénice Bejo, Michel Hazanavicius, Roman Duris

The Fish Tale (Sakana No Ko)

Elementary school student Mibou's daily revolves around her love for fish. She sees, draws, and eats them every day. It's a passion which will never leave her.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Shûichi Okita; Writer: Shirô Maeda, Shûichi Okita; Stars: Haruka Igawa, Hayato Isomura, Kaho, Hiroki Miyake, Non)

Footprints

A foreign translator living in Italy emerges from a mysterious three-day blackout to find an unfamiliar blood-stained dress in her closet and a ripped up postcard from a place called Garma.

(Country: Italy; Year: 1975; Director: Luigi Bazzoni; Stars: Florinda Bolkan)

Freaks Out

Rome, 1943: Matilde, Cencio, Fulvio and Mario live like siblings in Israel’s circus. When Israel mysteriously disappears, perhaps in flight or perhaps captured by the Nazis, the four “circus freaks” are left alone in the occupied city.

(Country: Italy, Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Gabriele Mainetti; Writer: Nicola Guaglianone, Nicola Guaglianone, Gabriele Mainetti; Stars: Franz Rogowski, Eric Godon, Claudio Santamaria, Anna Tenta, Emilio De Marchi, Pietro Castellitto, Edoardo Purgatori, Elia Pietschmann, Aurora Giovinazzo, Giorgio Tirabassi, Franco Pistoni, Christoph Hülsen, Massimiliano Ubaldi, Riccardo Angelini, Astrid Meloni)

Frágil

A group of disillusioned youths in Lisbon are consumed by the promise of the 'club'. They take the audience on a trip through the underground of Portugal's capital as its young characters get high and unleash their unpredictable energy on the streets.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2022; Director: Pedro Henrique)

The Girl From The Other Side (Totsukuni no shôjo)

Review preview for The Girl From The Other Side

It is breathtakingly beautiful – hard to look away from, in fact.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A dark and monstrous creature becomes the guardian of an innocent human child.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Yutaro Kubo; Writer: Satomi Maiya, based on the manga by Nagabe)

Full review

Give Me Pity!

Review preview for Give Me Pity!

It’s a wonderful experiment, and often very funny, but it is also, perhaps intentionally, exhausting.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Sissy St. Claire graces the small screen for her first ever television special, an evening full of music and laughter, glamour and entertainment. But Sissy's live event quickly begins to curdle into a psychedelic nightmare.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Amanda Kramer; Writer: Amanda Kramer; Stars: Sophie von Haselberg, Cricket Arrison, M Diesel, Reshma Gajjar, Tess Hewlett, Annie Kyle)

Full review See: Interview with Amanda Kramer about Give Me Pity

Glorious

Review preview for Glorious

What is billed as Lovecraftian horror certainly fits into that mould on one level, but it is perhaps more like what one might have expected had old HP taken to writing sitcoms.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
After a breakup, Wes ends up at a remote rest stop. He finds himself locked inside the bathroom with a mysterious figure speaking from an adjacent stall. Soon Wes realizes he is involved in a situation more terrible than he could imagine.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Rebekah McKendry; Writer: Joshua Hull, David Ian McKendry, Todd Rigney; Stars: Ryan Kwanten, JK Simmons, Tordy Clark)

Full review See: Interview with Rebekah McKendry about Glorious

Goodbye, Don Glees! (Gubbai, Don Gurîzu!, Goodbye Donglees)

Review preview for Goodbye, Don Glees!

Storywise, there’s not a great deal here which hasn’t been done before, but it will be new to the young audience it’s really aimed at, and it’s beautifully told.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When three boys get lost together in the forest, the adventure they share will change them forever.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Atsuko Ishizuka; Writer: Atsuko Ishizuka; Stars: Natsuki Hanae, Kana Hanazawa, Yûki Kaji, Ayumu Murase)

Full review See: Interview with Ishizuka Atsuko about Goodbye Don Glees!

Hansan: Rising Dragon (Hansan: Yongui chulhyeon)

Review preview for Hansan: Rising Dragon

For the average viewer there are some awkward lags when nothing much is happening, but in the thick of the action, it’s exciting to watch.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
The story of a critical sea battle between Koreans and invading Japanese forces in 1592.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Kim Han-min; Writer: KimHan-min, Yun Hong-gi; Stars: Park Hae-il, Byun Yo-Han, Ahn Sung-Ki)

Full review

Happer's Comet

A mid-night mosaic of a suburban town steeped in alienation. While peering into the late night moments of many residents, we notice that some of them quietly escape into the dark of night via rollerblades.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Tyler Taormina; Writer: Tyler Taormina; Stars: Grace Berlino, Dan Carolan, Brandon Cassanova, Gianina Galatro, Michael Guglielmo)

The Harbinger

Review preview for The Harbinger

Skilfully crafted, The Harbinger is a rightly distressing, melancholy take on the events of the recent past and the troubles we still live with today.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A woman leaves her family quarantine to help a friend who's suffering from terrible nightmares - but she learns too late that the bad dreams are contagious, along with the demon behind them.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Andy Mitton; Writer: Andy Mitton; Stars: Raymond Anthony Thomas, Gabby Beans, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Emily Davis, Laura Heisler, Cody Braverman)

Full review See: Interview with Andy Mitton about The Harbinger

Harold And Maude (Harold & Maude)

Review preview for Harold And Maude

The most important message the film has is follow your heart, no matter how weird other people think you are for doing so.

James Benefield · 4 out of 5
A morbid young man falls in love with a vivacious septuagenarian.

(Country: US; Year: 1971; Director: Hal Ashby; Writer: Colin Higgins; Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, Ellen Geer)

Full review

Heaven: To The Land Of Happiness

Two gentlemen meet by chance and decide to go on an adventure together. Their journey becomes a quest for happiness.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2020; Director: Im Sang-soo; Writer: Im Sang-soo; Stars: Lee El, Park Hae-il, Jo Han-chul, Jung Min-sung)

The Heroic Trio (Dung Fong Sam Hap)

While one tough woman with an invisible robe has stolen 18 babies for her powerful master, two other tough women and the cops try to stop her.

(Country: Hong Kong; Year: 1993; Director: Johnnie To; Writer: Sandy Shaw; Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung)

Honeycomb

Review preview for Honeycomb

To the girls, it’s all fun and games even after somebody loses an eye.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Five girls stray from society on the hunt for something more special...you can find them if you follow the sound.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Avalon Fast; Writer: Avalon Fast, Emmett Roiko; Stars: Sophie Bawks-Smith, Jillian Frank, Mari Geraghty, Henri Gillespi, Max Graham)

Full review See: Interview with Avalon Fast about Honeycomb

House Of Darkness

A manipulative player accompanies his latest potential hook-up to her enormous Gothic mansion and experiences a rather different kind of evening from the one he had expected.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Neil LaBute; Stars: Kate Bosworth, Gia Crovatin, Justin Long, Lucy Walters)

Huesera (Huesera: The Bone Woman)

Review preview for Huesera

Wonderfully uncomfortable.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Valeria has long dreamed about becoming a mother. After learning that she’s pregnant, she expects to feel happy, yet something’s off. Nightmarish visions and an unshakeable paranoia have her questioning what she wants, and an ancient evil spirit may be the cause.

(Country: Peru, Mexico; Year: 2022; Director: Michelle Garza Cervera; Writer: Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo; Stars: Alfonso Dosal, Samantha Castillo, Martha Claudia Moreno, Mayra Batalla, Sonia Couoh, Aida López, Pablo Guisa Koestinger, Mercedes Hernández, Enoc Leaño, Anahí Allué, Natalia Solián, Gabriela Velarde)

Full review

Hypochondriac

Review preview for Hypochondriac

The struggle which follows is, in places, difficult to watch, especially for viewers who have been affected by such issues in their own lives, so Heimann sensibly leavens it with humour.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When his bipolar mother walks back into his life, a young gay man is forced to contend with his family history of mental illness.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Addison Heimann; Writer: Addison Heimann; Stars: Zach Villa, Devon Graye, Madeline Zima, Yumarie Morales, Marlene Forte, Chris Doubek, Paget Brewster, Adam Busch, Michael Cassidy, Peter Mensah, Debra Wilson)

Full review See: Interview with Addison Heimann about Hypochondriac

Identikit

A mentally disturbed woman experiences a series of bizarre encounters in Rome as she searches for someone she feels she'll know - when she finds him.

(Country: Italy; Year: 1974; Director: Giuseppe Patroni Griffi,; Writer: Raffaele La Capria and Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, based on the book by Muriel Spark; Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Ian Bannen, Guido Mannari, Mona Washbourne, Andy Warhol)

Il Demonio

Distraught when her lover is betrothed to another, a woman draws on the old ways to curse him, but her erratic behaviour is interpreted as demonic possession, and the villagers turn against her with violence.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 1963; Director: Brunello Rondi; Stars: Daliah Lavi, Frank Wolff)

Incredible But True (Incroyable Mais Vrai)

Review preview for Incredible But True

What makes all this work is the very straightforward and matter-of-fact way in which Dupieux approaches the story.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A mysterious tunnel in the cellar of a new home turns lives upside down.

(Year: 2022; Director: Quentin Dupieux; Stars: Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel, Anaïs Demoustier)

Full review

Inu-oh

Review preview for Inu-oh

It is cleverly animated, intelligent and full of passion. Unfortunately, its mingling of the repetitive musical style of Noh with modern metal riffs, whilst it seems to please some viewers, will leave others wanting to scream for all the wrong reasons.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Inu-Oh is born with unique physical characteristics, and the horrified adults cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face... but through his creative abilities he forges a different destiny to the one they intend.

(Country: Japan, China; Year: 2021; Director: Masaaki Yuasa; Writer: Hideo Furukawa, Akiko Nogi; Stars: Avu-chan, Mirai Moriyama, Avu-chan, Mirai Moriyama)

Full review

In My Skin (Dans Ma Peau)

Review preview for In My Skin

The treatment of the subject matter is deeply irresponsible.

David Haviland · 1 out of 5
An upwardly mobile PR assistant accidentally slashes her leg at a party and becomes increasingly fixated on the wound. After an initial period of bodily disorientation, she secretly falls in love with her own skin – and wants to see what lies beneath.

(Country: France; Year: 2002; Director: Marina De Van; Writer: Marina De Van; Stars: Marina De Van, Larent Lucas, Lea Drucker, Thibauly de Montalembert, Dominique Reymond, Bernard Alane, Marc Rioufol, Francois Lamotte)

Full review

I Like Bats

Isabella is a vampire who lives in small town Poland. When she becomes obsessed with a handsome psychiatrist, she checks herself into his palatial country sanatorium under the auspices of seeking a cure for her condition.

(Country: Poland; Year: 1986; Director: Grzegorz Warchol)

Just Remembering (Chotto Omoidashita Dake)

A former couple remember their most intimate days, only to part once again.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Daigo Matsui; Stars: Sôsuke Ikematsu, Sairi Itô, Miwako Ichikawa, Yumi Kawai, Eiko Koike)

Kappei

Nostradamus predicted that the world would end in 1999, but he royally screwed up. In 2022, Kappei and his fellow doomsday warriors, isolated and trained since their childhood, must learn to live a 'normal' life with great supernatural powers

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Takashi Hirano; Writer: Yûichi Tokunaga, based on the manga by Kiminori Wakasugi; Stars: Hideaki Itô, Moka Kamishiraishi, Daigo Nishihata, Yûsuke Ohnuki, Arata Furuta)

The Kid With The Golden Arm

A mercenary is hired to protect gold being sent to a village where people are starving.

(Country: Hong Kong; Year: 1979; Director: Chang Cheh; Writer: Chang Cheh, Kuang Ni; Stars: Chien Sun, Meng Lo, Feng Lu)

The Killer

Review preview for The Killer

It is in large part Jang Hyuk's acting which makes this film work.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A retired assassin regains his murderous instincts when the teenage girl he’s looking after is targeted by a gang.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Choi Jae-hun; Writer: Nam Ji-Woong; Stars: Jang Hyuk, Lee Seo-young, Bang Eun-Jung)

Full review

Legendary In Action

Martial arts action drama.

(Year: 2022; Director: Justin Cheung, Li Ho; Stars: Chen Kuan-Tai)

Legions

Review preview for Legions

Fans of fantastic stories – especially those of the gruesome variety – are in for a treat.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Antonio is a sorcerer from a powerful bloodline, trapped in an asylum against his will. After an omen informs him that his daughter will be sacrificed by an evil entity, he must use his magical skills to escape and save her.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2022; Director: Fabian Forte; Writer: Fabian Forte; Stars: Germán De Silva, Lorena Vega, Ezequiel Rodriguez)

Full review

A Life On The Farm

Review preview for A Life On The Farm

The film is often more interesting as a study of privileged people’s beliefs than as a portrait of Charles himself.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Oscar Harding; Stars: Derrick Beckles, Lehr Beidelschies, Charles Carson, Oscar Herding, Karen Kilgariff)

Full review

Lynch/Oz

Victor Fleming’s 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is one of David Lynch’s most enduring obsessions. This documentary goes over the rainbow to explore this Technicolor through-line in Lynch’s work.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Alexandre O Philippe; Writer: Alexandre O Philippe)

Maigret

Review preview for Maigret

The star himself commands an uncharacteristic stillness, dialling down his famous charisma, surrendering himself to the material.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In 1950s Paris, the body of a young woman is found dressed in an evening gown and holding no I.D. When nobody claims the body, Detective Jules Maigret is brought onto the case.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Patrice Leconte; Writer: Patrice Leconte, based on the books by Georges Simenon; Stars: Gérard Depardieu)

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Megalomaniac

Review preview for Megalomaniac

It’s a film shot mostly in shadow, in the long-neglected house or in the narrow confines of locker rooms and toilet blocks at the factory.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A film about the weight of patriarchy and the illusion of Manichaeism.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Karim Ouelhaj; Writer: Karim Ouelhaj; Stars: Eline Schumacher, Wim Willaert, Benjamin Ramon, Pierre Nisse, Raphaëlle Lubansu, Olivier Picard)

Full review

Mercenaries From Hong Kong (Lie Mo Zhe)

Review preview for Mercenaries From Hong Kong

A richly entertaining piece of work from a master of the trade.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A gang of ex-military guys are hired by a mysterious dame who wants them to go into Cambodia and kidnap the assassin who killed her father.

(Country: Hong Kong; Year: 1982; Director: Wong Jing; Writer: Wong Jing; Stars: Lung Ti, Yue Wong, Michael Wai-Man Chan, Yu On-on)

Full review

Missing (Sagasu)

Review preview for Missing

Against this troubling backdrop, the killer seems less a disruptive influence and more an expression of widespread despair.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Following the death of his wife, Santoshi has sunk into depression and debt, much to the consternation of his daughter, high school student Kaede. To ease their debt, Santoshi tells Kaede he will track down a serial killer and collect the reward, but Santoshi disappears and Kaede must find out what happened to him.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Shinzô Katayama; Writer: Kazuhisa Kotera, Ro Takada; Stars: Jirô Satô, Aoi Itô, Hiroya Shimizu, Misato Morita, Shotaro Ishii)

Full review

The Mole Song: Final

Review preview for The Mole Song: Final

Despite the film’s exuberant silliness, Takashi is always meticulous about his craft.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In the final part of the trilogy, the yakuza clan he infiltrated tries to import pasta made entirely of methamphetamines: speed-a-ronis.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Takashi Miike; Writer: Kankurô Kudô; Stars: Tôma Ikuta, Paolo Andrea Di Pietro, Ken'ichi Endô, Mitsuu Fukikoshi, Kôichi Iwaki, Sarutoki Minagawa)

Full review

Moloch

Review preview for Moloch

Van den Brink makes the bog omnipresent in the film with a colour palate heavy on browns and greys, whilst cinematographer Emo Weenhoff makes the most of the humidity still residing in the chill air.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Betriek lives at the edge of a peat bog in the North of the Netherlands. When she and her family are attacked by a random stranger one night, Betriek sets out to find an explanation. The more she digs, the more she becomes convinced that she is being hunted by something ancient.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2022; Director: Nico van den Brink; Writer: Daan Bakker, Nico van den Brink; Stars: Alexandre Willaume, Sallie Harmsen, Jack Wouterse, Markoesa Hamer)

Full review See: Interview with Nico van den Brink about Moloch

My Broken Mariko (Mai Burôkun Mariko)

Tomoyo Shiino is an office lady. One day, she watches the news and learns that her old schoolfriend Mariko killed herself. Tomoyo knows that Mariko was abused by her father for a long time. To save he soul, she steals her remains.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Yuki Tanada; Writer: Kôsuke Mukai and Yuki Tanada, based on the comic by Waka Hirako; Stars: Nao Honda, Masataka Kubota, Mei Nagano, Toshinori Ono, Yô Yoshida)

My Grandfather's Demons

Rosa is a successful designer living in a generic big city. After the unexpected death of her grandfather, she realises she's not been in a place where she felt connected or loved since she left her homeland.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2022; Director: Nuno Beato; Stars: Victoria Guerra, Nuno Lopes, Ana Sofia Martins, Celso Bugallo)

My Small Land

Review preview for My Small Land

Arashi is a model with Middle Eastern roots, making her screen début, which is difficult to belief given the quality of her performance in this complex, multifaceted role.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A Kurdish girl in Japan finds her life turned upside down when her family loses its refugee status.

(Country: France, Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Emma Kawawada; Writer: Emma Kawawada; Stars: Lina Arashi, Takashi Fujii, Sei Hiraizumi, Chizuru Ikewaki)

Full review

Next Door

Review preview for Next Door

Oh is a naturally gifted lead.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Chan-woo is on his fifth attempt to get into the police academy, when his friends make him a strange offer to pay the registration fee in exchange for just one drink at the bar. The next morning, he wakes up hungover in his loud neighbour’s apartment with a corpse lying face down in a pool of blood.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Yeom Ji-ho; Writer: Yeom Ji-ho; Stars: Oh Dong-min, Choi Hee-jin Choi, Lee Jung Hyun)

Full review

The Next Exit

When a research scientist makes national news proving she can track people into the afterlife, Rose sees a way out and Teddy sees his chance to finally make it.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mali Elfman; Writer: Mali Elfman; Stars: Gavin Powers, Joe Powers, Katie Parker, Karen Gillan, Ty Molbak)

Next Sohee (Da-eum-so-hee)

Review preview for Next Sohee

There’s a real sense of fury behind this film.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
High school student Sohee starts job training at a call centre, but she faces pressure of greedy company which leads to her death. Detective Oh Yu-jin, who has something in common with Sohee, starts to follow traces to reveal the truth.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: July Jung; Writer: July Jung; Stars: Kim Si-Eun, Bae Doona)

Full review See: Interview with July Jung about Next Sohee

One And Four

A mountain cabin manager is visited by one man after another on a snowy mountain where poaching is widespread.

(Country: China; Year: 2021; Director: Jigme Trinley; Writer: Jigme Trinley; Stars: Jinpa, Zheng Wang)

One For The Road

Review preview for One For The Road

Poonpiriya shakes the past and the present gently together, sometimes with a dash of nostalgia and, at others, with a splash of regret.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Boss is a consummate ladies' man, a free spirit and a bar owner in NYC. One day, he gets a surprise call from Aood, an estranged friend who has returned home to Thailand. Dying of cancer, Aood enlists Boss' help to complete a bucket list – but both are hiding something.

(Country: China, Hong Kong, Thailand; Year: 2021; Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya; Writer: Puangsoi Aksornsawang, Nottapon Boonprakob, Nattawut Poonpiriya; Stars: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Thanapob Leeratanakajorn, Ice Natara, Violette Wautier, Ploi Horwang, Siraphan Wattanajinda, Georges Hilaire, Tracy Fisher, Yayaying Rhatha Phongam, Luqman A. Agiya, Alberto Fabbretti, Lissa Carandang-Sweeney, Henardo Rodriguez, Daniel Hirsh, Lazaros Theodorakopoulos)

Full review

On The Line

A dive into the maze of voice phishing scams, where an ex-detective embarks on a dangerous mission to infiltrate and dismantle a huge cartel of invisible fraudsters.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Kim Sun, Kim Gok)

Opal

In a magic kingdom, the young princess Opal is struggling to remain joyful, as her sadness has the magic power to destroy the entire world.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Alain Bidard; Writer: Alain Bidard; Stars: Alain Bidard, Dawn-Lissa Mystille, Heather Mystille, Kaori Ravi, Joe Bonvent)

Orchestrator Of Storms (Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin)

Review preview for Orchestrator Of Storms

Though there is a melancholy aspect to it, Orchestrator Of Storms explores who Rollin was as a person with warmth and wit, and shares his enthusiasm for, as it is phrased here, ‘beauty in the grotesque and the morose and the opulent.’

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary portrait of filmmaker Jean Rollin.

(Year: 2022; Director: Dima Ballin, Kat Ellinger; Stars: Jean Rollin)

Full review

Out In The Ring

A documentary exploring the rise and history of LGBTQ+ professional wrestlers and representation in the sport.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Ry Levey)

The Pass: Last Days Of The Samurai

Review preview for The Pass: Last Days Of The Samurai

This focus on small events across a short span of time brings a pleasing specificity to what is also a story about the end of an era and the sociological changes which allowed Japan to move into the modern age.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The chief retainer of a small domain in Echigo called Nagaoka is caught between the Eastern and Western armies after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2020; Director: Takashi Koizumi; Writer: Takashi Koizumi; Stars: Takako Matsu, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kôji Yakusho)

Full review

Les Pas D'Allure

Review preview for Les Pas D'Allure

Though initially frustrating, it coalesces into a rich satirical comedy with a side helping of carefully restrained romance – and possibly the end of civilisation as we know it.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When a man arrives at his former girlfriend's home to tell her he has just escaped from a kidnapper, it's the beginning of a long, rambling, comical story which just might hint at something serious.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Alexandre Leblanc; Writer: Alexandre Leblanc, Julien Grégoire; Stars: Jean-Sébastien Courchesne, Sophie Desmarais, Benoit Bourbonnais, Annie St-Pierre, Richard Fréchette, Yvan Fontaine)

Full review

The Pez Outlaw

Review preview for The Pez Outlaw

It’s small, sweet and not exactly filling, but it will definitely leave you with a craving for more.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Steve Glew spent the 1990s smuggling rare pez dispensers into the USA from Eastern Europe, making millions of dollars. It was all magical until his arch-nemesis, The Pezident decided to destroy him.

(Country: Austria, US; Year: 2022; Director: Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel)

Full review

La Pieta

A surrealist odyssey into the extremes of codependency, depicting the close relationship between a mother and her son – and the ways that relationship changes when one is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

(Year: 2022; Director: Eduardo Casanova)

Piggy (Cerdita)

Review preview for Piggy

Galán is extraordinary as the traumatised girl in a performance which requires a considerable amount of courage.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Sara deals with constant teasing from girls in her small town. But it comes to an end when a stranger kidnaps her tormentors. Sara knows more than she's saying and must decide between speaking up and saving the girls or saying nothing to protect the strange man who spared her.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Carlota Pereda; Writer: Carlota Pereda; Stars: Pilar Castro, Claudia Salas, Camille Aguilar, Carmen Machi, Julián Valcárcel, Mabel del Pozo, Chema del Barco, Stéphanie Magnin Vella, Irene Ferreiro, Laura Galán, Fred Tatien, José Pastor, Richard Holmes, Fernando Delgado-Hierro, Amets Otxoa)

Full review See: Interview with Carlota Pereda about Piggy

Please Baby Please

Review preview for Please Baby Please

There are layers and layers of humour here, sometimes rooted in queer and theatrical traditions but mostly accessible regardless.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Newlyweds Suse and Arthur become the dangerous obsession of a greaser gang that awakens a sleeping quandary into the couple's sexual identity.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Amanda Kramer; Writer: Amanda Kramer, Noel David Taylor; Stars: Demi Moore, Andrea Riseborough, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Karl Glusman, Harry Melling, Ryan Simpkins)

Full review

Polaris

A young woman and her adoptive polar bear mother journey to the north star Polaris, navigating the harsh landscape. They encounter brutal foes, and when they discover unexpected allies along the way, the stakes become deadlier.

(Year: 2022; Director: KC Carthew; Stars: Viva Lee)

Popran (Popuran)

The successful CEO of an online manga reading platform finds himself in crisis when his genitals suddenly detach themselves from his body and fly away.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Shin'ichirô Ueda; Writer: Shin'ichirô Ueda; Stars: Hidenobu Abera, Yôji Minagawa, Eri Tokunaga)

Princess Dragon (Princesse Dragon)

Review preview for Princess Dragon

A good choice for viewers between the ages of about five and eight, this is a film which delivers on action and attitude without ever losing its innately gentle quality.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A dragon’s adopted daughter befriends a human princess, and must contend with a frog-witch’s curse.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Jean-Jacques Denis, Anthony Roux; Writer: Jean-Jacques DenisAnthony Roux; Stars: Lila Lacombe, Kaycie Chase, Jérémie Covillault, Colette Venard, Michel Bompoil)

Full review

The Protector

After being released from a correctional facility and moving to a small town, Evelyn struggles and searches for meaning that is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious book about a powerful God who brings peace wherever he goes.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Lenin M Sivam; Writer: Lenin M Sivam; Stars: Chelsea Clark, Munro Chambers, Rebecca Jenkins)

Red Shoes

After the heartbreaking death of her husband, a struggling single mother must get back in the ring to keep custody of her beloved daughter when her mother-in-law disputes her child support rights in court.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Toshirô Saiga; Stars: Aya Asahina)

Relax, I'm From The Future

A man from the future, now trapped in the past, tries to make a life for himself, oblivious to the consequences he has set in motion.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Luke Higginson; Writer: Luke Higginson; Stars: Rhys Darby, Gabrielle Graham, Julian Richings, Janine Theriault)

Resurrection

Margaret's life is in order. She is capable, disciplined, and successful. Soon, her teenage daughter, who Margaret raised by herself, will be going off to a fine university, just as Margaret had intended. Everything is under control. That is, until David returns, carrying with him the horrors of Margaret's past.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Andrew Semans; Writer: Andrew Semans; Stars: Rebecca Hall, Grace Kaufman, Michael Esper, Angela Wong Carbone, Jaime Zevallos, Patrick Klein, Rocco Palmieri)

The Roundup

Review preview for The Roundup

There are some stunningly choreographed hand to hand combat sequences.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Two South Korean detectives are sent to Vietnam to extradite a suspect where they uncover a series of connected murders and crimes against tourists.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Lee Sang-yong; Stars: Don Lee, Son Sukku, Choi Guy-hwa, Park Ji-hwan)

Full review

Sadako DX

People who watch a cursed video suddenly die. These deaths take place all over Japan.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Hisashi Kimura; Writer: Yuya Takahashi, based on the book by Kôji Suzuki; Stars: Hiroyuki Watanabe, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Fuka Koshiba, Kazuma Kawamura, Naomi Nishida)

Seire

Review preview for Seire

A slow burn of a film which disturbs and unsettles, recalling insomniac night and too-bright mornings, a familiar world where everything seems slightly askew.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A new father strives to protect his baby for the 21 days during which it is vulnerable to spiritual attack.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2021; Director: Park Kang; Writer: Park Kang; Stars: Seo Hyun-woo, Ruy Sun-young, Shim Eun-woo)

Full review

Shari

A documentary portrait of Shari in northernmost Hokkaido, incorporating dance, folklore and fantasy.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Nao Yoshigai)

Sharp Stick

Review preview for Sharp Stick

Dunham is constantly looking for laughs and does deliver quite a few, but you never fully believe these people are living in the real world.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A naive 26-year-old finds herself on a sexual odyssey.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Lena Dunham; Writer: Lena Dunham; Stars: Jon Bernthal, Scott Speedman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Taylour Paige, Lena Dunham, Kristine Froseth, Tommy Dorfman, Cat Ce, Ben Sidell, Steve Hart, Lisa Costanza, Patrick McLain, Grant Garson, Liam Michel Saux, Victoria De Mare)

Full review

Shin Ultraman

Review preview for Shin Ultraman

if you have ever enjoyed a kaiju film, you will love this.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
An extra-terrestrial ally steps in to save humanity from kaiju attacks, but the consequences of his decision could be even more dangerous.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Shinji Higuchi; Writer: Hideaki Anno; Stars: Takumi Saitoh, Masami Nagasawa, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, Tetsushi Tanaka)

Full review

Shriek Of The Mutilated

A group of college students are led by their professor into the mountains in search of the Yeti. The students start to be killed off one by one.

(Country: US; Year: 1974; Director: Michael Findlay; Writer: Ed Adlum, Ed Kelleher; Stars: Alan Brock, Jennifer Stock, Tawm Ellis, Michael Harris, Darcy Brown)

Sirens

Review preview for Sirens

A fascinating watch.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East's first all-female metal band, wrestle with friendship, sexuality and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars.

(Year: 2022; Director: Rita Baghdadi)

Full review

Sissy

Review preview for Sissy

Barlow and Senes let the situation simmer, with plenty going on to keep viewers entertained.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Travelling to a remote location to celebrate the hen night of her childhood best friend, a woman re-encounters her childhood bully, who is once again determined to make her suffer.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2022; Director: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes; Writer: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes; Stars: Aisha Dee, Hannah Barlow, Emily De Margheriti, Daniel Monks, Yerin Ha, Lucy Barrett, Shaun Martindale, Amelia Lule, April Blasdall, Camille Cumpston)

Full review See: Interview with Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes about Sissy

Skinamarink

Review preview for Skinamarink

Films like this come along once in a generation.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find that their father is missing and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Kyle Edward Ball; Writer: Kyle Edward Ball; Stars: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Jaime Hill, Ross Paul)

Full review See: Interview with Kyle Edward Ball about Skinamarink

Space Monster Wangmagwi (Ujugoe-in Wangmagwi)

Review preview for Space Monster Wangmagwi

From silver-painted cardboard alien spacesuits to the vague puffs of smoke which stand in for a death ray, there’s a good deal in this film that will endear it to genre fans with a fondness for the era.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Aliens arrive from another world, seeking the conquest of Earth. They unleash a gigantic monster who destroys everything in his path with a powerful death ray.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 1967; Director: Gwon Hyeok-jinn; Writer: Byeon Ha-yeong; Stars: Won Namkung, Kim Seon-kyeong, Han Eun-jin, Kim Hie-gab)

Full review

Speak No Evil

Review preview for Speak No Evil

Tafdrup chooses to follow the more familiar route, carrying events to a natural extreme, but in a way this lets the Danish couple off the hook.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A Danish family visits a Dutch family they met on a holiday. What was supposed to be an idyllic weekend slowly starts unraveling as the Danes try to stay polite in the face of unpleasantness.

(Country: Denmark, Netherlands; Year: 2022; Director: Christian Tafdrup; Writer: Christian Tafdrup, Mads Tafdrup; Stars: Morten Burian, Sidsel Siem Koch, Fedja van Huêt, Karina Smulders, Liva Forsberg, Marius Damslev, Hichem Yacoubi, Lea Baastrup Rønne, Jesper Dupont, Sieger Sloot, Andrea Benucci, Adrian Blanchard, Alessio Barni, Ilaria Casai, Ilaria Di Raimo)

Full review

Special Delivery

Review preview for Special Delivery

Alongside the thrilling driving sequences, there are some great fight scenes of the variety which shun polish and show us characters who really look like they’re suffering.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
"I deliver everything that the post office service does not handle." Eun-ha, who is a normal junkyard employee, secretly works as a delivery clerk that deals with unusual delivery requests.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Park Dae-min; Writer: Park Dae-min; Stars: Park So-dam, Heo Dong-won, Kim Eui-sung, Jo Hee-bong)

Full review See: Interview with Park Dae-min about Special Delivery

Stellar: A Magical Ride

When an ace in the car loan industry, loses a luxury car loaded with drugs belonging to the local mafia, and must get it back with only his late father’s beat up vehicle to help him.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Kwon Soo-kyung; Writer: Kwon Soo-kyung; Stars: Song Ho-jun)

Tang And Me

In a realistic future, Ken has decided to give up his dream of becoming a doctor following the tragic death of his father. When his wife throws him out of the house, he is stuck with Tang, a clunky robot who follows him despite his annoyance.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Takahiro Miki; Stars: Kazunari Ninomiya)

That Kind Of Summer

Three women are spending “that kind of summer” in a quiet house by a lake, talking about (their) sexuality – from trauma to non-stop lust. A therapist is on hand to supervise them, a reversal of roles cannot be ruled out. The future is open.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Denis Côté; Writer: Denis Côté; Stars: Larissa Corriveau, Laure Giappiconi, Samir Guesmi, Aude Mathieu, Hinde Rabbaj, Anne Ratte-Polle)

Topology Of Sirens

After discovering a set of cryptic microcassettes in her new home, Cas is drawn into a meditative mystery of environmental sound and experimental music.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Jonathan Davies; Writer: Jonathan Davies, Brendan Mattox; Stars: Courtney Stephens, Whitney Johnson, Jeff Kober, Samantha Robinson, Langley Hemingway)

Vesper

Review preview for Vesper

A story which is, ultimately, about learning to think differently, to change the way that we direct our attention and resources in order to open up the possibility of renewal.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
At some point in the future the Earth’s ecosystem collapses. A tough 13-year-old called Vesper, whose father is paralysed, tries to get food for them wherever she can. When she finds a mysterious woman in the forest one day she starts to hope that things will change.

(Country: Lithuania, France, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper; Writer: Kristina Buozyte, Brian Clark, Bruno Samper; Stars: Raffiella Chapman, Eddie Marsan, Rosy McEwen, Richard Brake, Melanie Gaydos, Edmund Dehn, Titas Rukas, Markas Eimontas, Markas Sagaitis, Marijus Demiskis, Matvej Buravkov)

Full review See: Interview with Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper about Vesper

We Might As Well Be Dead (Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein, Iris)

The disappearance of a dog and the sudden isolation of a security guard’s daughter start a bizarre chain of events in an apartment complex obsessed with keeping up appearances.

(Country: Germany, Romania; Year: 2022; Director: Natalia Sinelnikova; Writer: Viktor Gallandi, Natalia Sinelnikova; Stars: Ioana Iacob, Pola Geiger, Jörg Schüttauf, Siir Eloglu, Susanne Wuest, Knut Berger, Moritz Jahn, Mina Sadic, Felix Jordan, Ludwig Brix)

What's Up Connection (Tenamonya Connection)

A family in Hong Kong wins multiple holiday prizes at the same time. We follow the oldest son on his trip to Japan, where he meets a Japanese tour guide and an eccentric thief.

(Country: Japan, Hong Kong; Year: 1990; Director: Masashi Yamamoto; Writer: Masashi Yamamoto; Stars: Reiko Arai, Wai-Kit Tse, Li Cheong, Lee Wai-lam, Takako Noda)

What To Do With The Dead Kaiju?

Review preview for What To Do With The Dead Kaiju?

The trouble is that all of this has been done on a very low budget and the special effects which director Satoshi Miki has been able to muster don’t match up to his ambitions.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
A large monster attacks Japan, but dies suddenly. While the people rejoice and bask in relief, the giant corpse left behind begins to slowly rot and bloat. If it explodes, the nation will be destroyed.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Satoshi Miki; Writer: Satoshi Miki; Stars: Ryôsuke Yamada, Tao Tsuchiya, Gaku Hamada, Joe Odagiri, Toshiyuki Nishida, Hidekazu Mashima)

Full review

Whether The Weather Is Fine (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon)

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, in the Philippines, a young man is searching for a missing loved one as another storm approaches.

(Country: Philippines, France, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, Qatar; Year: 2021; Director: Carlo Francisco Manatad; Writer: Giancarlo Abrahan, Jérémie Dubois, Carlo Francisco Manatad; Stars: Charo Santos-Concio, Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol, Nico Antonio)

The Witch 2: The Other One (The Witch: Part 2. The Other One)

Review preview for The Witch 2: The Other One

Park’s outstanding skill lies in his ability to deliver this such that it ticks the supernatural boxes – impossible speed, agility and strength – yet still feels visceral.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A teenager with unusual powers escapes from an experimental facility and finds refuge with two siblings, but very dangerous people are looking for her.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Park Hoon-jung; Writer: Park Hoon-jung; Stars: Cynthia, Lee Jong-Suk, Jin Goo, Jo Min-su, Kim Da-Mi)

Full review