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Fantaspoa · 2024

Fantaspoa 2024

Features

Programme

111 films · 39 reviews

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7 Lives

No information yet.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Alejo Rébora)

Albert Pyun King of Cult Movies

The story of the prolific low-budget filmmaker known as the post-Apocalyptic Ed Wood.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Lisa D'Apolito; Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Christopher Lambert, Seth Green, Ice-T, Chad Stahelski, Albert Pyun, Norbet Weisser)

All You Need Is Blood

An aspiring teen filmmaker casts the perfect lead for his breakout zombie film: his undead dad.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Bucky Le Boeuf, Cooper Roberts; Writer: Bucky Le Boeuf, Cooper Roberts; Stars: Logan Riley Bruner, Amanda Bruton, Christopher Cardoza, Emily Casey, Emma Chasse, Hailey Foss)

Anna's Feelings

A simple worker of a Perm chocolate factory begins to hear the voices of extraterrestrial civilisations.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2023; Director: Anna Melikyan; Writer: Anna Melikyan; Stars: Ekaterina Andreeva, Mariya Berdinskikh, Fyodor Butin, Roman Ershow, Elena Fomina)

Another Cursed Movie (Otra Película Maldita)

A history of Argentine horror cinema, from its beginnings in 1934 to present day. A path of defeat, dead-end streets and triumphs, where the protagonists will lead us through the lesser known hallways of local horror.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2023; Director: Alberto Fasce, Mario Varela; Writer: Alberto Fasce, Mario Varela; Stars: Diego Curubeto, Daniel de la Vega, Fabián Forte, Clara Kovacic, Darío Lavia, Damián Leibovich)

Atmosphere (Atmosfera)

Edmundo is the caretaker of a ranch in São Paulo. He lives isolated in nature. His mother's presence haunts him with poetry and memories of the hinterland where he was born. The fine line between memory and delirium leads Edmundo to plunge into fantasies.

(Country: Brazil, Germany; Year: 2023; Director: Paulo Caldas; Writer: Paulo Caldas, Dillner Gomes, Daniela Magro; Stars: Milhem Cortaz, Peter Ketnath, João Miguel, Luka Omoto)

Aviva

After meeting online, transatlantic lovers Aviva and Eden embark on a tumultuous courtship, love affair and marriage. The couple struggles, separates, and tries to get back together, as dual aspects of each one's personality battles forces inside and out.

(Country: US, France; Year: 2020; Director: Boaz Yakin; Writer: Boaz Yakin; Stars: Zina Zinchenko, Bobbi Jene Smith, Tyler Phillips, Or Schraiber, Omri Drumlevich)

Azrael

Review preview for Azrael

We get demonstrations of skill, from the weaving of a bracelet to the use of herbs to treat a wound, and these elements reinforce the idea that this is a real society which has developed organically over time.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Many years following the apocalypse, a devout cult of mute zealots hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment.

(Country: Estonia, US; Year: 2024; Director: EL Katz; Writer: Simon Barrett; Stars: Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett)

Full review

Ba

Review preview for Ba

It’s not a particularly sophisticated parable, but it doesn’t need to be. The central performances are strong and the bond between father and daughter feels real even when other elements do not.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A single father is deceived into a treacherous career as the Grim Reaper, while his precocious daughter grows increasingly suspicious of his whereabouts.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Benjamin Wong; Writer: Benjamin Wong; Stars: Lawrence Kao, Kai Cech, Brian Thompson, Michael Paul Chan, Stephanie Czajkowski, Alyson Van)

Full review

Baby Assassins 2: Babies

Review preview for Baby Assassins 2: Babies

Sakamoto manages to keep this light and charming even when people are bleeding, struggling to breathe or actually dying in the dirt.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The kick-ass assassins with slacker tendencies are back.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Yugo Sakamoto; Writer: Yugo Sakamoto; Stars: Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Oto Abe, Tatsuomi Hamada, Junpei Hashino, Joey Iwanaga, Atom Mizuishi, Tsubasa Tobinaga, Nakai Tomo, Tetsu Watanabe)

Full review

Bark

When a man wakes up to find himself bound and helpless in the woods, he is relieved by the arrival of an outdoorsman - but as the outdoorsman pitches camp nearby, he realises that he does not intend to save him, and he has no idea why.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2023; Director: Marc Schölermann; Writer: Steve Fauquier; Stars: Michael Weston, Crazy Horse, Lennon Sickels)

Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (Droste No Hate De Bokura)

Review preview for Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes

High concept films like this can easily go awry, but Makoto Ueda’s script somehow manages to stay on the ball throughout.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A café owner discovers that the TV in his café suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Junta Yamaguchi; Writer: Makoto Ueda; Stars: Aki Asakura, Riko Fujitani, Gôta Ishida, Yoshifumi Sakai, Kazunari Tosa)

Full review

Bionica

A quadriplegic woman undergoes unusual treatment to regain her mobility and also gain other skills.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Sebastian Perillo; Writer: Gabriel Medina, Sebastian Perillo, William Prociuk; Stars: Fabián Arenillas, Julia Martínez Rubio, Luciana Grasso, Satiago Pedrero, Guvasio Usaj)

Blind Cop 2

Review preview for Blind Cop 2

Director Alec Bonk knows the language of tough guy action films perfectly, and star George Fearing has the physique to make it work.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When an influx of illegal weapons trafficking explodes onto the scene, a grieving blind police officer must purge the city streets or risk mass chaos breaking loose.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Alec Bonk; Writer: Alec Bonk, Augustin Huffman, Isaac McKinnon; Stars: George Fearing, Isaac McKinnon, Steven Vogel, Brandon DeSpain, Brad Wakeman, Ann Sweet, David E McMahon)

Full review

Boyfriend Double (Dublê De Namorado)

A biology student gets involved in a cloning experiment as he tries to reconcile his desire to be faithful to his girlfriend with his longing for a parallel life in which he can sleep around.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2024; Director: Christopher Faust; Writer: Christopher Faust; Stars: Gustavo Piaskoski, Mia Bueno, Giovanna Negrelli, Daniel Del Sarto, Manuella Prestas)

Breathing In

Review preview for Breathing In

Succeeds in creating and maintaining a chilly atmosphere of the sort rarely found in modern cinema.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young soldier fighting in the Second Boer War finds himself ill at ease when sheltering in a hut with a mysterious woman and her beautiful daughter.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2023; Director: Jaco Bouwer; Writer: Jaco Bouwer, Reza de Wet; Stars: Michele Burgers, Sven Ruygrok, Jamie-Lee Money, Lionel Newton)

Full review

Brutal Heat (Brutální vedro)

A massive segment of the Sun has broken off and is heading for Earth, whose surface is slowly heating up to an unbearable level... against this backdrop a teen gets stranded.

(Country: Czech Republic, Slovak Republic; Year: 2023; Director: Albert Hospodářský; Writer: Albert Hospodářský; Stars: Vincent Hospodářský, Zdeňka Petrová, Milan Mikulčík, Václav Kopelec, Ivana Uhlířová, Tereza Dočkalová, Marta Bačíková, Anežka Kalivodová, Marta Vítů, Petr Motl)

Cat Call (Cicaverzum)

Review preview for Cat Call

It’s a film full of small acts of kindness, a film in which it’s possible to make mistakes and keep on going, and in which the audience is therefore at liberty to be entertained by a series of scrapes which might otherwise be mortifying.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
An architect finds her search for love complicated by the fact that whenever she falls for someone she forsees their death.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2023; Director: Rozália Szeleczki; Writer: Zsófia Kemény, Rozália Szeleczki; Stars: Franciska Töröcsik, Antal Agatics, Róbert Alföldi, Gergely Blahó, Bálint Bán, Adél Csobot, Zoltán Friedenthal, László Göndör, Aladár Horváth, Zsófia Kemény, Tibor Kiss, Anna Korom, Attila Lestyán, Vincze Lotár, Márta Martin)

Full review

Children Of The Wicker Man

Review preview for Children Of The Wicker Man

The popular concept of genius is thoroughly subverted here.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about The Wicker Man and its legacy.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy, Chris Nunn)

Full review

Clarice's Dream

No information yet.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2023; Director: Fernando Gutierrez, Guto Bicalho)

The Complex Forms

Review preview for The Complex Forms

This is an exercise in glamour in both its modern and archaic senses.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
There is an ancient villa where desperate people have the opportunity to solve their fate by selling their body to a mysterious entity in exchange for money. When enormous, centuries-old creatures emerge from the deep woods surrounding the villa, a series of strange and sinister events pushes three unlikely guests to band together to attempt a desperate escape.

(Country: Italian; Year: 2023; Director: Fabio D'Orta; Writer: Fabio D'Orta; Stars: David White, Michele Venni, Cesare Bonomelli, Enzo Solazzi, Giovanni Corridori, Giovanni Pochetti)

Full review

Consumed

A married couple, Jay and Beth taking a celebratory camping trip a year after Beth's cancer remission but they find themselves trapped between a wild madman and a skin stealing monster.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Mitchell Altieri; Writer: David Calbert; Stars: Devon Sawa, Mark Famiglietti, Courtney Halverson)

Dark Matter (Maade Tarik)

An actor and actress are brought together during a casting for a mainstream film. They don’t get the roles, so they decide to make their own film instead... one which defies censorship rules.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2023; Director: Karim Lakzadeh; Writer: Karim Lakzadeh; Stars: Mahdis "Shaadab" Mahdiyar, Iman Sayyadborhani, Keivan Parmar, Raha Soleimani)

Dark My Light

Review preview for Dark My Light

Though it plays around with science fiction and finds wry humour in reflecting elements of the procedural, this is ultimately a film about something more fundamental to human experience.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Mitchell Morse's investigation into a serial killer in a sleepy beach town is complicated by a severed foot on the beach, his fracturing relationship with his wife, and his own slipping sanity.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Neal Dhand; Writer: Neal Dhand; Stars: Albert Jones, Keesha Sharp, Tom Lipinski, GJ Thompson, Steven Sean Garland)

Full review

Daughter Of The Sun

A man with Tourette syndrome and his daughter join a community of friendly nomadic strangers whose kindness conceals a darker intention

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: Ryan Ward; Stars: Nyah Perkin, Lennox Leacock)

Demigod: The Legend Begins

Witness the legend's origin.

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

Deviant

No details yet.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Daniel M Caneiro; Writer: Daniel M Caneiro; Stars: Urko Olazabal, Alain Hernández, Noelia Domínguez, Fernando Albizu, Gaston Haag)

Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Rache)

Review preview for Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge

Thankfully the spectacular ending – all done with life size sets, which left Lang and his team no option but to pull it off in one take – remains intact.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Princess Kriemhild vows to avenge her husband's murder but must overcome her brothers who swore allegiance to Hagen. She marries Attila the Hun and persuades his army to attack Hagen, but there will be a terrible price to pay.

(Country: Germany; Year: 1924; Director: Fritz Lang; Writer: Thea von Harbou; Stars: Margarete Schön, Gertrud Arnold, Theodor Loos, Hans Carl Mueller, Erwin Biswanger)

Full review

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

Review preview for Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

Lang’s emotional distance allows the story to unfold without sensationalism or judgement, preserving its critical moments of ambiguity.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, sets off on a treacherous journey to the Kingdom of Burgundy to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Princess Kriemhild.

(Country: Germany; Year: 1924; Director: Fritz Lang; Writer: Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou; Stars: Paul Richter, Margarete Schön, Theodor Loos, Gertrud Arnold, Hanna Ralph)

Full review

The Disinvited

Against his-or-anyones better judgment, Carl decides to crash an event where he is no longer welcome, setting off a day filled with betrayal, violence, heartache, and exes who should never get back together. When he discovers he isn't the only unwelcome guest in the desert, he is forced to decide whether to save himself or risk everything for those who have wronged him.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Devin Lawrence; Writer: Devin Lawrence, Matthew Mourgides; Stars: Ronnie Gene Blevins, Sam Daly, Mia Challis, Patrick Gallo, Ingrid Haas)

Dome (Domo)

No details yet.

(Country: Spain, Colombia; Year: 2023; Director: Tayo Cortés; Writer: Tayo Cortés; Stars: Christoph Baumann, Richard Wilson Cortés, Pedro Guerrero Riascos)

Eight Eyes

Review preview for Eight Eyes

Austin Jennings builds up his story from little details whilst viewers are gripped by the tension between the three leads.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
At the breaking point of their dysfunctional marriage, a couple take a trip through Serbia. After meeting a mysterious local who eagerly offers to be their guide, they embark on an impromptu sightseeing expedition that soon takes a series of sinister turns.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Austin Jennings; Writer: Austin Jennings; Stars: Emily Sweet, Brad Thomas, Bruno Veljanovski)

Full review

Encounters (Контакты)

Review preview for Encounters

With its use of extreme close-ups and focus on odd details, its heavy investment in atmosphere and its absurdist asides, Encounters is a visually hypnotising film, engaged in its own experiments with shifting perspective.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A nurse caring for a weakened alien begins to oppose a group of corrupt officials who are intimidating him and extracting a valuable substance from him.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2023; Director: Dmitry Moiseev; Writer: Dmitry Moiseev; Stars: Irina Salikova, Andrey Artamonov, Denis Filimonov, Sergey Gilev, Ivan Kozin, Andrey Kuznetsov, Elena Lychagina)

Full review

Endless Summer Syndrome (Le syndrome de l'eté sans fin)

A family holiday - and a perfect life - turn sour when a secret is revealed.

(Country: Czech Republic, France; Year: 2023; Director: Kaveh Daneshmand; Writer: Laurine Bauby, Kaveh Daneshmand, Gem Deger; Stars: Sophie Colon, Matheo Capelli, Gem Deger, Frédérika Milano, Roland Plantin, Patricia Piolet, Nikolina Menik Tute, Margaret Elizabeth Ousey, Geneviéve Agnès Bocquet, Eva Larvoire, Sara Pizarro, Elena Vederi)

Enter The Clones Of Bruce Lee (Enter The Clones Of Bruce)

Review preview for Enter The Clones Of Bruce Lee

A fascinating portrait of a cinematic era which will leave those who remain martial arts fans with a lot of titles to hunt down.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about the men drafted in to fill the gap and keep audiences happy after the death of cinema's greatest martial arts star.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: David Gregory; Stars: Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Lo, Bruce Liang)

Full review

Faceless After Dark

Following her breakout success in a killer clown horror flick, a young actor finds herself held hostage by an unhinged fan determined to recreate the film's fatal plot.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Raymond Wood; Writer: Todd Jacobs, Jenna Kanell; Stars: Jenna Kanell, Danny Kang, Danielle Lynn, Michael Aaron Milligan)

Failure!

Review preview for Failure!

It’s a gem of a role for Raimi, who delivers the smooth talk and captures the high flying businessman look perfectly but shows us the human being behind them.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Due to a massive debt with his bank, James is given one hour to choose between financial ruin or murder to protect his family. Shot in one single take with no cuts.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2023; Director: Alex Kahuam; Writer: Alex Kahuam; Stars: Ted Raimi, Merrick McCartha , Noel Douglas Orput, Melissa Diaz)

Full review

Fantastic Golem Affairs (El Fantástico Caso Del Golem)

Two friends find themselves on a rooftop terrace after an intense party in Madrid. Juan witnesses David falling to the void, and his body disintegrating into ceramic pieces after hitting a car.

(Country: Spain, Estonia; Year: 2023; Director: Juan González, Nando Martínez; Writer: Juan González, Nando Martínez; Stars: Brays Efe, David Menéndez, Luis Tosar, Bruna Cusí, Aimar Vega, Clara Sans)

Forest Killer (Lesní vrah)

The case of Viktor Kalivoda, the forest killer. He shot and killed three people in Czech and Moravian forests in 2005. The story is framed by a pair of main character's suicide attempts.

(Country: Czech Republic; Year: 2024; Director: Radim Spacek; Writer: Zdenek Holý)

The Funeral

A lonely hearse driver falls in love with his passenger after she wakes up and starts moving around - taking her hunger for human flesh in his stride.

(Country: Turkey; Year: 2023; Director: Orcun Behram)

The G

Review preview for The G

While Ann can handle a knife, there’s a sense that her look might just as easily strike others dead.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
After a corrupt legal guardian ruins her life, a gran sets out for revenge.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: Karl R Hearne; Writer: Karl R Hearne; Stars: Dale Dickey, Romane Denis, Roc Lafortune, Bruce Ramsay, Jonathan Koensgen)

Full review See: Karl R Hearne on the inspiration for The G, those who target the old and the portrayal of female sexuality as a radical act , Putting The G in Vengeance - Dale Dickey on her role as a gran bent on revenge

A Game In The Woods

After a Texas rancher dies, his granddaughter and her girlfriend discover masked hunters at his ranch competing in a twisted game of life and death. Will the beauties and their already rocky romance survive the brutal carnage?

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Mike McCutchen; Stars: John P Crowley, Emily Skeen, Grace Robbins, Eleanor Newman, Doug Field, Jameson Pitts)

The Glass House

The life of ambitious architect Victoria changes after her daughter disappears, accused of drug trafficking. Victoria launches her own investigation and tries to prove her daughter's innocence and avoid losing an important project.

(Country: Ukraine, Cyprus, Romania, Germany; Year: 2023; Director: Taras Dron; Writer: Taras Dron, Jakub Prysak, Igor Savychenko; Stars: Iryna Ostrovska, Oleksandr Bashkirov, Daryna Fedyna, Irma Vitovska, Oleksii Sova)

A Halloween Feast

The tale of a dysfunctional family which ends in tragedy. And it's kind of funny.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Guile Branco; Writer: Guile Branco, Arthur McClen; Stars: Lynn Lowry, Julia Coulter, Guile Branco, Lou D'Amato, Asia Lynn Pitts, Pancho Moler)

The Hands Of Orlac (Orlacs Hände)

Review preview for The Hands Of Orlac

One of the most impressive horror films of the silent era.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. He is given new ones - taken from a man executed for murder.

(Country: Austria; Year: 1924; Director: Robert Wiene; Writer: Louis Nerz, based on the book by Maurice Renard; Stars: Conrad Veidt, Alexandra Sorina, Fritz Strassny, Paul Askonas, Carmen Cartellieri)

Full review

Harakiri Squad

Review preview for Harakiri Squad

The film utililses typical Japanese broad humour and a lot of innuendo, but for the most part it manages to keep up the pace and maintain an element of tension.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A group of thieves is recruited for a dangerous mission which turns out to have a personal twist.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2024; Director: Ryosuke Kanesaki; Stars: Kazuaki Ishii, Ryuji Sato, Shohei Hashimoto, Shin Koyanagi,Tomoki Hirose)

Full review

Haunted Ulster Live

On Halloween night 1998, TV veteran Gerry Burns, teams up with popular children's presenter Michelle Kelly to investigate poltergeist activity in a haunted house on the Castlereagh Road in Belfast. A séance causes the broadcast to descend into chaos when the youngest child is mysteriously abducted by an unseen force and the two presenters must face their greatest fears on live TV.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Dominic O'Neill; Stars: Aimee Richardson, Mark Claney, Antoinette Morelli)

Heavier Is The Sky

When Teresa and Antônio find an abandoned child, the two embark on a road trip. The common past, for them, is the memory of a city submerged at the bottom of a dam.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2023; Director: Petrus Cariry; Writer: Petrus Cariry, Firmino Holanda, Rosemberg Cariry; Stars: Matheus Nachtergaele, Ana Luiza Rios, Silvia Buarque)

Hidden City (Ciudad Oculta)

A queer gang of carnival musicians engage readily in clashes with the police. When a member of their clique dies, the law gets in their way once again, as the gateway to the afterlife – and thus the place to farewell the deceased – happens to be located in the middle of the police station.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Francisco Bouzas; Writer: Francisco Bouzas)

The Horned Frog (El Escuerzo)

In the year 1866, a young gaucho embarks on a journey to escape from a curse through a war-torn region, desperately seeking salvation among rustlers, priests, shamans and deserters.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2023; Director: Augusto Sinay; Writer: Augusto Sinay; Stars: Cristobal Lopez Baena, Lucía Castro, Javier Pereira, Valeria Beltramo, Ciro Cavo Beltramo)

The Hyperborean

A seasoned crisis manager navigates a dysfunctional family and their faltering whisky company through a PR disaster involving triple homicide, Arctic ice mummies, and intergalactic moonshine.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: Jesse Thomas Cook; Writer: Tony Burgess; Stars: Liv Collins, Tony Burgess, Jessica Vano, Ry Barrett, Jonathan Craig)

(Iconic)

In downtown Los Angeles a model influencer struggles to maintain her sanity after an internet scandal, violent stalker and new love interest threaten to turn her life upside down.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Matthew Freiheit; Writer: Matthew Freiheit; Stars: Dylan Bonansigna, Chris Boudreaux, Noor Dabash, Roxette Arisa Howe)

I'll Crush Y'All (Os Reviento)

A retired boxer lives quietly in the countryside with his father and his dog, but one day his past comes back to haunt him.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2023; Director: Kike Narcea; Writer: Kike Narcea; Stars: Mario Mayo, Diego París, Fabia Castro, Fernando Gil, Antonio Mayans, Raúl Jiménez)

The Invisible Fight (Nähtamatu võitlus)

Review preview for The Invisible Fight

Sometimes the rumblings are of the Shaw Brothers, at others the Marx Brothers.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A kung-fu comedy set in an Orthodox Monastery in 1970s Soviet Union.

(Country: Estonia, Latvia, Greece, Finland; Year: 2023; Director: Rainer Sarnet; Writer: Rainer Sarnet; Stars: Ursel Tilk, Ester Kuntu, Indrek Sammul, Kaarel Pogga)

Full review

The Invisible Raptor

Review preview for The Invisible Raptor

It’s inventive throughout, well worked out in terms of effects, and equipped with characters we can really get to know, with some great work even in the smallest roles.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A raptor created as part of a top secret military experiment escapes from the lab and threatens the residents of a small town. Oh, and it's also invisible.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Mike Hermosa; Writer: Mike Capes, Johnny Wickham; Stars: Mike Capes, Derek Alvarado, Sean Astin, Chad Bullard, Vanessa Chester, Grace Demarco, Bobby Gilchrist, Larry Hankin, Bill Kottkamp, Bunny Levine, Sandy Martin, Caitlin McHugh, Linda Eve Miller, Kelly Murtagh, JJ Nolan)

Full review

The Island Between Tides

Review preview for The Island Between Tides

Supporting its central idea with additional themes around identity, perception and mental illness, The Island Between Tides weaves a beguiling tale.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young woman follows a mysterious melody onto a remote tidal island. When she crosses back over at the next low tide, she emerges into a world where 25 years have passed.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Austin Andrews, Andrew Holmes; Writer: Austin Andrews, JM Barrie, Andrew Holmes; Stars: Paloma Kwiatkowski, Donal Logue, David Mazouz, Camille Sullivan, Adam Beach, Matthew MacCaull, Megan Charpentier)

Full review See: Interview with Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes about The Island Between Tides, part two , Interview with Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes about The Island Between Tides

I, Nirvana

No information yet.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2024; Director: Roger Elarrat; Writer: Roger Elarrat; Stars: Carol Oliveira, Manuela do Monte, Joyce Cursino, Mony Gester, Henrique da Paz)

Jeit

Jeit Engranaje takes a journey through three phases. He must confront his inner demons and embrace death as a possibility for liberation from his hate: his spirit rises, leaving behind the darkness and embracing the light of freedom.

(Country: Argentina, Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Carlos Ángel Luppi, Daniel Schäfer; Writer: Carlos Ángel Luppi; Stars: Adrian Van Der Borch, Daniel Surasky, Ernestina Gatti, Sergio Ferreiro)

Jorge & Alberto Vs. The Neoliberal Demons (Jorge Y Alberto Contra Los Demonios Neoliberales)

Jorge and Alberto, two magicians from Buenos Aires, are visited by the president, who wants them to rescue her daughter.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2014; Director: Gonzalo Quintana, Hernán Quintana; Writer: Martín Blousson, Valentín Javier Diment, Gonzalo Quintana; Stars: Luis Aranosky, Monina Bonelli, Andrea Carballo, Ceci Czornogas)

Jupiter

As a comet threatens Earth, a shy teenage girl has to make a decision. Should she pursue her own path on Earth or follow her parents, members of a cosmic cult, in undergoing a fatal procedure that will lead to a higher existence on Jupiter?

(Country: Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Benjamin Pfohl; Stars: Greta Bohacek, Cosima Shaw, Kai Ivo Baulitz)

Keratyna

An accidental witness gets drawn into conspiratorial beliefs.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2023; Director: Miguel Azurmendi; Writer: Miguel Azurmendi; Stars: Jordi Aguilar, Maiken Beitia, Ramón Langa, Pablo Lapastora Martín, Mireira Oriol, Fernando Ramallo)

Kim's Video

Review preview for Kim's Video

Unashamedly quirky but burtsting with the love of film, this is the sort of one-off doc that’s as much about the engaging playfulness of its construction as it is the content.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Playing with the forms and tropes of various cinema genres, the filmmaker sets off on a quest to find a legendary lost video collection of 55,000 movies in Sicily.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin)

Full review

The Last Spark Of Hope (W Nich Cala Nadzieja)

After the end of the climate wars, there is probably one person left on Earth. She lives with Robot named Arthur. One day, Eve comes into conflict with Robot and starts a deadly battle for survival.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2023; Director: Piotr Biedroń; Writer: Piotr Biedroń; Stars: Jacek Beler, Magdalena Wieczorek)

Let The Moon Be My Moon

A forlorn filmmaker reinterprets his missteps as a surreal motovlog, reflecting upon displacement and identity.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: AD Calvo; Writer: AD Calvo)

Liminal Space

No information yet.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2023; Director: Gabriel Papaléo)

Listen Carefully (Baby Monitor)

Review preview for Listen Carefully

This would require serious work from any actor, and Barton-Grimley is not up to the task, with even his parental terror failing to convince.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
When troubled assistant bank manager Andy McNeary's baby daughter goes missing, he must follow the instructions of a mysterious voice on the other end of a baby monitor to save her before she disappears forever.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Ryan Barton-Grimley; Writer: Ryan Barton-Grimley; Stars: Ryan Barton-Grimley, Ari Schneider, Simone Barton-Grimley)

Full review

M

The world has been ravaged by a pandemic. Alone and outside the safety of the forest, Marko faces a shattered world shrouded in silence and danger.

(Country: North Macedonia, Croatia, France, Kosovo, Luxembourg; Year: 2023; Director: Vardan Tozija; Writer: Darijan Pejovski, Vardan Tozija; Stars: Matej Sivakov, Sasko Kocev, Toni Mihajlovski, Kamka Tocinovski)

Mami Wata

Review preview for Mami Wata

Using very simple props, Obasi constructs a whole world in this small coastal location.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When the harmony in a village is threatened by outside elements, two sisters must fight to save their people and restore the glory of a mermaid goddess to the land.

(Country: Nigeria; Year: 2023; Director: CJ "Fiery" Obasi; Writer: CJ "Fiery" Obasi; Stars: Evelyne Ily, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Kelechi Udegbe, Emeka Amakeze, Rita Edochie, Tough Bone)

Full review

Marisa Y Gomoso

A giant teddy bear who became famous in kids TV shows, now lives the day to day as an Uber driver.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2023; Director: Pablo Parés; Stars: Bruno Giacobbe, Nacho Joshas, Bianca Temperini, Dani Zalenco)

Mastergame (Mesterjátszma)

A young, revolutionary couple aboard the last train leaving Budapest after the Russian invasion of 1956.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2023; Director: Barnabás Tóth; Writer: Barnabás Tóth, Tibor Fonyódi, Stefan Zweig; Stars: Károly Hajduk, Pál Mácsai, Gergely Váradi, Varga-Járó Sára, Bori Péterfy)

The Monster With Many Noses (L'Home Dels Nassos)

No information yet.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2023; Director: Abigail Schaaff; Writer: Eric Moral, Núria Velasco; Stars: Ivan Benet, Joan Frank Charansonnet, Pablo Derqui, Sali Diallo)

The Moor

Review preview for The Moor

Cronin... perfectly captures the atmosphere of the little houses clustered around the moor, the distinctive quality of the light within them, the way that they feel like a small bastion of safety against the vastness of night.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Claire was just a child when her best friend was abducted and murdered. 25 years later, Bill, the dead boy's father, has a plan to learn the truth about what really happened. With the help of psychic Eleanor, they venture deep into a haunted moor to find his son’s supposed resting place. But they find more than just the ghosts of dead children, for something dark and evil stirs at their presence.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Chris Cronin; Writer: Paul Thomas; Stars: Sophia La Porta, David Edward Robertson, Bernard Hill, Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips)

Full review See: Interview with Chris Cronin about The Moor

Motherboard (Placa-Mãe)

Nadi is an android with citizenship, who earns the right to adopt two children. However, a sensationalist politician, brings up several controversies about the case, in order to gain popularity for his candidacy for Senate president.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2023; Director: Igor bastos; Writer: Igor Bastos; Stars: Áurea Baptista, Guilherme Barcellos, Keka Bittencourt, Marcello Crawshaw, Carlos Cunha, Stevan Gaipo)

Motion Picture: Choke

In a dystopian future where speech has been lost, a woman tries to survive on her own.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Gen Nagao; Stars: Misa Wada, Takashi Nishina, Daiki Hiba)

Mushrooms

While collecting mushrooms and herbs in the forest, an old lady stumbles upon a young couple who have gotten lost. They beg her to help them escape the woods, but the old lady quickly senses that something isn’t right.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2023; Director: Pawel Borowski; Writer: Pawel Borowski)

The Mutation Protocol

No information yet.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Marcelo Leguiza)

My Mother's Eyes

A mother and daughter who achieve love and honesty through imaginary bodies when a futuristic contact lens device, with a built-in camera and VR goggles, changes their lives forever.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Takeshi Kushida; Stars: Akane Ono, Mone Shitara, Takuma Izumi, Shusaku Uchida)

Once Again (For The Very First Time)

A street dancer and a young spoken-word poet reflect on their lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Boaz Yakin; Writer: Boaz Yakin; Stars: Jeroboam Bozeman, Mecca Verdell, Emma Faith Bullard, Dupree Francois Porter, Tommy Raps, Melvin Taylor II, Ricardo Manigat, Zarrette Rogers, Iroko Anyogu, Kevin Alexis Rivera, Joel Leitch, Brandice Peltier, Jonathan Ridore, Emma Youte, Omar Bullock)

The Other Shape (La Otra Forma)

A dialogue-free futuristic film, an intriguing trip through a hallucinatory world.

(Country: Brazil, Colombia; Year: 2022; Director: Diego Felipe Guzmán; Writer: Diego Felipe Guzmán; Stars: Sergio Borbosa, Jessica Herrera, Fabian Blanco)

Our Father, The Devil (Mon Pere, Le Diable)

Review preview for Our Father, The Devil

This is quite simply the best performance of the year, blowing everything else out of the water.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A former child soldier struggling to come to terms with her past finds her world turned upside down with the arrival of a priest whom she belives she recognises.

(Year: 2021; Director: Ellie Foumbi; Writer: Ellie Foumbi; Stars: Babetida Sadjo, Souleymane Sy Savané, Jennifer Tchiakpe, Franck Saurel, Martine Amisse)

Full review See: Interview with Ellie Foumbi about Our Father, The Devil

Pandemonium

A confused traveller refuses to abandon all hope as he enters the gates of Hell.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Quarxx; Writer: Quarxx; Stars: Arben Bajraktaraj, Ophélia Kolb, Manon Maindivide, Hugo Dillon, Sidwell Weber, Carl Laforêt, Jérôme Paquatte)

Pariah (Paria)

A family that has fled from Ghana is overjoyed when they are offered a home in a nice neighborhood in the Netherlands. However, when the father starts seeing terrifying events occurring in their home, a new nightmare begins.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2024; Director: Edson da Conceicao; Writer: Philip Delmaar, Safirah Dijkstra, Marieke Mols; Stars: Kimberley Agyarko, Emmanuel Ohene Boafo, Rian Gerritsen, Micha Hulshof)

Petrol

While working on a deeply personal school project connected to her Russian heritage, Eva meets the mercurial Mia, a performance artist who runs hot and cold, and with whom she develops a close bond bordering on obsession.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2022; Director: Alena Lodkina; Writer: Alena Lodkina; Stars: Nathalie Morris, Hannah Lynch, Emmett Aldred, Daniel Aloisio, Mezi Atwood)

PinkCity: A Psychedelic Meditation

An LSD trip delves deep into the heart of India and the human soul, as a Westerner journeys through foreign land searching for the woman he loves who got lost down the Ganges. A psychedelic experimental/narrative experience.

(Country: US, India; Year: 2024; Director: Nick Gaglia; Writer: Nick Gaglia; Stars: Nick Gaglia, Pradip Ahir, Kether Donohue, Kashi Baba)

Puddysticks

Review preview for Puddysticks

An unashamedly odd little film which carves out a space of its own, Puddysticks has both intelligence and heart.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A burned out young woman joins a secret society of traumatised adults who heal through childlike play.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Megan Seely; Writer: Megan Seely; Stars: Megan Seely, Mamoudou Athie, Dan Bakkedahl, Valeria Cotto, Danny Deferrari, Devin Druid, Josh Fadem)

Full review See: Interview with Megan Seely about Puddysticks

Queen Of Bones

A folktale about twin siblings who suspect their father is hiding secrets to their deceased mother's connection with the supernatural.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Robert Budreau; Writer: Michael Burgner; Stars: Jacob Tremblay, Martin Freeman, Julia Butters, Christopher Heyerdahl, Taylor Schilling)

Rats!

A teenager is arrested for spraying graffiti, while chaos swirls around him.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Carl Fry, Maxwell Nalevansky; Writer: Carl Fry, Maxwell Nalevansky; Stars: Danielle Evon Ploeger, Luke Wilcox, Darius Autry, Khali Sykes, Ariel Ash)

Red Corn (Chuzalongo)

The story of a mythological Andean creature which is said to take the form of a child and then turns into a monster that feeds on the blood of young women.

(Country: Ecuador; Year: 2024; Director: Diego Ortuño; Writer: Diego Ortuño; Stars: Karla Gómez, Alex Cisneros, Wolframio Sinué, Fernando Bacilio)

Remind

No information yet.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2024; Director: Armando Fonseca)

Restless Waters, Shivering Lights

No information yet.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Ángeles Hernández)

River

Review preview for River

Yamaguchi and his regular writer, Makoto Ueda, have such a deep understanding of their characters that it’s the emotional timeline, rather than the physical one, that becomes the subject of real concern.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
One winter in Kibune, Kyoto, people find themselves stuck in a two minute time loop. As others try to work together to find out what's going on, one woman finds herself increasingly isolated.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Junta Yamaguchi; Writer: Makoto Ueda; Stars: Saori, Riko Fujitani, Shiori Kubo, Kazunari Tosa, Yoshimasa Kondô)

Full review

Road To The Mouth Of Hell

No information yet.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2024; Director: Julio Cesar Napoli)

Satranic Panic

Review preview for Satranic Panic

This playful approach is an effective one, making the film very watchable and enabling Mackay to direct viewers’ sympathies with ease.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Following the death of a loved one, best friends embark on a demon-killing spree, but there are stranger things going on than they ever imagined.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2023; Director: Alice Maio Mackay; Writer: Cassie Hamilton, Alice Maio Mackay, Benjamin Pahl Robinson; Stars: Cassie Hamilton, Zarif, Lisa Fanto, Chris Asimos, Prudence Cassar)

Full review

Self Driver

Review preview for Self Driver

It’s well handled throughout and effectively shows off Pierro’s talent for creating tension.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Facing mounting expenses and the unrelenting pressure of modern living, a down-on-his-luck cab driver is lured onto a mysterious new app that promises fast, easy money.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Michael Pierro; Writer: Michael Pierro; Stars: Nathanael Chadwick, Reece Presley, Lauren Welchner, Harold Tausch, Christian Aldo)

Full review

The Shadow Of The Shark (La Sombra Del Tiburón)

Alma is exhausted. Every day she wakes up with the unpleasant feeling that something strange is happening while she sleeps. Desperate, she places a video camera in her room. She is not alone.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego; Writer: Gonzalo López-Gallego; Stars: Alba Galocha, Denis Gómez, Nacho Nugo, Renate, Max Wrottesley)

Shit Happens And Miracles Too

No information yet.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2024; Director: Máncel Martínez)

The Sleeping Woman (La Mujer Dormida)

Ana, a nursing assistant, begins to feel attracted to Agustín, the husband of a woman in a coma whom she cares for. She then begins to be harassed by strange phenomena who want to throw her out of the house and separate her from Agustín.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Laura Alvea; Writer: Daniel González, Miguel Ibáñez Monroy, Marta Armengol; Stars: Almudena Amor, Alicia Lobo, Emy Cazorla, Guacimara Correa, Vera Curbelo)

The Slit-Mouthed Woman Rises (Sensei! Kuchisake-onna Desu!)

Two high school students steal a motorcycle seemingly owned by a Slit-mouthed Woman.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Yu Nakamoto; Writer: Yu Nakamoto; Stars: Yûto Endô, Riku Ichikawa, Kyôka Imamura, Taisei Kido)

Somewhere Quiet

A woman readjusts to normalcy after surviving a traumatic kidnapping — but her grounded sense of reality soon starts to deteriorate when she travels with her husband to his wealthy family’s isolated compound.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Olivia West Lloyd; Writer: Olivia West Lloyd; Stars: Taylor Ava Shung, Emma Hannaway, Eamon Downey. With Jennifer Kim, Kentucker Audley, Marin Ireland)

A Strange Path

A young filmmaker returns to his hometown and attempts to reconnect with his father as the pandemic rapidly accelerates across Brazil. However, their relationship proves to be more complicated with increasingly bizarre phenomena occurring as they get closer.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2023; Director: Guto Parente; Writer: Guto Parente; Stars: Lucas Limeira, Carlos Francisco, Tarzia Firmino, Rita Cabaço)

Suppressed (Nemá tajemství)

No details yet.

(Country: Czech Republic; Year: 2023; Director: Tomas Masin; Writer: Alice Nellis; Stars: Jana Plodková, Milena Steinmasslová, Marian Mitas)

The Tenants (Seibja)

Review preview for The Tenants

An unusually confident first film, stylishly shot in black and white, The Tenants may explore some familiar ideas but it is very much its own thing.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In a dystopian South Korean city, a soon-to-be-evicted tenant decides to complicate the process by renting his toilet out to an eccentric couple, but their strange behaviours soon become unbearable.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2023; Director: Yoon Eun-kyung; Writer: Yoon Eun-kyung; Stars: Heo Dong-won, Kim Dea-geon, Park So-hyun)

Full review

Things Will Be Different

Review preview for Things Will Be Different

Where other such tales have become overly enmeshed in their own structural entanglements, Felker has the good sense to focus on character.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In order to escape police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a metaphysical farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Michael Felker; Writer: Michael Felker; Stars: Adam David Thompson, Riley Dandy, Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, Sarah Bolger, Jori Lynn Felker)

Full review See: Interview with Michael Felker about Things Will Be Different

Trenque Lauquen (Trenque Lauquen Part I, Trenque Lauquen Part II)

Review preview for Trenque Lauquen

Almost every part of this slowburn road to not quite the middle of nowhere could be read either as a clue or a clever maguffin.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Story set in the Argentinian city of the title, centring on an academic who has disappeared. The story is told across two feature films.

(Year: 2022; Director: Laura Citarella; Stars: Elisa Carricajo, Verónica Llinás, Juliana Muras, Laura Paredes, Ezequiel Pierri, Cecilia Rainero, Rafael Spregelburd)

Full review See: Laura Citarella on the winding roads and mysteries of Trenque Lauquen

Visitors

Review preview for Visitors

The line between horror and humour is at least as thin as that veil between the worlds, and crossing it can bring all sorts of things back. This is one of them.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
Haruka, Nana, and Takanori visit the house of Souta, a band member who has lost contact with them. But when they arrive, they find Souta's behavior a little strange.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Ken'ichi Ugana)

Full review

The Wait (La Espera)

Review preview for The Wait

Clavijo’s tightly wound performance keeps the story feeling taut and personal as its larger themes develop.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A gamekeeper seeks revenge on the rich man who persuaded him to agree to a compromise on hunting safety rules which had devastating consequences.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2023; Director: F Javier Gutiérrez; Writer: F Javier Gutiérrez; Stars: Luis Callejo, Pedro Casablanc, Víctor Clavijo)

Full review

Wake

Desperate for a lead role in a Hollywood remake, a struggling actress tracks down the lead of the original film who's now a mysterious recluse. Strange occurrences quickly turn the meeting into a nightmare.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Thom Arizmendi, Austin Parks Stewart; Writer: Elizabeth H Vu; Stars: Fivel Stewart, Jake Holley, Sarab Kamoo, Sadie Earegood, Susan Reno, Cody Sheldon)

The Weird Kidz

Dug, Mel, and Fatt are 12-year-old boys navigating life in their desert suburb. Dug’s older brother Wyatt takes the trio on a camping trip to a canyon with his new, awesome girlfriend Mary. She doesn’t go unnoticed by Mel and Fatt, who have just descended into puberty.  Late bloomer Dug just dreams of smores and ghost stories. On a pit stop, the gas station attendant shares tales of the Night Child, an ancient creature that feeds on tourists.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Zach Passero; Stars: Sean Bridgers, Ellar Coltrane, Angela Bettis, Brian Ceely)

When Evil Lurks

Review preview for When Evil Lurks

The film carries us from a carefree existence made possible by not paying attention, to a crushing tragedy.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In a remote village, two brothers find a demon-infected man just about to give birth to evil itself. They decide to get rid of the man but merely succeed in helping him to deliver the inferno.

(Country: Argentina, US; Year: 2023; Director: Demián Rugna; Writer: Demián Rugna; Stars: Ezequiel Rodríguez, Luis Ziembrowski, Demián Salomón, Marcelo Michianaux, Federico Liss)

Full review

The Wicker Man

Review preview for The Wicker Man

Truly a milestone in British cinema.

Max Blinkhorn · 5 out of 5
A policeman gets more than he bargained for on a remote Scottish isle.

(Country: UK; Year: 1973; Director: Robin Hardy; Writer: Anthony Shaffer; Stars: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Britt Ekland, Ingrid Pitt, Lindsay Kemp, Russell Waters, Aubrey Morris, Irene Sunters, Walter Carr, Ian Campbell, Leslie Blackater, Roy Boyd, Peter Brewis, Barbara Rafferty)

Full review See: Interview with Robin Hardy and Keith Easdale about The Wicker Tree

With Love And A Major Organ

Review preview for With Love And A Major Organ

Though the film naturally relies heavily on symbolism, and viewers won’t be surprised to learn that it began life as a play, the performances are fully committed and it has an appropriate degree of emotional heft.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An unhappy woman removes her heart, puts it in a box and sends it to the man she loves.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Kim Albright; Writer: Julia Lederer; Stars: Anna Maguire, Hamza Haq, Veena Sood, Donna Benedicto, Lynda Boyd, Arghavan Jenati, Enid-Raye Adams, Kerën Burkett, Ryan Beil, Laara Sadiq)

Full review See: Interview with Kim Albright and Anna Maguire about With Love And A Major Organ