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Fantastic Fest · 2022

Fantastic Fest 2022

Features

Programme

79 films · 43 reviews

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12 Days Of Terror

For 12 days in July, 1916, a shark patrolled the waterways of northern New Jersey. This docudrama is based on Richard Fernicola's account of those days.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2004; Director: Jack Sholder; Writer: Jeffrey Reiner and Tommy Lee Wallace, based on the book by Richard Fernicola; Stars: Colin Egglesfield, Mark Dexter, Jenna Harrison, John Rhys-Davies)

Aatank

When fisherfolk find precious black pearls in their local waters, hope comes to their poor community, but they soon find themselves under threat from gangsters - and a shark.

(Country: India; Year: 1996; Director: Prem Lalwani, Desh Mukherjee; Writer: Sachin Bhowmick; Stars: Nafisa Ali, Ranjeet Bedi, Dharmendra, Girish Kamad)

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

Amazing Elisa (Asombrosa Elisa)

Elisa, a girl of 12 who thinks she's a superhero, lives with her father after her mother's death.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Sadrac González-Perellón; Writer: Sadrac González-Perellón; Stars: Asier Etxeandia, Ivan Massagué, Silvia Abascal, Milo Taboada)

The Antares Paradox (La Paradoja De Antares)

In a race against the clock, Alexandra will be forced to choose how to spend the next hours: facing a critical family drama or trying to bring an answer to one of humanity's most important questions.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Luis Tinoco; Writer: Luis Tinoco; Stars: Andrea Trepat, Aleida Torrent, Jaume de Sans, David Ramírez, Ferra Vilajosana)

Attachment (Natten Har Øjne)

Review preview for Attachment

Sofie Gråbøl is superb as the troubled Chana.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Maja and Leah’s new relationship is interrupted when mysterious things start happening in their London flat. It seems that Leah’s disapproving mother, who lives downstairs, is using Jewish folklore to come between them

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2022; Director: Gabriel Bier Gislason; Writer: Gabriel Bier Gislason; Stars: David Dencik, Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Gråbøl, Josephine Park)

Full review See: Interview with Gabriel Bier Gislason about Attachment

Bad City

Review preview for Bad City

Plotting is kept fairly simple to leave room for the sprawling fights and some spectacular action set pieces.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A recently disgraced detective leads a special unit in an effort to stop a crime boss from becoming mayor.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Kensuke Sonomura; Writer: Kensuke Sonomura; Stars: Mitsu Dan, Hitoshi Ozawa)

Full review

The Banshees Of Inisherin

Review preview for The Banshees Of Inisherin

Banshees is lifted by good performances, particularly from Keoghan and Condon, whose major scene together has a delicacy of emotion that is sharply at odds with the brute force McDonagh more generally employs.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

(Country: Ireland, UK, US; Year: 2022; Director: Martin McDonagh; Writer: Martin McDonagh; Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Morse)

Full review

Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle

A flock of sea eagles attack the coastal town of Santa Cruz, California. Why did the birds attack? Who will survive?

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: James Nguyen; Writer: James Nguyen; Stars: Ryan Lord, Julia Culbert, Marc DeNola, Alan Bagh, Lee McLaughin)

Blood Flower

Iqbal and his mother have a special talent for seeing things that others cannot. Together with his father, who doesn’t share their sight, they work as exorcists until one day his mother meets a tragic end, saving Iqbal from an attack by a particularly malevolent spirit.

(Country: Malaysia; Year: 2022; Director: Dain Said)

Blood Relatives

A curmudgeonly vampire who has struggled to adjust to the modern world finds his life transformed when his ex dies and his teenage daughter turns up on his doorstep.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Noah Segan)

Bones And All

Review preview for Bones And All

The balance of subjectivity and object status becomes important in a story whose protagonists are always potentially dangerous to one another.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Maren, a young woman, learns how to survive on the margins of society.

(Country: Italy, US; Year: 2022; Director: Luca Guadagnino; Writer: David Kajganich, based on the book by Camille DeAngelis; Stars: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny, Jessica Harper, David Gordon Green, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jake Horowitz)

Full review

Chop & Steele

For years, Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher toured as the Found Footage Festival, with a sideline in absurdist morning-show pranks. Then they got sued. A David and Goliath story where David pees himself on national television.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Berndt Mader, Ben Steinbauer; Writer: Alex MacKenzie; Stars: David Cross, Bobcat Goldthwait, Reggie Watts, Kurt Braunohler, John Lee, Alyson Levy, Joe Pickett, Davy Rothbart, Nick Prueher, Chad Nackers)

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

Decision To Leave

Review preview for Decision To Leave

Park does it the hard way, building up a complex psychological and intellectual relationship in which sexual desire feels like an emergent characteristic rather than a starting point.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A detective investigates a man's death in the mountains.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Park Chan-wook; Writer: Park Chan-wook, Seo-kyeong Jeong; Stars: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il, Go Kyung-Pyo, Lee Jung-Hyun, Park Yong-woo)

Full review

Deep Fear

Paris: The 1980s. Three students decide to celebrate their graduation with a visit to the local catacombs deep in the heart of the French capital. There they discover a bunker bearing the number 717. Little do they know about the legend attached to it.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2022; Director: Grégory Beghin; Stars: Victor Meutelet, Sofia Lesaffre, Joseph Olivennes, Kassim Meesters)

Demigod: The Legend Begins

Witness the legend's origin.

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

Disappear Completely

Review preview for Disappear Completely

Part investigative thriller, part chilling horror film, Disappear Completely is brilliantly directed.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A crime scene photographer becomes the target of a gruesome witch’s curse which strips away his senses one after another.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2022; Director: Luis Javier Henaine; Writer: Ricardo Aguado-Fentanes; Stars: Harold Torres, Tete Espinoza, Fermín Martínez, Vicky Araico, Norma Reyna)

Full review See: Interview with Luis Javier Henaine about Disappear Completely

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

Everyone Will Burn

Review preview for Everyone Will Burn

A treat for the eyes, if not the ears.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In a small village in Leon, Spain, María José prepares to end her life after failing to get over the suicide of her bullied son years before. Everything changes when she receives a visit from Lucía, a strange little girl who could be connected to a local legend about stopping an impending apocalypse.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: David Hebrero; Writer: David Hebrero, Javier Kiran; Stars: Macarena Gomez, Rodolfo Sancho, Sofia Garcia, Ruben Ochandiano)

Full review

Evil Eye

Luna is sick and no treatment seems to work. Her desperate parents take her to the Mexican countryside to seek an alternative treatment, where they leave Luna and her older sister Nala in the care of Josefa, their grandmother. Nala becomes convinced that something is after them.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2022; Director: Isaac Ezban)

Family Dinner

Overweight and insecure, Simi spends Easter weekend with her famous nutritionist aunt. The hope is that it’ll help her get on a healthier track, but as the aunt’s family’s icy dynamics and an increasingly malevolent atmosphere leave Simi feeling uneasy, weight isn’t the only thing she’s about to lose.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2022; Director: Peter Hengl; Writer: Peter Hengl; Stars: Pia Hierzegger, Michael Pink, Nina Katlein, Alexander Sladek)

See: Peter Hengl in conversation on Family Dinner, Hansel and Gretel, and the need to control

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 Five Devils

Review preview for The Five Devils

While it's a road well-travelled, here it's a road travelled well.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Eight-year-old Vicky possesses a special power: a hyperacute sense of smell. She spends her days exploring this gift, and lives happily with her mother Joanne, a swimming teacher whom she adores exclusively - to the despair of her firefighter father. When her mysterious aunt Julia suddenly reappears in their lives, secrets from their past resurface both violently and magically.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Léa Mysius; Writer: Paul Guilhaume, Léa Mysius; Stars: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Daphne Patakia, Noée Abita, Patrick Bouchitey, Moustapha Mbengue, Sally Dramé, Swala Emati)

Full review See: Five Devils director blown away by 'amazing' Adèle Exarchopoulos

Flesheater (Zombie Nosh)

A group of college students on an overnight hayride come across a group of man-eating zombies. They must fight for their lives while trying to escape and warn the authorities.

(Country: US; Year: 1988; Director: S William Hinzman; Writer: S William Hinzman, Bill Randolph; Stars: S William Hinzman, John Mowod, Leslie Ann Wick, Kevin Kindlin)

Flowing (Piove)

A car accident leaves a family broken and searching for healing in Rome, as torrential rain summons a strange gas from the sewers causing mass hallucinations across the city.

(Country: Italy, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Paolo Strippoli; Writer: Jacopo Del Giudice, Paolo Strippoli, Gustavo Hernández; Stars: Fabrizio Rongione, Cristiana Dell'Anna, Francesco Gheghi)

Gamera Vs. Zigra (Gamera Tai Shinkai Kaijû Jigura)

Space aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark and intend to take over the planet but they must first destroy Gamera.

(Country: Japan; Year: 1971; Director: Noriaki Yuasa; Writer: Niisan Takahashi; Stars: Kôji Fujiyama, Daigo Inoue, Reiko Kasahara, Daihachi Kita, Goro Kuman, Shin Minatsu)

García!

A super-soldier created under Franco's regime to fight the enemies of the nation may be the only one who can solve a political crisis after a right wing leader is kidnapped.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Eugenio Mira)

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

H4z4rd (Hazard)

A man who who really loves his girlfriend, his daughter, and his car, accepts a driving job and gets into a race which will result in either losing his life, his family or his beloved car.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Jonas Govaerts; Writer: Trent Haaga; Stars: Tom Vermeir, Frank Lammers, Jennifer Heylen, Monic Hendrickx)

Holy Spider (Ankabut-e moqaddas)

Review preview for Holy Spider

This is less about the puzzle of who the murderer is... than about the way he slots into society and, after his arrest, is viewed by the public.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A journalist tries to track down a serial killer who is murdering sex workers.

(Country: Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France; Year: 2022; Director: Ali Abbasi; Writer: Ali Abbasi, Afshin Kamran Bahrami; Stars: Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Sina Parvaneh, Nima Akbarpour, Sara Fazilat, Alice Rahimi, M. Ali Nazarian, Sima Seyed, Firouz Ageli, Farhad Faghih Habibi)

Full review

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

Hunt

Two national security agents - and rivals - hunt for a spy chief.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Lee Jung-jae; Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Heo Sung-tae, Jung Woo-sung, Hye-jin Jeon, Man-sik Jeong, Go Yoon-Jung, Derek Chouinard, Kim Jong-soo)

Joint Security Area (Gongdong Gyeongbi Guyeok JSA)

After a shooting incident at the North/South Korean border/DMZ leaves 2 North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss/Swedish team investigates, what actually happened.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2000; Director: Park Chan-wook; Writer: Park Chan-wook, Jeong,Seong-san, Kim Hyun-seok; Stars: Lee Yeong-ae, Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, Kim Tae-woo)

Kids Vs. Aliens

An all-time rager of a teen house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing two warring siblings to band together to survive the night.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Jason Eisener; Writer: John Davies, Jason Eisener; Stars: Dominic Mariche, Phoebe Rex, Calem MacDonald, Asher Grayson, Ben Tector)

King On Screen

Review preview for King On Screen

The big challenge here lies in attempting to do more than scratch the surface of a subject which keeps on offering up more possibilities.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A documentary about the more than 80 feature films based on the work of Stephen King.

(Country: France, USA, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Daphné Baiwir; Stars: Frank Darabont, Taylor Hackford, Tom Holland, Tod Williams, André Øvredal, Vincenzo Natali)

Full review See: Interview with Daphné Baiwir about King On Screen

The Legacy Of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

A documentary about the cultural impact of one of the most famous horror films ever made.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Philipp Escott)

Leonor Will Never Die

Review preview for Leonor Will Never Die

Shows that escapist films can serve every bit as valid a purpose as anything else when it comes to uniting people.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a television lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2022; Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar; Writer: Martika Ramirez Escobar; Stars: Sheila Francisco, Rocky Salumbides, Bong Cabrera, Anthony Falcon)

Full review See: Martika Ramirez Escobar chats about Leonor Will Never Die

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

Living With Chucky

Review preview for Living With Chucky

A film full of great stories and packed with details which will fascinate fans.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A filmmaker who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll seeks out the other families surrounding the Child's Play films as they recount their experiences working on the ongoing franchise and what it means to be a part of the Chucky family.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Kyra Elise Gardner; Writer: Kyra Elise Gardner, Jason Strickland; Stars: Abigail Breslin, Brad Dourif, Lin Shaye, John Waters, Kyra Elise Gardner)

Full review See: Interview with Kyra Elise Gardner about Living With Chucky

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)

Mako: The Jaws Of Death

Review preview for Mako: The Jaws Of Death

The shark scenes may not be as dramatic or explicit as those in Jaws, but they feature far more real shark action.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
A Vietnam veteran with a psychic connection to sharks discovers their exploitation by the local aquarium and begins an underwater reign of terror to avenge them.

(Country: US; Year: 1976; Director: William Grefé; Writer: William Grefé, Robert W. Morgan; Stars: Richard Jaeckel, Jennifer Bishop, Buffy Dee, Harold Sakata)

Full review

Manticora

A video game designer's trauma following a fire manifests in a frightening obsession.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Carlos Vermut; Writer: Carlos Vermut; Stars: Nacho Sánchez, Zoe Stein, Catalina Sopelana, Javier Lago. Angela Boix)

Medusa Deluxe

Review preview for Medusa Deluxe

While the choreography of all this is audacious, Hardiman is equally interested in dialogue. He loves an intricately worked sentence as much as a finely coiffed barnet.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing competition.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Thomas Hardiman; Writer: Thomas Hardiman; Stars: Clare Perkins, Kayla Meikle, Darrell D'Silva, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Kae Alexander, Heider Ali, Luke Pasqualino, Debris Stevenson, Lilit Lesser)

Full review

The Menu

Review preview for The Menu

This may become a cult movie.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A couple travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mark Mylod; Writer: Seth Reiss, Will Tracy; Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Ralph Fiennes)

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

Mister Organ

Review preview for Mister Organ

If you haven’t knowingly observed a narcissist before, this may well make for fascinating and, indeed, cautionary viewing.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A documentary about car clamping, an antique shop, an extortion scandal and a mystery man who might be a prince.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2022; Director: David Farrier)

Full review

Nightmare (Marerittet)

Review preview for Nightmare

Beautifully acted, the film by turns charms and repulses its audience, all the way to its abrupt and shocking ending.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After moving into a new apartment with her boyfriend, a woman is plagued by bad dreams which seem to spill over into waking life. Is she losing her mind, or finding it?

(Country: Norway; Year: 2022; Director: Kjersti Helen Rasmussen; Writer: Kjersti Helen Rasmussen; Stars: Eili Harboe, Herman Tømmeraas, Dennis Storhøi, Preben Hodneland)

Full review

Nightsiren

Review preview for Nightsiren

Nvotová is well versed in the language of the horror film, and some scenes echo the early work of Neil Jordan, but go much further in their hallucinatory concatenation of the forest wild and the monstrous feminine.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young woman returns to her native mountain village, searching for answers about her troubled childhood, but as she tries to uncover the truth, ancient superstitions lead the villagers to accuse her of witchcraft and murder.

(Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic; Year: 2022; Director: Tereza Nvotová; Writer: Barbora Namerova, Tereza Nvotová; Stars: Natalia Germani, Eva Mores, Juliana Olhová, Iva Bittová, Jane Olhová)

Full review See: Interview with Tereza Nvotová about Nightsiren

Nothing

A seventh-grade boy has an existential crisis, decides that everything in life is purposeless, and climbs up a tree. His classmates try everything to get him down, including pelting him with rocks, but with no success. They then begin making sacrifices.

(Country: Denmark, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Trine Piil, Seamus McNally)

The Offering (Abyzou)

Review preview for The Offering

Corduner is on exceptional form and imbues the early part of the film with warmth and hope.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Saul works as the undertaker for the local Hasidic community, and a corpse carries a Jewish demon with plans for his unborn child. His family must dive into Kabbalah lore to ward off the entity and protect their future.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Oliver Park; Writer: Hank Hoffman, Jonathan Yunger; Stars: Paul Kaye, Nick Blood, Emily Wiseman, Allan Korduner)

Full review See: Interview with Oliver Park about The Offering

Oink (Knor)

A nine-year-old girl gets a pig named Oink as a gift from her grandfather.

(Country: Netherlands, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Mascha Halberstad; Writer: Fiona van Heemstra, based on the book by Tosca Menten; Stars: Hiba Ghafry, Alex Klaasen, Johnny Kraaijkamp, Loes Luca, Matsen Montsma)

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)

The People's Joker

Review preview for The People's Joker

It’s an anarchic mess – the sort of film the Joker himself might have made, and that’s part of its triumph.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An aspiring clown grappling with her gender identity combats a fascistic caped crusader.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Vera Drew; Writer: Vera Drew; Stars: Vera Drew, The People's Joker, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart, Bob Odenkirk)

Full review See: Interview with Vera Drew about The People's Joker, part two , Interview with Vera Drew about The People’s Joker, part one

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

Project Wolf Hunting

Review preview for Project Wolf Hunting

An all-action spectacular with some smart ideas which sustains itself surprisingly well over a full two hours.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The story of dangerous criminals on a cargo ship who are transported from the Philippines to South Korea, as they unleash a sinister force after an escape attempt leads to a riot.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Kin Hong-sun; Writer: Kin Hong-sun; Stars: Seo In-Guk, Jsng Dong-yoon, Choi Gwi-hwa, Sung Dong-il)

Full review

Satanic Hispanics

Review preview for Satanic Hispanics

Although multiple directors were involved, it maintains impressive consistency in both style and tone, each of them adding their own quirks and flourishes without anything jarring.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An anthology of short horror films.

(Country: USA, Mexico, Argentina; Year: 2022; Director: Mike Mendez, Demian Rugna, Eduardo Sanchez, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Alejandro Brugues; Writer: Pete Barnstrom, Alejandro Mendez, Lino K. Villa; Stars: Efren Ramirez, Jonah Ray, Hemky Madera, Patricia Velasquez, Greg Grunberg)

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

Sick

As the pandemic steadily brings the world to a halt, Parker and her best friend Miri decide to quarantine at the family lake house alone - or so they think.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: John Hyams)

Sick Of Myself (Syk Pike)

Review preview for Sick Of Myself

The film is less about ambition or striving for success, as it’s about the fetishisation of that image of success, and how striving for the perfect image can destroy you.

Nikola Jovic · 4 out of 5
Signe and Thomas are in an unhealthy, competitive relationship that takes a vicious turn when Thomas suddenly breaks through as a contemporary artist.

(Country: Norway, Sweden; Year: 2022; Director: Kristoffer Borgli; Writer: Kristoffer Borgli; Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Eirik Sæther, Kristine Kujath Thorp)

Full review

Smile

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, a doctor starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain. She must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Parker Finn; Writer: Parker Finn; Stars: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T Usher, Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn, Caitlin Stasey)

Smoking Causes Coughing (Fumer Fait Tousser, Smoking Makes You Cough)

Review preview for Smoking Causes Coughing

There is a complete disregard for any kind of consequence or continuity in this film, and you know that the rug could be pulled from under you at any second.

Nikola Jovic · 3.5 out of 5
Tobacco Force are superhero avengers, preparing for their clash with the mighty Lezardin. But what if the real horrors are the stories they tell to each other along the way?

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Quentin Dupieux; Writer: Quentin Dupieux; Stars: Oulaya Amamra, Alain Chabat, Anaïs Demoustier, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Julia Faure, Jules Dhios Francisco, Blanche Gardin, Vincent Lacoste, Gilles Lellouche, Grégoire Ludig, David Marsais, Jérôme Niel, Benoît Poelvoorde, Raphaël Quenard, Anthony Sonigo)

Full review See: Quentin Dupieux on Smoking Makes You Cough

Solomon King

CIA trained detective Solomon King has to use all of his dirty tricks and experiences to get revenge on the person responsible for the murder of his girlfriend. A trail leads him to a desert in the Middle East.

(Country: US; Year: 1974; Director: Jack Bomay, Sal Watts; Writer: Jim Alston, Sal Watts; Stars: Sal Watts, James Watts, Samaki Bennett, Claudia Russo)

Something In The Dirt

Review preview for Something In The Dirt

What matters here is not so much the phenomenon itself, but the way that the characters become obsessed with it.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When neighbours John and Levi witness supernatural events in their Los Angeles apartment building, they realise documenting the paranormal could inject some fame and fortune into their wasted lives. An ever-deeper, darker rabbit hole, their friendship frays as they uncover the dangers of the phenomena, the city, and each other.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead; Stars: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson)

Full review See: Interview with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead about Something In The Dirt

Spoonful Of Sugar

Review preview for Spoonful Of Sugar

We can’t tell what’s supposed to be a product of the characters’ imaginations and what’s simply a consequence of the filmmakers not understanding their subject.

Jennie Kermode · 1.5 out of 5
Millicent is taking a semester off from her studies to concentrate on her thesis about children with severe allergies, which makes her the perfect person to take care of Johnny, a sickly, mute child. As his behaviour grows violent, she begins to experience hallucinations.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan; Writer: Leah Saint Marie; Stars: Morgan Saylor, Myko Olivier, Danilo Crovetti, Keith Powell)

Full review

The Strange Case Of Jacky Caillou (Jacky Caillou)

Review preview for The Strange Case Of Jacky Caillou

A thoughtful, offbeat film with the character of folklore.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When his grandmother suddenly passes away and a young woman with a mysterious rash arrives on his doorstep, a young man tries to help her. As her condition worsens, it becomes clear that she’s afflicted with no ordinary illness. She’s transforming into something dangerous before his eyes, but he’s already in too deep to abandon her.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Lucas Delangle; Writer: Lucas Delangle, Olivier Strauss; Stars: Thomas Parigi, Edwige Blondiau, Lou Lampros, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h)

Full review

Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to the timid town of Miles County where he targets a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Damien Leone; Writer: Damien Leone; Stars: Felissa Rose, Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thornton, Griffin Satopietro, Samantha Scaffidi)

Tintorera!

Two shark hunters flirt with an attractive British lady while hunting down a large tiger shark terrorising the Mexican East coast.

(Country: UK, Mexico; Year: 1977; Director: René Cardona Jr; Writer: René Cardona Jr, Ramón Bravo, Christina Schuch; Stars: Susan George, Hugo Stiglitz, Andrés García, Fiona Lewis, Eleazar García)

Triangle Of Sadness

Review preview for Triangle Of Sadness

A roller-coaster of the effects of absolute power corrupting absolutely.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A yacht for the super-rich sinks, leaving its passengers marooned on an island.

(Country: Sweden, UK, US, France, Greece; Year: 2022; Director: Ruben Östlund; Writer: Ruben Östlund; Stars: Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Hanna Oldenburg, Zlatko Buric, Oliver Ford Davies, Linda Anborg, Iris Berben, Carolina Gynning, Sunnyi Melles, Malte Gårdinger, Vicki Berlin, Arvin Kananian, Beata Borelius, Shaniaz Hama Ali)

Full review See: Director Ruben Östlund, and Woody Harrelson on Triangle Of Sadness

Tropic (Tropique)

Review preview for Tropic

The science fiction elements of the film take a back seat for most of the running time in what is essentially a story about how people deal with extreme situations and with a sense of being cheated out of what they are due.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Astronaut twins go through a lot when one of them is contaminated with a mysterious residue from space.

(Country: France; Year: 2002; Director: Edouard Salier; Writer: Edouard Salier; Stars: Marta Nieto, Louis Peres, Marvin Dubart, Pablo Cobo)

Full review See: Interview with Edouard Salier about Tropic

Unicorn Wars

This story tracks two brother teddy bear soldiers: Azulín, who yearn for unicorn blood to be beautiful for ever; and Gordi, who just wants to be accepted and liked.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2022; Director: Alberto Vázquez; Writer: Alberto Vázquez)

Unidentified Objects

Review preview for Unidentified Objects

A quirky yet moving character piece full of absurdist comedy, with an optimistic streak which is rare in cinema today.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A lonely dwarf and his unstable, alien-obsessed neighbour are thrown together on an impossible road trip that will alter their strange friendship (and their sense of reality) forever.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Juan Felipe Zuleta; Writer: Leland Frankel, Juan Felipe Zuleta; Stars: Sarah Hay, Roberta Colindrez, Matthew Jeffers, Hamish Allan-Headly)

Full review See: Interview with Juan Felipe Zuleta, Matthew Jeffers and Sarah Hay about Unidentified Objects

Venus

Horror invades the concrete corridors of a cursed apartment complex on the outskirts of Madrid.

(Country: US, Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Jaume Balagueró; Writer: Fernando Navarro; Stars: Ester Expósito, Ángela Cremonte, Fernando Valdivielso, Federico Aguaro)

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)

A Wounded Fawn

Review preview for A Wounded Fawn

Unashamedly arty yet still packs an emotional punch.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
It’s the perfect plan: A serial killer brings an unsuspecting new victim on a weekend getaway to add another body to his ever-growing count. She’s buying into his faux charms, and he’s eagerly lusting for blood. What could possibly go wrong?

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Travis Stevens; Writer: Nathan Faudree, Travis Stevens; Stars: Sarah Lind, Josh Ruben, Malin Barr, Katie Kuang, Laksmi Priyah Hedemark, Tanya Everett, Marshall Taylor Thurman, Neal Mayer, Nikki James, Leandro Taub)

Full review See: Interview with Travis Stevens about A Wounded Fawn

Year Of The Shark (L'Année Du Requin)

A small coastal town in the south-west of France is on high alert after a surfer disappears. Soon the incredible truth is revealed: a shark is prowling in the harbour.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma; Writer: Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma; Stars: Marina Foïs, Kad Merad, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Christine Gautier, Ludovic Torrent)