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London Film Festival · 2025

London Film Festival 2025

Thrill

Programme

11 films · 4 reviews

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At The Place Of Ghosts (Sk+te'kmujue'katik)

Mise’l and Ante have drifted apart in adulthood, but are forced to reunite when a supernatural presence they thought was long-buried threatens them and their loved ones.

(Country: Canada, Belgium; Year: 2025; Director: Bretten Hannam; Writer: Bretten Hannam; Stars: Blake Alec Miranda, Forrest Goodluck, Glen Gould)

Balearic

Three dogs are holding a group of teens inside the swimming pool of the villa they have snuck into. One of the boys is injured with severe bites. Despite his screams, no one comes to his aid. Those attending this party suffer a strange spell that does not allow them to get into the pool because everyone who swims feels the pain of the teens. It is the eve of San Juan. A ripe day for magic.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2025; Director: Ion de Sosa; Writer: Ion de Sosa, Juan González, Chema García Ibarra, Julián Génisson, Lorena Iglesias; Stars: Lara Gallo, Elias Hwidar, Ada Tormo, Paula Gala, María Llopis, Luka Peros, Christina Rosenvinge, Sofía Asencio, Manolo Marín, Moisés Richart, Lorena Iglesias, Julián Génisson, Pili Guerra, Federico Madrid, Héctor Arnau, Marta Bassols, Zorion Eguileor)

Giant

Real-life story of world champion boxer Prince Naseem ‘Naz’ Hamed and his trainer Brendan Ingle.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Rowan Athale; Writer: Rowan Athale; Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Amir El-Masry)

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Review preview for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Rose Byrne anchors the whole damn thing with a performance that gives the sense of wobbling for eternity on a tightrope without ever quite falling off.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Mary Bronstein; Writer: Mary Bronstein; Stars: Rose Byrne, Danielle Macdonald, Josh Pais, Daniel Zolghadri, Ivy Wolk, Conan O'Brien, A$AP Rocky, Helen Hong, Ella Beatty, Delaney Quinn, Mark Stolzenberg, Lark White, Eva Kornet)

Full review

Lurker

Review preview for Lurker

In line with his economic storytelling, Russell has a gift for conveying little details through subtle performance notes where other filmmakers might telegraph intent.

Jeremy Mathews · 4.5 out of 5
A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Alex Russell; Writer: Alex Russell; Stars: Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Archie Madekwe, Daniel Zolghadri, Théodore Pellerin, Mikaela Poon, Rene Leech, Hannah Christine Shetler, Willa Jane Shaw, Zack Fox)

Full review

Mirrors No.3 (Miroirs No.3)

Review preview for Mirrors No.3

As is true of many a tale, not all motivations are on the table right away, and finding rescue and respite with strangers can only last a mere while.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
On a weekend trip to the countryside, Laura miraculously survives a car crash. Physically unhurt but deeply shaken, she is taken in by a local woman who witnessed the accident and now cares for Laura with motherly devotion. When her husband and adult son also give up their initial resistance to Laura's presence, the four of them slowly build up some family-like routine. But soon they can no longer ignore their past...

(Year: 2025; Director: Christian Petzold; Writer: Christian Petzold; Stars: Paula Beer, Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt, Enno Trebs, Victoire Laly)

Full review See: Christian Petzold on Miroirs No. 3 (Mirrors No. 3)

A Private Life (Vie Privée)

A psychiatrist investigates a patient's death after becoming convinced they were murdered.

(Country: France; Year: 2025; Director: Rebecca Zlotowski; Writer: Anne Berest, Gaëlle Macé, Rebecca Zlotowski; Stars: Jodie Foster, Virginie Efira, Mathieu Amalric, Daniel Auteuil, Vincent Lacoste, Luàna Bajrami, Sophie Letourneur)

Retreat

In an isolated deaf community, Matt's idyllic world cracks when Eva arrives, making him question his identity and the costs of maintaining his supposedly utopian society.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Ted Evans; Writer: Ted Evans; Stars: Sophie Stone, Anne Zander, Ace Mahbaz, David Kukadia)

The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto)

Review preview for The Secret Agent

Marcelo is at home in the fine tradition of flicks where the fact that they are an agent is mainly a secret to them.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. He arrives in Recife during carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son but soon realises that the city is far from being the non-violent refuge he seeks.

(Country: Brazil, France, Netherlands, Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho; Writer: Kleber Mendonça Filho; Stars: Wagner Moura, Udo Kier, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Hermila Guedes, Alice Carvalho, Thomás Aquino, Isabél Zuaa, Suzy Lopes, João Vitor Silva, Roney Villela, Rubens Santos, Luciano Chirolli, Buda Lira, Jimmy Astley)

Full review

Ultras

Documentary about football's ultra culture.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark,Finland; Year: 2025; Director: Ragnhild Ekner; Writer: Ragnhild Ekner)

Wasteman

After years in prison, in which time his son has grown up without him, Taylor’s parole is approaching. It’s bad timing, then, that new cellmate Dee ropes Taylor into violent inmate rivalries, endangering his fresh start.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Cal McMau; Writer: Hunter Andrews, Eoin Doran; Stars: David Jonsson, Tom Blyth, Alex Hassell)