Reviews by David Graham

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Straw Dogs (2011)

  Review preview for Straw Dogs

  This new incarnation won't linger in your head like its predecessor, but it remains a hugely affecting and effective experience.

  Remake sees a couple under siege in an isolated farmhouse.
• 
  Stake Land (2010)

  Review preview for Stake Land

  Despite its undeniable ambition and good intentions, Stake Land is just too derivative to distinguish itself from its peers.

  A small group of people travel through a post-Apocalyptic America where fundamentalist cultists and deadly vampires make staying alive a constant battle.
• 
  Stalled (2013)

  Review preview for Stalled

  These two British upstarts show just how much can be done when you're brave enough to keep things intimate.

  A janitor is trapped in the toilets when a zombie outbreak strikes the office party.
• 
  The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (2013)

  Review preview for The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

  The selection of songs shows an insider’s fervour.

  Rock-doc on Manchester indie rock pioneers The Stone Roses.
• 
  Storage 24 (2012)

  Review preview for Storage 24

  There's no avoiding the storyline's silly nature, but by the end you'll realise the film-makers wouldn't want you to; their literally explosive climax is a glorious throwback to the absurdity of their Eighties inspirations.

  A group of friends are trapped in a storage bay with a ravenous alien enemy.
• 
  The Stuff (1985)

  Review preview for The Stuff

  As wilfully messy as all of Cohen’s work but his wicked sense of humour, budget-enforced ingenuity and ability to draw off-kilter performances from unlikely thesps shines through.

  When a dessert starts taking on a life of its own, it spells trouble for the local populace.
• 
  Submarino (2009)

  Review preview for Submarino

  Performances are strong throughout the film, generating an effective mixture of simultaneous sympathy and anger in the audience.

  Two men struggle to escape a childhood of neglect.
• 
  Sucker Punch (2011)

  Review preview for Sucker Punch

  A sordid slice of rancid pop-culture vomit that leaves a toxic aftertaste.

  An abused girl uses an alternative reality to help her find the means to escape from the mental hospital where she has been locked away.
• 
  The Tall Man (2012)

  Review preview for The Tall Man

  Laugier's ambition remains commendable, but his execution is questionable, leading to a frustrating if occasionally intriguing experience.

  A mother tries to unravel a legend of a child abductor after her child goes missing.
• 
  Ted (2012)

  Review preview for Ted

  In spite of its potty-mouthed shock tactics, Ted is enjoyable fluff, nothing more, nothing less.

  A man's friendship with his childhood toy, brought to life by a wish, comes under strain when his girlfriends gets jealous of their bond.
• 
  The Tempest (2010)

  Review preview for The Tempest

  Changing the main character's sex from a man to a woman is the most obvious and radical idea Taymor brings to the table, and it succeeds in deepening several of the piece's key relationships.

  Usurped by her brother, Prospera lives in exile with her daughter and faces a power struggle against the monstrous Caliban.
• 
  Territories (2010)

  Review preview for Territories

  This is a gruelling experience that forces the audience to look at events in today's 'liberated' world and consider the cost for those directly involved.

  Three American friends returning from a trip are arrested at customs and taken to a strange backwoods camp where they suddenly realise their lives are on the line.
• 
  Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)

  Review preview for Texas Chainsaw 3D

  Often a rollicking good time in spite of itself.

  An unknowing descendant of the orginal Sawyer clan goes to visit the old house she's inherited.
• 
  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

  Review preview for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

  TCM2 was never going to match its predecessor’s intensity but it does achieve a debauched delirium all of its own.

  Leatherface and family torment a radio DJ in a bloody comedy sequel to the horror classic.
• 
  This Is The End (2013)

  Review preview for This Is The End

  Treading a fine balance between self-referential smugness and earnest likeability, the core duo of Baruchel and Rogen get things off to a good start.

  A group of celebrities attending a party at James Franco's house are suddenly confronted with the Apocalypse.
• 
  Tower Block (2012)

  Review preview for Tower Block

  Skins star Jack O'Connell burns up the screen as an initially reprehensible chav terror, all wide-boy grimaces and in-your-face intensity, his gradual evolution into honorable pack-leader etched with care and nuance where it could have been clumsy and cli

  The life and times of the last occupants of Tower Block 31.
• 
  The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)

  Review preview for The Town That Dreaded Sundown

  A frequently impressive but occasionally problematic experience.

  Sixty-five years after a serial killer terrorised a small town... the murders begin again.
• 
  Transformers: Age Of Extinction (2014)

  Review preview for Transformers: Age Of Extinction

  The reality of enduring this 165-minute car-wreck is depressing in the extreme.

  A mechanic hooks up with Optimus Prime as alien robots trick humans into hunting down the Autobots.
• 
  Trash Humpers (2009)

  Review preview for Trash Humpers

  The film is a purely visceral experience, which by and large does everything it sets out to do – repel, amuse, horrify, bore – with a sickening but punk-rock panache.

  A group of elderly people film themselves fornicating with the debris of society.
• 
  TT3D: Closer To The Edge (2011)

  Review preview for TT3D: Closer To The Edge

  Memorable for its array of humble and humbling characters as well as its jaw-dropping, white-knuckle footage, this will surely stand as one of the best documentaries of the year.

  A 3D documentary look at the thrills and spills of the world's most dangerous road race.
• 
  The Thing (2011)

  Review preview for The Thing

  Van Heijningen Jr tragically fails to exploit our fear of the unknown and the potential tension of the paranoia-stoking premise.

  At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.
• 
  Thor (2011)

  Review preview for Thor

  The ideas are so shamelessly out-there and imaginatively employed that it's hard not to get caught up in it all.

  An adaptation of the Marvel comic in which Thor is cast out of the realm of the gods and finds himself defending humans.
• 
  Video Nasties: Draconian Days (2014)

  Review preview for Video Nasties: Draconian Days

  The sense of a community growing up in defiance of such nonsensical conservatism makes the second half hugely rousing.

  The story of censorship in the British home video industry.
• 
  Villain (2010)

  Review preview for Villain

  Satoshi Tsumabuki gives a suitably oblique central performance but the script's machinations sadly work against his character's credibility.

  A man's life becomes increasingly complicated and dagerous after he murders a young woman.
• 
  Wang's Arrival (2011)

  Review preview for Wang's Arrival

  The film displays a healthy awareness of its own absurdity, never sensationalising or exploiting the situation it portrays.

  A bored subtitler is unexpectedly asked to translate the interrogation of a Chinese-speaking visitor from another world, with dramatic consequences.
• 
  Warm Bodies (2013)

  Review preview for Warm Bodies

  Warm Bodies overcomes any cynicism horror fans might harbor towards it through genuine affability and winning performances.

  When a zombie falls for a human, there could be consequences for all the living dead.
• 
  We Are What We Are (2013)

  Review preview for We Are What We Are

  Ambyr Childers conveys the pressure the world-weary Iris is under brilliantly, while Julia Garner shines as the otherworldly Rose.

  A cannibal family faces an uncertain future following a bereavement.
• 
  Wiener-Dog (2016)

  Review preview for Wiener-Dog

  Wiener-Dog is a Solondz film through and through – there's still no-one daring to be quite so acerbic and inhumane towards his characters while keeping them grounded in a sense of relatable experience.

  Portmanteau film about the owners of a dachshund.
• 
  What's Your Number? (2011)

  Review preview for What's Your Number?

  Mylod doles out cliche after cliche - drinks and debauchery in clubs, waking up with Mr Wrong - but never injects enough warmth or humor into proceedings to keep them fresh.

  A woman revisits her past 20 boyfriends to see if she's lost Mr Right.
• 
  The Woman (2011)

  Review preview for The Woman

  Horror film of the year so far, and likely to be one of the most memorable and celebrated of the coming decade.

  A successful country lawyer captures and attempts to 'civilise' a woman he finds in the woods.
• 
  Wrath Of The Titans (2012)

  Review preview for Wrath Of The Titans

  Worthington is as nebulous a charisma void as ever, sucking all the life out of everyone and everything around him, while Liebesman is reasonably capable with action but proves a total hack when it comes to handling anything remotely resembling drama.

  The quest is on to rescue Zeus from the underworld.
• 
  You're Next (2013)

  Review preview for You're Next

  For better and worse the majority of the action is dominated by Step Up 3D wonder-woman Sharni Vinson, an impressive physical presence as Erin but not exactly the world's greatest actress.

  During an anniversary celebration a family home is invaded by would-be killers, but they didn't count on a new girlfriend with fierce survival instincts.
• 
  Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)

  Review preview for Zombie Flesh Eaters

  Although the editing sometimes jars, Fulci juggles smooth, elegant camera moves with nimble handheld work to get the balance of dramatic build-up and visceral action just right.

  A woman searching for her father stumbles on an island of the undead.