Reviews by Jennie Kermode

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  The Last Front (2024)

  Review preview for The Last Front

  Hayet-Kerknawi has cast the small roles well and the film remains involving throughout.

  Amidst World War I's chaos, a grieving father turns hero, leading villagers to safety while evading a relentless enemy driven by vengeance.
• 
  The Bat (1926)

  Review preview for The Bat

  Never mind its wider significance – The Bat hangs from its own two feet, and delivers lively entertainment throughout.

  A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorises the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
• 
  The Bad Patriots (2024)

  Review preview for The Bad Patriots

  An important effort to redress the balance and give these two maligned men a chance to put their case.

  Anti-British, spineless, out-of-touch, terrorist-sympathisers, Communists, and a threat to national security. The media bestowed unsavoury accolades on Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn. They now step forward in order to challenge that narrative.
• 
  Picture Day (2022)

  Review preview for Picture Day

  Making a short film requires compact storytelling and Pike delivers a great deal in just 16 minutes.

  A 12-year-old girl gets into arguments with her mother ahead of getting her annual school photo taken.
• 
  Azrael (2024)

  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.

  Many years following the apocalypse, a devout cult of mute zealots hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment.
• 
  Missing From Fire Trail Road (2024)

  Review preview for Missing From Fire Trail Road

  Layering together past and present, Van Tassel weaves a rich tapestry which illustrates the multiple elements of complicity in Mary Ellen’s disappearance.

  The case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native American woman who disappeared in 2020, exposing how hundreds of indigenous women continue to go missing in the US, perpetuating trans-generational trauma on Indian reservations.
• 
  Tops (2024)

  Review preview for Tops

  What directors Jos Bitelli and Ames Pennington deliver is, in its own way, close to the bone, but it’s also joyously silly.

  A brash, satirical mockumentary exploring life after top surgery through the medium of amateur broadcasting.
• 
  Nocturnes (2024)

  Review preview for Nocturnes

  By night, Shreyank Nanjappa’s inspired sound design captures the furious beating of wings and, layered on top of them, the shuffling and chirrupping and all the curious calls of the moths as they rush in to land.

  In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, moths are whispering something to us. In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe.
• 
  The Boat (2023)

  Review preview for The Boat

  Morgan understands the importance of restraint and gives the audience room to interpret unfolding events for themselves.

  When a father discovers that his youngest daughter has the early symptoms of a devastating disease, he is faced with a decision.
• 
  Alok (2024)

  Review preview for Alok

  Hedison’s lens cannot show us everything. The film requires viewers to be as open as possible, to really listen and reflect.

  A documentary portrait of Alok Vaid-Menon, the internationally acclaimed non-binary author, poet, comedian and public speaker.
• 
  Dominique (2024)

  Review preview for Dominique

  Pretty much everything about Michael S Ojeda’s film is by the book – right down to Chekov’s pregnant woman – but it rattles along fast enough to keep viewers from worrying about that too much.

  Trained assassin Dominique, escaping her troubled past, crash lands her plane in a Colombian town rife with violence. Sheltered by a family, she faces attacks from police and must choose between self-preservation or defending her hosts.
• 
  Little Brother (2023)

  Review preview for Little Brother

  A simple story brought to life by capable, sensitive performances.

  Jake drives his older brother Pete home for a family intervention after his most recent suicide attempt.
• 
  The Judgment (2023)

  Review preview for The Judgment

  Intriguing in its ideas but a little heavy-handed in the application.

  An Egyptian gay couple return from the US to Egypt for a family emergency. When they fall prey to witchcraft intended as punishment for their homosexual sins, one of them falls into religious terror and exposes his unhealed past.
• 
  64 Days (2024)

  Review preview for 64 Days

  Quested traces the Stop the Steal project back to Maricopa County, Arizona, endeavouring to map out the key individuals involved, which is not easy in light of how fast the whole thing ballooned.

  A documentary about the Trump campaign's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 US election.
• 
  Nosferatu (2023)

  Review preview for Nosferatu

  Jones inhabits the character well, bringing his own brand of darkness and soulfulness to it.

  A 'remix' of the FW Murnau silent classic loosely based on Dracula, in which a vampire becomes obsessed with the wife of a real estate agent.
• 
  Duino (2024)

  Review preview for Duino

  The relationship between fiction and memory, artifice and life undergoes subtle shifts over the course of di Pace’s tale.

  An Argentinian filmmaker struggling to finish a movie about his unrequited first love receives an unexpected invitation to reconstruct his memories, revisit his past and perhaps even find a new ending to his story.
• 
  MadS (2024)

  Review preview for MadS

  It feels different – firstly because of its immersiveness and secondly because of the quality of the performances, which are superb throughout.

  A teenager who stops off to see his dealer to test a new drug before heading off for a night of partying. On the way home, he picks up an injured woman and the night takes a surreal turn
• 
  Fanatical: The Catfishing Of Tegan And Sara (2024)

  Review preview for Fanatical: The Catfishing Of Tegan And Sara

  This is a powerful example of the phenomenon because it has affected so many different individuals, lending itself to a deeper analysis than is often possible.

  The story of how indie rock star Tegan's identity was stolen and weaponised in a complex catfishing scheme.
• 
  Bye Bye Love (1974)

  Review preview for Bye Bye Love

  Alternating between road movie formula and surrealist exploration of interior landscapes, Bye Bye Love is full of striking imagery, and it resolutely avoids playing by the rules.

  Two young people undertake a doomed summer road trip through Japan, which in turn reflects on the dissipating promise of 1960s counterculture and free love.
• 
  Pink Belt (2024)

  Review preview for Pink Belt

  Filmmaker John McCrite does a good job of pulling the different strands of the film together and giving it a sense of momentum. The women themselves always come across as shaping the narrative.

  Aparna Rajawat, India's 16-time women's national champion in martial arts, attempts to break the Guinness World Record for most women trained in a self-defence lesson, drawing attention to violence against women in India.
• 
  DarkGame (2024)

  Review preview for DarkGame

  Outside of the Russian Roulette scenes, the film has much more visual appeal, with noirish cinematography and a fluid style which recalls director Howard J Ford’s early work with his brother Jonathan.

  A determined detective is in a race against time to stop a dark web game in which captives are forced to compete for their lives.
• 
  Take Cover (2024)

  Review preview for Take Cover

  There is practically nothing in the plot of this film that viewers won’t have seen before, yet it works, largely due to the combination of engaging characters and expertly delivered action.

  A burned-out professional sniper finds himself trapped in an all-glass penthouse by a lethal competitor and must find a way to survive and escape with little to no cover between him and the killer.
• 
  The Crime Is Mine (2023)

  Review preview for The Crime Is Mine

  A sugary delight with a delightfully bitter aftertaste.

  When a glamorous but talentless young actress is accused of murdering a sleazy producer, her aspiring lawyer friend spies a money-making opportunity.
• 
  Falling Stars (2023)

  Review preview for Falling Stars

  What’s missing in most folk horror tales –and indeed in many otherwise diligent historical films – is an understanding of the different perspectives of people with pre-enlightenment beliefs. It’s here that writer Karpala truly triumphs.

  On the night of first harvest, three brothers in the American West set out to see a dead witch buried by their friend and find themselves in a race to stop a curse.
• 
  Daddy's Head (2024)

  Review preview for Daddy's Head

  A sinister fairytale which balances elements of ancient lore with a crisp, modern sensibility.

  A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after the boy becomes convinced that his deceased father has returned for him.
• 
  Push (2024)

  Review preview for Push

  Push looks magnificent throughout, and yet at a structural level, it’s rather ordinary.

  A heavily pregnant real estate agent is trapped in a remote house at night with a dangerous man.
• 
  A Mother's Embrace (2024)

  Review preview for A Mother's Embrace

  A Mother’s Embrace has an organic quality. Even its strangest elements feel convincingly part of the whole.

  During massive 1996 Rio storm, firefighter Ana and her firefighter team must evacuate a collapsing nursing home, but the mysterious residents have other sinister plans.
• 
  The Banished (2024)

  Review preview for The Banished

  A film that will get under your skin, unsettling to a rare degree.

  A young woman reluctantly returns to her crumbling hometown, only to discover her brother has mysteriously gone missing. Consumed by guilt, she embarks on a harrowing journey to find him, which leads her deep into the dark wilderness surrounding the town.
• 
  Zero (2024)

  Review preview for Zero

  Well shot and well paced, Zero has a lot to offer in spite of its twee moments.

  Two Americans find themselves in Dakar, Senegal with bombs strapped to their chests and ten hours to find out why.
• 
  To Kill A Wolf (2024)

  Review preview for To Kill A Wolf

  Mostly shot at close quarters, inside the Woodsman’s cabin or car or amid the trees, the film is heavy with shadows and mist and chill air.

  A reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, set in present day Oregon.
• 
  Shadowland (2024)

  Review preview for Shadowland

  Tiainen copes impressively with a film which swerves far off its original course, and what emerges is more interesting for the diversion.

  A study of an esoteric community hidden within the French Pyrenees, supposedly the home of the Holy Grail.
• 
  The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power - Season 2 (2024)

  Review preview for The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power - Season 2

  There is a complete absence of vision alongside a dearth of passion that eats away at one’s soul as one watches.

  The rings of power are forged as the dark lord Sauron prepares to try to take control of Middle Earth.
• 
  The Problem With People (2024)

  Review preview for The Problem With People

  There’s plenty here that’s by the book, from the playful stereotyping of some of the villagers to the founding of the family feud in a dispute over a red-headed woman, but it’s well played.

  Two estranged cousins try to make amends for many generations of family dispute.
• 
  Things Will Be Different (2024)

  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.

  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.
• 
  Light Up (2024)

  Review preview for Light Up

  What Lowery is really interested in is the human story that each of these people has to tell.

  A insight into the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people in Atlanta.
• 
  V/H/S/Beyond (2024)

  Review preview for V/H/S/Beyond

  This isn’t up there with the best of the V/H/S series overall, but it’s entertaining enough.

  Six bloodcurdling tapes unleash horror in a science-fiction inspired hellscape, pushing the boundaries of fear and suspense.
• 
  Above The Knee (2024)

  Review preview for Above The Knee

  Although Jonas describes his leg as rotting, we get only the briefest hints of what this looks like to him. For the most part, it just looks like an ordinary leg, and our understanding of his position comes from Singh’s performance.

  Amir has a secret. He's tormented by visions of his leg rotting and longs to cut it off, convinced it doesn't belong to him. So, he devises a plan - one that will drag everyone around him into his relentless quest for relief.
• 
  Escape (2023)

  Review preview for Escape

  Ford is a strong action director and spare plots often serve that best, but here the action is really the film’s only redeeming quality.

  Ten trafficked women attempt to escape from a ruthless gang after being abducted from a holiday resort.
• 
  The Deserving (2024)

  Review preview for The Deserving

  One can’t escape the feeling that, having established its premise, it doesn’t really know where to go, but this is made up for by the superb central performance and by Koka Singh Arora’s intelligent approach to direction.

  A mute serial killer decides to end his life, but resolving his guilt is not that easy.
• 
  Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram (2024)

  Review preview for Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram

  The balance of the central mystery and teenage angst doesn’t always work, and even viewers who are in their teens themselves will likely become frustrated with it at times, but there is a good supply of drama elsewhere.

  The race is on to solve a mystery and find the six ancient swords which point the way to a legendary treasure - and a famous detective trapped in the body of a child is on the case.
• 
  Lore (2023)

  Review preview for Lore

  Throughout, the performances are solid, the lighting and sound work good, and the writer/director teams well synchronised, making the whole thing flow smoothly despite the changes in style.

  On a weekend trip to Scotland, four scare-loving friends book a ghostly horror-themed camping excursion. That night around the campfire, their guide encourages them to tell the most twisted stories that they know and to burn a totem that will help feed the evil that lives there. Tales of sinister spirits, demons lurking in the shadows and the truest forms of malevolence emerge.
• 
  Strange Harvest: Occult Murder In The Inland Empire (2024)

  Review preview for Strange Harvest: Occult Murder In The Inland Empire

  Ortiz, like many a filmmaker before him, acknowledges a debt to HP Lovecraft, but his work here is more in tune with that author’s style than most, in that it resists the temptation to reveal too much or to offer reasoned explanations.

  A faux true-crime documentary about two detectives pursuit of an infamous serial killer named Mr. Shiny, who terrorised Southern California for almost two decades.
• 
  Sleep (2023)

  Review preview for Sleep

  Mixing horror elements with character study and a tender portrait of a relationship in crisis, Sleep easily slides between genres and, in the process, keeps viewers guessing.

  A couple find their marriage deteriorating after a disturbing episode when the husband declares in his sleep, “Someone’s inside”.
• 
  The Wait (2023)

  Review preview for The Wait

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

  A gamekeeper seeks revenge on the rich man who persuaded him to agree to a compromise on hunting safety rules which had devastating consequences.
• 
  Cyborg: A Documentary (2023)

  Review preview for Cyborg: A Documentary

  The film is just 77 minutes long, but packs a lot in, and you will be left full of questions.

  Colourblind artist Neil Harbisson is the world's first formally recognised cyborg, with an antenna permanently implanted in his head allowing him to hear colour. He is on a mission to convince the world to adopt his credo: design yourself.
• 
  Dead Money (2024)

  Review preview for Dead Money

  Walpoth knows how to handle action, and there’s plenty of it here, up close and messy, characters improvising in ways that tend to test stunt teams much more than smooth martial arts moves.

  When a poker game is robbed, an ambitious young player and his girlfriend find themselves in a situation where the stakes are suddenly much higher.
• 
  Booger (2023)

  Review preview for Booger

  A poignant study of the grieving process, Booger uses horror elements to explore disorientation and the acute insecurities that emerge from being suddenly alone.

  After she's she's bitten by her dead friend's cat, Booger, a woman's life starts to get stranger every day: she's hungry for canned fish, she keeps swallowing her hair, and her predator instincts are out of control.
• 
  The Critic (2023)

  Review preview for The Critic

  In its early stages, the film stands up pretty well. It’s when it reaches the blackmail stage of the story that it falters.

  A theatre critic enlists a glamorous young actress in a desperate scheme.
• 
  Fitting In (2023)

  Review preview for Fitting In

  Although there’s an increasing number of films on related subjects, this is the first to adopt the language of mainstream cinema with such success.

  When she's diagnosed with a variation of sex characteristics, a teenage girl is forced to reevaluate her life, relationships and identity.
• 
  Families Like Ours (2024)

  Review preview for Families Like Ours

  There is a careful balance here between the big drama of the premise and the personal dramas experienced by the characters, most of whom pay no particular heed to the wider tragedy unfolding.

  When it becomes impossible to keep repairing the sea barriers in low-lying Denmark, the country is evacuated and once affluent Danes become refugees, with families torn apart in the process.