A stupid, boring film that suffers from the same problem as Flick (2008; dir. David Howard) – reviewed here – in that it employs familiar faces from British cinema and television, purely because they are unwelcome household names, and the producers obviously thought this would … Read More →
Category Archives: Reviews
Profondo rosso (1975; dir. Dario Argento)
Italian filmmaker Dario Argento here cements his reputation as the “Italian Hitchcock” with this variation on the Psycho (1960; dir. Alfred Hitchcock) scenario. Showily lensed and featuring sequences of technical bravura that bely its simplistic aspirations, Profondo rosso is a film that mocks those who … Read More →
Combat Diaries (2010; dir. Gez Saunders)
This zero-budgeted, home-produced web serial highlights the gulf between mainstream film and television and those of us involved with film-making outside of the mass audio-visual media’s elitist and restrictive processes, and draws attention to the inability of some working at this level to accept their … Read More →
Doctor Who: Flesh and Stone (2010; dir. Adam Smith)
We’ve already expressed our dissatisfaction at the modern retread of this classic BBC science fiction series, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that Doctor Who (2005-Present) is nothing more than the British television equivalent of the Emperor’s New Clothes: despite the total lack of substance, … Read More →
I Know Who Killed Me (2007; dir. Chris Siverston)
This the film that won a record eight awards at the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards – the film awards ceremony that recognises failure and not success, which in North American terms amounts to box office takings rather than artistic or technical ideals – so it … Read More →
Hanno cambiato faccia (1971; dir. Corrado Farina)
The vampire myth is here married to the insidious world of Western capitalism; the blood drinkers of legend reduced to pleasure-less businessmen and replaced with vicious, predatory cars. Despite the humorous aspects of the scenario, Farina plays the film straight, allowing it to take on … Read More →
Der Hamburger Krankheit (1979; dir. Peter Flesichmann)
This is an off-kilter, almost absurdist take on the doomsday scenario popularised by the likes of Survivors (1975-77) or Outbreak (1995; dir. Wolfgang Petersen). Flesichmann – who helmed the equally mocking but disappointing Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein (1990) – reviewed here … Read More →
The Haunting (1963; dir. Robert Wise)
Shirley Jackson’s lyrical and unforgettable novel is here given vertiginous, portentous life by helmer Wise’s heavy-handed direction. What should have been a graceful, haunting experience rapidly outstays its welcome: there are too many longueurs, crammed with ‘meaningful’ dialogue and showy acting, for the film to … Read More →
The Quatermass Experiment (2005; dir. Sam Miller)
This is an horrendous miscalculation by everybody involved, including Nigel Kneale, who should never have allowed his original scripts to be handled in such a disastrously inept manner, and was suitably distraught at the results. Originally staged live by the BBC in 1953, under the … Read More →
A Day of Violence (2009; dir. Darren Ward)
On the surface, this seems like another in the glut of poncy British gangster films, but beneath all the foul language and macho posturing there are similarities with the Italian poliziotteschi and giallo styles – Ward’s production company is even named after the latter – whilst … Read More →
Utazás az alföldön (1995; dir. Béla Tarr)
Hungarian Béla Tarr is one of a handful of filmmakers who, in the past twenty years, have consistently challenged the antiquated practices and misguided theories of readily accepted film-making ideas. His films only came to prominence in the West during the late 1990s, and he … Read More →
The Last Night (1983; dir. Michael J. Murphy)
Low-budget auteur Murphy here lends his out-of-focus, hand-held camera-work to the ludicrous story of an amateur dramatics murder mystery hijacked by two escaped criminals. The claustrophobic, backstage locations add an air of menace to the tongue-in-cheek scenario, and Murphy and his cast have some fun … Read More →