Here’s a slideshow of photos from the recent Blood on the Catwalk shoot, the latest feature film production from the Act2Cam workshop programme, filmed by Brett Gerry Films at the exclusive Polam Hall in Darlington. This was an eventful and stressful two day shoot, but … Read More →
Tag Archives: thriller
Violence on screen equals complacency on the page…
The recent furore over The Killer Inside Me (2010; dir. Michael Winterbottom), which centres around its graphic depiction of violence against women, has totally failed to pinpoint the cause of that film’s failure, with many theorists and commentators misdirecting their efforts onto spurious, tabloid-baiting claims: … Read More →
The Kremlin Letter (1970; dir. John Houston)
Jean Pierre Melville saw this “magisterial” effort as establishing the standard for cinema, and it’s easy to see why: Houston here encapsulates his cruel vision of the world into a simple, almost unpalatable nugget that stares you in the face as it hits you in … 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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
La polizia chiede aiuto (1974; dir. Massimo Dallamano)
This sleazy film from helmer Dallamano – who gave use the equally questionable Cosa avete fatto a Solange? (1972) - makes for uncomfortable viewing as it simultaneously revels in and condones ‘lewd’ and ‘socially abhorrent’ behaviour: here child prostitution, voyeurism and murder are treated with the … Read More →
Sphinx (1981; dir. Franklin J. Schaffner)
This is a totally redundant and insipid thriller, perhaps, as well as wasting the talent of everyone involved, revealing the mercenary nature of many mainstream producers and directors. Schaffner shows very little interest in anything here, failing to evoke suspense, menace or interest in screenwriter … Read More →
New Town Killers (2008; dir. Richard Jobson)
Jobson here continues his masturbatory fantasies, begun with 16 Years of Alcohol (2003) and continued through films like The Purifiers (2004) – reviewed here – this time not only over-indulging the ego of a pampered and vulgar actor (the impossibly pathetic Dougray Scott) but further … Read More →
Inception (2010; dir. Christopher Nolan)
This is an over-hyped, fatuous film that fails to live up to the estimation of a number of critics and commentators, who have lauded the film with platitudes that it barely supports. Helmer Nolan, whose work consistently riffs on Heat (1995; dir. Michael Mann), has … Read More →