Review: Jeffrey A. Brown’s ‘The Beach House’
“‘The Beach House’ signals an exciting new star in horror.”
Josephine Decker Casts a Spell with Elisabeth Moss in ‘Shirley’
“Moss is nothing short of phenomenal in ‘Shirley,’ filling out her performance with a steady flow of poisonously perfect wisecracks, putdowns and insults…”
‘The Psychic,’ ‘The Black Cat’ and the Concept of the ‘Final Girl’
“Even though ‘The Psychic’ and ‘The Black Cat’ don’t exist as prominently in the cultural consciousness as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Halloween,’ there is a sense that the Final Girls do exist in the wider world of horror…”
Alike in Their Way: (Un)happy Families in ‘Teorema’ and ‘Visitor Q’
“While ‘Teorema’ and ‘Visitor Q’ share a common DNA, what’s most striking is the way each film uses The Stranger. Both figures bring with them a kind of new order, as if they were missing puzzle pieces for the families that they integrate themselves into.”
Review: Brandon Christensen’s ‘Z’
“As a genre exercise, ‘Z’ shows promise for what Christensen might do with a higher budget.”
Review: Lorcan Finnegan’s ‘Vivarium’
“Taken purely at its basest form, ‘Vivarium’ is a terrifying isolation horror movie that goes for the jugular.”
Foreign Objects: ‘Swallow’ Is a Convincing Feature Debut for Director Carlo Mirabella-Davis
“Haley Bennett’s central performance is career-best work.”
Review: Juliano Dornelles and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s ‘Bacurau’
“Relishing in its ability to wrong foot and thrill right to its final moments, ‘Bacurau’ is an unashamedly cinematic experience, with its makers playing in a sandbox of tropes and expectations, subverting them to put forward a radical and wholly essential message.”
The Disaster Area: From ‘Airport’ to ‘Airplane!’ – Part One
“It is during the 70s that the disaster film’s most pure and admirable entries were made, bookended by two significantly different stories involving air travel fiascos.”
Review: Neasa Hardiman’s ‘Sea Fever’
“In these increasingly confusing times, taking solace anywhere we can is more important than ever, and it’s impressively weird, intelligent movies like ‘Sea Fever’ that offer such comfort.”
Why Criticism: Not Quite the Apocalypse
“In Australia, our cinematic art has been trying to shake us from apathy for 50 years.”
Review: Malgorzata Szumowska’s ‘The Other Lamb’
“The female gaze is strong in ‘The Other Lamb,’ lovingly capturing Cassidy’s delicate, open features particularly when they begin twisting into something resembling anger…”
Why Criticism: The Race to Problematize Bittersweet Horror Endings
“In order to fully engage with horror films, it’s important to look at the monster and the world that’s being upended by that monster.”
Review: Matthew Ninaber’s ‘Transference’
“‘Transference’ feels like a 13-and-under science fiction-themed board game. The pieces are clearly labeled, the color design fits the genre premise and the directions are confusing.”
Review: Liz Garbus’ ‘Lost Girls’
“The lack of resolution inherent in the source material sets up an insurmountable task: the solution to the central crime and mystery that puts this particular story in motion.”
Glasgow Film Festival Review: Régis Roinsard’s ‘Les traducteurs’
“Roinsard is so preoccupied with setting up the next twist that ‘Les traducteurs’ does little to establish why viewers should care.”
Review: ‘The Invisible Man’ Is a Sight for Sore Eyes
“Whannell’s ‘The Invisible Man’ is an absolute banger, and stands tall as the most spectacular evolution of the story to hit the big screen.”
Review: Oz Perkins’ ‘Gretel & Hansel’
“Great art has every piece in intimate communion with the art as a whole. ‘Gretel & Hansel’ takes an elemental approach to the folklore, gasping with the fears of the original material while exhaling a new mystique of its own.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Christian Petzold’s ‘Undine’
“Petzold’s use of fairytale is rote, but – as a piece of Sirkian high melodrama – ‘Undine’ is eminently satisfying.”
Berlinale 2020 Review: Camilo Restrepo’s ‘Los conductos’
“‘Los conductos’ announces Camilo Restrepo as a visceral talent with the substance to back up his sublime imagery.”