Review: Simon Barrett’s ‘Seance’
“Everything about ‘Seance’ is loudly, proudly feminine and female focused… if one didn’t know this was Barrett’s work, it could easily be mistaken for that of a female filmmaker, which is no small feat.”
Rose Glass Makes a Memorable Feature Debut with ‘Saint Maud’
“Sure, ‘Saint Maud’ can be called a horror film, but it is equally a psychological drama that gets a lot of mileage from a tried and true trope: the shifting power dynamics in a superior/subordinate relationship.”
Netflix Review: Joe Wright’s ‘The Woman in the Window’
“While Wright’s stylized execution is impressive, ‘The Woman in the Window’ is a yarn that never fully grabs its audience by the jugular.”
Director on the Verge of Change: The Controlled Chaos of Pedro Almodóvar’s ‘Julieta’
“One of the great pleasures of watching any Almodóvar film, but especially ‘Julieta,’ is studying its expressionistic textures…”
Review: Rose Glass’ ‘Saint Maud’
“‘Saint Maud’ proves, once again, that horror, and particularly indie horror, provides the opportunity for first timers to take real risks.”
Sundance Review: Karen Cinorre’s ‘Mayday’
“‘Mayday’ is the filmic equivalent of an answer to a distress call, letting those in need simply know that it’s there.”
The Birth of Suzuki Action and Style: ‘Youth of the Beast’
“While Suzuki’s overly-stylized and sometimes incomprehensible films ultimately led to his termination from Nikkatsu in 1968, his legacy safely lives on in modern day Japanese cinema…”
I Walk Alone: Seijun Suzuki Noir
“Occupying a middle space between the classicism of Japan’s most well-known filmmakers and the politically charged avant-garde of the New Wave, Suzuki uses the trappings of noir to explore the ramifications of isolation.”
How Seijun Suzuki’s ‘Take Aim at the Police Van’ Subverts the Vigilante Subgenre
“A blueprint for Suzuki’s later masterpieces, ‘Take Aim at the Police Van’ is a solid cinematic vehicle full of suspense and surprises.”
Lost: Akira Kurosawa Noir
“In Kurosawa’s noir films, characters struggle to move beyond loss — personal, financial and national — only to find that more loss awaits them.”
Revelation as Retroactive in ‘Southland Tales’ and ‘Kaboom’
“‘Southland Tales’ and ‘Kaboom’ aren’t defined BY their end-of-days narratives, as their apocalypses define the contents through the fulfillment of apocalyptic revelations.”
Avenging the Destruction of True Love: François Truffaut’s ‘The Bride Wore Black’
“In ‘The Bride Wore Black,’ cruel fate rips true love away from the innocent, suggesting that Truffaut believed pure happiness is only found in fairy tales.”
An Interview with ‘Kaali Khuhi’ Director Terrie Samundra
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Kaali Khuhi’ Director Terrie Samundra
Review: Mickey Reece’s ‘Climate of the Hunter’
“‘Climate of the Hunter’ is fatally enthralled by its own bizarre, overwrought stylistic tics, from the exaggerated performances aiming squarely for the cheap seats to the Wes Anderson-style PSAs…”
Review: Patrick Picard’s ‘The Bloodhound’
“There’s a timelessness to ‘The Bloodhound’ that puts it on a par with recent and similarly quietly-horrific offerings like ‘It Follows’ and ‘Piercing’…”
Man with the Camera: Brian De Palma’s ‘The Black Dahlia’
“‘The Black Dahlia’ shows De Palma in a reflective mood, considering the impact cinema, especially his own, has had on the lives and suffering of women on screen.”
London Film Festival Review: Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo’s ‘Bad Tales’
“Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo’s second feature, ‘Bad Tales,’ is morbidly curious and content to simmer in its own pessimism.”
London Film Festival Review: Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Possessor’
“There is so much stuff in ‘Possessor’ that you might think you’re at a venerable cinematic feast. But take away the squelching and splatter and there’s barely enough to fill an episode of ‘Black Mirror.”
Interview With ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ Screenwriter Smita Singh
Dipankar Sarkar Interviews ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ Screenwriter Smita Singh
The Gothic Splendour of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’
“Rebecca’s greatness stems from its faithful approach to the Gothic roots of du Maurier’s novel, foregrounding all of the most important themes like repression of the past and marriages full of conflict.”