Fantasia 2020 Review: Noah Hutton’s ‘Lapsis’
“‘Lapsis’ offers the intriguing and hopeful possibility that our technologically dependent future may not be so bad after all.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: John Hyams’ ‘Alone’
“Even seen without the lens of current events, ‘Alone’ is a harrowing experience that earns its power by being uncomfortably credible.”
‘She Dies Tomorrow’: Fear, Death and the Almighty Wrath of Mozart
“Through a graceful use of Mozart’s music, ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ urges the audience to question their lives and unavoidable deaths.”
Review: Claire Oakley’s ‘Make Up’
“When ‘Make Up’ reaches the light at the end of its twisted tunnel, its culmination is gratifying and sumptuously-realised.”
Review: Dave Franco’s ‘The Rental’
“The ideas present are intriguing, however The Rental’s ultimate staying power is questionable.”
Review: Joko Anwar’s ‘Impetigore’
“Indonesian horror has been gradually finding its feet over the past few years, and ‘Impetigore’ shows that we’ve barely even scratched the surface.”
Review: Natalie Erika James’ ‘Relic’
“A haunting study of Grecian prophecies and inherited mental illness, ‘Relic’ makes beasts of the mind.”
Review: Natalie Erika James’ ‘Relic’
“James’ arresting, emotional and attention-grabbing film understands that what’s most frightening is barely glimpsed and feels disarmingly normal.”
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.”
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…”
‘The Green Fog’: Guy Maddin and the Johnsons Visit Alfred Hitchcock
“‘The Green Fog’ is another shining example of how easy it can be to disappear in the silver screen labyrinth. These mirrors and rhymes of familiar sights, looks, places, actions and themes form the basis of how we experience narrative filmmaking.”