Tag Archives: horror

The Untamed (2016)

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Wow! Where has this film been hiding? Thanks goodness for ACMI that keeps showing these unlooked for and unheralded gems. The advertising for this Mexican horror/drama almost put me off; “Sexual desire, social realism and the uncanny converge in this provocative genre splice.” It could’ve been a Neon Demon – and you can click on the link to see how much I loved that ‘genre-splicing, misogyny-satirising’ movie. Happily The Untamed is nothing like it and I loved its deadpan and excoriating look at heteronormative oppression, wound through with a profoundly meaningful and metaphorical motif of horror. Continue reading →

Get Out (2017)

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Touted as a horror, this is really a suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing right up until the satisfyingly violent ending. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is getting ready to visit the parents of his new girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) for the first time. Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener), Rose assures him, will be totally cool that he is black as her Dad ‘would have voted for Obama for a third term if he could’ and they are ‘definitely not racist’. Continue reading →

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

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Image via indiewire.com

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” And so begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I had low hopes for this film as it came and went at the cinema within a few weeks, never a good sign. It combines two excellent genres though – Austen and horror – and was much, much better than I’d hoped. Regardless of it’s occasional flaws in logic and pacing, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies reimagines a classic where women are socially powerless and makes them warriors. Continue reading →

The Devil’s Candy (2015)

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I chose another 11.30pm horror movie just because I could. By Australian director Sean Byrne, this is his second feature, the success of the first giving him the leverage to set this film in Texas. Part serial killer, part demonic possession horror type, it didn’t scare me as much as take me for an enjoyable and occasionally exhilarating ride. Continue reading →

Phantasm: Remastered (1979)

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1970s horror is pretty stupid. I should have realised this but, you know, it’s good to give things a go. Apparently Phantasm is a classic of 70s horror, inspiring many films and directors, including George Lucas. It is set in a small US town where brothers Mike and Tommy occasionally talk to each other. Mike attends the funeral of a friend who was killed by a bare breasted blonde in high heels in a cemetery and at the funeral home, Tommy sees strange things. Continue reading →

Killing Ground (2016)

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THE-KILLING-GROUND-2MIFF has ‘night shift’ screenings around 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays and tonight I went to my first one. I had booked to see Baskin, a Turkish high-gore horror, but lost my nerve and swapped for the only other screening, Killing Ground. It’s an Australian thriller that will make many a city person afraid to go camping in the bush. Continue reading →

Under the Shadow (2016)

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I’m still thinking about this Iranian horror. It wasn’t a genre I knew about before A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night entered my life – my favourite film of last year. There are similarities between these two films, not stylistically but in their feminist subtext, although Girl delivers it much more subtly. And Under the Shadow is much more scary.  I returned to my apartment afterwards and the quiet stairs and long corridors seemed disconcertingly like a carpeted version of the apartment block in the film. Continue reading →

Green Room (2015)

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greenroom_finalHave you ever decided to go to the cinema and just pick a film that you know nothing about? That’s what I did with Green Room, all I knew was that it was a horror (not my favourite genre), it was about a punk band and Patrick Stewart was in it. If nothing else, it was going to be interesting. And it was an engaging, if gory, ride. Continue reading →