FIlm Review
LFF Review: The Prince’s Voyage
There was a time when films aimed at children were mainly concerned with adventure, discovery and instilling a feeling of awe and wonder on young minds. This has been primarily achieved through the medium of animation, whether that’s Disney, Ghibli or film-makers such as Karel Zeman. Whilst animation and anime continue to dominate children’s cinema, …
LFF Review: Sid & Judy
There can be few, if any, more famous child stars than Judy Garland. Her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz captivated several generations of children. She went on to have a career which spanned 45 years, but nothing ever quite reached the same heights. However, despite many setbacks she went on to star …
LFF Film Review: Hope Frozen
I can’t imagine what it must be like for parents to lose a child. Especially at a young age. Childhood diseases can be debilitating for young bodies but the stress and torment it must places on a family must be almost overwhelming. It must be incredibly hard to move on with your life. Hope Frozen, …
Grimmfest Review: Dead Dicks
One-in-five adults in the US experience mental ill health. It’s an incredibly debilitating illness to deal with but even harder to watch a loved one battle through it whilst you stand by feeling helpless. Anything can trigger these feelings of worthlessness, loneliness and useless, but depression and anxiety often stem back to one particular event. …
LFF Review: Premature
In spite of recent improvements, American cinema largely remains the domain of privileged white men. Therefore, the stories we’re told usually reflect this disparity. Whilst female voices are finally being heard and given financial support, the same can’t really be said for Black, Hispanic or Asian film-makers. Their histories are often co-opted by someone else. …
Grimmfest Review: Extra Ordinary
There are very few genre combinations as difficult to master as those of horror and comedy. It’s so easy to get wrong. The trick is balancing the scares with the humour. Normally one will dominate, and more often than not a director fails on both counts trying to satisfy both masters. However, when it’s done …
Grimmfest Review: The Wretched
Throughout the ages, and often due to good old misogyny, witches have played a prominent role in folklore, legend, and latterly, popular culture. Whilst traditionally they’ve been seen as incarnations of evil or infernal creatures, nowadays they’re as likely to appear in children’s books as in bedtime stories. The Pierce Brothers’ new film, The Wretched, …
Grimmfest Review: Artik
There has been a huge spurt of interest in horror films over the last few years. Not only are they suddenly ‘elevated’ in the eyes of some critics, they’ve also because Box Office hits for film studios. As you might expect, producers are falling over themselves to make the next It Follows, Get Out, Heredity …
Grimmfest Review: Tone-Deaf
With certain directors, you either love or hate their output. Whilst this holds true across all genres of cinema, in horror there tends to be slightly less polarisation of opinion. Step forward Richard Bates Jr., who is arguably one of the most ‘marmite’ film-makers working in genre cinema today. His last film, Trash Fire, tended …
Grimmfest Review: Darlin’
Over the last decade there has been a huge sea-change within cinema. Female voices are beginning to be heard on a regular basis and making films is no longer just the boys club it used to be. This change has been most pronounced in horror cinema. A genre where female protagonists have often come off …