Cannibal Holocaust: THE Video Nasty

Cannibal Holocaust is an Italian cannibal horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato. The plot recounters the final days of a group of budding documentarians as they head to the Amazon jungle to try and make contact with the tribes.

So, yes before we get into it, I just want to say that don’t want this if you are easily offended. There is real animal death in this film, and very vicious rape scenes which are both very off putting. I myself had to look away during some of these scenes as I thought that it was just needlessly vulgar. I think an argument can be made that these scenes were only put in the film to add a shock factor that would lead to its infamy, making it more of a must see for a certain type of people.

That aside, I enjoyed parts of this film. I enjoyed how the film subverted our expectation in having the missing teens be the real villains of the piece rather than have it be the savage evil tribe trope again. I thought it was a nice comment on the fact that just because someone is classed as ‘civilised’ it doesn’t mean they are. I read the whole thing as a commentary on colonialization.

I enjoyed the sense of tension especially in the later stages of the film, when it feels like the whole of this world has become hostile and there is this looming sense of death that just doesn’t go away. The frights are physiological as you see the level of human depravity just below the surface.

Overall, not an easy watch, but one that is worth your time as a comment on the past and human nature.

Pros.

Not using the evil tribe trope

A strong sense of tension

Interesting themes and comments on society

Cons.

It is not an easy watch

A lot of the more vulgar elements feel done for little more than shock value

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Faith Based: Lance Reddick Is GOD

Faith Based is a comedy film directed by Vincent Masciale. The plot follows two slacker friends Luke (Luke Barnett) and Tanner (Tanner Thomason), who decide to make a Christian movie after they hear that they can make a lot of money if they pull it off. Cynically and rather naively the friends think that it will be easy to make a crappy faith-based movie, quickly the learn how wrong they are.

I am loving this trend of Lance Reddick just appearing in random small budget comedy and horror films. He always makes them much better and brings much need gravitas; the man is a treasure. He plays Luke’s adoptive father, who never really believed in this son always viewing him as the screw up. The scenes him and Barnett share are easily the best in the film, there is a sweetness and a tenderness to their relationship that is really quite touching.

I enjoyed this film quite a bit, I liked the satirical edge to it. It never felt mean spirited in its jokes about faith-based films, but it also felt spot on with its commentary hitting all the right spots. The jokes worked for me and often made me laugh, but remember humour is subjective.

Overall, a delightful comedy film that brings a smile to your face and touches your heart.

Pros.

Spot on commentary

It is funny

It doesn’t feel mean spirited

Lance Reddick

Cons.

The leads don’t bring much

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Peppermint: John Wick Was A Good Film Right? Lets Copy It.

Peppermint is an action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel. The plot follows the transformation of quiet suburban mother Riley North (Jennifer Garner), after the death of her family.

So, this is a deeply average action film that is clearly trying to cash in on things like John Wick and those other kind of action films for as much as they can get. As such the story is played out before it begins and you can guess easily where it is going, it is a mash up of many different genre cliches and stereotypes.

Jennifer Garner is fine, nothing more than that. She is believable enough in the physicality of the role, but because the film is so poorly written and has no real reason to exist, her character feels incredibly hollow. Yes she is a badass, so what? We don’t feel anything for the character and the drama feels cliché and forced.

I mainly watched this as I was looking for schlocky action and that is pretty much all it is good for. It is just fun to watch guys get mowed down sometimes, I guess. Some of the scenes push the boat out on what is possible and are usually better for it.

Overall, only watchable if you either can’t find anything better or are looking for just some generic action schlock.

Pros.

It is watchable

Some of the more unbelievable action scenes are fun to watch

It is schlocky as hell

Cons.

Jennifer Garner brings nothing to the role

The film feels like a rip off

It has no reason to exist

It is incredibly generic

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Way Back: Ben Affleck’s Painful Return

The Way Back is an American sports film directed by Gavin O’Connor. The plot follows Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck), a basketball player who turned to drink after his child died, now he is resigned to drink himself to death. That is until one day his old high school ask him to coach their basketball team, after their old coach unexpectedly retires, this gives him a reason to carry on.

This is a very generic film, there have been, are and will be so many other sports dramas that follow this same plot outline. A has been who has personal problems, coming back from obscurity to help the next generation. The plot did nothing for me as I already knew where it was going.

However, though the plot is generic Ben Affleck saves this film and elevates it far beyond what it would be otherwise. Ben Affleck’s performance here might be one of the best of the year, he plays the broken man who has given up so well; it is frightening how convincing he is. Obviously, he is drawing on his heavily publicised substance abuse battles, for this role and you can tell that, and it really adds to the performance.

Overall, the film really isn’t anything special, you have seen it countless times before, but you haven’t seen Affleck this raw and vulnerable and it is worth a watch for that alone. Affleck really does save this film.

Pros.

Ben Affleck and his raw performance

The feel-good story

How well Ben Affleck sells the character and his journey

Cons.

The plot is very generic

You know exactly what is going to happen

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Kajillonaire: Icky And Problematic

Kajillionaire is a drama film directed by Miranda July. The plot centres around a dysfunctional family of three that defy the rules of modern society and live outside of the system. However, one day an outsider comes into the family’s orbit and old festering wounds are opened and abuse is brought to light.

So, before I get into this review I want to talk about the central romance that I found to be deeply troublesome. So the central character Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), has been neglected by her parents and ignored and is basically learning challenged and seems to have the mental age of a much younger person, and as the film goes on we see that she is craving maternal affection. This maternal affection comes in the form of Melanie (Gina Rodriguez), the outsider that takes Old Dolio away from her abusive parents. At first the friendship they have is sweet, but it is clear from early on that Melanie has sexual feeling towards Old Dolio, which later come to the forefront. Now my issue with this is that it feels very much like Melanie is taking advantage of Old Dolio, who is in a deeply troubled mental state, the romance feels icky and problematic. The choice to make it a romance rather than a friendship is my key issue here. Also the film makes Old Dolio an incredibly stereotypical butch lesbian, which again is also troublesome, it doesn’t bother to have any real nuance at all.

That aside, there were parts of the film that I enjoyed. I thought that Wood did a lot to make her character feel very rounded and warm. Her performance was both endearing and also heart-breaking at the same time.

I also enjoyed the film’s exploration of abuse and the many forms it can take. As it looked at how parents can sometimes be incredibly toxic and harmful towards their kids. I thought the parent child dynamic in this film is fascinating and well done, it raises many interesting questions that I was left thinking about after the credits rolled.

Overall, I could give this film a much higher score if it wasn’t for the hugely problematic romance that didn’t need to be the in the film, a very poor choice.

Pros.

Wood

The exploration of the parent child dynamic

Cons

The romance

The use of stereotypes without any nuance

The odd sense of humour really doesn’t fit with everything else

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

IRL: Modern Dating, Pandemic Adjacent

IRL is a romantic drama film directed by Ricardo Perez-Selsky. The plot serves as an observation on our modern online dating culture. Telling the story of one long distance couple who meet online and their struggle to stay together despite not having met.

Frankly, it is refreshing to see a romantic drama/ comedy film tell it like it is, with no fluff, no ignoring the hard parts, and crucially no over idealisation. This film feels real, and though that is an overused turn of phrase it is nevertheless true here. Most people will be able to find at least one moment that they will be able to relate to.

I applaud this film for not being afraid to get dark when it needs to. It shows how you never really know what is going to happen in life, the best laid plans often come awry. It adds to the realism which is crucial to this film.

The acting is strong and the romance between the two leads is likewise despite mainly happening over the phone. You want the two to be together desperately. However, my one critique of the film would be when Ian (Chase Hinton), very nearly (or does depending on your definition) cheats on his so far online girlfriend when he goes back home to visit his parents. Yes, I understand why structurally from a character point of view why he does this, but it then causes him as a character to become far less likeable and rootable; which maybe is the point?

Overall, this film will punch you in the face with real earned genuine emotional impact and you will thank it for it.

Pros.

The acting, especially Hinton

The romance

The real take on love and relationships

Relatability

Cons.

The cheating scene derails Ian as a character somewhat
4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Personal History Of David Copperfield: A Modern Take On A Classic Tale

The Personal History Of David Copperfield is a comedy drama film directed by Armando Iannucci, based on the novel David Copperfield written by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of David Copperfield (Dev Patel), we see his struggles, his triumphs and the events that define him.

I enjoyed the clearly satirised tone of this film; it doesn’t take itself too seriously which is nice as it allows the film to not get too bogged down. It walks a difficult tightrope as it tries to stay true to the source novel while also reinventing it, that sounds like a very difficult task, but this film does manage it.

I also enjoyed the quirky cast of characters on display here, they each feel so vibrant in their own personality which I liked. I thought all actors involved gave strong performances, from the veterans to the relative newcomers, even though most did not get a lot of screen time they still manage to remain memorable.

My issues with this film come from the dryness of it. I didn’t find the films sense of humour funny; it has a very specific sense of humour that will not be to the taste of a lot. Also the film does have quite a bit of drag that is quite noticeable in the second and third acts that really weigh the film down to the point of you losing any kind of interest.

Overall, a quirky daring film that quickly wears out its welcome

Pros.

The quirkiness

Strong Performances

Keeping true to the novel whilst also innovating on it

Cons.

The humour didn’t work for me

Pacing issues galore

Dev Patel left me cold

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Bird With Crystal Plumage: Take Away, Never Intervene In A Murder

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage is an Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The plot sees Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer holidaying in Rome become tangled up in a series of bizarre murders. As the killer creeps closer Sam has to figure out who it is and stop them.

What I enjoyed the most about this film was the merging of noir elements and supernatural slasher elements to create a hybrid of sorts. The killer in this film is menacing and mysterious, almost more so than any of the slashers that would come after them, pair this with the fact they also doesn’t feel out of place in this very realistic world. It is a tight rope walk, but one that this film pulls off well.

Pacing wise this film is a model that other films should strive for, it used its hour and a half runtime well it build the mystery and sense of threat over the course of the film well, never giving it a moment to drop or drag. Moreover, the mystery was never obvious, it kept you guessing, and I appreciated that.

I thought the acting was top notch as well, Musante was a compelling lead who had just the right amounts of vulnerability and capability to never feel anything other than a real person. He is not some invincible force of justice, neither is a terrified victim, rather he feels rounded.

Overall, a fantastic example of Italian genre cinema. A strong mystery adapted well that has more than enough thrills and chills to keep you invested

Pros.

The mystery

The killer

The leading man

Paced well

Cons.

It would have been nice to see the female characters be more than just sex objects and victims

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Suspiria: Witches Everywhere

Suspiria is an Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento. The plot sees an American ballet dancer transfer to a prestigious German dance school. However, as Suzy (Jessica Harper), settles into her new life she soon comes to realise things are far more sinister than they appear; and a grizzly string of murders reinforces that point.

I enjoyed the dream like quality of this film, the breaks with reality helped in this respect as you were never quite sure whether what Suzy was seeing was real or whether it was some elaborate hallucination/ dream.

I thought though very crude by today’s standard, when the horror was used it was used well and even though the makeup and effects were not hugely scary it still served to unease me. It reminded me slightly of the first Nightmare On Elm Street film, in tone and aesthetic; clearly Freddy and Craven borrowed a few things.

I thought the acting was good, Harper didn’t have a huge amount to work with as most of her scenes would either be reactionary, or her running and or falling to the ground, but that was the way a lot of female characters were written in that time period of horror cinema, so it is not unusual.

Overall, I enjoyed this film I thought the dream like elements worked and it had a fun yet still scary campy horror vibe.

Pros.

The scares

The practical effects

The campy fun

The dream like parts and the accompanying music

Cons.

A poorly written female lead

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Saint Maud: The Lord Making You FEEL

Saint Maud is a British psychological horror film directed by Rose Glass. The plot sees clearly unhinged Maud (Morfydd Clark), begin caring for faded American movie star Amanda (Jennifer Ehle). As she is performing her duties as a private care nurse she can’t shake the feeling that she was made for more and that God is communicating through her or to her in some way. As her ‘connection’ with some form of higher being intensifies so does the horror.

I would say that this film is going to be very stark with viewers, you will either love it or you will hate it. That said however, I find myself somewhere in the middle. Though I think the premise and the story is well told and intriguing, I think structurally and as a horror film it is disappointing.

So, this is very much like Robert Egger’s The Witch, use your enjoyment of that film as a barometer for this. By that I mean it is incredibly slow, it builds and builds itself over time and then explodes in the final ten minutes into an all-out wild spectacle. I found myself bored by it for the majority and then these last ten minutes scared me and made me take notice.

I think the concept is interesting, the idea of is Maud really communing with some kind of higher power/ demon or is she just losing her mind has been done before, but never in as much detail as this. The film never gives you a definitive answer one way or the other it is entirely on you to decide. I enjoyed this aspect of it.

Overall, your enjoyment of this will come down to your horror sensibilities. I saw people leaving my screening mid film. I enjoyed what it was trying to do, however I found it to be a disappointment ultimately.

Pros.

The ending

The showdown, you know what I mean

The premise and the interesting plot

Cons.

It is not scary

It is very slow

3/5

Reviewed by Luke