Cursed Camera: Video Killed…. Well Everyone

Written by Luke Barnes

Cursed Camera is a horror short directed by Hunter Farris. The plot sees a group of budding filmmakers become the unwitting victims of a demon after they start using a cursed camera that kills those who appear on its lens.

This is what horror cinema is all about, the wonderful shorts that breath life back into the genre! I greatly enjoyed this film for the short time it was on, as I thought it was very clever and it made me laugh.

If you have ever made a short yourself before, then you will find the premise itself quite hilarious and more than a little relatable. Moreover, I think the film’s lampoon of possession tropes is spot on, and I was laughing for the entire runtime of the film.

I thought the acting was also quite good, and even though each character was only on screen a minute amount of time before they are killed off most still have their moment to shine and for the most part nail it.

Overall, this was a lot of fun to watch and if you have a spare few minutes you should definitely check it out, eagerly awaiting what the filmmaker does next.

Pros.

A novel premise

A strong lampoon

Many funny scenes

The cast are strong

The ending perfectly sets up more fun

Cons.

None

5/5

The Parish: Nuns Are Always Creepy

The Parish is a horror film directed by David S. Hogan. The plot sees single mum Liz (Angela DiMarco), and her daughter move after Liz’s husband dies- looking for a fresh start. However, upon arrival Liz and her daughter quickly find themselves caught up in a decades old mystery as well as a millennium long battle between good and evil.

The main thing that drew me to this film was Bill Oberst Jr. I am a big fan of the films of Rob Zombie (particularly the Firefly trilogy), so seeing his name attached instantly attracted my attention. Oberst Jr, does not disappoint and is as good here as he is in the final instalment in that trilogy, stealing damn near every scene he is in and managing to be the coolest thing about the film.

Another strong point about the film is it’s scares. Though the film starts off slow, by the twenty minute mark you can see things are a miss, and when Liz starts having horrific nightmare that’s when the film really starts getting going: the nightmares provide the film with some strong horror visuals, but it is the general scene of creepiness brought about by the atmosphere and the plot that makes the film unsettling. This film sat with me for a while after I watched it, which is always a good sign for a horror film.

Overall, a terrifically creepy affair with an excellent, as always, turn from Bill Oberst Jr.

Pros.

Oberst Jr

DiMarco

The scares

The mystery

The final showdown

Cons.

The opening is a little slow

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Body Brokers: The Human Trade

Written by Luke Barnes

Body Brokers is a crime thriller film directed by John Swab. The plot revolves around the for profit drug rehabilitation system in the United States, and the various predatory tricks and cons people within the industry are using to stay rich.

This film serves to do for the drug rehabilitation system what The Big Short did for the stock market. Providing us the audience with an in-depth, albeit it fictionalised, view into the world of body brokers, characters who prey off junkies going in and out of treatment centres to make their money through various contracts.

Honestly, the fact that this is a thing in the real world is terrifying, and it’s the same kind of terror that you had when you realised that I Care A Lot also has a lot of grounding in reality. Our systems are deeply flawed.

I thought the performances were all very good here, Frank Grillo was the stand out, but he was supported nicely by Michael Kenneth Williams and Jessica Rothe, who is definitely the scene stealer of the film. My one complaint on this front would be that the main protagonist Utah (Jack Kilmer), is fairly bland and predictable

Overall, this film is harrowing, and it opens your eyes to just how easily corrupted our systems are- filling you with even more existential dread and terror of the world around you.

Pros.

The premise

Exposing the injustices and the wrongs of the drug rehabilitation world

Making a few strong points

Rothe, Williams and Grillo

Cons.

Kilmer

The ending is manically depressing

4/5

I Care A Lot: A Sociopathic Super Heroine

Written by Luke Barnes

I Care A Lot is a dark comedy film directed by J Blakeson. The plot follows the efforts of Marla Greyson (Rosamund Pike), a court appointed guardian, who defrauds those in her care for personal gain. However, one day she picks the wrong target and invokes the ire of a mob boss.

I did not care for this film at all.

The only pro I can give for this film is that, as usual, Pike is on excellent form and gives one hell of a performance. However, there character is unlikeable and there is really nothing the audience can connect to in her. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as you don’t always have to like the protagonist of the films you watch, but it becomes an issue when we are supposed to care about her survival. Personally, I found myself relating more to Peter Dinklage’s mob boss character.

Moreover, the writing is incredibly unbelievable to the point of Marla almost becoming a sociopathic superhero at times. We are supposed to view Marla as a crafty predator, who outwits her opponents, however in a physical sense she is shown to just be a regular human and yet she can’t seem to die; literally she survives definitive death after definitive death, and it gets a bit laughable after a point.

Finally, the narration seems to think it is clever and deep, yet it comes off as just the opposite of that and if anything a little try hardy. Not everyone can be American Psycho, stop trying.

Overall, Pike is giving the performance of her career so far, sadly it is in a deeply unlikeable film.

Pros.

The premise

Pike

Cons.

The audience has no way to connect to the character

You don’t care about the character, so it takes away from any tense or life and death sequences

The narration is not as smart as it thinks it is

Marla basically has superpowers as the result of bad writing

1.5/5

Todd: The Life Of A Budding Killer

Todd is a thriller film directed by Aaron Warren. The plot follows the titular Todd (Hans Hernke), as we see his decent into becoming a budding madman/ killer, due to intense social isolation and abuse.

I appreciated this film not taking the easy road, they could have made a film that used all the evil kid, budding serial killer cliches for Todd and made him out to be an unsympathetic, obvious monster. However, instead the film explores the character further and takes a more nuanced approach to the discussion, showing that he has layers and that his situation has driven him to do what he does.

I thought the tense stalking sequences of the later film were also well done, too often is the term ‘on the edge of your seat’ used, but here I would describe a similar feeling. There is a lot of great suspense around how far will Todd go, when will he be caught. As such the cat and mouse game that escalates from it is very fun to watch.

Overall, the writing really helps to elevate this film beyond mediocrity and make it memorable and dare I say it, impactful?

Pros.

Layered writing

A lens towards society

A strong sense of tension

Cons.

The character’s other than Todd are all quite weak and poorly fleshed out

A few pacing issues

3/5

Luz: Romance Behind Walls

Written by Luke Barnes

Luz (directed by Jon Garcia), is a romantic drama film about the friendship and romance between two men, which blossoms within the walls of a prison.

This is a heart wrenching film for so many reasons. It is both beautiful and soul crushing.

I think in terms of representation this film is very needed, as LGBTQ+ love stories are often sorely over looked in the romantic drama genre, and yes to a degree that is being rectified in recent years, but there is still a noticeable gap, and films like this are filling that- and I for one think that is commendable. Hopefully, soon the romance genre will be more reflective of all kinds of relationships.

The love story was very powerful and effecting, I thought the writing was just right as it managed to walk that line between expertly playing with your emotions, but also never feeling overly sentimental.

The leads have a great deal of chemistry, and you do believe that they are genuinely in love, which adds to the emotional impact of the film. I thought both performances, commanded my attention and impressed me.

Overall, a fantastic and powerful romance film, with a real heart and soul.

Pros.

The chemistry

The representation

The emotional weight

The performances

Cons.

The side characters are a little underdeveloped

4.5/5

The Edge Of Seventeen: High Fidelity In A Classroom

Written by Luke Barnes

Edge Of Seventeen is a coming of age comedy film directed by Kelly Fremon Craig. The plot sees socially awkward teen Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), navigate a world of depression, rejection and family strife, all whilst figuring out who she wants to be- I promise it is happier than that sounds.

I enjoyed this film so much, that it has quickly supplanted its way into my top ten films of all time.

For me, this is one of the best if not the best teen film of all time. There is something so painfully true about this film that really reached me and felt reflective of my own high school experience. The idea of teenage mental health is not something that you often see come up in coming of age fare beyond the usual idea of angst, however, it is really done justice here.
Where this film pips something like Lady Bird, is that it is more relatable. There is a quiet middle class privilege to Lady Bird, yes I said it, that though present here also is lessened to a point whereby it feels like a closer mirror to how a lot of people actually experience highschool.

Steinfeld is terrific here truly. I know True Grit was the film that put her on the map for a lot of people, but this was the film for me that made me stand up and take notice. She makes the characters so complex, but also so likeable, so charming and yet so self-destructive. Moreover, the level of chemistry she has with Woody Harrelson, who plays her teacher, is off the charts- they must be cast together in more films.

Overall, a film that spoke to me on a personal level and reminded me why I love film.

Pros.

Focusing on teenage mental health

Steinfeld

Harrelson

The writing is sharp and witty

It feels painfully true

5/5

Addams Family Values: The Goth At Your Summer Camp

Written by Luke Barnes

Addams Family Values is a family, fantasy, dark comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. The plot sees the Addams family welcome a new member into their family. Meanwhile Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd), is seduced by black widow Debbie (Joan Cusack), and the family has to fight to get him back.

This is very much more of the same, if you enjoyed the first film you will enjoy this. If I had to pick between the two films and say which was better I would probably pick this one, as the story is slightly more engaging and the idea of the Addams children going off to summer camp is bound to inspire at least a few chuckles. Though I preferred it more than the first, I would not say this was technically, filmmaking wise, better

I thought both of the of the storylines here were well done and entertaining, there are a few slow moments here and there, but these are only minor and really don’t affect the film hugely.

I found the Addams brood to be just as likeable as they wear in the first film, with a young Christina Ricci as Wednesday being, of course, the standout; Ricci really should come back for the Wednesday live action show that Tim Burton is working on, I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t. My one criticism on this front would be that, as characters I don’t feel like they really progress, the arcs they go through are incredibly limited, and where the characters start at the first frame of the first film to where they end at the last frame of the second film is virtually indistinguishable- there really is no character growth.

The humour this time around still made me laugh, but perhaps not as much as in the first film and I did notice that more of the jokes feel flat.

Overall, more of the same.

Pros.

Ricci

The Addams are still fun to watch

The summer camp plotline is a lot of fun

Cons.

The characters don’t really progress

The humour is a little weaker this time around

3/5

Hell Or Highwater: When Sitting On Your Porch Always Keep A Gun To Hand

Written by Luke Barnes

Hell Or High Water is a neo-noir western film directed by David Mackenzie. The plot sees two Texan brother (played by Chris Pine and Ben Foster), rob a series of banks to achieve a better life for themselves and their families. However, in there efforts to do this they come to the attention of Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges), and a game of cat and mouse begins.

I find the neo-noir aspects of this film fascinating; they merge so well with what you would consider a western to be and further the genre into something new- that honestly feels refreshing. I thought setting this in modern day, and having the film play on key contemporary society issues helped it to further its resonance and create more feelings from us towards the characters.

The performances from all three leads, (Bridges, Foster and Pine), are strong and help to anchor this film into believability. The writing also helps to layer the characters and have them transcend a simplistic good and bad character narrative, allowing for a greyer complexity where the ‘villain’ and the ‘hero’ can switch around mid-scene.

My one issue with the film however, and sadly it is a fairly major one, is that it suffers from bloat. The film is certainly overly long, as such certain scenes feel like they have been stretched out to pad for time, and often these scenes add nothing to the narrative as a whole.

Overall, a compelling cat and a mouse story, brought low by an overly indulgence

Pros.

The performances

The tension

The moral ambiguity

The combining of the western and the noir

Cons.

Bloated pacing at times

3.5/5

Enchanted: In The Real World Disney Princesses Are Surprisingly Boring

Written by Luke Barnes

Enchanted is a family fantasy film directed by Kevin Lima. The plot sees fairy-tale princess Giselle (Amy Adams), become trapped in our world, after suffering a deadly trick from the Evil Queen (Susan Sarandon).

Amy Adams really does prove her range here, we already know that she can do heavy dramatic fare well, but this proves she can also pull of family friendly comedy too; she really is a multi-talented performer.

Adams definitely is the acting highlight of this film, as the rest of the cast range from serviceable, Patrick Dempsey, to underused, James Marsden, to confusingly handled, Susan Sarandon. Adams and Dempsey have good chemistry and it is nice to see a wholesome romance, that doesn’t actually have any toxic elements, from a Disney film.

Marsden is underused, but it more than that- there is no need for his whole character. Marsden plays the Prince Charming character and quests after Giselle into our world, falsely believing she is his soul mate; though this film doesn’t call it soulmates, instead something weird and vaguely annoying. Anyway, his whole character serves no real purpose beside a slight threat to the central romance and even then not really. Everything around his character and those parts of the plot are weak.

Sarandon seems woefully miscast and takes the role way to over the top in terms of camp.

The premise itself, the idea of an animated princess coming into our world is in itself strong and ripe for exploring, and the film does use it for several good jokes and moments, though I would say the ultimate execution of ideas does leave something to be desired.

Overall, a strong idea and performance from Adams, sadly the rest of the cast drag the film down.

Pros.

Adams

The premise

Cons.

The cast are either underused or miscast

The villain is awful

It is repetitive

2/5