The Borderlands: Sometimes The Old Ways Take Over

The Borderlands/ or as it is otherwise known as The Final Pray is a British found footage horror movie directed by Elliot Goldner. The plot sees a team of Vatican Investigators descend upon a small English town after a local priest claims to have witness a miracle, or at least something unexplainable. The team soon start to notice odd things going on and suspicions grow.

I was on the verge of not watching found footage films anymore, films like Found Footage 3D and the second Blair Witch film had led me to lose faith in the genre with film after film feeling like samey, boring, repetitive trash. However, after a few people on Twitter recommended this film to me I decided to have one last hurrah and give it a go and I am pleased to tell you I enjoyed it.

For a start it is nice to see a found footage horror film set in the UK, in a quaint little village no less, rather than some endlessly expansive wood somewhere Stateside. Another thing I appreciate about this film is that it does not drag things out. We all know how it goes, first you get some bangs, then maybe something falls off the wall, then they put up cameras, then they hear something etc; it is at this point formulaic and obvious. However, before the first 20 minutes are over in this film a group of the local youth have set a sheep on fire to scare the priests and their associates, there is no boring, drawn out built; this film gets right to it.

Another thing I will applaud this film for is you’re never quite sure what the monster is. Even in the final moments of the film you are none the wiser as to what is killing the men. A Pagan God seems like the most logical suspect, but nothing is ever confirmed, and the ending is deliberately ambiguous.

The one thing I will bring the film up on, is the use of camera effects such as cutting out and distortion. Whenever something paranormal happens the camera picture starts to break up, obviously so they didn’t have to find a practical way to show what was happening, and normally I wouldn’t mind this, but here it felt a little overused.

Overall, a marvellous found footage film that might have reignited my interest in the genre.

Pros.

It is nice seeing it set in the UK for a change.

The ending and the ambiguity.

It gets right into it.

The scares.

Cons.

The camera trickery is overused.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Victoria & Abdul: Friendship Transcends Borders

Victoria And Abdul is a biographical historical drama film directed by Stephen Frears. The film revolves around the friendship between Queen Victoria (Judy Dench), and her servant turned friend Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a friendship that pushed boundaries and set the social world of 19^th century London ablaze.

With historical biopic films there is always a danger of how characters are represented, they can go either way, but this one airs of the fluffier side for sure; especially when it comes to Dench’s Queen Victoria. I feel like because audiences like Dench we can’t see her Victoria do even one slightly bad or less progressive thing, as the real Queen would have done for sure.

The ending is heart wrenching, The Queen dies, which is the first blow, and then Abdul get stripped of everything. Normally, I don’t like sad endings, but with a film like this you need to stick to the truth and in this case, I thought the ending was poignant and meaningful. It will make you cry a little bit.

I think it is nice to see a film like this that covers a relationship that isn’t often talked about during a time period that is often covered. It is nice to see this because it reminds you of the diverse nature of our Isles, people from all over the world have a hand in where we are now.

I am glad they included the blow back to their friendship in the film, so we can see how far we have come now as a society and where we need to improve still. It is importantly for films like this to keep being made and spreading a positive message.

Overall, this is a nice feel good film for the most part, the ending is brutal, but that is what was needed as you can’t change history.

Pros.

Feel good for the most part.

It is not afraid to get dark.

It covers a mostly forgotten part of history.

Cons.

It is a bit too long.

Dench is phoning it in.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Isle: Lost At Sea

The Isle is a British mystery thriller film directed by Matthew Butler-Hart. The plot sees a group of sailors become stranded on a remote island. As they begin to recover and start to explore, they soon realise that something is very wrong. The island is haunted by a ghost hell bent on revenge.

I genuinely don’t think there are enough films about seafaring and sailing as such I found this film to be refreshing. In many ways this film had a similar vibe to Robert Eggers excellent The Lighthouse, crucially we need more sea-based horror films.

I think the thing that is the most striking about this film is how original it is. It has such a strong sense of personality and is truly unlike many other horror films. The horror is a slowly built over the early part of the film, a lot of the horror focus is placed on atmosphere and creating this unpredictable sense of mystery; where you aren’t quite too sure what is going on.

I think the acting is all superb and is refreshing to see such well done performances, my one note would be that the backstory of the sailors could have been explored more. I understand that the island and its residents are the main focus, but the sailors do get a little short changed. The backstory of the haunting is interesting if a little disappointing, as the film teases the wife of Hades and I was hoping that was where it was going, but it wasn’t.

My other issue is with the design of the ghost herself. She is essentially just a woman in makeup there is nothing wrong with that it could be done creepily, however when she starts using her powers, especially during the final sequence, it looks terrible. The effects themselves are not well done, I don’t know whether it was a budget problem, or a technical one, but they look almost laughably bad and really serve to take you out of the final battle scene.

Overall, this film score points for originality and strong performances, but is short of glory because of its side-lined sailors and terrible effects.

Pros.

Originality.

Creepy.

Strong performances.

Cons.

The effects.

The sailors feel side-lined.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Dog Soldiers: Howling At The Moon

Dog Soldiers is a British horror film directed by Neil Marshall. The plot sees a group of soldiers come under attack by a pack of werewolves while doing a training exercise in a remote part of Scotland. The two groups must fight to the death as only one can walk away victories.

I watched this film again recently and have to say it hold up far better than I thought it would based on my childhood remembrance. I think the thing that works so well about it, and lasts the test of time, is the practical effects of the werewolves themselves; they are people in costumes and makeup rather than CGI. Across the course of the film we get a good look at these creatures and they are impressive, they look big and intimidating; they look like how you would imagine werewolves would look.

The cast features some great performances from familiar faces. Sean Pertwee plays Sargant Harry G. Wells, the fierce but loveable leader of the group of soldiers; Pertwee brings his usual roguish charm to the role and has a number of memorable lines and funny movements. We also see a hateable turn from Liam Cunningham as special forces solider Captain Richard Ryan; Cunningham plays the villain surprisingly well and the mystery around his character is really well done.

This film very much has a B movie sensibility to it that it uses for all the pulp fun it can. There are moments of comedy in the film as well that are surprisingly effective, they don’t take away from the horror or the tension rather they add to it in a strange, but also cool way.

Overall, this is a very strong debut for Marshall, who is by all means one of the most underrated directors in the horror genre today, well worth checking out if you can get your hands on it.

Pros.

The tone and also the dark humour.

The B movie feel.

Sean Pertwee.

Liam Cunningham.

The werewolves themselves. Practical over CGI.

Cons.

The beginning is slow, too slow.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Kill List: A King To Be

Kill list is a British crime horror film directed by Ben Wheatly. The plot follows two ex-soldier hitmen Jay (Neil Maskell), and Gal (Michael Smiley), who’s job soon takes a turn for the strange as they become entangled with a cult, though they don’t realise it at first.

I think this film is excellent, truly excellent. I think if any film could be the Wicker Man equivalent of our modern times it is this; and that is not just because they share some similar plot threads. The reason why I think so highly of this film is because of how subtle it is, you don’t realise that you’re watching a horror film, most of the film is more crime focused, until the last 10 minutes; but then when the film ends you see how it was really a horror all along.

The performances are superb and so are the characters. Jay and Gal are not written to be likable, right from the off we see Jay through a negative lens, but that is the point. This film achieves something few others do, it takes characters that are fundamentally bad/unlikable and by the end it makes you care about them. In the final sequence of the film you want Gal and Jay to be okay, you really do.

The folk horror aspect is also really well done, as I mentioned before a good comparison would be The Wickerman, but there is also some Hereditary in there too. I think the ending is fascinating and it makes all of the events of the film take on a whole other meaning; a rewatch is a necessity. I loved how all the actions of the two main characters had been mapped out by the group and everything was leading up to that moment.

Overall, I think from a writing and structure point of view this film is a triumph and I think from a horror point of view this is also incredible. I think more people should see this as it seems to be quite unknown to some. One of the best films I have recently.

Pros.

The folk horror.

The crime thriller aspect.

Making you care about awful people.

The ending.

All of the little details.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Military Wives: Missing The Note

Military Wives is a based on real life comedy drama film directed by Peter Cattaneo. The film attempts to tell the story of the Military Wives Choir, showing the trials and tribulations the group went through as well as the individual women’s struggles.

Damn, I went into this thinking it would be a quirky comedy and crucially an easy-going good time, and oh my I was wrong. This film is depressing, I don’t know if I just didn’t get the humour of it, but I didn’t think there was a single funny moment in the whole film. However, there was enough sad/depressing moments that I almost had to turn it off and put something else on.

I do believe there is a kernel of a good film somewhere here, however it gets lost through poor execution and weak writing. This film tries to do the whole Fisherman’s Friends thing, by that I mean tell the real-life story of an unlikely band’s rise to fame and play on your emotions. However, where the mushiness in that film felt genuine because you cared about the characters and it is well done, here it just feels too much and comes off as ineffective.

I don’t feel like any of the performances in this film were particularly great, or worth talking about. The only one of note perhaps is Kristen Scott Thomas as Kate, Thomas made the most out of a weak script and is the only actor who is even remotely convincing.

Overall, I think the issue with this film is that it tried to play on the audiences’ emotions, but it failed in the worst way and the only thing it made you feel was depressed. This is also a failure of execution and writing as it is also incredibly obvious and predicatable.

Pros.

Kristen Scott Thomas.

Cons.

It is boring.

It does make you feel anything.

You will leave it feeling depressed.

The performances are weak as hell.

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Misbehaviour: Bringing Down The System

Misbehaviour is a historical drama film directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe. The people revolves around the 1970 Miss World competition and the actions of a branch of the Female Liberation Movement to disrupt it and show the eyes of the world the harm the competition is doing to society.

This one is a little politics heavy, right from the off, so if that isn’t your thing don’t watch it.

Personally, I think this film makes a lot of great points about society and the balance of the sexes. It shows us the audience the predatory nature of these competitions and how the woman are treated like meat. The scene when all of the girls have to turn around in their swimming costumes and the mostly male judges spent an awfully long time staring at their arses at it is an uncomfortable scene.

This film makes you question society and the messages it creates: because competitions like Miss World were aimed at a family audience, so you would have little girls watching it and thinking the only way a woman can have value is to be pretty; which is a bad message obviously. This film really begs the question to beauty pageants and competitions have a place in 2020?

Keira Knightly as Sally Alexander is commendable, she is one of the most underrated actors working today, turning in solid performance after solid performance. This film also features Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jennifer Hosten aka Miss Grenada, Mbatha- Raw does a great job in this film and has a strong presences throughout, her character was the first non-white winner of the Miss World Competition, and her ending serves as a true inspiration; also the conversation she has with Sally about representation vs change is fascinating to think about.

This film has Greg Kinnear as Bob Hope, as I suppose the villain of the film, he is hateable from the moment he appears on screen and when his performance get cut short it feels like a true victory.

Overall, this is an important film as watching it forces us to consider elements and aspects from our society we might not otherwise think about, this film presents us with the lessons of the past and asks us to learn from them.

Pros.

Knightly.

Mbatha-Raw.

The Message.

Something to think about.

Cons.

It is a little long and could be trimmed down a bit.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Angus,Thongs and Perfect Snogging: The Teenage Experience?

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is a British teen rom-com directed by Gurinder Chadha, based on the novel series by Louise Rennison. The plot follows the life of Georgia Nicolson (Georgia Groome), as she tries to get a boyfriend and plan her 15^th birthday party, plenty of hijinks and misunderstandings happen along the way.

This is by no means a terrible film, it is watchable enough, though I did have a large amount of problems with the film and some of its themes and messages. Firstly 14 seems a bit young for a lot of the things these kids seem to be into, to illustrate my point, there is similar subject matter in seminal British comedy series The Inbetweeners and the characters in that are much older. I suppose the counter argument to my point would be that it isn’t as sexual as The Inbetweeners and that is true they mention intimate aspects, but not sex itself, though it is still slightly uncomfortable seeing them come out of the mouth of a 14-year-old.

Moreover, the film makes getting a partner seem like a life or death issue which I understand for some teens at that age it is, but these teens seem focused on it to an unhealthy degree. Also the way they go about getting boyfriends and the whole world these young kids seem to be in revolves around very questionable morality, like it goes beyond selfish at times to boys and girls manipulating each other to further their own aims, which is realistic in some senses I suppose, but it feels jarring when you consider what kind of film this is.

To that end, the film’s ending is as picturesque as you would expect, Georgia gets the guy, the mean girl who was cheated on and dumped at a moment’s notice is defeated and Georgia’s parents are staying together; it is all tied up in a neat little bow. To me, this happy ending doesn’t mesh with the rest of the film, towards the end of the film, Georgia is called out on a lot of the nastier things she has done and then is forced to live with the consequences of it, this is I think is good, this works. As such I think a sombre and more meditative ending would have been a better fit, conveying the films message that she has matured and risen above her childish behaviour rather than rewarding it, as it does.

Overall, this tries to be a YA film with a message, but it ends up being crushed under the weight of it’s flawed morals and feels almost a bit creepy at times.

Pros.

Some of the more grown up approaches to love.

The stuff with her parents.

Cons.

If they had been aged up by a year or two it would be less icky.

It is cliched.

The film seems to be two very different tones/messages that fundamentally don’t work together and clash badly.

2/5.

Reviewed by Luke

The Droving: A True Sequel To The Wickerman

The Droving is a thriller horror film directed by George Popov. The plot sees Martin (Daniel Oldroyd), return from a tour of duty to find that his sister has gone missing in a remote community. He then sets out to find out what has happened to her and find those responsible. Descending further and further into a world of violence and death.

This is a superb horror film, it reminded me in a lot of ways of the Wickerman it has a very Wheatly esque folk horror vibe to it. There is something about these sorts of films that remind you just because Britain has developed over the years, there are still wild parts scattered here and there. There is a deep sense of isolation and tradition in these places and that is scary in and off itself.

There are plenty of twists and turns throughout this film, all of which are really good and add to the overall scope of the mystery. The ending especially did this, when we see that the folk traditions that have underpinned this whole story are in fact all true, and the ending sees Martin fall under the influence of the evil.

The performances are also fantastic, Oldroyd has such a great presence throughout the film. His Martin goes from zero to one hundred in under a second and it makes all of the scenes incredible tense. I love the unpredictable temperament his character has, and it seems so realistic for someone who would be in that situation. Someone who is doing everything they can to save someone they love, but also further sliding into the dark.

The atmosphere in this film is also great, it is menacing and oppressive, it feels like the character we are following is alone in a hostile world, where supernatural things happen and are real, this leads to a lot of good scares and terrifying moments.

Overall, this is a terrific film, it feels almost like a spiritual sequel to the Wickerman, the performances are great, and the ending sets up a lot of very interesting questions for future sequels, which I really hope they make.

Pros.

Great atmosphere.

A terrific lead.

The ending.

Fantastic scares.

The twists and turns.

Cons.

It becomes repetitive after a while.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Don’t Knock Twice: Knock Knock Knocking On Hell’s Door

Don’t Knock Twice is a British horror film directed by Caradog W. James. The plot sees Chloe (Lucy Boynton), become the target of an evil demonic witch, who is intent on taking her away. She seeks out her biological mother Jess (Katee Sackoff), to help her defeat the witch and the two of them go on a journey to find out the truth and save Chloe’s soul.

Before we get into this review can I just say it makes no sense to have a British film set in Britain with a British cast, and then have the lead be an American. It is never explained why she is in England, which would be so easy to do, it would take one line of dialogue.

That said.

I enjoyed the twists and turns this film took, I enjoyed when the film was getting us to question whether the witch was even real or whether it was one of the two leading ladies, facing perhaps a mental break. I also enjoyed the twist ending, when the woman who had advised Jess on how to defeat the witch turned out to be working for the witch, I never saw it coming.

I also enjoyed the atmosphere and tone of this film; I thought the scares in this film were effective because a lot of the time they were achieved through a build up of tension. There were two jump scares in this film and both of them worked because of the harsh oppressive atmosphere. A lot of horror films today think all they need to be scary is jump scares, but they aren’t effective if you don’t have the right atmosphere for them. I thought the decision to really get into the back story of the witch was interesting as it gave us quite a nice meaty mythology to sink our teeth into.

Furthermore, I thought the witch herself was quite impressive, I liked the physicality of the performance and that it wasn’t CGI. I think the CGI effects/creatures that are in this film are far less impressive by comparison.

Overall, though this film gets a bad rap, I think it is a surprisingly strong horror film, both of the leads are great, it is scary and most important of all, it is well written.

Pros.

A non-CGI creature.

Good scares/ underusing jump scares.

Good twists and turns.

Solid lead performances.

Cons.

Some of the CGI effects weren’t good and more of it should have been done practically.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke