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

Sputnik: The Realities Of The Russian Space Program

Sputnik is a Russian horror film directed by Egor Abramenko. The plot retells the events surrounding the Sputnik USSR space mission, this time when the cosmonauts return to Earth they bring with them, unknowingly, an alien parasite.

So this film is far from perfect, but it does do a few things right. Firstly the look of the alien itself is really convincing, though it is only used sparingly, the CGI on it looks top notch. I was honestly shocked by how good it was. Secondly, the horror and the tension is effective when used and there were multiple moments that had me in a cold sweat.

My main issue with this film is the staggering pacing issues. There are parts of this film that feel so slow that you almost want to give up with the film all together. These might only be ten-minute segments, but they feel like hours of your time. Moreover, I wasn’t really sold by any of the acting, it all just felt very average to me; no one blew me away.

Overall, though there are good elements and the CGI is strikingly good, it just isn’t enough to keep your attention during the slow parts. The acting doesn’t invoke anything and the scares though effective are spread too thin.

Pros.

A few good scares

The alien looks quite good

An engaging story when it is moving a quick pace

Cons.

Patchy acting

Painfully slow at times

It needed a few more good scares

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolf Creek 2: Making A Hero Out Of A Cold Blooded Serial Killer

Wolf Creek 2 is an Australian horror film directed by Greg McLean. We again follow Mick Taylor (John Jarrett), the tourist killer extraordinaire as he cleans up his part of Australia once again from those evil invading backpackers. This is vaguely based on a true story, incredibly loosely though.

So yeah basically this time around Mick is the hero, or at least the main focus of the film. We don’t really get a protagonist (maybe the English dude), we just get a series of characters for Mick to pick off over the course of the film. None of them seem to have any shred of personality or character development, but I’ll get to that.

Maybe the executives realised that no one really cared about the boring vanilla survivor characters from the first film hence the Mick focus this time around. Also this film plays up Mick’s craziness a lot more, making him way more manic and almost strangely a lot more comedic too. Though I didn’t like the first film, at least the way it portrayed Mick was accurate to the cold-blooded killers that his character is based on, here he is a one liner cracking, goofy, pain sponge that can get up from any hit with minimal damage. They turned their villain into somewhat of a joke.

Jarrett is again the best part of this film and is clearly having fun and you can tell that throughout, sadly it does not translate to audience enjoyment.

Pros.

Jarrett is having fun

Cons.

Sadly it is not fun to watch

They don’t have characters just victims

They make Taylor less scary

The jokes don’t work

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Intrusion: Disconnected: The Final Girl After The Final Showdown

Intrusion: Disconnected is a horror thriller film directed by Kyle Cates. The plot sees Holly (Katie Stewart), a survivor of horrific violence, become convinced that the man who tried to kill her has returned from beyond the grave as the local unexplained death toll starts to rise around her.

This is an unsettling watch, there is just something about it that made me uneasy. We are never quite sure as to Holly’s mental state, and as such we get sucked up in her own paranoia with her. The killer almost becomes a mythical figure as he stalks her every waking moment, very much like a more real version of Freddy or Jason.

I thought Stewart did a great job here. She was a very rootable lead, she was easy to cheer for and it was an inspired choice to focus on what happens to ‘the final girl’ after the showdown; with regard to the mental tole and effect that has on their life. We see Laurie Strode after Halloween, but her mental state and the effect her life or death confrontation had on her life going forward is glossed over.

I found this to be a harrowing watch through and through.

Overall, I enjoyed the performances and the very real threat of the killer that also felt somewhat mythic. It is unsettling to watch; My only issue is that this film has some pacing issues and some parts of it drag on and on and make you lose interest.

Pros.

Katie Stewart

The real sense of threat

It is unsettling

I enjoyed the mental health focus

Cons.

It has pacing issues throughout; it could have been structured a lot better

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Host: Elbow Bumps Might Be Able To Stop The Virus, But They Can’t Stop Demons

Host is a found footage screen set horror film directed by Rob Savage. The plot sees a group of friends conduct a séance over zoom/ or an equivalent during the 2020 Covid19 lockdown, as things progress they release the spirit they have summoned is in fact demonic and wants to see them all dead.

So, to me this film was boosted by the novelty factor of having it take place during lockdown; specifically the UK’s interpretation of that. I enjoyed see people bump elbows as a form of greeting, it made me laugh. No doubt this will be the first of many films to take this format and no doubt it will get repetitive quickly, but for now, as this is the first, I found a novelty to it.

This film reminded me in a lot of ways of Unfriended and its sequel, it used a lot of the same tricks and turns. Though I did enjoy the ending of this more as we get to see the demon (though invisible), pick of each character in a horrific fashion, I thought these supernatural elements added nicely to the technology and isolation horror aspects.

This film has a strong atmosphere that it uses for most of it scares effectively. However, there is one jump scare right near the end that really got me as I was not expecting it. Normally I would be dead against the use of jump scares, but here they actually pull it off well.

Overall, a fun lockdown themed horror film. That is good for a one time viewing.

Pros.

The lockdown setting

The performances were quite good

The kills

The ending scare

Cons.

It is quite familiar

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

American Mary: The Horrors Of Body Modification

American Mary is a Canadian horror film directed by the Soska Sisters. The plot follows young surgeon Mary (Katherine Isabelle), who turns to performing extreme body modification surgery as a side hustle to make extra money.

This feels very much more exploitation esque than The Sisters other work, before or after, and as a result it feels harder to swallow. The premise is basically a rape revenge film, though done through a slightly different lens.

Your enjoyment of this film will come down to how squeamish you are, if you can stand live surgery and enjoy seeing people sliced into and stuff like that then you will enjoy it, as it is a very engaging watch. However, if you fall into the other side and find such subject matter hard to watch then you will be put off. I fall into the latter category.

Katherine Isabelle is a strong lead, we buy her turn to the dark side, even as it extends beyond torturing her attacker. Even though she arguably lives long enough to be the villain of her own story, she is still very rootable and crucially she is fascinating to watch develop and go on that journey.

Overall, there is a lot of good here, but because I can’t stand live surgery and that sort of subject matter I was off put, but that is a personal preference on my part. If you that doesn’t bother you and you like grindhouse exploitation style films then you will enjoy this too

Pros.

Katherine Isabelle

An interesting character arc

Darkly funny

Cons.

It is hard to watch

The subject matter will be divisive to some

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Honeymoon Project: Can You And Your Partner Survive A Year Alone Together?

The Honeymoon Phase is a science fiction thriller film directed by Phillip G. Carroll Jr. The plot follows a young couple who volunteer for a science experiment, to test the idea of ‘honeymoon’ phase. After they move into a new house together, thing soon take a turn for the sinister as it appears that the house and the scientist monitoring them behind the scenes are trying to pit the pair against each other.

I enjoyed the Black Mirror esque, dark science fiction. I thought the film uses the threat of existential dread well to create a haunting atmosphere that lasts for the whole film. The acting is top notch and both Mike Sutton and Chloe Carroll flourish in standout performances.

My issue with this film is it takes things a step too far, into bad taste. Bear in mind that taste is subjective to the person, so you may feel different to me. Examples of what I am talking about are the sex scenes that are scattered throughout the film, these border on the soft core pornographic and get to the point where you feel uncomfortable watching them.

I understand that maybe this was done to push the art form and the boundaries, but for me it was too much.

Another example of what I am talking about is the curling iron scene. There is a part of the film when Eve (Carroll), is pregnant and is trying to lose the baby and rather than do anything else, that would be much easier, she decides to stick a curling iron up her vagina to kill the baby and I am left saying why?

Overall, though this has strong performances and a well-formed premise, the bad taste issues are just too much for me to overcome I found it very difficult to watch.

Pros.

The performances

The premise

The sense of existential dread

Cons.

The curling iron scene

The oddly pornographic sex scenes

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Owners: The British Knock Off Don’t Breath

The Owners is a thriller film directed by Julius Berg. The plot follows a group of thieves who break into an old rich couple’s house hoping to rob them of their fortune, however the tables are soon turned.

This is very familiar to Don’t Breath, in more ways than one, I don’t want to openly say it is a rip off, but it does seem more than a little influenced by it; down to the keeping a young women secretly chained up part. Regardless, I am really starting to get sick of these sort of films, there have been a lot of them recently, the thieves break into someone’s house and then things flip on them sort of films and I for one am getting bored.

This is a thoroughly unpleasant watch, unlike Don’t Breath this film doesn’t see any of the characters you are supposed to be rooting for live to tell the tale; the ending is a real bummer.

The praise I will give this film is that parts of it are quite creepy, mainly from about half an hour in we can see evidence of this. The first 30 minutes have structural problems and feels needlessly drawn out. However, once the flip occurs there is a good amount of tension and atmosphere, enough to make you forget about some of the films other glaring issues.

Maisie Williams is strong here; she makes for a likeable lead but also a believable survivor. When we see her characters’ final stand against the evil old couple she is carries the physicality well, clearly as a result of her GOT action training.

Overall, watchable, and maybe even enjoyable for some. Personally I found it a bit too bleak and was off put by the pacing issues and the weak secondary characters that populated and overly busy script. Williams was good though.

Pros.

Maisie Williams

The tension once it gets going

Cons.

The first act drags

There is too much going on and far too much back story

The secondary characters feel needless

It is a bit too bleak

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hosts: An Easy Way To Ruin A Christmas Dinner

Hosts is a horror film directed by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes. The plot sees a sinister race of being possess people in an effort to take over the world. We follow two such possessed people who are invited round to their neighbour’s house to have Christmas dinner with murderous consequences.

This may be the best horror film that I have seen all year, as soon as you finish this review immediately watch it, it is that good. The reasons for this extreme compliment are as follows.

It is utterly engrossing; I couldn’t look away while I was watching it. I had to know what was going to happen next. In the beginning you have no idea what is going on, but as the film goes on more and more little details are revealed and then it all becomes clear. I would recommend a second watch with this one as you get a lot more out of it the second time.

The acting is superb the entire cast are terrific, but the two leads steal the show. Neal Ward as Jack perfectly captures a sadistic edge with such menace that it is a little unnerving. Moreover, Samantha Loxley is haunting and nothing short of demonic. The quiet family dinner scene that quickly turns into a bloodbath is propelled into being so much more by her performance.

I enjoyed the fact that this film builds an atmosphere rather than have cheap jump scares that everyone can see coming from a mile off. I thought the film’s scares were done well and used effectively to great result.

Overall, maybe the best horror film of 2020 don’t sleep on this one.

Pros.

The violence is brutal but effective

The ending

The performances

The atmosphere and the scares

Very hard to look away from

Cons.

None.

5/5

Would give higher if I could

Reviewed by Luke