Apartment 7A: regurgitating a classic psychological horror film as a boring profit-making exercise
Natalie Erika James, “Apartment 7A” (2024) Essentially a remake of Roman Polanski’s famous psychological horror
British Films | French and French-language Films | North American Films
The Substance: devastating satirical critique of Western culture’s obsession with surface appearances and material worth
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” (2024) It may be called “The Substance” but this film’s style
French and French-language Films | Northern European Films
Complètement cramé! – feel-good comedy on the importance of hope and helping others as a way of helping oneself
Gilles Legardinnier, “Complètement cramé! / Mr Blake at your service!” (2023) It’s twee and artificial
French and French-language Films
Bernadette: fluffy satirical comedy saved by good actors
Léa Domenach, “Bernadette” (2023) Any time Catherine Deneuve takes on a film role is reason
Jaws: a flimsy story redeemed by good acting and surprisingly powerful themes
Stephen Spielberg, “Jaws” (1975) After nearly 50 years since its release, the big surprise about
Longlegs: psychological horror drama of childhood trauma and fanaticism falls flat in silly plot
Osgood Perkins, “Longlegs” (2024) As horror films drawing on past classics like “Silence of the
French and French-language Films | Northern European Films
A Silence: control, complicity, denial and manipulation in a psychological family drama
Joachim Lafosse, “A Silence” (2024) Smooth, sober and straightforward in its minimal style, this Belgian
Exhuma: Korean shamanism and colonial past explored in supernatural horror thriller
Jang Jaehyun, “Exhuma” (2024) It starts innocently enough when a newborn boy contracts a mystery
Arabic-language Films | Middle Eastern Films
Goodbye Julia: a personal drama reflecting differences and tensions between northern and southern Sudanese peoples
Mohamed Kordofani, “Goodbye Julia” (2023) A morning car accident becomes an unlikely catalyst in a
Immaculate: transformation from naif to a powerful and liberated woman through exploitation and trauma
Michael Mohan, “Immaculate” (2024) The, er, venerable niche horror subgenre known as nunsploitation is revived