A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
British Films, North American Films
Danny Boyle, “28 Years Later” (2025) A much-anticipated entry in the series of films that began 20 years ago with “28 Days Later”, this film of…
Drew Hancock, “Companion” (2015) A low-budget sci-fi thriller film with a young cast and a deceptively simple, straightforward plot becomes a magnet for commentary on aspects…
Jack Arnold, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) For a film of its vintage, made over 70 years ago with a straightforward story and an unremarkable…
Robert Eggers, “Nosferatu” (2024) Incredibly the years 2023 and 2024 saw two remakes of F W Murnau’s famous horror silent film “Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des…
Natalie Erika James, “Apartment 7A” (2024) Essentially a remake of Roman Polanski’s famous psychological horror flick “Rosemary’s Baby”, this film is set just before the events…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance” (2024) It may be called “The Substance” but this film’s style – in its boldly colourful (and confrontational) visual style, its minimal…
Stephen Spielberg, “Jaws” (1975) After nearly 50 years since its release, the big surprise about “Jaws” is that this flick hasn’t aged as much as it…
Osgood Perkins, “Longlegs” (2024) As horror films drawing on past classics like “Silence of the Lambs” go, Osgood Perkins’s “Longlegs” would seem to have a lot…
French and French-language Films, Northern European Films
Joachim Lafosse, “A Silence” (2024) Smooth, sober and straightforward in its minimal style, this Belgian film delivers its punches hard and heavy in its fictional retelling…
Jang Jaehyun, “Exhuma” (2024) It starts innocently enough when a newborn boy contracts a mystery illness and ends up in intensive care in hospital – but…