Creature from the Black Lagoon: a straightforward plot lends itself to many interpretations
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…
Horror
Nosferatu (dir. R Eggers): lavish remake in need of better script with sympathetic characters
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…
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 flick “Rosemary’s Baby”, this film is set just before the events…
British Films, French and French-language 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 – in its boldly colourful (and confrontational) visual style, its minimal…
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 “Jaws” is that this flick hasn’t aged as much as it…
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 Lambs” go, Osgood Perkins’s “Longlegs” would seem to have a lot…
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 film delivers its punches hard and heavy in its fictional retelling…
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 illness and ends up in intensive care in hospital – but…
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 and refreshed as a vehicle for one young woman’s transformation through…
Dream Scenario: wacky fantasy comedy satire on social media fame and post-modern cultural values
Kristoffer Borgli, “Dream Scenario” (2023) This psychological fantasy comedy film is as oddball as they come, yet “Dream Scenario”, the first English-language feature film from Norwegian…