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…
Horror
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…
British Films, North American Films
Poor Things: a male-centred fantasy of a child-like heroine’s sexual liberation and personal empowerment
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things” (2023) A visually sumptuous feast, set in an alternative late Victorian steampunk world, “Poor Things” is a science fantasy concoction revolving around…
British Films, North American Films
Saltburn: black comedy thriller send-up of British elites and modern British culture
Emerald Fennell, “Saltburn” (2023) Arriving in Sydney with little fanfare, “Saltburn” initially presents as a more contemporary variation of “Brideshead Revisited” with the latter’s hints of…
Hanyo / The Housemaid (dir. Kim Ki-young): a delirious melodrama critical of Western culture and Confucian traditions
Kim Ki-young, “Hanyo / The Housemaid” (1960) Delirious and overwrought in its soap-opera melodrama, this cult classic of South Korean cinema works as a satire of…
Bram Stoker’s Dracula: a lavish and surreal film skirting over social issues in Western society now and in the 1890s
Francis Ford Coppola, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992) A visually lavish and often surreal presentation, Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of the famous vampire novel still holds up…
Renfield: camp horror comedy suffers from co-dependency on too much CGI splatter violence
Chris McKay, “Renfield” (2023) A cheerfully cheesy vehicle for Nicolas Cage to finally fulfil his life’s ambition to play Count Dracula, “Renfield” shifts the focus away…
Infinity Pool: character study satire on the decline of Western culture and values
Brandon Cronenberg, “Infinity Pool” (2023) Take away the extreme violence, the scenes of sleazy sex and the over-acting and what we end up with is a…
Blacula: cheap and campy cult classic given backbone by its monster
William Crain, “Blacula” (1972) In 1780, a noble African Prince (William Marshall), known as Mamuwalde, visits Transylvania with his wife Luva to solicit the help of…