Swarms of bloodsucking insects mirror the volatility of the markets in this thrilling drama of financial crisisThis highly original, visually torrid take on Wall Street and last decade’s global financial crisis celebrates the true masters of the univer…
Hobbled by hype: why are lauded British directors only making one movie?
First films by promising new British talent are often overpraised, when what they really need is our lasting supportPrano Bailey-Bond’s debut feature, Censor, came out in the UK last Friday on the back of a huge publicity push and wave of critical accl…
Bloodthirsty review – a beast-within horror film puts gore front and centre
Released soon after Amelia Moses’ intriguing feature debut Bleed With Me, this is a far more camp and cliched workFollowing quickly on the heels of the intriguing Bleed With Me, released in the UK just a couple of weeks ago, this beast-within horror fi…
Jakob’s Wife review – fun and gore in splatterfest with female-rage subtext
Barbara Crampton is reliably bloody and funny as a preacher’s wife whose dreary life is upended by a vampire’s kissScream queen Barbara Crampton, the always-welcome star of many a smart if schlocky horror movie (see Chopping Mall, You’re Next, assorted…
Mellow giallo: has the horror genre lost its ability to shock?
Once banished to the ‘video nasty’ lists, the formerly trashy subgenre – spearheaded by Dario Argento – is now seen as high art, dulling its rougher edges Giallo began as the trashiest of genres. Derived from pulp Italian novels (with yellow covers, he…
Blood, gore and a healthy dose of catharsis: why horror can be good for us
A grisly feast of scary British films is heading our way. Why now? Once seen as ‘video nasties’, many believe they have a positive role to play in a pandemicThe terror begins in the London of 1985 when Enid Baines, a film censor, spots an eerie reflect…
Don’t Breathe 2 review – dull and dingy home invasion horror sequel
A follow-up to 2016’s sleeper smash reunites us with the murderous blind antihero yet fails to recapture even the slightest bit of tensionAs box office continues to be wounded by both hybrid release strategies and the Delta variant (The Suicide Squad i…
Actor Niamh Algar: ‘Broken characters are the more rewarding ones’
From The Virtues to Raised By Wolves, the Irish actor has a knack for complex roles. As she stars in a new British horror and a TV drama, she discusses working with Shane Meadows and boxing her way on to Ridley Scott’s radarNiamh Algar is sitting in fr…