Hitler’s rule over Europe was nothing short of horrifying for those who lived in fear of their lives. In David Leveaux’s The Exception, those times of brutal uncertainty peer through the lens with tense ambiguity reaching beyond the facade of regimented orders to show a touch of nuanced humanity. Set in 1940’s Holland, the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II, played with effortless fervour by Christopher Plummer, mellowing in his twilight years,…
Read MoreFilm Review: Zoology
On the surface this bizarre little Russian film could be misinterpreted as a strange fetish tale about a woman with a tail – not just a tiny one like that of Jason Alexander’s in Shallow Hal, but a full-length animalistic tail, fleshy in colour and with a mind of its own. This emotive story ventures deeper than that. It’s a story of how single women of a certain age are…
Read MoreFilm Review: The Vault
Originality doesn’t blast through the cinematic vaults often from an industry oversaturated with remakes, reboots and the like, but director Dan Bush has broken free from the mould with his horror/heist hybrid, a combination of these two worlds stands up well on paper but slightly misses the boat, in reality, dipping in and out of scenarios that are all too familiar.
Read MoreReview: UNA By Benedict Andrews
The repercussions of telling a story of child grooming and abuse and its subsequent fall out in the years after will always be a sensitive and agonising road to venture down. First-time feature film director, Benedict Andrews, has bitten off more than he can handle in his adaptation of playwright David Harrower’s stage drama Blackbird, failing to build the intensity it cries out for. Andrews gives a valiant effort in…
Read MoreFilm Review: The Ghoul
Just like its title, The Ghoul, despite all its intricate twists and clever ideas, is a completely dumbfounding piece of cinema for even the most seasoned cinema goers to get their head around without inducing the mother of all headaches. This British psychological thriller dares to be different; it pushes the boundaries from what the typical narrative one would expect from the genre, mixing a murderous investigation with a devilish…
Read More