The Wicker Man ★★★★ WHAT a year for horror 1973 was. At the same time as William Friedkin’s The Exorcist was unleashed on the public, on the other side of the Atlantic a little film called The Wicker Man also arrived. While Friedkin’s film was horrifying, Robin Hardy’s supernatural horror was […]

Wicker Man’s legacy continues

Nyad ★★★ WHO would have thought a film about long distance swimming would create so much controversy. Nyad is an American biographical sports drama film that tells the story of Diana Nyad’s determination to swim the ocean from Cuba to Florida non-stop. Apart from being a feat for any swimmer […]

Swimmer biopic goes the distance

One Life ★★★ GUILLERMO del Toro has allegedly said he would gladly transfer a few years of his own life to Martin Scorsese so the latter could keep making films. I wouldn’t do the same for Anthony Hopkins, but I do hope he never retires. After 50-odd years he is […]

One life in service of many

The Dive ★★½ SEEN many German/Maltese thrillers lately? The unlikely film production allies are behind the 2023 release The Dive. A remake of a 2020 Norwegian film, Breaking Surface, it’s a two-hander set in and around the ocean. May and Drew are two childhood friends on a European holiday who go […]

Two-hander has its moments

Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter ★★★ DRACULA will never die. There have been God knows how many films featuring variations of Bram Stoker’s original creation, some brilliant and many others not so much. The latest, Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter, is on the plus side of the blood sucker ledger […]

Captain’s log: There be vampires ahead

The Emu War ★★★ IF ONLY some more money had been thrown at The Emu War. This outrageously silly Australian comedy is at times flat-out hilarious but, sadly, won’t be seen by many. Its ultra-low budget means the film won’t get a cinema release and is going to be hard […]

History at its most twisted

When Evil Lurks ★★★★ IN 2017 writer/director Demián Rugna announced himself as a horror talent to watch with the release of Terrified. When Evil Lurks (2023) is another pearler from the Argentinian whose films combine the best of both horror aesthetics – a growing sense of dread and sudden, intense […]

Argentine horror Rotten to the core

Time Addicts (Monsterfest 2023) ★★½ AUSTRALIAN cinema does dumb criminals pretty well. One of the best is the 2003 release Getting Square which features an hilarious turn from David Wenham. Writer/director San Odlum’s Time Addicts doesn’t reach the same heights but is still fairly entertaining considering its low-budget aesthetic. Denise […]

Aussie horror goes back to the future

Trim Season (Monsterfest 2023) ★★ EVER heard of a weed witch? Neither have I. I’ll give the low-budget horror film Trim Season the benefit of the doubt and say the makers invented. But it’s still a pretty silly premise that barely manages to hold a feature length narrative together. A […]

Weed witch tale not high art

The Killer ★★★½ WHERE have David Fincher and Michael Fassbender been? The Killer is Fincher’s first film in three years and we didn’t hear a thing from Fassbender for four years. The director of modern classics Zodiac, Fight Club and Seven doesn’t actually make that many films so it’s always […]

Fincher’s Killer battles ego

Killers of the Flower Moon ★★★★ MARTIN Scorsese assembles his dream team for possibly the most important film of an illustrious career, Killers of the Flower Moon. In addition to long-time technical collaborators, editor Thelma Schoonmaker and composer Robbie Robertson, on screen we have Leonardo DiCaprio back for the sixth […]

Epic shines light on history’s dark chapter

The Burial ★★★ JAMIE Foxx almost always delivers an entertaining performance. His film choices haven’t always been of the same level which is probably why his career feels a little under-rated. Another example is the 2023 legal drama The Burial in which Foxx again dominates, all the more of an […]

Foxx still on a run