The BBFC Are Using Flawed Research to Reaffirm Their Policies Regarding ‘Potential Harm’
Contrary to a common error that many seem to make, the BBFC stands for ‘British Board of Film Classification’ and not the ‘British Board of Film Censors’ (this was its name until 1984). Though, as a film fan growing up in the UK I always associated the board with censorship. Tracking down films to watch I was always struck by … Read more
Detention Review
Joseph Kahn’s debut feature Torque was an odd film that led to some pretty fascinating defences, in particular from online critics who believed that the film had been crucially misunderstood. Whilst the film may be misunderstood in some ways it is far from being a film worthy of high praise and the extent to which Kahn manages … Read more
Frightfest 2011: Five of the Best
FrightFest is probably my favourite film festival and it’s definitely five days in August that I now look forward to every year. This is in part down to the excellent organisation, the incredible atmosphere and the fellow film fans you get to spend the August Bank Holiday with but mostly it’s because the festival affords … Read more
Frightfest 2011 Horror Panel with Larry Fessenden, Ti West, Lucky McKee, Adam Green, Joe Lynch and Andrew van den Houten
Larry Fessenden When you make films you want to delight an audience and guys and gals in this audience are here for the thrills and I understand that that’s a role that horror plays. But I think with the advent of better technology you’re able to show more and more detailed gore and I just … Read more
I Spit On Your Grave Review
Arriving in a country town Jennifer (Sarah Butler) encounters a group of local men at a petrol station before settling into a rented cabin where she intends to relax and write. The men she encountered at the petrol station disrupt her idyllic cabin hideaway though, breaking in and then humiliating and raping her. When the … Read more
Trollhunter Review
The so-called found footage sub-genre seems to have been a reasonably reliable money spinner in recent years and whilst films using this technique often receive a critical kicking and proclamations regarding its death seem more and more common with each passing film, the approach is showing no signs of going way. With the exception of … Read more
The Glass Man Review
Martin (Andy Nyman) is a meek and somewhat feeble man who loses his well paid job and instead of telling his wife decides to continue ‘going to work’. Every day he gets dressed, has breakfast, takes a pack lunch from his wife Julie (Neve Campbell), kisses her on the cheek and sets off. He has … Read more
The Woman Review
When Chris Cleek (Sean Bridges) is out on a hunting trip and stumbles across a feral woman living in the woods his immediate thought isn’t to help her or to inform the authorities, the first thing he does is spy on her. He watches her from afar with a deeply uncomfortable, for an audience, sexualized … Read more
Hatchet II Review
Hatchet II picks up directly after the events of the first film as Marybeth (after a swift bit of recasting) escapes Victor Crowley and the swamp that is his home. Just before she makes her escape though there is a brief scene that features the video camera from the first film and is a scene … Read more
Final Destination 5: Premonitions, Rules And Flying Limbs
At the heart of the Final Destination film series is a pretty dopey high concept, that death doesn’t like to be “cheated”. They rest on a set up in which a group of people manage to survive an elaborate disaster through the actions of one member, who has a premonition. Then the survivors begin to … Read more
The Loved Ones Review
The end of year school dance is a difficult time for teenagers and the experience can go many ways. The Loved Ones shows us the pretty unique experiences of two teenage boys on the night of the school dance, one who can’t believe his luck and one who probably thinks he’s in hell. Brent, played … Read more
Alien vs. Ninja Review
It’s always hard to review a film like Alien vs. Ninja (also known as AvN). Released by Nikkatsu as part of their Sushi Typhoon label and directed by Seiji Chiba, AvN is a high concept low brow genre film that pits Aliens against Ninjas (yes the plural is more appropriate). The film has aliens, the … Read more
Fanboys Review
Halloween 1998 and Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Chris Marquette), Windows (Jay Baruchel) and Hutch (Dan Fogler) are at a party debating Star Wars trivia. The friends have done this for years and apart from Eric, who is trying to ‘get on with his life’, the friends seem happy with their fanboy lives. Desperate to see … Read more
Burning Bright Review
With just a little knowledge of English poetry you may get the impression from the title that this film has something to do with tigers and you’d be right. One tiger in particular, as the film has a premise that screams high concept exploitation. Kelly (Briana Evigan) awakes from a nightmare to a real life … Read more
