‘Division 19’ is a futuristic sci-fi film from S.A. Halewood about escaped prisoner Hardin (Jamie Draven) who finds out that his life on the inside was being used as entertainment for the public – entertainment so popular that New Town, an experiment in rehabilitation where prisoners can live alongside civilians and be freed if they make the right choices, was being created. Or, at least, it becomes about the prisoner further into the film when it switches from focusing on Hardin’s brother Nash (Will Rothhaar) and his friends who have managed to stay off the grid and form a resistance known as Division 19 in this dystopian world where being anonymous is illegal. This is where the film fails the most.

Despite having an interesting and satirical concept that critiques the power of consumerism and the motives of corporations in a ‘Truman Show’ (1998) style, the initial lack of focus on a lead character – and then going on to follow someone with no character at all and not enough charisma to carry the film – is its biggest downfall. When it finally gets to Hardin’s journey, it’s so slow-paced and feels so pointless that his lack of contact with anyone else and his seemingly endless brooding around while avoiding detection gets incredibly frustrating. It felt slow-paced to the point where it took a few nights to finish watching (and this is only 90 minutes long).

It has to be mentioned that for an indie sci-fi film, the special effects are done well and you can also appreciate the filming locations which certainly evoke a dry, dystopian tone. ‘Division 19’ definitely looks the part and has the cynical ideas of the future to match, but possibly a bit too much. There’s plenty of themes surrounding autonomy, free will and the monetisation of people’s lives which we are seeing more and more these days in the online community, but the script lacks the wit to take full advantage of any of the characters (it didn’t seem like we learn anything about our protagonist), although there are a few good satirical moments that are worthy of a laugh such as the adopt a prisoner advert. The cast weren’t given much to work with; I wished Barca (Toby Hemingway) had been the main protagonist as he had the most appeal to me with all his angst, and even Linus Roache (who recently showed off the extent of his talent in ‘Mandy’ (2018)) as Charles Lynden feels criminally underutilised.

Overall, although some of the ideas trying to come through in ‘Division 19’ can be appreciated, the lack of personality in any of the characters and lack of focus makes it a challenging watch. It also seems so empty in terms of plot until it’s too late that there’s nothing to fill the void in the middle – and then it still manages to be confusing in the very last scene. Although it is a visually well-made film, the foundation of it in the script is where it goes completely wrong. It’s like a first draft, and one that the improvements needed were so obvious that this makes it all the more frustrating it didn’t reach its full potential.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the iconic Japanese horror film ‘Ring’, Arrow Films has released a beautiful restoration which serves as a reminder of how well-loved the film is around the world. It’s hard to find a horror fan who hasn’t seen it, and it’s impossible to deny the influence it’s had both in its home country as well as in Western culture after spawning an American remake, franchises and even spoofs. There’s no denying it’s worthy of being restored to become the best viewing experience it can possibly be.

‘Ring’ follows Reiko (Nanako Matsushima) a reporter who is investigating the strange deaths surrounding rumours of a video tape that curses anyone who watches it – they receive a phone call and die seven days after seeing it. Naturally, after finding the tape and becoming cursed herself, she then contacts her ex-husband to help her. This is actually one problem I have with the film; I find it difficult to identify with Reiko as she brings this situation onto herself despite seeming to somewhat buy into the rumours. Not only that, but once she is cursed, she allows someone else to watch the tape. However, every other element is so well done that it just becomes a minor annoyance.

What makes ‘Ring’ special is how is combines actual Japanese folklore with contemporary fears surrounding technology. The idea that something old can adapt to and even thrive in the modern age is terrifying. This is something that has continued to be relevant and is further adapted for the ever-growing technological age in American sequel ‘Rings’ (2017), in which the video can be shared online. That’s why the film continues to be scary and is perhaps even scarier than ever, and was also so well received in Western culture. For the most part, technology is basically unavoidable in most countries as we rely on it more and more, so the threat that Sadako poses seems increasingly significant in retrospect.

The music by Kenji Kawai is also hugely important in emphasizing the fear the characters are feeling throughout. Without being over-used, the loud and screeching sounds are comparable to that of the scores in Dario Argento’s giallo films, but work just as well in the context of the supernatural. It possesses a dissonance that’s enough to put anyone on edge and adds to the atmosphere. This score is bold, and ‘Ring’ wouldn’t be nearly as effective in conveying the pure anguish Reiko is going through without it. Overall, all of the elements of the film from the acting to the music complement each other to make an incredibly effective horror film that is just as creepy as it was twenty years ago, and its mark on the genre continues to be visible today.

Redcon-1 (2018) is a British zombie action film, directed by Chee Keong Cheung. The film takes place in a post-zombie outbreak where a group of soldiers are tasked with retrieving the scientist who created the virus in the hopes of getting a cure, but is everything as it seems?

Firstly, you can tell that Redcon-1 is trying to be a different type of zombie film, one that sits more comfortably in the war genre than the horror one. The soldiers are the main focal point of the film, rather than the zombies, and the film (especially at the beginning) pushes the parallel between the fight against zombies and real life war. This is an interesting take on the genre, granted one that we’ve seen before but not too often.

​As such, Redcon-1 tries hard to create a sense of realism; wanting to make the viewer think what the world would be like if a zombie outbreak did really happen. Unfortunately, it just can’t maintain this realism for longer than the first 10 minutes. This is largely because nearly every action, sequence or plot point in the film is just hugely unrealistic, which simply destroys the film’s verisimilitude quicker than it’s being built. Now this isn’t usually a problem, this is a zombie film after all, expect when you are trying to be both real and unrealistic it just creates a heap of confusion for the viewer.

One massive example of this is the zombies. Once again the film takes an interesting approach and should be commended for its attempt to shake-up the tired stereotype of the zombie. The zombies in Redcon-1 aren’t like any old zombies, what is interesting is that they still seem to hold a semblance of their former humanity, to the point where they can fight, use weapons and even function as teams. Alas, this type of zombie ultimately lends itself more to comedy than horror as they just end up coming off really weird – there’s no better example of this than the underground fight sequence.

What’s more, whilst the technical elements of the film, like cinematography and editing, aren’t actually too bad (it’s even quite good in places) it largely remains very one-note throughout, and feels very ‘put together’. The film doesn’t seem to slow down when it’s trying to build tension, or speed up when there’s an action sequence (not by much anyway). This means the zombies don’t come off particularly scary and the action sequences are just kind of lame. Moreover, it never quite manages to hit the emotional beats of the film (although this is also hindered by the performances). It does seem to get a bit better about half way through when there are less characters to worry about, so you can actually start to get to know them, but it sadly doesn’t last for long.

Regrettably, Redcon-1 ends up being a weird and confusing film that just isn’t very good. It’s a shame because you can tell the filmmakers and actors are trying hard to give the audience an entertaining and thought-provoking experience, but sadly they succeed for all the wrong reasons. However, I would urge them not to give up - there is a golden nugget buried somewhere within Redcon-1 and I hope one day they find it.