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A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio - Rating: * * * (Reviewed by Russell Bailey)

7/24/2020

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On a dark, stormy night, A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio unfolds as a curious watch. An anthology that brings together existing horror shorts under one banner, it is a fitfully entertaining film that feels like an effective snapshot of the industry is now. A radio DJ sits in his studio taking calls and spinning some yarns. And as he talks a series of stories unfold that take in a breadth of subgenres. It doesn’t always work but it is an enjoyable watch for genre fans.
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Where Nightmare Radio is worth your time is as a showcase for some exceptional horror talent. The opening story, In the Dark Dark Woods (directed by Jason Bognacki), plays out as an interesting twist on the invisible man narrative, hinting at a subtext that just about manages to elevate the material. Pablo . S. Pastor’s Into the Mud manages an ending that makes some its initial dependence on genre tropes worth while. Meanwhile Joshua Long’s Post Mortem Mary is a wonderfully creepy period piece, following a mother-and-daughter photography team who capture a last portrait of the deceased. It helps that this short never outstays its welcome, crafting a supernatural story with a sting in the tale, performed well be an accomplished ensemble. 

But probably the best of the bunch is The Disappearance of Willie Bingham. Matt Richards’ short feels less strictly horror and more a dystopian drama. It’s essentially a particularly mean Black Mirror episode playing out in the space of ten brief minutes, effectively satirizing our often cruel penal system.

There are issues with A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio. With a net cast wide there are segments that leave a greater impression then others. The connecting story feels particularly lackluster as our radio DJ seeks ways to link such a disparate collection of stories. Portmanteaus particularly work when it feels like there is a strong connection through them, which feels absent here. And it can’t help but leave an impression that the roster of directors whose works are in this film are an all-male collective, seemingly reflecting the troubling history the horror genre has had with diversity. Speaking as a love of all things grisly and spooky, the widest range of voices we have the better for the viewer. It is just something to reflect on as this anthology reaches its climax.

Nightmare Radio gives fans of horrors a snack box of bitesize horror treats. If aspects of its don’t quite click together, there is enough here to recommend seeking, even if it is just for the two or three shorts that manage to bury under the skin and live an impression.

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Death Of A Vlogger - Rating:  * * * * 1/2 (Reviewed by Russell Bailey)

7/24/2020

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Occasional you’ll come across a horror film that will linger. One that will return to you late at night, that you will dwell on long after it ends. This is the case with Death of a Vlogger, a found footage/mockumentary that effectively builds a dread-filled atmosphere that washes over viewers and grip us tight. It emerges as one of the most interesting and effective genre debut in British cinema in the past decade.

The eponymous vlogger is Graham, a YouTube success story who appears to be in the midst of a haunting. Things start small and low key; a moved mug, a slammed door, but build in frequency and intensity as Graham uncovers a potential reason for the presence that has emerged. And all the while he finds that maybe the biggest threat of all is the online ecosystem he is a part of.
Tapping into today’s climate, Death of a Vlogger is an intriguing watch, complete with talking heads that offer context to the wider story around its protagonist. There is an adept understanding of the internet and, separately, horror. There is far less reliance on jump scares here then of a subtly shifting environment that makes the viewer scour the frame for the potential ghost. Proceedings are, mostly, confined to Graham’s flat and it gives an edge of a banal reality to the supernatural goings on. It makes the film all the more endearing and sadder in how the narrative develops.

This film very much belongs to Graham Hughes, who marks himself as a talent to keep an eye on. Hughes directs, writes, produces and edits Death of a Vlogger and is on screen for much of the running time. So it helps that in each area he proves particularly accomplished. As the lead character he gives a complicated performance, leaving the viewer in suspense as to what extent his terror is genuine right until the end moments. The film is a wonderfully ambitious watch, particularly as the haunting develops. Hughes directs and edits with aplomb and it leaves me excited to see what comes next.

​Annabel Logan gives a heartfelt supporting turn that points to the tragedy in the title, while Paddy Kondracki feels suitably insufferable as a not-so-helpful fellow vlogger.  It all hangs together nicely, chilling the viewer whilst offering something more complicated then you’d expect about the real world. There are occasional shortcomings that comes from low-budget indie cinema, but Hughes’ film could teach a thing or two to Hollywood about how to approach the ghost story in a modern-day setting. Here’s to the blossoming of another homegrown horror talent. 

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The Tent - Rating: * * (Reviewed by James Rodrigues)

7/19/2020

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It’s often that a films title can give you all the information you need (e.g. Hobo With A Shotgun), but just as true is how a title can leave you unsure of what to expect. Take this film, you’re certain a tent will be prominently seen. Outside of that? It’s a mystery, left to be revealed as the feature unfolds.
 
An apocalyptic event, known as The Crisis, has devastated David’s world. To survive, he’s left to rely on the skills he learnt as a child. That soon changes when he encounters Mary, another survivor who questions David’s tactics.
 
From early on, writer and director Kyle Couch seems to have crafted a post-apocalyptic story most interested in its characters. Tim Kaiser and Lulu Dahl do able work conveying their characters, as the story centres on David’s want to be alone, and how Mary argues against it. As we see them trying to survive in this wilderness, it feels as though their relationship was made up only of conflict. So, when the time comes for them to eventually grow, to form a more willing partnership, it doesn’t resonate as intended. For what it’s worth, the emotional beats ring truer by the films end.
 
Terrorising our leads are unseen creatures, who are said to feed off stress. Their terror is showcased through minimalistic means, as their presence is heard through their growls, and moments are taken to see the world through their eyes. We keep checking in with them, as a reminder they’re lurking in wait, but it doesn’t have the desired effect. It tries serving as a terrifying reminder, that these unseen beings will eventually get their pound of flesh, but it just highlights how much of a non-presence they are.
 
In the midst of this, the timeline keeps skipping around through the 85-minute runtime. So, while our leads are trying to survive in the wilderness, we intercut to David on the city streets, and interludes of a clean-shaven man giving survival tips on a home video. It all makes sense in the final act, when the film shows its hand, and the undetermined crisis makes itself known. There are good intentions from Kyle Couch here, and the cast members sell where the story goes. It’s just a shame how the film seems to drag up to that point, leaving one to wonder if this Tent was worth pitching.


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