​‘Videoman’ isn’t a horror film but will definitely be a hit with some fans of the genre. The film follows Ennio (Stefan Sauk), an obsessed VHS collector with a love for Giallo who gets his hands on a rare copy of ‘Zombie’ thanks to Simone (Lena Nilsson). An anonymous collector finds out he has the copy and offers to buy it for substantial price – however, ‘Videoman’ turns into somewhat of a thriller when Ennio loses the tape and his paranoia increases as he attempts to find who took it before the strict deadline that’s set for him. Meanwhile, romance blooms between him and the equally nostalgic Simone, who’s desperate to reconnect with her daughter and to be seen by others. Firstly, I really enjoyed the 80s synth aesthetic of the film – Ennio’s scenes in his rental shop are surreal, often tinted with blue and pink light that visually emphasises his living in the past and it has a good 80s inspired score.

Writer/director Kristian A. Soderstrom manages to balance nostalgia and references to Italian horror that appeal to audiences in the horror community within a cautionary tale of the dangers of it without seeming hypocritical. There’s also some interesting topics brought up around the nature of collecting and how we look back with rose-tinted glasses, with one character claiming that he never watches VHS anymore because the quality is terrible while surrounded by his collection of tapes. The past becomes a commodity.

There’s a hint of tragedy throughout the film as we watched Ennio and Simone yearning for
better days gone by, but there’s some hope in their relationship. It’s not perfect by any
means, but it gives them a reason to stop looking back and seeing these flawed characters
having a good time together is sweet. The best moments are when they’re together. They
feel grounded and real – they both struggle to deal with their addictions but ultimately, they
care about each other. Will they overcome their problems and start fresh together? Call me
an optimist, but I’d like to think so.

​Overall, I really enjoyed ‘Videoman’ with its flawed characters and themes surrounding the
dangers of nostalgia. While you may initially think this is a downbeat and cynical film, it
leaves the door open for new beginnings. This is Soderstrom’s first feature film after some
shorts – he also wrote and edited ‘Videoman’ himself which is impressive – so I’m very
excited to see what he does in the future.

Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) is the latest instalment/reopening of the Lake Placid franchise, directed by Darrell Roodt. The film follows a group of activists who, after being lured into one more job to uncover government secrets, must fight for survival from what they find. Legacy is a made for TV film, originally airing on the Syfy channel. Now when you hear ‘made for TV film’ a certain image starts to form in your mind, for good or bad; this image is solidified when you then hear ‘Syfy channel’. Usually without fail you’d expect a ‘so bad it’s good’ creature feature with cheesy CGI and hilarious acting. This is what I was wholly expecting from Legacy, however it actually exceeded my expectations (in a good way) and delivered a lot more.

First off, the story, although not overly original, is an interesting way to reopen the franchise. It doesn’t try to convolute itself with explanations and references to past films, nor does it overdo the horror - blasting the audience with incessant screams and splattering them with blood - instead focusing on delivering a clear and easy to follow movie with a beginning, middle and end. Furthermore, the characters are all largely likeable (even the token arsehole isn’t that bad), and the acting isn’t too shabby, which allows the audience to actually care when they start getting picked off one by one. Essentially, unlike what you’d expect from a film like this Legacy isn’t a poorly made bloodbath (literally), instead it is relatively well-crafted and it is evident that care went into making it.

Moreover, this care is shown particularly in their use of the crocodile (if you didn’t already know, the creature terrorising our characters). As a made for TV movie the budget obviously isn’t very large hence the CGI is a tad poor, however what I found so great about Legacy is that it knew what it had, it knew its limits and it used them to its advantage. Some may argue that they didn’t show enough of the creature, however honestly with the more serious direction they took this film in nothing would’ve ruined it more than constantly seeing a very clearly fake crocodile on screen. In my opinion, by showing the crocodile only through quick snippets, close-ups and for a large portion of the film only allowing us to hear it’s snarls added to the sense of a looming threat out to get these characters, which helped a lot by creating a real sense of tension. One of my favourite shots of the movie is when one of the characters sacrifices herself by luring the croc down a tunnel with a flare – this creates a beautiful red light to the shot which slowly fades to black as the camera equally as slow pans from only a bit of the crocodile’s face to the terrified look of our character. As I said, care went into making this film and it shows.

In conclusion, if you are a fan of the franchise, or of creature feature films in general I hope you will like this film. It reopens the franchise in a more serious way without being pretentious, and succeeds in being one of the better films (and best made films) of this certain persuasion/sub-genre. I was very pleasantly surprised and would definitely recommend it.

UFO (2018) is a sci-fi, thriller film, directed by Ryan Eslinger. The film focuses on a college student’s obsession with the search for the truth following a recent UFO sighting.

Story-wise UFO would’ve made more for a better short film than a full film – the “action” starts off way too quickly and not a lot really seems to happen to justify the one and a half hour length, however take the premise and the interesting bits that do happen, condense it to 30 mins and you have yourself a good watch. The premise is quite interesting, taking a more realistic approach and focusing on how we would react if aliens made contact with us first rather than the other way around and how we would respond. It shows this process of ‘contact’ through the primary character, Derek, and the universal language of maths. Derek’s investigation and attempt at decrypting the alien message adds to the thriller side of things, although the film sometimes indulges itself too much in explanations of maths and formulas, which comes off boring rather than exciting. This investigation also starts way too quickly, the audience isn’t given a chance to even know the characters names before things kick off – I
know people complain about things taking too long to happen, but the opposite isn’t any better in some cases.

In terms of the characters, UFO focuses largely on Derek and his investigation. This is fine as obviously this is the main hook of the movie; however the side characters aren’t given any space to breathe and so just come off rather pointless. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t hate any of these characters, but you just don’t really feel anything for them either. A chief example of this is the maths professor, played by Gillian Anderson no less! What could’ve been an exciting character that goes beyond a cameo unfortunately comes off flat and meaningless. It’s a shame as these side characters would’ve opened the film up to a few more layers that could’ve lifted
the film just that bit higher.

However, UFO still manages to capture you by the end. In spite of its faults it has a charm that still leaves you in good spirits by the end – even if you don’t like the film you don’t feel like you’ve wasted your time. When it isn’t overly explaining maths the investigation gets quite exciting, Derek’s best friend (albeit redundant) adds a bit of much needed humour, technically the film is fine (not great but nothing to complain about). It does have pros that succeed in making the film still enjoyable to watch.

All in all, UFO is a film you will either love or hate – for me, I wasn’t so keen and yet, looking back on it, I do have a certain appreciation for it. Despite its flaws the film is still able to get you on board by the end, leaving you thinking ‘Did I like that or not?’ But alas, there are better, similar sci-fi films out there which I would urge you to try first.

​‘Possum’ is the debut feature film from Matthew Holness, who is perhaps one of the last
people you might expect to write/direct such a bleak horror since his contributions to the
industry has, for the most part, been in comedy television. He boasts directing credits from
much-loved British comedy series’ such as ‘The Office’ and ‘Toast of London’, but ‘Possum’
shows the dark side of his imagination in a psychological horror about a puppeteer who
returns to his childhood home and can’t seem get rid of the half-man, half-spider
marionette known as Possum. Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that in the past boys had
disappeared from the area and it’s happening again – but is it the traumatised Philip (Sean
Harris), his abusive uncle Maurice (Alun Armstrong), or the disturbing puppet who is
responsible?

The plot of the film is very simple and minimalistic, with more focus on the imagery to
create a disturbing atmosphere. The aesthetic style takes inspiration from the 70s as well as
from the German expressionist era, especially the image of Possum itself which is a haunting
mask of a face (very similar to the shape of adult Philip, which can’t be a coincidence and
provides a great deal of symbolism as he tries to get rid of it) attached to horribly long
spider legs. This imagery adds to the sense that Philip is living in a nightmare, and the
surreal viewpoint is enough to make the audience question his sanity. Furthermore,
although there isn’t much dialogue, Harris plays Philip with a submissiveness and timidity
that primarily shows through his body language and soon has you feeling sympathetic
towards him – particularly when he’s around Maurice, a malicious presence who takes great
pleasure from Philip’s pain.

The ending is abrupt and took me by surprise in the best way. The rest of the film is so
focused on the cycle of Philip’s trauma and creating an atmosphere through visuals that the
climax feels earned and can make you view the film in a new way. It’s a satisfying end to
something that easily could have taken the artsy route and left everything hanging as an
utter mystery to the audience – maybe some people would prefer it that way, but having
some of the answers isn’t always a bad thing in my opinion. In a narrative that was full of
uncertainty and an unreliable perspective, a small dose of reality is what was needed and
rounded the story off well.

​Despite being a little bit repetitive at times and possibly being better suited to a short film
format, I would definitely recommend ‘Possum’ to horror fans. Holness shows a good
understanding of visual storytelling in his debut feature, and his years of directing
experience shine through in the wonderful performances from the cast; with his minimalist
approach to the narrative, this would have been make or break for the film, but luckily he
pulls through.

In an industry where so much of the same generic, repetitive material gets released year upon year, it’s incredibly refreshing when something original floats to the surface. Every once in a while we stumble upon a true gem that will go down in history as one of the modern classics. With Jordan Peele’s second outing as director, I believe we have one such example.
​
Following the huge success of 2017’s Get Out, Peele has come back even bigger and bolder with a film that delivers on just about every level.

It follows the story of Adelaide Wilson (a stellar Lupito Nyong’o), her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and their two children Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex) as they head to a holiday home by the beach for the summer. They venture down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to meet up with their friends Kitty (Elizabeth Moss) and Josh (Tim Heidecker) and their kids. What begins as a relaxing vacation soon takes a dark and sinister turn when a group of intruders break into their home that night and not only are they frightening in both behaviour and appearance, they also look exactly like the Wilson family. It soon becomes clear that the doppelgangers have something disturbing in mind for the Wilsons.

What unravels for the rest of the film is tense, action-packed and truly unnerving at times.
This is a director who not only knows his films, but more crucially, knows his horror. There
are enough Easter Eggs and nods to classics of the genre that this definitely warrants repeat
viewings. There is such a richness and depth to this film, you can’t help but admire Peele’s
vision. The soundtrack is eerie and disconcerting, working its magic to play against the
backdrop of the story perfectly. Who knew several versions of ‘I Got 5 On It’ could be so
effective? Well, Peele has pulled that off here too.

The cast are absolutely superb. Winston Duke is charismatic and funny; at first playing the
classic naïve character who won’t believe what’s happening but then quickly transitioning
into the macho, brave father figure. Even as his doppelganger who doesn’t say a lot, he
manages to express a lot with body language alone. Young newcomers Shahadi Wright and
Evan Alex are brilliant and give superb turns as both their original selves and their alternate
characters. Even Elizabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker are entertaining as a very different kind
of family to the Wilsons; they present an ignorant, selfish form of parenting which contrasts
nicely with the former.

However, this is Lupita Nyong’o’s film and she steals every scene she’s in – which is most of
them. As Adelaide she is maternal and brave but as her doppelganger she is utterly chilling
and says so much with just the turn of her head or widening of her big, brown eyes. You can
tell she really had fun with this role and had a freedom to go in her own direction somewhat.
This is a stellar performance and the sky is the limit for her now.

Jordan Peele has created a genuinely impressive film here and one that stays with you long
after you leave the cinema. There are twists and turns, some explained and some left ambiguous. By the end you’ll want to dive back into this nightmare and witness it all again
just so you can appreciate all those little tropes and references that a true admirer of the genre
has so lovingly laid out for you.

‘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.