The stylish but predictable infidelity thriller Fatale is, as its title suggests, just a modern-day reboot of films like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct. The film also sees a return to the ‘evil woman’ sub-genre which feels a little uncomfortable given recent progress in sexual politics. Here, Michael Ealy (Barbershop, 2 Fast 2 Furious) plays celebrity sports agent Derrick Tyler
Read moreUnhinged sounds like the title of a typical 80s video nasty designed to exploit fears of the mentally ill. While much slicker and a little more thoughtful than those VHS trash-fests, this tense and at times gruesomely violent road rage thriller occasionally veers into that same pulpy territory. The film establishes its threatening scenario in an unnerving opening credits sequence
Read moreIn 2006, Korean director Bong Joon-Ho gained rapturous notices for his inventive monster movie The Host. At the time, I felt that reviews were heaping too much praise on it because it was non-Hollywood genre movie (see also British zombie films) but it still it revealed a skilled and stylish filmmaker who was able to deftly walk the tightrope between
Read moreBad Times at the El Royale is an entrancingly stylish and inventive, if at times slow-moving and slightly fractured, mystery thriller and homage to film noir. The plot is a spoiler minefield for reviewers so only a little of this film’s twisted and tangled story can be revealed. Set in 1969, the film sees four disparate and suspicious characters: ageing
Read moreThe idea of human bodies being enhanced with technology has been a frequent sci-fi theme for decades with Robocop and The Six Million Dollar Man just two examples. Aussie writer director Leigh Whannell explores this theme in the futuristic action flick Upgrade but ads a sniff of the violent horror for which he became renowned with the disgusting Saw franchise.
Read moreA strange mash-up of M Night Shyamalan’s better work and Meet the Parents, the socially perceptive, comedy-inflected horror film Get Out is an impressive directorial debut for Jordan Peel. Here, Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is the boyfriend nervously heading to a first encounter with his girlfriend’s parents. He’s particularly anxious because his white girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) hasn’t mentioned to
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