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And Then There Were None (2015)
Evergreen crime classic given a 21st century polish
They say the sign of a great cover song is that it gives you the same joy you got when you first heard the original . The same could be applied to books and movies. Take William friedkin's masterful 'wages of fear ' reboot ''sorcerer' or the very loose remake of 'scarface' from 1983. Imagine Craig viveiros 's quandary then when faced with doing justice to film that has been very successfully remade a handful of times previously, not only that but whose source material is one of the most beloved pieces of printed mystery fiction of the last 100 years. The fact that he pulls it off so skillfully is not only a feather in his cap but also a tribute to The robustness of the original text. How many stories originating from the first half of the 20th century can truly stand up today as thrillingly as 'ten little indians' , as it was originally titled? Very few I imagine. This very fine three part (depending on what territory you view it) BBC adaption has all the requisite parts in order to stage a successful reboot. The panoramic yet also claustrophobic cinematography of John pardue, a sharp and conniving screenplay by Sarah Phelps and most importantly a great cast (Charles dance, Sam neil). With such a stellar cast and crew, it's no surprise that this old tune sounds as sweet as ever. The fact that runs rings around the more contemporary and glossy American detective shows on the tv is a bonus. A true class act.
My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous (2012)
(Borrowed) style over content.
From its clumsy,pretentious title to its attempts to combine John cassavetes cinema verite shooting style with a Jim van bebber esque trash aesthetic, Shane Ryan reid 's 2012 low budget movie based on real events is definitely an exercise in trying way to hard. Dialogue is delivered with zero conviction by the young and inexperienced cast and the murder aside, the movie has no real direction, Thanks to a seemingly non existent screenplay. Resembling more a promising film student effort than a fully fledged professional production thanks to its numerous technical and creative setbacks, those interested in the bustamante case would be best served by the countless news stories available on the web about the case. A few well captured arty shots and the tasteful placement of Moody music will never be a substitute for quality all round movie making.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (2022)
Blind faith
Ever since the smash hit success of 'making a murderer ' , Netflix is seemingly on a mission to make the multi episode docu series the way we get our documentary thrills.leave the feature lengths versions to the multiplexes and give the public the truth in bite size chunks they seem to be saying. Whilst this format seems to have worked for the aforementioned 'making a murderer ', tiger Kong' etc, the subscription channel has fallen short in this approach when the subject matter hasn't the legs to sustain our interest over multiple hours of viewing. Take the interminably dull 'bad vegan', a story so stretched, it should have been sponsored by spandex or the completely unnecessary 'tiger king ' sequels. 'keep sweet' bucks this trend and if anything is too short. It's tale of a corrupt sect leader and the power he wielded over his followers is too brief. With a scant 46 minutes or one episode devoted to the punishment of his crimes and the subsequent affect it had on congregation. That's not to say the preceding three episodes are over burdened with extraneous detail, on the contary, they are nicely paced and just the right side of informative. Pity the final episode is in too much of a rush to get to the finish line because 'be sweet' had the potential to be one of the most compelling documentary series of the yeah.
Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story (2022)
At last a savile documentary, that avoids cheap tabloid sensationalism.
Jimmy savile was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing, a beloved UK entertainer, whose fan base mainly consisted of young teens (thanks to his radio work) and kids courtesy of his hit tv show 'Jim or fix it'. His crimes, when eventually revealed were therefore more shocking, because of the trust and belief his young fans had in him and the access his job offered him in terms of potential victims.
This two part Netflix documentary thankfully avoids the lurid sensationalism that has been the norm when discussing or reviewing the Seville case in the mainstream media. The first part is a a contextual almost sober look at savile's professional career pre scandal and it is the most riveting episode, juxtaposing images of an exuberant albeit eccentric entertaining the nation via his myriad media work with information that reveals that this was the amongst the most prolific times n his monstrous criminal history. Part 2 is no less devastating but more forthright and detailed when dealing with his crimes. Suspicions are aroused, alliances are made with innocent members of the UK establishment, who knew nothing of savilles dark side and who were ultimately used as smokescreen of respectability for this truly wretched man. Part 2 culminates with his death and public unveiling as a predatory monster. What this superb two part documentary does so well is explore how the public were deceived , how the signs were always there and how one man used the cult of personality as a shield to batter away accusations. Rather than focus on all the lurid details of his crimes, it looks at how his crimes were able to be committed in the first place.
Savage Vengeance (1993)
Savage teduim
It's not often that a movie's title card sums up the whole film before it has even started properly. So it goes with 'savage vengeance' a 1993 released rape/revenge shocker so inept that even the title card reads 'savage vengance'. I can't say I wasn't warned, many reviewers on here listed correctly the myriad mistakes going on, but call it morbid curiosity or Damn right stubbornness, but I had to give this one a watch. All I can say is that is the most interminable 65 minutes I have ever spent in my life. For all the stilted dialogue, bland acting, flat direction and glaringly obvious continuity mistakes, the movie's biggest crime is inflicting that soundtrack upon the viewing public. It literally consists of what sounds like a keyboard having a nervous breakdown and is mismatched to the badly filmed scenes taking place. An absolute travesty of a movie, next time I am gonna listen to the good folk reviewing movies on imdb, if only to avoid mental torture like this again.
Music Box: Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (2021)
Rage against the trust fund ?
Oh the late 1990's, I remember ye well, green day were still a punk band (kinda), Tara Reid was an up and comer and combat pants were so big you and your pals could camp out in them for a week. The dying years of the late 20th century also saw the emergence of nu metal, a genre of rock music that preferred Def jam to pearl jam. I got to admit I wasn't a fan but countless kids were and with its rising popularity and that of other older hard rock and metal acts, an event like Woodstock 99 was an inevitability. The problem with trying to figure out why Woodstock 99 ended up such a debacle, is that there are too many factors in play to give one definitive anawer. Was it spoilt rich kids with zero self restraint subjected to scorching heat, was it greedy vendors, was it poor organization, was it the empty,macho posturing of limp bizkit and there ilk ? This documentary suggests it is all of the above plus rock fans struggling to connect with their empathetic sides after the death of kurt cobain (?) What it lacks in cohesive argument, 'Woodstock 99: peace,love and rage' makes up for by skillfully reconstructing the events of concert supplemented with generous amounts of archive footage. We may never know Woodstock 99 ended up like it did, but this absorbing documentary let's you immerse in all the gory details.
Halloween II (2009)
Zombie headache
Of all the horror movie remakes that have graced our screens over the last two decades, Rob zombie's 'Halloween' , must rank as one of the most contentious in terms of how much it messed with the original's self created folklore and how far it strayed in its approach, spirit and execution from John carpenter's seminal shocker. So it should come as absolutely zero surprise that with this remake of the aforementioned movie's sequel, zombie has veered even further off the 'Halloween ' reservation. The original 1981 sequel was a streamlined, gut punch of a slasher flick, that focused more on grizzly kills than exposition and as sequels go, still stands up as a no frills fun ride. In zombie's 'reimagining' such straightforward movie making is for wimps and his movie rather than being the popcorn body count shocker that everyone expected, instead ends up like a supernatural acid trip. It works sometimes,but as with zombie's other efforts, you just wish he would rein in the flashy visuals and nutty ideas and instead concentrate on strengthening the narrative flow of the movie. Like I said sometimes it works, the first 25 minutes of this movie contains some of the best stuff zombie has ever committed to celluloid, the fact that it is also the most straightforward and least flashy footage he has put his name to is no coincidence. A mess but not a completely irredeemable one.
American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Hit and miss
I have been on a bit of a Netflix documentary binge as of late and the only one I have got round to reviewing is this one, that's not to say it's the best, merely the freshest in my memory. The watts family seem to be living the American dream,outwardly happy and healthy, dad has a good job and mum dotes on their two adorable children whilst maintaining a healthy Facebook presence and a well ordered home in a respectable neighbourhood. So why then does a routine health check on the family home by a policeman one sunny weekday morning lead to revelations so dark, they shook an entire nation.
I remember the watts family case at the time it was initially reported and it's no overstatement to say it was big news, what this documentary sets out to do its to fill in the details behind the lurid headlines regarding this case and in terms of access to information, few documentary makers can claim to have had more. We start with footage straight from a cop's body cam and over the next 70 minutes are shown hand written letters, facebook entries and private text conversations. You really do feel like you are an intrusive voyeur viewing the minutiae of someone else's life, it's that revelatory So why only a six rating? Well it's simple , whilst certain aspects of the case are revealed and expanded upon with explicit candidness, others are neglected. For example Chris watts's life is not explored in any great detail, all the viewer.can glean from the scant mentions of his back story is that he was once fat and now isnt. No insight into his character is given either, he remains just as enigmatic to me as he did before I watched this documentary. This oversight on the makers part is glaring, surely they had just as much access to his correspondences and private info as they did to others. Also for such a complex and enthralling case, an 70 odd minute running time is far too brief to do the story justice. A good documentary that had great potential.
Conductor (2021)
Pretentious amd.empty hipster horror.
Imagine if you will a group of app designers creating a horror film, the end result wouldnt be unlike 'sound of violence', it must be said that the folk responsible for this movie are 'NOT' app designers, but they might as well be because their movie is as slick,.functional.and empty.as an app.
The idea of sound as a catalyst for evil isn't anything new, but at least recent offerings like 'berberian sound studio' and 'a.quiet place' used noise (or.a lack thereof in 'a qp's' case) to perfectly build tension and unease. ' sound of violence' despite its self descriptive title uses sound as an afterthought and the subtle use of it in the aforementioned movies is absent here as the movie just relies on heavy handed visual.shocks that you are more accustomed to seeing in the torture porn or slasher subgenres of horror movies, not the the art house horror this alludes to being. I
Too arty and contrived for gorehounds and not challenging or idiosyncratic enough for your chin.stroking film buff, this movie is all froth and no coffee.
Pandamonium (2020)
Panda phoney fun
For fans of bad movies and even worse puns, on the lookout for low quality entertainment, your luck is in because someone went and made 'pandamonium'. Why is another matter. From the outset m j Dixon's film wears its ineptitude like a badge of honor, the acting was so bad that I was convinced that this was originally a foreign movie and the actors were dubbed into the English language. The dialogue is no better,it seemed like it was authored by a lobotomised ex lads mag journalist. The biggest crime of all however is the attempts at humour, for a supposed horror comedy, the jokes were painfully unfunny, consisting of puns that were so inane and witless, they make Freddy Krueger sound like Stephen fry in comparison. The horror elements were so meh, they are barely worth mentioning. 'pandamonium' may have amused it's creators whilst coming up with its pun based title, but I have a more apt,pun based title for this movie : 'unbearable '
Blood Red Sky (2021)
A action/horror movie that truly kicks butt
Combining the high octane thrills of the action movie with the visceral chills of the horror flick is no mean feat. Many have tried, many have failed. Neil Marshall managed to achieve it with his sublime 2002 werewolf effort 'dog soldiers', Robert Rodriquez conquered it also with his 1996 Quentin Tarantino scripted bloodfest 'from dusk till dawn' and more recently the Ethan Hawke starring 'the purge' gave it a good go. The latest horror/action hybrid to hit our screens is the uk/German co production 'blood red sky' and it doesn't disappoint. A simple flight from Europe to new york, is turned into a living nightmare when a group of determined and well armed criminals and a passenger with a dark secret interact high in the night sky. I made my synopsis of the story deliberately vague,as I don't wish to reveal anything, I will say however that the movie 's stylish premise is brilliantly executed by a very good director and a fine group of well cast actors. Plenty of blood for those so inclined and enough edge of your seat thrills to keep your average Jason Statham fan happy for a week, 'blood red sky' alongside 'train to busan' has to rank as one of the best public transport set horror action hybrid movies in existence. Happy flying.
Beast Within (2019)
Whodunit ? Who cares?
I hate putting down low budget movies, the effort, sacrifice and passion that leads to these projects being completed and released to view by the public is truly admirable. So it pains me to say that this micro financed creature feature/ murder mystery is truly terrible. An overly loud and intrusive soundtrack wouldn't by itself be a deal breaker when it comes to evaluating a movie..Sadly when said score is added to a growing list of flaws including bad acting (the main male lead is particularly unconvincing) , a bland script (the only interesting pieces of dialogue are bible quotations) and an excitement free screenplay. It makes for a movie that is uninspiring and hard to sit through. Every time i sit down to watch a low budget movie, I hope it has the balls, creativity and verve to put Hollywood to shame, sadly 'beast within' is as soulless and dull affair that makes the latter howling sequels look good by comparison.
Belushi (2020)
Way of the samurai
To your average, everyday u.k citizen, the name John belushi might conjure up the image of a toga wearing, frat boy slob or one half of the blues brothers, but little else, yet in the u.s, the man was a bona fide star. Watching this thoroughly detailed documentary, the viewer regardless of nationality, is shown he was so much more. A tortured but driven soul, belushi redefined physical comedy, forgoing his SNL colleague Chevy chase's perchant for pratfalls, belushi instead brought a dark, anarchic energy to his comedy. His skits on SNL are legendary and some are featured here in all there glory. 'belushi' the documentary, for all its many examples of its subject's genius, works best when it shows the man behind the onscreen persona and is at times as heartbreaking as it is revealing, belushi's humanity is all to relatable and shows that all the creative gifts in the world are of scant comfort if you are not comfortable in your own skin. As a time capsule of the golden age of SNL, everyone who was everyone is featured albeit it in archive footage or written correspondence form. These include Harold ramis,Lorne Michaels, jane Curtin and the aforementioned Chevy chase , etc. 'Belushi' is an excellent documentary that is moving,insightful and both celebrates the life of and mourns the loss of a tru comedy icon. All of a sudden I want a cheeseburger.
Red Dawn (1984)
Boneheaded but fun teen action movie
Ah the 1980's, the only time when you could visit your local movie theater and watch a politically driven, teen action movie. The year of this film's release is indeed pertinent, in 1984, the u.s was still in the midst of the cold war and the leader of the free world at the time was a avid movie buff and ex Hollywood actor himself: Mr Ronald Reagan. Whilst an interesting concept, the idea of injecting mainstream movies with political rhetoric means you run the risk of alienating a large portion of your potential audience, who just want to.escape reality for a couple of hours and have some fun. 'red dawn' saving grace in this regard, is that it's political charged premise is so mind numbingly silly, that nobody is likely to let it affect their enjoyment of this fun action romp. Hollywood has subsequently carried on making both teen movies , action movies and teen action movies but had stopped combining the two with politics. 'red dawn' for all its thrills and charm, proves that to be a right move.
Epstein's Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell (2021)
Must watch documentary
Unless you have been living on mars, the name Jeffery Epstein is likely to be very familiar. A billionaire playboy whose life came crashing down with a series of sordid and disturbing allegations about his private life. Less well known is his friend/companion/ whatever you wanna call her, guideline maxwell. The daughter of infamous newspaper baron Robert maxwell. This her story.
Episode one details ghislaine 's early life and the influence of her father, this in my opinion is the most interesting of the three installments. The next two chronicle Maxwell's journey from incorrigible smoozer to her association with epstein. Whilst both are certainly enlightening, they can be a tad repetitive in places and could do with some pruning. All in all , this is a must see doc series that sheds light on a enigmatic media figure who in the coming months may have the answers to some very dark questions.
Werewolves Within (2021)
A sheep in wolf's clothing
I don't know what's worse, a horror comedy that isn't scary, or a horror comedy that isn't funny? 'werewolves within' definitely fulfils one half of the horror comedy quota,perhaps too well and to the detriment of the other. Comedy is definitely the creative minds behind 'werewolves within' forte, horror less so and this is evident in uninspired cgi gore effects and the perfunctory staged terror scenes. Horror comedies are never gonna be a perfectly balanced mix, 'Shaun of the dead' whilst centered for the most part on humour,still managed to lay on the carnage effectively. The disparity between the impact of the humour and the horror in this movie is obvious. It's a shame really because before it ran out of steam, 'werewolves within' was a real hoot,maybe just stick to comedy next time guys and you'll be onto a winner.
Synchronic (2019)
Functional sci-fi drama that's not as profound as it likes to think it is
There's nothing wrong with ambition in life, but sometimes you have to accept your limitations. The main drawback with directing partners Justin Benson and Aaron moorhead's latest collaborative effort is that all its attempts at grandiosity and profundity are stymied by a very formulaic script. Don't get me wrong this is , despite its dark subject matter, a very enjoyable popcorn and beer movie,but the premise suggested something a lot less pedestrian and more challenging. Two paramedics working the graveyard shift, start noticing a pattern in the patients they are treating. Instead of the usual liquored or doped up violent assault victims, they instead find wide eyed living zombies who it seems have ingested a new designer drug named synchronic. What is this drug ? And why does it leave such a trail of madness in its wake? I won't divulge anything further as I don't want to enter spoiler territory and spoilers suck, I will say however that despite its narrative shortcomings - just imagine what David cronenberg or even Christopher Nolan could have done with this film's premise- this isn't a terrible movie, the lead actors are particularly good and the oppressive mood is effectively maintained thoughout, it's just not the thought provoking, head trip experience i was hoping for.
Initiation (2020)
Disposable slasher movie fluff
A lot of movie buffs call the early 80's, the golden age of the slasher movie and whilst it's hard to argue with that assessment when you figure in that the original Friday 13th, terror train, the burning, my bloody valentine, the burning etc were all released during this period, there was a lot of lumpen rocks admist the golden nuggets. 'initiation' arrives some 14 year after Wes craven supposedly rejuvenated the subgenre with 'scream' and yet it has the same will this do feel of the golden age's weakest efforts, albeit without the nostalgic charm. Working better as a spirited teen movie than slasher flick, 'initiation ' falls apart when not featuring scenes of campus hazing and sex jokes. Blandly constructed murder set pieces and a weak script make this an ordeal to sit through for anyone seeking engaging horror entertainment. Even those who have to own every slasher movie in existence are unlikely to give this a second viewing. The only amusing thing relating to this movie is its DVD cover that features a quote which proudly proclaims 'intitiation' to be "Gen z's answer to scream" and there was me thinking scream was a good movie.
Unearth (2020)
Bleak but rewarding environmental horror
Part social commentary part body horror fable, 'unearth' joins a list of recent horror flicks that take the slow burn route to deliver their shocks. ' saint maud' and 'relic' proved that the patient approach to movie storytelling can be fruitful, with both receiving critical accolades and swiftly growing cult followings.'unearth' may not leave the viewer in quite the same state of shock as the those two aforementioned movies and may drag in places, but when it comes to effectively creating a palpable sense of dread it stands shoulder to shoulder with them. Two neighbouring farmsteads experiencing financial hardship , struggle with the woes of rural living and some dark personal secrets. When a gas fracking company offers to buy one of the cash strapped neighbour's spare land, tensions arise between the two families and what appears to be a financial lifeline, reveals itself to something far more sinister. 'unearth' is a bleak movie , with an almost downbeat indie drama feel for most of its running time, so those looking for regular short, sharp shocks will likely be disappointed, if you have the patience however , this movie's shocking denouement will pay off handsomely.
The Terror (2018)
Expertly crafted historical horror mystery
As a sceptic of television land's forays into the horror genre, I have got to say the first season of 'the terror' hit me for six. Everything I was led to believe about tv horror shows slowly evaporated during its 10 hour total running time. My previously held view of tv horror as an over sanitized and empty exercise in tv time slot filling is no more and that is thanks to this wonderful show. Set abroad a British ship's voyage to find the northern passage in the late 19th century, 'the terror' takes it dry historical premise and makes something truly spellbinding out of it. Strong characterization was never a strong trait of horror fiction,yet it's here in abundance, even peripheral characters like the below deck sailors are given tangible identities. The acting , given the pedigree of the cast is as impressive as expected, yet it is another neglected trait of the horror genre , that takes center stage here, and that is the cinematography. From the chill inducing vistas of the artic ocean to desolate panorama of the barely habitated artic land, the show's external shots are often breathtaking. From the writing and the acting to the directing and the cinematography, 'the terror' is an expertly crafted piece of dark art. Given the supposed cultural disposability of both the medium: tv and the genre : horror, that in itself is a triumph.
See No Evil (2006)
Nothing to see here
The third release from wwe films ,promises a thrilling, blood soaked slasher, instead what we get is a dreary low budget smozefest of a shocker. Opening with a scene depicting two cops entering an abandoned house.Things go awry when they are confronted by screaming victim and her bloodthirsty attacker. Fastfoward four years and one of the cops who entered that house on that fateful day is now a correctional officer, tasked along with his female counterpart with escorting some low risk convicts on a cleaning detail at a run down local hotel. Suffice to say rats and cobwebs are the least of the cons and their chaperones worries, but who or what exactly lurks on the higher floors of the hotel? Whilst not exactly expecting 'the godfather ' esque levels of character detail and narrative sophistication, 'see no devil' is massively underwritten even for a slasher movie. The bland teen aged cons are cliched cookie cutter creations, ok so that's new nothing for this genre, but these characters are remarkably vapid even by slasher standards. the storyline could have redeemed things had it actually existed beyond a brief outline. The worst crime however is committed by the director, who fails to inject any excitement or suspense in the death scenes, the bread and butter of any slasher film, here they are shot like an afterthought and are instantly forgettable. WWE studios should stick to muscles and mullets, spandex and sweat because slice and dice, whilst not exactly rocket science, deserves more care and attention in its creation. The slapdash, will this do approach displayed in 'see no evil' makes for a particularly dull viewing experience.
The Devil You Know (2019)
Potentially fascinating documentary stymied by lack of cohesion, editing and perspective.
What have making a murderer, the jinx and the staircase got in common? They are all compelling, must see multipart documentary series.On paper at least 'the devil you know' looks like it might follow in that fine tradition. With its intriguing premise of drugs, sex,satan and small town murder plus an endless parade of druggies,misfits,law enforcement officials willing to share their recollections, this series can't fail right? Wrong. What becomes apparent by episode three, is that director Patricia k Gillespie lacks a clear vision of what kind of documentary she wants to make. Instead of focusing on the details surrounding the crimes and the participants, she instead becomes preoccupied, for long periods of the running time, by one particular drug addled couple. What started out as a potentially exhilarating true crime epic, becomes a fly on the wall expose of small town drug use, that has more in common with ' the house I live in' or 'FIX : the story of an addicted city' , only not as interesting as either of those two films. You can't blame the director for wanting to paint a picture of the milieu in which the events took place, but by the time she has interviewed the millionth misfit who had minimal interaction with the film's protagnist, you have to resist the urge to switch it off and read the Wikipedia page relating to the case instead. Sporadically interesting but mostly tedious and with delusions of social importance that would make a social worker blush, the devil is definitely in the details here.
Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary (2019)
Guardians of the galaxy quest
You don't have to be a massive fan of the cult 1999 sci-fi satire galaxy quest to enjoy Jack Bennett's absorbing documentary, but it certainly helps. From the endless shots of fan conventions to pre production anecdotes - who knew that Bruce Willis was once considered for the main role - this really is a superfan's dream of a documentary. Luckily there's enough here to appeal to the casual admirer of the original movie as well with plenty of interesting trivia and spirited banter from the various talking heads involved in making of galaxy quest. Kudos also goes to the Bennett for managing to assemble nearly the entire cast for the documentary ( minus the late great Alan Rickman for obvious reasons). Not as compelling as 'heart of darkness' or as incident packed as 'lost in la mancha' , but as documentaries about specific movies go you'd be hard pressed to find one as warm and entertaining as this.
The Appointment (1982)
Sporadically great, but ultimately disappointing early 80's chiller
Uneven early 1980's supernatural horror that features some sublime shocks amidst the tedium. A small rural up town bemused and shocked by the disappearance of a teenage schoolgirl, erects a fence around the area where the girl vanished to avoid history repeating itself.life goes on in the town with businessman Ian (Edward woodward) and his family, wife Dianne and highly strung daughter Joanne going through the motions of a mundane middle class existence, until everything suddenly and dramatically changes. The main problem I have with this movie is the underwritten threadbare screenplay. At times it felt like I was watching an episode of iconic British tv show 'hammer house of horror' albeit stretched out to feature film length ,thanks to many unnecessary and uneventful scenes that rather than drive or add anything to the narrative, instead come across as attempts to pad out the running time It's a shame really because when lindsey d Vickers debut feature gets it right, it really gets it right. Unlike a lot of supernatural shockers of the period, this movie contains some genuinely effective scares, I can think of at least two that weirded me out a while after watching, it's just when the director has you by the balls, he lets go too often. This movie would have been better as a short film, with all the extraneous celluloid gristle removed, as such it's still an slightly above average chiller. It just could have been so much more.
Saint Maud (2019)
Horror with brains and soul
Like the Aussie chiller 'relic' released the same year, rose glass's feature length debut 'saint maud' is unafraid to venture where most mainstream horror dares not go and that's into the very depths of human fraility. It should come as no surprise then that both movies have female directors and both eschew the masculine view of violence and torment as entertainment. Like 'relic' , 'saint maud' also has a three dimensional female protagonist. Maud is a timid,waif like private nurse who cares for terminally ill patients and has strong religious convictions. The latest patient assigned to her is an ex American dancer named amanda, seemingly chalk and cheese in their worldviews, how will these two interact with each other ? I won't divulge anymore as I don't want to enter spoiler territory, what I will say however is that 'saint maud' is an ultra impressive piece of film making and one of the most rewarding viewing experiences i have had in a.while. From the great acting performances, in particular morfydd clark as maud to the deeply profound and thought provoking script, this movie is a million miles away from the T and A saturated gorefests or bland found footage abominations that the genre is known for nowadays. A horror movie with substance and soul, 'saint maud' is In my humble opinion the best movie of 2020, regardless of genre.