IFFR Review: Homeless
The ‘developed world’ is in the middle of a housing crisis. With populations on the rise, increasing migration and jobs becoming increasingly centralised in large cities, the pressure on available housing stocks continues to push up house prices at an alarming rate. Whilst wages largely stagnate. Real estate has become an investment opportunity for the …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Charm Circle
As the sayings go, blood is thicker than water and you can choose your friends but not your family. Whilst we might consider ourselves to be enlightened and evolved creatures, in many ways our traditional household structures mimic the animal kingdom and early humans. The units we create and the roles we assign aren’t too …
IFFR Review: Nudo Mixteco
Mexico, in many ways, has a PR problem when it comes to portrayals of the country on the big screen. More often than not, the Latin American country features for its connections with the manufacture and distribution of drugs. Whether it’s the violence and murders driven by the cartels or its position in the transportation …
IFFR Review: Bloodsuckers
Popular culture has a habit of returning to ‘classic’ literature again and again. Whether that’s to place the characters and plot within a different timeline or re-examine the contents from another angle or perspective. This is often done through satire. Cinema is no exception. Audiences love to watch much-loved characters placed in unfamiliar situations. In …
IFFR Review – Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Genre film fans tend to be a rather avid bunch. Staunchly faithful to, and rabid defenders of, our favourite films, we naturally have a preference when it comes to sub-genres. Personally, I love a bit of folk horror. Tales which conjure up our connection to a once mysterious past. To strange myths and legends of …
Blu-Ray Review: Lake Mungo
Whilst found footage was an intriguing concept at first, most genre film fans soon became weary of its lazy application. Indeed, whilst the likes of Rob Savage’s Host demonstrates that it still has a place in a modern online world, it’s perhaps the sub-genre of fake documentary horror which remains the more fascinating. Admittedly, there’s …
IFFR Review: The Day is Over
Traditionally, when focusing on youth the cinematic gaze has rested squarely on boys. Boys were the ones with rampant imaginations and a fearlessness which made for great cinema. This was obviously a load of old codswallop, but films such as Stand by Me and The Goonies undoubtedly are still hugely popular. Thankfully, in modern times …
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021 Preview
Sheffield Doc/Fest has taken a new direction under the curation of Director Cíntia Gil. Whether by intention or through necessity, given both editions under her curatorship have been during lockdown constraints, there has been a distinct move away from the previous English-language-centric and big film/event focus. Instead, the programme has undergone a transition to become …
IFFR Review: Birds of America
One of my local galleries houses John James Audubon’s beautiful Blue Crane, Or Heron. It’s a picture which has always fascinated me. It’s a magnificent work of art but it’s the sheer vibrancy and animated majesty of the illustration which jumps out at you. The French ornithologist, naturalist and painter embarked on his quest to …
Film Review: Caveat
There’s a tendency today, especially within mainstream genre cinema, to rely on jump scares and manufacturing tension using abrasive soundscapes and invasive camera techniques. This can often leave a bad aftertaste and is no replacement for conjuring up a genuine atmosphere of dread. Of wrongness. Of anticipation. Look deep into the shadows and you’ll find …