Film

What do you come to horror cinema for? For me it’s generally to be scared, to be unnerved, to be thrilled. For that to happen there have to be certain ingredients in place. Most importantly I have to care. The ability to be truly concerned about what happens to a character - whether it be that I want them want them to escape, or that I’m rooting for them to meet an especially gruesome end - means that I’m invested....

Following the critical acclaim of Weekend and 45 Years, director Andrew Haigh returns with a naturalistic and tender tale of a boy’s connection with an ageing race horse. It is a revealing character study that is full of heartfelt and melancholic moments. Lean on Pete follows Charley (Charlie Plummer), a teenager living with his father Ray (Travis Fimmel) in a small dilapidated home. Ray may at times be carless but his love and affection for his son is clear to...

Ever since Juno blew me away at the cinema I've been fascinated by Diablo Cody's work as a screenwriter. She's always worked best delving into the dramas playing out in suburban homes across America, transforming what may be mundane into the witty and heartfelt. While Juno dealt with the impact of pregnancy, Tully focuses on the immediacy of raising an infant. Marlo (Charlize Theron) already has two kids with her husband Drew (Ron Livingston), and her hands full with 'quirky'...

The shadow of Studio Ghibli stalwart Hayao Miyazaki looms over Mary And The Witch’s Flower, the debut feature from the newly established Studio Ponoc – founded by leading film producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, in the wake of Ghibli’s decision to halt production following Miyazaki’s retirement back in 2014. Adapted from Mary Stewart’s beloved novel, ‘The Little Broomstick’, the film introduces us to the titular Mary (Ruby Barnhill), a curious & independent youngster struggling to overcome the boredom of living with her...

Horror, as a genre, is steeped in metaphor. Horror can be about politics, sex, disease, but it’s usually - when you get down to the bottom of it - about fears more real and more universal than vampires or zombies. The Dark Half isn’t exactly like that, in fact it may be one of the most straightforward, face value horror films I’ve seen. Based on the novel by Stephen King, the film follows author Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton). Thad’s books...

The kinky creations are named after the stars of the upcoming Avengers Infinity War film and feature sex props based on some of the most iconic characters.

The annual ritual that represents the transition from childhood to adulthood within the Xhosa community in South Africa was a carefully kept secret until Nelson Mandela mentioned it in his autobiography 'Long Walk to Freedom'. Since them it has been a fiercely debated topic of controversy and is the focus of John Trengove’s film The Wound. The film follows Xolani (Nakhane Toure), a lonely warehouse worker, who took part in the ritual as a teenager and now in his 30s...

Described as a 'fairy tale for adults', Michael Pearce's debut feature film is able to capture his home island of Jersey with a brilliant yet terrifying blend of natural beauty and chilling sub-urbanity. The story at the core of Beast is deliberately simple: in a suffocating family atmosphere, a young woman named Moll (Jessie Buckley) is drawn to rough outsider Pascal (Johnny Flynn). All the while a serial killer is on the loose on the island. The construct of Beast...

A solitary figure dressed in fatigues hunches over a dusty patch of ground. He scratches away at the earth and pulls from it a pot flecked with gritty, dried soil. As he adjusts to stand straight, there is a marked stiffness in his right leg and a curious crease in the thigh of his trousers. A blue wire attached to a small pack dangles from the pot. A quick snip from a pair of pliers and the man turns to...