Review: Eileen

A moody, retro, psychological thriller. 24-year old wallflower Eileen exists in an unfulfilled void between her job at the local prison and living with her alcoholic father. But when co-worker Rebecca arrives at the prison, Eileen’s life is about to be electrified. Directed by William Oldroyd (Lady MacBeth), Eileen is adapted from the 2015 novel…

Review: Us

It is better than Get Out. There, I said it. A family on vacation find themselves terrorised by mysterious doppelgangers, who appeared from nowhere and have unknown motivations. The above statement that Us triumphs over director Jordan Peele’s 2017 debut Get Out is probably a personal preference. The trailers for that film really gave the…

Review: Unsane

If you have any sort of mental health disorder, do not watch this film. A single woman, living alone and working in America, with a history of psychological abuse from a stalker, looks for support from a local psychiatrist. But when she signs on with them, she finds herself committed to a mental ward… where…

Review: The Witch

Expertly crafted but woefully apathetic towards character development. Things learned from watching The Witch: don’t sell family heirlooms without asking first, kill your Satan-lookalike black goat (or at least tie to a post), raise your obnoxious twin children better, and don’t pretend to be a witch. A religious family leave the New England plantation after…

Review: Hereditary

Hype can really kill a movie. A mother of two is haunted by visions and compulsions of her own deceased mother, but while she struggles to comprehend it, reality itself seems to be threatening her children. Directed by Ari Aster, a debut film-maker, Hereditary is being considered by different reviewers as “a new generation’s Exorcist”…

Review: It Comes at Night

It’s like watching a random episode of The Walking Dead without any context. A family live in seclusion, in a boarded up house in the middle of the woods, cowering from a lethal contagion that’s decimating the country. But when another family become aware of their home, things will get complicated. Missing It Comes at…

Review: Gerald’s Game

As a service, Netflix is getting absurdly good. Gerald’s Game is terrifically unsettling. A married couple intent on rekindling their passion get an isolated seaside getaway together for a long weekend. Jessie, a supportive wife, discovers her husband Gerald has quite an excessive imagination for their new sexual exploration. But after she’s handcuffed to the…

Review: Nocturnal Animals

A great example of deep character writing. It will definitely benefit from repeated viewing. An artist turn exhibit organiser received a book written by her ex-husband, the story it tells is both moving and unsettlingly personal. With an awesome cast, Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Michael Sheen and Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals is an unwinding psychological…

Review: mother!

An incredibly traumatising and dark dive into multiple facets of human nature. She is a resourceful wife set about rebuilding her husband’s old house after it was devastated in a fire. The house holds significance with him, a muse to his poetic and creative writing that he has had much success with. But while she…

Review: Get Out

A racially charged, uncomfortable and satirical psychological thriller. Get Out was a unique experience. Chris and Rose are four months into their relationship and seeing as it is serious, Rose takes him to visit her parents who live in the countryside. Chris is immediately hesitant, and what at first seems to be nothing more than…