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“the boogeyman is real and you found him” | House of 1000 corpses at 20
House of 1000 Corpses was the debut of rock star Rob Zombie (Robert Cummings to his mother). Zombie started out with the excellent industrial-tinged rock band White Zombie. Exploding out of the New York underground they cut a distinctive…
Evil Dead Rise | Irish Director Delivers a Demonic Delight
When you stop to really think about it, the longevity of the Evil Dead franchise is quite remarkable. It’s hard to think of another film series which both spans decades and has such distinct entries. Its best remembered outing, 1987’s Evil…
Subtext | Otherworldly Romance
Romance between humans and otherworldly entities is a common theme in fantasy dramas. It’s not hard to see why. It creates a natural tension, and it gives us a familiar emotion to ground us in an otherworldly story. Plus people like…
I Know That Face | Keith David
Do you like deep baritones and commanding screen presences? Then you'll love this week's episode of I Know That Face. Keith David's first role was in John Carpenter's The Thing which just means he was destined for greatness. From there, he…
EAFFI 2023 | Repetition and Coincidence In Hong Sang-Soo’s The Novelist’s Film
There are signposts in the critical appreciation of South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-Soo. In reading about his films, you are likely to stumble over his encounter with Paul Cézanne, into a much-thumbed copy of Notes sur le cinématographe,…
Interview | First Time Filmmakers On Again Again, Their Queer Time Loop Movie
With the growing call for more stories about transgender people and trans representation, a new film currently finding funding on Indiegogo (in its final week) hopes to change the focus. Transfemme filmmakers Mia Moore Marchant and Alexa…
EAFFI 2023 | Each Image Tells a Story In Wu Lang’s Debut Feature Absence
A lobster lies atop a skillet while kettles of boiling water are poured over it. Its limbs stop writhing and it is split in preparation. Han Jiangyu (Lee Kang-Sheng) later asks his boss, Chen Kai (Ren Ke), if he thinks lobsters have souls.…
Marlowe and Me | Neil Jordan’s Irish Take on Raymond Chandler’s Private Eye
Though there have been TV adaptations of Raymond Chandler's iconic private eye (Powers Boothe and James Caan for HBO, Danny Glover for Showtime and a busted pilot in 2007 with Jason O'Mara), this is the first theatrically released Philip…
Subtext | Classic Swedish Murder Mysteries
“Nordic noir” has been a popular genre in the English-speaking world since the 2000s, with the 2007 Danish drama The Killing’s breakout success a large factor. (In fact The Killing was much more successful in the UK than it had been in…
Shazam! Fury of the Gods Has Its Charms But Could Do More | Film Review
Shazam/Billy (Zachary Levi and Asher Angel) returns, now aided by his fellow foster siblings who he shared his superpowers with at the climax of the previous film. The ‘Fam’ (formerly known as the ‘Marvel Family’ in the comics but no…