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Film Review
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…
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,…
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…
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…
DIFF 2023 | Mia Goth slays on the silver screen in Ti West’s surprise-slasher prequel Pearl
This review contains spoilers for the movie X
Last year director Ti West surprised us with a little film that he made called X, which was a homage to slashers of the 1970s (most notably The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). It focused on a film…
Spanish Horror Arrebato Seduces its Characters and Audience Alike | DIFF 2023
A director and his editor argue over the ending of a vampire movie. ‘We can’t use this take’ the editor pleads, ‘she’s looking directly into the camera’. The director refuses to watch another take. He argues that looking into the camera…
Fashion Reimagined review | Sustainability Documentary Dreams Big
In 2017, spurred on by winning the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Award, Amy Powney, creative director of Mother of Pearl, embarked on an ethical and creative odyssey to explore how sustainable her fashion house could become. Becky Hutner’s…
DIFF 2023 Review | How to Blow Up a Pipeline Ends Up Being A Little Too Neat and Tidy
Environmental issues dominate our time, from political programmes, to news stories, to art. Unfortunately for the latter, much of this art feels more like a lecture than anything else. How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Daniel Goldhaber’s adaption…
Mia Goth | X, Pearl, and A New Breed Of Scream Queen
"I do love a good audience" - Pearl
A few years ago, director Ari Aster released Hereditary. His debut all-in feature is a horror of such immense depth, that after the credits roll it stays with you for a long time. Part of that…