Niamh Algar

Video nasty – a film on video considered to be gratuitously and offensively violent or pornographic. A controversial subject ever since the early 1980s, this was thanks to the unwavering determination of Mary Whitehouse and the National…

Tension simmers throughout Calm With Horses as nearly every interaction runs the risk of erupting into violence, every scene on the brink of exploding into blood and brutality. It’s through the looming threat of merciless beatings and even…

In the 21st century, Irish cinema has become a lot more adventurous. There’s been the scabrous comedies of the McDonagh brothers; the quiet atmospheric character studies of Lenny Abrahamson and Rebecca Daly; gritty portraits of life on the…