Film Reviews by NP

‘High Moon’, or ‘Howlers’ as it is sometimes known, is a horror/comedy involving a band of werewolves and a gunfighter from the Old West who has returned from the grave to hunt them. The result is slightly less interesting than this premise might have you believe. Whilst the idea of a biker gang of wolf men living on the outskirts of respectable civilisation is a good one, the low budget and some wooden performances don’t do it a lot of favours.

It’s not quite a comedy, not quite a horror but it would be wrong of me to suggest that it isn’t quite good fun in places and there are worse ways of spending 90 minutes of your time. My score is 5 out of 10.

Three ridiculously perfect looking young people visit the jungles of Japan to see the temple. The Japanese equivalent of Transylvanians warning Renfield off visiting Castle Dracula ensues, and the atmosphere plays on the fears of being far from home.

There is an interesting premise that the story is being told in flashback from the point of view of someone in a sealed wheelchair, who obviously has a tale to tell.

The moments of horror are occasionally effective, some of them cribbed from the many Japanese horror successes like ‘The Ring (1999)’ and ‘The Grudge (2003)’. As for our three heroes, they are rather difficult to like, especially the bland James (Brandon Tyler Sklena) and his partner Kate (Natalia Warner), who can’t seem to decide where her desires lie. Certainly in the case of Sklena, it is just possible he has been hired for his looks over his acting abilities. The locations are effective, though. My score is 5 out of 10.

Odd and mild Carrie/Frankenstein-lite story about a stillborn child brought back to life by an electrical storm, who then goes in search of her actress mother. Tess can control electricity and has the power to use it to kill people.

Prolific actress Barbara Crampton plays Lena, who had the baby (Tess) at 19, and Tess has come looking for her 16 years later. Crampton is a good actress, but even she can’t convince as a 35 year old. Equally, what has Tess been doing for the first 16 years of her life? It seems she has been living with the creepy morgue attendant who abducted her, but it is surprising her powers don’t seem to have made an impact during those formative years.

The film is lifted by Kayleigh Gilbert who is very good as Tess. Wide-eyed and slightly eccentric, Gilbert’s performance actually rises above the material. My score is 6 out of 10.

As a title, ‘The Dark’ is about as generic as you can get: it tells you nothing about this film, and so the hope is that you will go in blind as I did, with no preconceptions. The idea of a feral, scarred girl living in the isolated home in which she was abused is a promisingly disturbing one. Her friendship with young Alex (Toby Nichols), whose eyes have been burnt out and cannot see her disfigurement allows us to witness a potentially touching relationship.

My feelings are that having set up this interesting premise, writer/director seems to have trouble bringing the story forward. Once Mina (Nadia Alexander) first speaks, she ceases to become quite so animalistic. Lucid and intelligent as she and Alex both are, the wonder is why they both choose to live this ramshackle, cannibalistic lifestyle – although the end revelation may go somewhere to answering that.

Not quite as interesting as it initially promises to be, ‘The Dark’ is nevertheless a good attempt at something thought-provoking and interesting. My score is 6 out of 10.

This refreshing reimagining of ‘The Invisible Man’ takes some time to get going, but draws you in without you knowing it, employing the ‘Paranormal Activity’ trick of slowly panning across scenes to a point where nothing appears to be happening, getting the audience to believe something is *about* to happen. Even then, when you’re hooked, it is clear Leigh Whannell’s story isn’t quite what fans of previous Invisible Man adventures might be expecting.

For example, the focus throughout is on Cecilia Kass. Actress Elisabeth Moss isn’t the usual heroine in films such as this. She’s not an angsty teen, seen accidently spilling out of tight jeans and a crop-top for the benefit of the camera. Kass’s former partner was manipulative, and has died, leaving her his fortune, and Moss’s performance carries the burden of that with gravitas: great acting, and interesting that the invisible man isn’t the central point for the drama. We ‘see’ things from her point of view – very slowly to begin with. But stick with it – things pay off as time goes on - and there’s a belter of an ending.

All the characters are well played, with the possible exception of James Lanier (Aldis Hodge). He looks great, but his wholesomeness is difficult to engage with; he’s too good to be true – until the very final reel, that is.

It’s interesting that this film succeeded critically and financially, whereas other, higher budgeted Universal horror wannabes did not. It seems intelligence and character has triumphed over big names and CGI to at last kick-start the company’s ‘Dark Universe’ idea. I wish it well. My score for ‘The Invisible Man’ is 8 out of 10.

Well, yes – this is a knock-off of 2018’s ‘The Nun’; but then, everything is a knock-off of something, just with varying degrees of blatancy. Surely if ‘Curse of the Nun’ is entertaining in its own right, there’s no problem, is there?

A low budget venture, director/writer Aaron Mirtes and his cast of actors must know how this production will be regarded as a copy, yet they still give it their all. Lacy Hartselle is particularly good in the title role of Anna, infusing her character with gusto, energy and spirit. There is no real let-up in the haunting either – they are there from the get-go and keep on coming until the end credits.

My only issues are than Anna looks incredibly young to have a daughter and to be embarking on her second marriage – also the recurring ‘hook’ of her questionable attitude to the pizza delivery lad remains in the memory (which is its purpose, I think), but for the wrong reasons: it does her otherwise likeable character no favours whatsoever.

Knock-off or not, this has nothing to do with 2018’s film, other than the ghostly manifestation of the title, and as a venture in its own right, isn’t a bad way to spend 80 minutes of your time. My score is 7 out of 10.

‘The Ungodly’ is ostensibly about two men, is co-written by, and stars, Mark Borkowski. Small-time, wannabe film-maker Mickey, played by Wes Bentley, teams up with extremely shady James Lemac (Borkowski) to conduct an interview, hoping to explore the workings of the mind of a psychopath. What transpires is a tale of two flawed men trying to gain the upper hand in a deadly relationship based on fascination and revulsion.

To ease the dark tone, there are moments of natural humour, in dialogue and relationships which helps to add an extra dose of reality the volatile situation.

The style favoured by director Thomas Dunn is that of unglamorous television documentary, while making good use of the run-down parts of various chosen locations. Mickey is drawn into the world of a serial killer, and really this is a showcase for two very good actors. The supporting cast are all terrific too, even down to smaller roles like that of unfortunate Polish waitress, whose brief scenes are memorable.

As an examination of manipulation and violence, I found this deliberately unspectacular film an enjoyable way to spend 100 minutes. My score is 7 out of 10.

Zack Gold is excellent as the drug-addicted Michael, a junkie unable to quit his addiction despite the adoration of Jess (Cooper Harris), the stomach caressing girlfriend who has little to do except pout smugly for the duration. Her role is to be blissfully pregnant, and that’s it: perhaps a waste of Harris’s talents.

Michael and his daft friends embark on what appears to be a very unwise caper – jeopardising his job and travelling to an isolated forest to get drunk and argue.

I think what impresses me most about ‘The Unraveling’ is the acting – everyone plays their part well. The location is also very effective and well photographed. As for the story, well, ultimately it seems less than the sum of its parts and doesn’t really succeed as a horror, despite a few lightly creepy moments. As a means of kicking an addiction, it doesn’t survive any scrutiny, but it is an interesting premise. My score is 6 out of 10.

At two hours long, it might be argued that the story is spread a little thin. It looks so good, however, and is played so well, that isn’t really a problem.

At times during the early part of this film I was finding it hard to keep up with the flurry of characters that were introduced apace, sometimes in flashback, sometimes not. As events rolled on, though, I found they all had a place, and a story to tell.

I really enjoyed this. A great, sprawling, artily directed production, for all its echoes of classic horror films (‘Eyes with a Face’ and ‘Frankenstein’ come to mind), the result is nevertheless less of a horror than you might imagine – but I can’t see it disappointing anybody.

Of the players, Antonio Banderas gives a menacing and measured performance as Robert Ledgard, and Elena Anaya is excellent, her portrayal of the strangely self-harming Vera giving nothing away as to what is going on behind those big brown eyes. Mt score for this haunting film is 8 out of 10.

An English village endures the filming of a Zombie film on its doorstep. As if that were not enough, locals are found dead, their bodies torn apart.

This is a low budget horror comedy, and glories in it. Silly, funny, with some good performances and some reasonable jokes - some work better than others, which is fair enough – and it actually makes sense.

Director and writer Pablo Raybould isn’t interested in anything too sophisticated, preferring rather to dish out a few giggles during the 83 minute run-time. My score is 6 out of 10.

To begin with, ‘Bone Breaker’ introduces us to a bunch of casually attractive go-getters whose dialogue consists mainly of motivational speeches and modern day cliches, either to themselves or their fellows: ‘Not gonna lie’, ‘that’s the badger’, ‘we only want people that look the part’, ‘I need to be taken seriously’, ‘I’m not just a pretty face’… and so on. It’s established that in this clique, only pretties are allowed, only toned, fitness obsessed skinnies are wanted. On their vibrant platform of the internet, it’s all about self-promotion and followers. If you like spending your time with people that talk like this, you’ll enjoy the characters. Or not, of course – the bitchy exchanges between them encourage us not to take them too seriously. But really, their ‘hashtag’ quotes and exchanges and ideas about their own self-worth are *loathsome*. The gym-bods on very self-satisfied display are surely to be despatched by the mad hammer-dragger at loose in the woods as displayed on the DVD cover. That’s the hope.

The pacing of ‘Bone Breaker’ is odd. The girls are attacked by someone who receives no-build up, and then left. The audience is then treated to drawn out scenes of them in varying degrees of pain, out in the biting wilderness (and it really does look freezingly cold). Their plight is communicated very well (especially Rachel, played by Sophie Jones), but there’s no subsequent progression for ages, before the villain returns to administer a little more bloodless violence.

Exasperatingly, the girls actually see the killer as a fitness rival. “I’m better than you, faster than you,” Ruby (Lucy Arden) taunts the weapon carrying psychopathic antagonist. Not only is this unwise, it demonstrates the swathe of the arrogance and shallowness displayed by the people we are supposedly meant to route for. There’s no need to make our heroines this dreadful.

I noticed a location toward the end that seemed familiar - turns out ‘Boner Breaker’ is produced by many of the same team responsible for ‘Dark Path (2020),’ including writer/director Nicholas Winter. There are further similarities: a cast of mainly strong-minded females, with a handful of ineffectual males; pursuit through woodlands, and the finale, both of which end in a similar manner. My score is 5 out of 10.

This film is nicely acted, richly atmospheric, memorably scored and often very dull.

The opening scenes are effective, but not really intriguing enough to hang 1 hour and 40 minutes of anyone’s time onto. David Cronenberg makes a rare acting appearance as Walter. The performance isn’t memorable, unlike Tuppence Middleton as main character Abby, who is the most consistently good reason to keep watching. For its slowness, there’s also a chaos about the way in which the thin story is told, possibly to engage our interest.

The incidental score by Alex Sowinski and Leland Whitty has attracted comment. A mixture of minimalist ambience and a jazzy cacophony, it reminded me in parts of Yvon Garault’s music for French director Jean Rollin’s early films. An acquired taste for sure, but I really enjoyed it.

It seems director and co-writer Albert Shin was aiming for a small-town David Lynch-ian atmosphere here, but whilst the style is there, the ability to concoct an engaging or eccentric narrative drags a little over the running time. This is a shame, because with about 20 minutes pruning, the quietly effective moments could have been a lot more powerful. For all that, there is an interesting (possible) twist at the end. My score is 6 out of 10.

This is a remake of an early 1980s ‘video nasty’, and features four girls travelling to a wedding. Instead of making their way through American wilderness as in the original, the location is shifted to picturesque England – so why the girls should still be American, especially as the actresses are clearly not native Americans, is a mystery. The accents aren’t too bad, but they’re noticeably not genuine, and that’s to a UK ear. This is a shame as it is the first thing to grab the viewer, which masks the fact that the performances of the four leads are very good indeed, getting even stronger once they find themselves in jeopardy.

However, while it is a given that characters in horror films, especially horror slashers, make illogical, ill-advised decisions, this bunch just keep making nonsensical choices.

The glimpses of the killer are interesting, although the voice is rather silly. There’s inventive use of a rake in one attempted killing, bringing back fond memories of Brigitte Lahaie in Jean Rollin’s classic Euro-horror ‘Fascination (1979)’. Director Dan Allen makes good use of the small budget available – the results are far from ground-breaking, but enjoyable.

My score is 6 out of 10.

In 2013, Film4 Productions released ‘A Field in England’, about a group of characters thrown together during the English Civil War. Filmed in black and white, it threw the men into a maelstrom of hallucinogenic horror. Perhaps it is coincidence, but there are more than a few similarities between that production and ‘The Necromancer’ – and that can be no bad thing. Whereas the 2013 release was filmed in stark black and white and directed by Ben Wheatley, this is in glorious colour and directed and written by Stuart Brennan.

‘The Necromancer’ strives to be a weird and spiritual piece, with moments of strange and demonic horror. The soldiers’ uniforms provide a splash of colour amidst the lush forests and foliage in which the group spend the majority of the 88 minute running time.

While the acting is good, and the cinematography is terrific, the film is sadly dull, spending far too long between anything particularly interesting, or much less frightening, happening. For a low budget venture, it looks great, and the sinister moments are pretty good when they come, but lack the necessary spectacle to sufficiently liven things up.

My score is 5 out of 10.

It starts grim, it ends grim. The locations are beautifully photographed, and the minimalist score helps convey the bleakness and isolation of the piece. Guy Pearce growls intensely through his brief bouts of dialogue as Eric, and Robert Pattinson is effective as slow-minded Rey.

It is all very one note. When grimness is all there is, and there’s no lightness or shocks to break it up, the film becomes sadly dull. I found myself drifting away quite often, and I wasn’t given the impression I missed anything.

Others liked this, and that’s great; but for me, I found it a bit of a chore. My score is 4 out of 10.