A chance encounter with the vampiric Master leads to browbeaten minister’s wife Anne discovering a new sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before. “Are blonde ladies normally considered vampires?” asked my 9 year old, eyeing Barbara Crampton and then me after wandering in while I watched Jakob’s Wife. After… Jakob’s Wife Read More
Saint Maud: sex and death and God and souls
You prayed for spoilers and here they are. Very spoilery about Saint Maud and its shocking ending. Religion, sex and death is one of the ultimate horror threesomes, and Saint Maud brings them together in a devastating exploration of the effects of one woman’s breakdown. “No one sees what they don’t want to,” says the… Saint Maud: sex and death and God and souls Read More
Saint Maud 4 stars
Religious convert Maud starts work as a live-in nurse at the home of Amanda, a famous dancer now frail from illness and trapped in her grand, isolated house. We know exactly what the friendless, fervently religious Maud thinks, because she chats to God all the time to assuage her loneliness. Her (to us) one-sided discussions… Saint Maud Read More
Say Your Prayers: Blessed are the filmmakers…
Note: this is spoilery, though I can’t help you with the biggest question of all – is there a God? And if so where does She buy her bras? by the way.) Say Your Prayers (my review is here) is small-scale and very self-contained, though it’s remarkably effective. Like a doorstep proselytiser you thought you’d… Say Your Prayers: Blessed are the filmmakers… Read More
Say Your Prayers 3 stars
Two orphaned brothers turned radical Christian hitmen venture to rural Ilkley under the instruction of Father Enoch. Their mission: assassinate Professor Bill Huxley, famed atheist writer. If I awarded a Film Of The Deity, Say Your Prayers would be it. It’s well worth a watch anyway, and even more so if entry to Heaven is… Say Your Prayers Read More
The Devil All The Time: the devil is in the detail
Warning: full of spoilers, fire and brimstone. Well, spoilers anyway. My review is here. Character posters are at the bottom of the page. Despite the melodrama, multiple dead bodies and spiders, The Devil All The Time finishes – eventually – on a note that is both cathartic and hopeful. Arvin does survive. The ending is… The Devil All The Time: the devil is in the detail Read More
The Devil All The Time 3.5 stars
In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighbouring backwoods, sinister characters – an unholy preacher, twisted couple, and crooked sheriff – converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family. An orphan boy, two romantically involved serial killers, a corrupt sheriff, several guileless young women, one preacher who believes… The Devil All The Time Read More
Porno 4 stars
It’s 1992 and four repressed religious teens and a straight-edge projectionist working at a small-town cinema discover a secret screening room filled with vintage exploitation films. Playing one of the old film reels unleashes a demon named Lilith, who attempts to seduce each of them in order to steal their souls. In a film about… Porno Read More
Hail Satan? 4.5 stars
Stirring in both senses, Penny Lane’s documentary is an authentic and witty call to arms against an increasingly corrupt and oppressive State. The Salem-based Satanic Temple’s publicity stunts have the power to shock the Religious Right while leaving the rest of us giggling silently. “How do you fuck with Fred Phelps”, asks co-founder Malcolm Jarry. You… Hail Satan? Read More
Hail Satan trailer looks so wicked, it’ll make you Beelze-blub with laughter
These American Satanists are fighting injustice – which feels quite Jesus-like, but what do I know? I’m Church of England where belief in God is often seen as something of a hindrance. This documentary looks like a hoot, though Satan probably wants us to think that. I’m looking forward to the soundtrack too. Doesn’t the… Hail Satan trailer looks so wicked, it’ll make you Beelze-blub with laughter Read More
Suspiria (2018) (London Film Festival) 3.5 stars
*** Read my review of the 1977 Suspiria *** Suspiria is a feminist film, if you use the 1970s definition that it’s a movement dedicated to the liberation of women – a dance academy, run entirely by women (the often ignored older women, to boot), with only female students, its roots going back to prehistory. Though… Suspiria (2018) (London Film Festival) Read More
The Miseducation Of Cameron Post 3.5 stars
From trying to make teenagers “pray the gay away” to encouraging them to work out to Blessercise videos (imagine a Jane Fonda-esque aerobics queen teaming up with Billy Graham) the brother and sister behind gay conversion centre God’s Promise will do anything to suppress their charges’ sexualities. This is a movie set in 1993, though… The Miseducation Of Cameron Post Read More