Saint Maud has been horrifying audiences (in a good way) for a few months now on the festival circuit, and it’s out on digital, DVD, steelbook and blu-ray on 1 February. I have one SAINT MAUD bundle comprising T-shirt, blu-ray and poster to give away. Scroll down for T&Cs and how to enter, and to… Competition: OMG, I’ve got a Saint Maud bundle up for grabs 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
The Seventh Seal 5 stars
I’d never watched The Seventh Seal before, though somewhere along the line I’ve almost certainly pretended I have. No film lover could be unaware of Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece, though I was worried that memories of its parodies would prove insurmountable when I was finally faced with Death’s presence – it’s hard to take even mortality seriously… The Seventh Seal Read More
James & Jessica Whitehill On 5-Day Feature “The 12”
The debut feature film from director James Whitehill and screenwriter Jessica Whitehill, The 12 is a British thriller with a seam of black humour. In the movie, an unstable gunman, Caleb, takes a pastor and his congregation hostage. As the group gets to know the intruder, they discover he already has connections to their church; and… James & Jessica Whitehill On 5-Day Feature “The 12” Read More