Film Reviews by NP

Edward Evers-Swindell directs and co-writes this taut frightener that cleverly weaves together two story strands to make a very satisfying whole. James Cosmo stars as big bad Alan Keller, a wealthy individual who may o may not be the deadly 'wedlock killer' so named because he has a habit of relieving his victims of their wedding ring digit. Kate (Joanna Ignaczewska) and her boyfriend Nick (Duncan Pow) think it might be a good idea to visit this man's home and rob him.

In seemingly unconnected events, JAB Radio is about to transmit its final broadcast. To ensure things go off with a bang, Laurie Wolf (Siwan Morris) brings in medium Carla Zaza (Cinzia Monreale) who manages to get in touch with Keller's dead daughter.

Ben (Gareth David-Lloyd), who works for JAB Radio, is the link that binds the two story strands together and what follows is an enjoyably ludicrous horror story that is easy to get caught up in. Fusing elements from a typical haunting with a more slasher-laced style, 'Dark Signal' is great fun and highly recommended. My score is 8 out of 10.

Hellboy 2's Anna Walton plays teacher Sissy. I wish my teachers looked like her. Naomi Battrick is one of her pupils, Faith, who has a troubled personal life. Her school life isn't a bed of roses either, as she is bullied by her bored, empty-headed classmates. She's also a virgin, which marks her out for special attention in this fast-moving horror tale.

Director David Keating piles events on top of each other, giving us no chance to become distracted. The moments of horror are competently staged, and the acting is convincing throughout. With so much going on and so quickly, I sometimes got the impression while watching that the film doesn't quite know what it wants to be. The finale takes on a rather different tone, in which we get the impression we're not supposed to be taking things too seriously, which further compounds the uneven quality. Nonetheless, an enjoyable, energetic chiller. My score is 7 out of 10.

This Brazilian horror tale is many things: fast-moving, scary, sexy, nicely directed, unpredictable. So much is going on that by the end, you'll be begging for a bit of clarity. I was, and I'm very happy with films that leave their audience guessing. A second watch is advised, and such is the high-octane plethora of frightening occurrences hurled your way, that delving in again will be no problem.

Why there aren't more horror films from Brazil is a mystery, if directors Rodrigo Gasparini and Dante Vescio's teen-frightener is anything to go by. The style of filming is immediately sombre and disconcerting, and that gives a kind of canvas of unease on which to main and torture the cast of flawed but likeable young characters.

The farm in which Apolo (Pedro Carvalho) invites his three friends to stay has, as you may imagine, a dark history. Thus a bombardment of twists and turns is strewn forth, culminating in a race to stop the rebirth of an ancient evil. A lot of the details might be familiar from other such productions, but 'The Fostering' (otherwise known as 'The Devil Lives Here') is a great deal of grim fun. My score is 8 out of 10.

With the best will in the world, this film (originally developed as 'The Mystery of the Mad Ghoul') is a workmanlike production from Universal, and a far cry from the inventive, carefully made horror films that were made in the '30s. It features their repertoire of reliably wonderful actors like Turhan Bey, Evelyn Ankers and George Zucco and gives them exactly the kind of roles they are known for playing. Instead of Karloff, Lugosi or Chaney as the main monster, we have lesser-known David Bruce playing the titular Ted Allison, a ghoulish henchman whose mission it is to retrieve the hearts of the living.

Luckily the wise-cracking cops and journos typical of this period are kept in check. At a brisk 65-minute runtime, there isn't time for anything much other than the storyline, which doesn't seek to break any new ground. Not unenjoyable, this is the kind of formulaic fare that demonstrated a lack of interest in the dwindling horror genre by this time. I'm sure it was successful enough to justify its modest budget, but it would have been wonderful to have seen the kind of innovation present that pioneers such as James Whale or Karl Freund featured in their earlier, celebrated productions. My score is 5 out of 10.

Directed and co-written by Chris W. Mitchell, this Dutch film introduces us to a group of campers determined to enjoy themselves however much events conspire against them. By events, I mean that Leannart (Gijs Scholten van Aschat, who co-wrote this), his wife Silke (Carine Crutzen) and his two sons discover unpleasant things about each other, as they do about friend Rob (Bart Klever) and his daughter Emilie (Jamie Grant). That's bad enough, even if, for the viewer, the myriad sardonic altercations are so true to life they raise a smile of familiarity (in some cases - not all). As a character drama, this succeeds handsomely. But there's worse to come.

When unpleasant things start happening, the images and moments are captured so fleetingly, that you're in danger of missing them. Suggestions of the supernatural, the possibility of nasty legends about the pool of the title proving to be true, and effective moments of realistic gore. You'd leave, wouldn't you? This bunch take a long time to reach that decision. Is it too late? I'm not giving anything away, although (for some, at least) you might guess the answer with a degree of confidence.

I had great fun with this, although the line between real and hallucinogenic is so blurred, we're occasionally flummoxed as to what is going on; and van Aschat and his fellow writers, isn't falling over himself to explain things. My score is 7 out of 10.

From the get-go, you realise that director John Gulager isn't messing about with 'Zombie Night'. Having explained the premise in the title, he's more concerned with getting on with the gory action and giving the viewer no excuse for allowing their tension to wander. Sometimes, you can't beat the sight of the walking, rotting dead biting chunks out of characters we've only just met.

Still famous for her role in 'The Patridge Family', Shirley Jones is Nana and her daughter Birdy is played by Daryl Hannah. These and other characters are earmarked to be our guides throughout this undead nightmare, but happily, writers Richard Schenkman, Keith Allan and Delondra Mesa like to play with our expectations.

The problem with 'Zombie Night' is that it falls into the trappings of the genre. You can't kill the assailants because they're already dead, and a bite can turn you into one of them. This proves to limit what can actually be achieved with this story and occasionally, it seems as if it is going around in circles.

Whilst never threatening to re-invent zombie themes - and why should it? - this is 88 minutes of pretty much exactly what you would expect. No more, no less. My score is 6 out of 10.

Six forensic students arrive on an island to begin a scientific expedition. That might seem like a fairly harmless pursuit, perhaps even slightly dull, but when you realise 13 Eerie has been put together by the producer of Silent Hill and Resident Evil 4, you'd hope that something grisly might turn up.

You'd be in luck. There are enough grisly scenes of the undead, the almost dead and the dead-dead to please most ardent gore-seekers, but that's not the end of the story, luckily enough. Lowell Dean directs expertly, zipping through scenes of danger and grim jeopardy and featuring characters well-played and convincing, doing everything that should keep the aggressors at bay - and still they keep coming. The winter-crisp Canadian locations are suitably rough and murky and a perfect backdrop for the snarling, grunting zombie-types.

Occasionally, realism is compromised by the heavy prosthetics and make-up jobs plastered over the zombie actors as the cold sunlight exposes their occasional limitations, but other than that, this is a wonderfully raw slice of zombie action. It's rather more intelligently plotted to just be a runaround and I strongly recommend it.

Jeffrey Donovan from Blair Witch 2 here plays Jack, who is paired with appealing imp Lu (Quinn McColgan) after a bus attempting to take them to a safe space is attacked by a group of gorily realised zombies. As if events were not punishing enough, the world - or this portion of it - is also in the grip of an unforgiving winter, convincingly directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas, who also co-wrote this.

The locations, filmed in Spain and Hungary, are superbly shot. As the character of Patrick (Matthew Fox) is introduced and the three main players form a fragile triumvirate, 'Extinction' settles into a personal story of the plight of these people we have come to know, against the magnitude of the palpably grim world in which they live, and the rotting living corpses that frequent it.

If that's not the recipe for a good night in with a mug of something warm, I don't know what is! My score is 8 out of 10.

Kate, the central character in ‘Creep’ reminds me a little of Naomi Watts’ character in ‘The Ring (2002)’, in that she is so brash and mean-spirited it is difficult to warm to her. She not only declines a polite plea from a homeless man for some change, but patronises him too, and seems pleased with her spite. Possibly this is to highlight the irony of being mistaken for a vagrant herself, bloodied and filthy as she is by the film’s end.

The plot? Horrible bloke kills people by a train line. It’s something that has been attempted similarly countless times over. And yet I love this. It is laced with good characters (often more likeable than the heroine) and given some nice touches – and that is before we’ve even met the wrecked, unsightly killer.

It is a little unclear as to what exactly ‘Craig’ is, although there are plenty of partial clues. Is he a survived abortion, the result of an illegal experiment, or something else? The specifics don’t really matter because he is a powerful character in his own right, often due to the ticks and painful movements Sean Harris brings to the part. He glances at a selection of pickled foetuses in the abandoned medical facility where he lives and hears the sound of babies crying in his mind. Equally, in one of the most effective scenes, he straps homeless victim Mandy (Kelly Scott) to a delivery chair and goes through the motions of a surgeon before disembowelling her. It’s all grim and extremely effective.

As with many things, there are logical shadows cast over this – Craig has been alive a long time and presumably, these are not the first people he’s killed. He shows no intention of covering his tracks, so why hasn’t he been apprehended by now? Also, Kate has the advantage over him on two separate occasions before she finally kills him.

Filmed in brash, early morning tones – all sickly yellows and blues, it’s a persuasively shocking production, but at least Craig’s eventual demise seems permanent. A shame, actually – a sequel would have been welcome.

Sometimes when watching slasher films, it's difficult to sympathise with the teen heroes/cyphers, who are depicted as writers think teens always are - either horny, drunk or stoners. In this one, they're all three and more besides. Any attempt to make this bunch likeable has been left firmly at the door. So with that in mind, it's easier to sit back and enjoy the fun when this group stumble across an abandoned house in the middle of the desert. The house has a history; there's a very good reason it's been abandoned.

From here on in, 'Raised by Wolves' is a good, satisfying example of its type. Retired adult film star Jenna Haze is top-billed on some of the promotional material, but her appearance is little more than a cameo. The rest of the film is occasionally effectively spooky, and you do get a sense of 'something' playing with these pretty irredeemable characters. My score is 7 out of 10.

To me, this Swedish vampire film is like an appreciative throwback to the handful of European horror films that proved popular in the early '70s and is a cosy bedfellow alongside the wonderful, and better-known 'Let the Right One In' from the same year. This isn't quite up there in comparison (not many things are), but it promotes a convincing lifestyle for modern-day vampires.

Two sisters, Vera and Vanja (Jenny Lampa and Ruth Vega Fernandez), celebrating the freedom their 'addiction' gives them, attend an illegal nightclub. Almost raped by a clubber, they drain him of his blood, little knowing he's the (now former) head of a notorious biker gang. As the gang pursue them through the night, these 'ordinary people' become the aggressors and the vampires are the ones we find ourselves sympathising with.

That's the main thrust of the film. It's a slim story told well and performed wonderfully. Events come at their own pace, and there's a bittersweet ending that proves very effective. Director Peter Pontikis also writes and produces, and happily, has not let the unfairly negative reviews this film garnered hamper his career. Thick with all the giddy delirium you'd expect two vampires to experience during a typical night, 'Not Like Others' (also known as 'Vampyrer') won't exactly tempt you join the undead, but might allow you to view them in a different light.

I love the classic idea of vampires, the grand, cape-swirling children of the night. But I also really enjoy films that suggest that vampires are perfectly ordinary people you would pass in the street.

This Swedish vampire story deals with two sisters who make the mistake of killing and draining a key member of a biker gang (which could easily be seen as self-defence as he was trying to rape one of them at the time). Suddenly our sympathies are with Vanja and Vera and the remaining bikers – the ordinary people – are very much the aggressors as they follow them relentlessly through streets and town centres.

This isn’t an eventful film, but I get the impression it is deliberately low-key. It’s just one event in the day-to-day (or night-to-night) existence of two vampires in the modern world, and as such it is worth watching – not least for the excellent performances, and the night-time filming, which puts over the loneliness and desolation the two sisters have to deal with.

Stephen McGeagh has written and directed a grimy, messy horror film. You may imagine the title focuses on an addiction of some kind. Set in the rougher parts of Manchester, the drug in question may not be what you expect, although with this being a genre film, it might well be!

There's a strong cast at work here, convincing and likeable (well, some of them), and the revelations as to the nature of events are skillfully handled. Set against a rainy, urban backdrop, the unrelentingly grim future these characters are desperately trying to escape is all-enveloping. Whether Lee (Jessica Bardon) and Michael (Elliot James Langridge) do eventually find a way out from the lives that shackle them is not for me to say, but their journey is a shocking and bloody one, and 'Habit' is a film I enjoyed very much. My score is 8 out of 10.

The style of 'If A Tree Falls' marks it out as something different from the oft-tread woodland slasher genre. Stuttering camerawork, grainy inserts, imagery that momentarily obfuscates what we are seeing. Certainly Gabriel Carreris a director determined to make a mark - and most of the time, he succeeds very well.

The characters in Ry Barrett's story, Brad and Lisa Carpenter (played by Barrett and Jennifer De Lucia respectively) and friends Will and Vanessa (Daniel Zuccala and Breanne TeBoekhorst) are well-played and fairly likeable, although they are hardly flawless. Such depth, it could be argued, makes them more interesting to watch. Certainly, we, see them suffering at the hands of masked assailants and are moved by the motiveless brutality of it all.

A slasher film with a difference, I found 'If A Tree Falls' thoroughly entertaining in a violent, bloody kind of way. Directorial flourishes ensure that visually, things are always interesting. My score is 8 out of 10.

I'm not sure the phrase 'you've been had' is quite as apt as it is with this film. And rarely has it been so enjoyable to be on the receiving end of such a big tease. Director and co-writer Andrew Weiner has assembled a fine cast and crew to helm this found-footage extravaganza which takes in extensive location filming in Canada, although the end credits state filming in Alaska. Another little tease?

We spend much time with a group of filmmakers eager to capture the sight of the legendary Frankenstein Monster, rumoured to be hiding in the showy wastes. It's wonderful to believe the poor Creature has indeed made a home for himself far from humankind and is relatively happy. Entrepreneur Jonathan Venkenheim (Kris Lemche) isn't interested in the Monster's contentment; he wants to make a name for himself. The crew he gathers around him are caught up in his dreams, but become increasingly - and understandably - despondent. All are very well cast and share many moments of amusing camaraderie - or not.

So good is their company, that I almost forgot what I watched this for, and it's just as well because we have to wait an inordinately long time before we set eyes on the furious focus of Venkenheim's obsession. You may feel cheated by the outcome, or you may thoroughly enjoy this venture. I did.

'Abattoir' immediately arrests the attention. Julia, the lead character played by Jesica Lowndes, appears to have drifted in from a noirish film from the '50s. Her boyfriend Detective Grady (Joe Anderson) talks like a modern-day gumshoe. The setting, however, is distinctly in the present. This strangeness is only compounded further by the storyline, involving collecting rooms that have witnessed murders.

It's an eccentric premise, and one that is too abstract to appeal to everyone. I loved it. In fact, I love anything that does something 'different' with the horror genre. The finale too, plays very much into the world of the fantastic which also proves to be mind-boggling. Director Darren Lynn Bousman pulls out all the stops to ensure that although what you may have seen is deeply unnerving, the climax moves things into another dimension.