Film Reviews by NP

One of the best things about going into a film 'blind' - that is, without any previous knowledge of plot details - is that undiscovered delights like this can be enjoyed exactly as the creative team intended. So don't even watch the trailer!

Andrés Baiz's erotic Spanish film allows us to gradually get to know the characters, to get to know their individual predicaments at a leisurely pace. This slow-burning beginning may be a trial for some - but stick with it, because once we think we know what's going on, then the story begins to twist and weave in all kinds of dark and chilling directions.

Quim Gutierrez plays Adrián, a flirty conductor who becomes attracted to attractive waitress Fabiana (Martina Garcia). She helps him cope with a particularly traumatic situation involving Belén (Clara Lago). That's all I'm saying. The cast is excellent, even though I was relying on the subtitles throughout. The plot keeps us on our toes, and goes into some very dark areas, as we ricochet from thriller to chiller, guided by Baiz's very capable direction. My score is 8 out of 10.

A found footage film that uses deceptively simple effects to convince you that, yes, there are monsters. The characters featured are sardonic but appealing enough to carry a story in which things are noticeably 'not quite right'. Often the aberrations are subtle enough not to be immediately noticed ... but they're there.

Director, writer and producer Jay Dahl seems not to have directed anything since 2019's 'Halloween Party'. His skill here is demonstrating a cavalcade of understated horrors that gets under the skin of our protagonists. Once you notice something, you can't un-notice it.

Featuring apparitions not dissimilar to those seen in Aphex Twin's video for 'Come to Daddy' (1997), this gets 8 out of 10 from me.

I wondered if there was some kind of competition going on as we were being introduced to this film’s quota of stoned/horny young characters. “Hey, that’s culturally insensitive,” reprimands one, as her contemporaries attempt to beat their friends’ smart-arsed barbs with smart-arsed barbs of their own. A bunch more willed to be slaughtered by whatever evils Evil Dead Rise produces I have rarely met this side of a Wrong Turn sequel. Why do characters have to be so entirely horrible? Adolescents can be tricky company, but there’s no need to paint them all with the same broad strokes of dreadfulness. Imagine liking some of these characters – just imagine that – and actually caring whether they live or die. It doesn’t happen here (incidentally, there’s no ‘I got to go pee’ moment, but one girl warns us ‘I think I peed my pants’ just over 11 minutes in – so that’s one box ticked. The response? ‘Is it warm?’ Scintillating).

I’m giving the impression I don’t like this film. That’s not entirely true. The run-down apartment block is a good setting and well realised, and the acting is at least intense - but the characters are a real problem – and their lack of appeal isn’t restricted to the younger ones. The story and effects are alright; as a whole, the film does exactly what you’d expect it to, but not an iota more. Curiously, any humorous elements present in the original Evil Dead films are jettisoned here, which is an emission I’m not dissatisfied with – that is, if this version brought in some new elements to replace the dark grins. It doesn’t.

The original film was a notorious independent gore-fest that took years to produce and was a revolutionary horror production. In 2023, the latest reimagining is the same as most other mainstream genre offerings.

Perfunctory. My score is 4 out of 10.

Luke David Blumm as David is a likeable young actor, which is a very good thing, as it is our sympathy for his plight and that of his mother Laura (Andi Matichak) that drives this horror film. Struck with a progressive illness, his scenes are often harrowing, sprinkled throughout the slow-burning story.

Director and writer Ivan Kavanagh plays around with what we think is going on and as such, fuels a story we might have seen variations of before. It’s presented in a low-key manner, the moments of horror sprinkled over events that we are increasingly convinced cannot have a happy ending.

Amid the unravelling of the plot and the occasionally disturbing moments, the question that frequently hits the viewer is: how far would you go to save your son? My score is 8 out of 10.

We’re not quite sure where we are with this often deliriously directed horror thriller. From the opening scene, Adam Randall directs former actor Devon Graye’s twist-packed story with relish, taking every opportunity to infuse the recognisably comfortable home life of the regular family line-up – affable Dad, smiling-through-adversity Mum and bratty, sullen kid. As we discover, they all have their tales to tell. So do other characters we meet later on when perspectives on events change and things become darker still.

Supernatural elements appear to make way for a more tangible, home invasion. But don’t be disheartened; this is a chiller alright, even if doesn’t quite become an outright horror. The camerawork is so sly and suspenseful, you might find yourself leaning forward in your chair trying to see round corners, or behind silhouettes of the characters to get a clearer look as to what is going on. It’s all aided by the terrific soundtrack by William Arcane, which is available to buy.

Some reviewers suggest that ‘I See You’ gets a little lost in its wealth of twists and turns, but I think they are all judged just right. My score is 7 out of 10.

I enjoy obscure stories and have no problem with open-ended narratives. To spend nearly two hours in the company of such a charming cast of characters however, I would have liked to have some kind of payoff or even a partial explanation as to what it is I’ve just spent 112 minutes watching.

This is some kind of coming-of-age fantasy set in a world within a world removed from reality but filmed in huge and beautiful locations. The characters are predominately female (“There are no boys here,” someone points out to newcomer Iris - Zoé Auclair – at one stage). Set in an isolated girl’s school, newcomers arrive in coffins, to emerge blurry-eyed and are warmly greeted by their new associates.

One of the very few male characters, who is nameless and faceless, is a male voice from the audience at one of the girls’ dancing performances, who throws down a rose to Bianca (Bérangère Haubruge) as a reward for being ‘the prettiest.’

I felt a bit uncomfortable watching certain scenes which seemed to exploit the burgeoning sexuality of the young girls – perhaps that was the point. Certainly, toward the end, young Bianca seems happy with the attentions of the first male she meets – but so much is conveyed without words (and so much is deliberately not conveyed) that it’s difficult to imagine what it all means. The best way to enjoy this is to simply go with it, to enjoy the fairly-tale idyll in which much of the running time is spent and absorb the scary and uncertain notion the pupils must face when leaving. My score would be 6 out of 10.

“They’re best when they’re fresh” – and you just know they’re not just talking about the croissants.

‘Child Eater’ is a decent low-budget shocker that emulates the kind of slasher film you’ve probably seen before, with some appealing characters and a memorable but unspectacular Jeepers-Creepers-style steampunk villain.

The titular child, Lucas, is played by Colin Critchley. Juvenile actors can make or break a story such as this. Mercifully, Lucas is one of the most likeable characters and Critchley plays him convincingly. Cait Bliss plays Helen convincingly too. Other characters don’t come across so well.

On the evidence of Erlingur Thoroddsen’s story, Robert Bowery, our antagonist, is far from limited to eating children. People of all ages are subject to his nicely conveyed, gruesome attention. There’s little that is new here, but what we’re given is enjoyable enough. My score is 6 out of 10.

Despite a terrific performance from Belén Rueda as Julia, who is in virtually every scene, and some very nice cinematic camera work, ‘Julia’s Eyes’ is overlong and not as good as I had hoped it would be. There are many moments of tension, but a lack of variety can make them rather dull.

Julia is pushed from one horrific set-piece to another, and there’s an inedibility to her plight that nevertheless makes the finale a low-key heartbreaker. Somehow, however, the momentum can drag, the lack of a satisfying conclusion or interesting antagonist seems to let things down after such a protracted build-up. My score is 4 out of 10.

Giuseppe Tornatore’s film is so intense that it requires attention throughout. At two hours of running time, that can be a challenge. There is so much going on, so many richly directed scenes and beautifully acted characters, that it’s not easy to look away – and if perhaps 10-15 minutes had been shaved from the film’s length, that might aid the concentration.

As it is, the story of Irena’s struggles, her mission and the extraordinary lengths her enemies go to in order to condemn her, is a true rollercoaster. I would single out Kseniya Rappoport for her amazing performance, but the truth is, everyone here plays their part perfectly. Perhaps mention should go to Michele Placido for ensuring the vile Muffa is as horrible as possible, and Clara Dossena for her appealing performance as Thea.

At times, Ennio Morricone’s score is a little overbearing. It’s everywhere, in every scene, either in the background or pushed to the fore. Ultimately, though, it helps make ‘An Unknown Woman’ what it is – a brutal, heart-breaking, and at times challenging experience that, by the end, guaranteed that this viewer’s bottom lip was trembling a little. My score is 8 out of 10.

A superbly photographed and richly atmospheric take on the legend of lycanthropy. Murmurs of people being attacked by a wild animal, some impressively gory bites and injuries and a very occasionally glimpsed, surprisingly un-hirsute ‘thing’. Sean Ellis has directed, produced and written this, so clearly has some great interest in suggested werewolfery.

The acting is clipped and stoical, with characters only occasionally given to hysteria. The dialogue is unfrilled, with only the occasional anachronistic Americanism creeping into the 19th Century French setting.

Steeped in chill mist, there is a grand old-fashioned fairy-tale darkness about this tale, and Robin Foster’s score does much to convey the various levels of impending doom. Not only do the flaming torches and chilled misty woodlands constantly remind us there is something most definitely ‘out there’, but also casts welcome shadows of the more impressive Hammer films.

The acting is terrific across the board, with Kelly Reilly as Isabelle deserving a special mention as the glue that holds everyone together as panic and bloodshed kick in. CGI only occasionally threatens to dislodge the magic but is used sparingly and mostly to great effect. My score is 8 out of 10.

Kieran Parker, the producer of the two previous ‘Outpost’ films, here directs the third and, it seems, the final part of the story. A prequel, this is more of an action/horror than previous instalments, a mix of ‘Saw’ and 2011’s relentless ‘The Raid’ – with more than a smattering of Nazis and an uprising of the living dead battling the Russian Spetsnaz.

The cast is fine, although the character development comes a distant second to the often very effective set pieces. The locations have a heavily washed-out look which can sometimes prove to be dull visually, often coming across as virtually monochrome. The contrast between action inside the clammy, sweaty underground bunker and the cold and frosty-looking woodland above is very effective, however.

A fast-moving, brutal horror, this is a powerful end – if it really is the end – to the Outpost series. It’s ended on a high. My score is 7 out of 10.

This is the kind of rich, expensive, epic, matinee horror thriller from Columbia that belongs very much in the 1950s when it was made. That's not to say it has dated, or is in any way a relic, but that the meticulously measured performances ad intelligent writing tells an adult tale without ever stooping to gratuity of any kind. You think you'd get that now, especially in a big budget production?

Stewart Grainger plays Stephen Lowry, an initially sympathetic character. The audience's goodwill dissipates rapidly however, when he maltreats the family cat: some things a hero should never do. He is guilty of even worse, too, but that's not for this review. Suffice it to say that he meets his match and it's then that things become really interesting. Jean Simmons is Lily Watkins, another character who holds our sympathies - but should she? Such is the nature of this terrifically twisting plot that you never really know.

The intrigue takes on a darker turn and thus provides the thrust of the story. All this in a richly furnished, luxurious house that quickly becomes cold and unfriendly - a terrific setting for the bleak drama, all furnished with a host of well-known faces like Victor Maddern, Bill Travers, Peter Bull and the original Doctor Who, William Hartnell. My score is 8 out of 10.

This is exactly the kind of horror film I love. We are given a cast of realistic, very individual characters - the kind of people you might actually meet instead of quick-talking catwalk models - in a location you can identify with. Mulberry Street is in the throes of being destroyed, swept away by Manhattan developers who want to make the lived-in community extinct and make everything clean, new and faceless.

Director Jim Mickle, who worked on 2010’s ‘Stake Land’ invites us to spend the film's running time living in this location relishing in details of garbage-littered walkways, weathered, run-down apartment blocks ... and a flourishing infection, causing humans to develop into blood-thirsty rat creatures.

As is often the case in less prosperous communities, there is a dark and occasionally brutal humour prevalent here. The characters are endearing partly because of this, and when the gruesome transformations kick in, we care about what happens to them.

Bleak, uncompromising and with a genuine sense of spreading horror; my score is 9 out of 10.

Director and co-writer Jordan Downey's film sticks a couple of fingers up at those who complain about low-budget productions. Big Christopher Rygh plays the unnamed father, Viking warrior for a distant power and head-hunter of the title. Off he goes when summoned, to fight the most fearsome, monstrous foes - and we never see them. The story makes a virtue of sending him off on his way, and then seeing him return bloodied and battered, with only a dismembered head as evidence there was any monster at all (all the work of Downey, for whom this was clearly a labour of love).

Everything else about this production is visually superb. The locations, cinematography and sense of isolation. Only the warrior's daughter shares the spotlight with him, and she clearly has her own story to tell. The air is thick with Gaelic atmosphere, the dialogue is virtually non-existent - 'Head Hunter' is a film that, for 72 minutes, the viewer is encouraged to live inside, if you'll allow it.

An Australian found-footage horror, steeped inevitably in the trappings of 1999's 'Blair Witch Project', where we, the viewers, are invited to become the sixth member of a group of five bloggers. The group is filming a ghost hunt and, as we are, hope for some spooky manifestations. When the name of 'the butcher' is mentioned, they appear to get their wish.

The characters here are likeable (which is not always the case in such films) and naturalistically played, so when 'bad' things happen, we're given reason to care. Only physicist Shannon comes across as 'acting', and that is mainly because she is given spurious academic dialogue to help explain away the phenomena. A very good found-footage entry; my score is 9 out of 10.