Casey Chong looks at ten directors with great sophomore horror movies… Any filmmaker hopes they can hit the jackpot out of the gate, and many manage to impress with their directorial debut, earning positive responses from both critics and audiences. Then comes the next challenge of continuing a winning streak without falling victim to the […]
Robert Eggers to enter the Labyrinth? Sold!
Rumours are circulating that Robert Eggers might be bringing the Goblin Kingdom back to our screens with a sequel to Labyrinth and it could be incredible… The Hollywood rumour mill never stops and occasionally it spews out an idea that sounds far too good to be true. Robert Eggers has just overseen the release of […]
10 Great Recent Horror Movies You Need To See
Here are ten recent scarers you need to see… If mainstream cinema and blockbuster spectaculars have had a largely tough time finding traction with audiences in the past five years, horror films have had the exact opposite. The past decade has seen a healthy rise in inventive and boundary-pushing horror movies, with the past five […]
Essential Gothic Horror Movies To Scare You Senseless
As we prepare for the release of The Baby in the Basket, Tom Jolliffe presents essential selection of gothic horror films guaranteed to scare you senseless… Dark, macabre psychological stories set in isolated locations with the uncanny or supernatural. Gothic horror movies are often dripping in atmosphere, enveloping the audience in a deeply unsettling story. […]
20 Great Performances from the Past Decade
Tom Jolliffe looks back at 20 great performances from the past decade… There have been plenty of legendary performances through the years. Some gain the greatest of acclaim from the off, culminating in Oscar glory. Others hit below the radar, or don’t get the marketing push required for an Oscar run. Award season is in […]
A Big Year for Three Modern Horror Masters
Tom Jolliffe takes a look ahead to The Nightingale, Midsommar and The Lighthouse… There’s been some great horror films in the last five years. Three in particular for me really harked back to a classic era sensibility, owing a lot to the best era in creepy atmospheric horror. These would evoke films (among others…) like […]
2019 in Review: Revisiting cinema’s biggest releases, news and talking points
Tom Jolliffe looks back at 2019 in film… Whilst we all come to terms with deleting and retyping 19 as 20 on documents, letters, invoices etc, lets make time to look back at 2019 and further confuse matters. As a year of cinema, 2019 has been interesting and with a usual mix of pop culture […]
A24: Fighting to keep cinema engaging and promoting diversity
Tom Jolliffe looks at the growing impact of A24 and why they’re the best thing in cinema right now…. The widening grip of Disney expands almost every year. They can seemingly rest a little on their laurels having generally found a formula that works with minimal boundaries pushed, or need for innovative dramatic ideas. Whilst […]
When Cabin Fever Strikes: The Lighthouse and The Shining Double Bill
Tom Jolliffe delves into the delights of cabin fever and double bills The Lighthouse and The Shining… I do love a double bill. Sometimes it’s pre-planned, like pre-meditated eating of the chocolate in the cupboard. Sometimes it just happens to cross my mind when watching one film, that I can connect it to something else […]
Willem Dafoe: An Underrated Great of his Generation
Tom Jolliffe looks at the career of Willem Dafoe, and why he should be held in even higher regard… There are some actors who magnetise the limelight. Historically we’ve had the movie stars, those great headliners who would surf acclaim and awards as long as they were in good standing in a big studio. Further […]