REVIEWS

A liminal space is a strange, disquieting place- eerily distorted, uncannily familiar; just plain wrong. Few creations have weaponised that feeling as effectively as the Backrooms phenomenon- a piece of internet horror fiction built around the idea of an endless, maze-like area one can accidentally “fall into,” a parallel reality made up of empty, repeating rooms. What began as a single image posted online evolved into a vast mythology centred on an endless maze of yellow wal

Video games are notoriously difficult to adapt. For years, Hollywood seemed convinced that the title alone was enough- that a recognisable IP could compensate for an underwhelming narrative. From the confused Mark Wahlberg-led ‘Max Payne’, to Justin Kurzel’s dour ‘Assassin’s Creed’ and too many questionable Uwe Boll efforts to count, video game movies became synonymous with missed potential- and, more often than not, projects that didn’t work even on their own terms, regardle

“Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it” is an aphorism as old as time itself, that storytellers have spent decades exploring. In Penny Marshall’s ‘Big,’ a kid makes a wish to be taller and wakes up as a thirty-year-old Tom Hanks (whether that’s a dream or a nightmare is up to you), while in something like W.W. Jacob’s ‘The Monkey’s Paw,’ a granted wish is basically a guarantee of suffering to come. ‘Obsession’ is the latest film to explore the idea of

John Boorman’s ‘Deliverance’ has had an enormous impact on cinema. Its legacy is enormous: ever since its release, films have been haunted by the idea that a short detour into the wilderness can unravel the entire fabric of civilisation; that far from the city, strangers become prey. From ‘Southern Comfort’ to ‘Wolf Creek,’ filmmakers have often returned to the primal fear of the rural unknown, showing that Boorman’s film carved a cinematic wound that will never heal. Fabri

Damien McCarthy’s love of horror was forged in the aisles of his father’s video rental shop in 1980s West Cork. Surrounded by the lurid box art and forbidden mystique of VHS-era horror, McCarthy developed the sensibilities that would later define him as a filmmaker. His early work quickly earned critical attention for its eerie atmosphere, establishing him as one of Ireland’s foremost modern horror voices. With ‘Hokum’, McCarthy once again channels the genre obsessions that

Sometimes an actor’s entire career pivots on a single film. Bruce Willis transformed from the wise-cracking charmer of ‘Moonlighting’ into a full-blown action icon with ‘Die Hard’, while Liam Neeson unexpectedly carved out a second life as a tough-as-nails leading man after ‘Taken.’ Although she made ‘Æon Flux,’ years before, Charlize Theron stunned audiences as the badass Furiosa in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ and Bob Odenkirk rewrote expectations with ‘Nobody’, revealing a steely

Stories of isolation and survival have long served as mirrors for the societies that produce them. First published in 1719, Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ set the template for the lone castaway wrestling with both nature and self. Later works, from J. M. Barrie’s ‘The Admirable Crichton’ to William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, used the desert-island scenario to interrogate class, authority and the ease with which social order gives way to brutality. By the late 20th centu

Christmas is said to be the most wonderful time of the year. A season of goodwill, forced cheer and aggressively jingled joy. It’s also one of horror’s most fertile settings. From ‘Gremlins,’ to ‘Black Christmas’, and even the most recent addition in the ‘Terrifier’ series, blood has flowed like eggnog. The appeal lies in the clash: warmth and joy colliding with violence and dread. Christmas promises togetherness and safety; horror tears those promises apart. Charles E. Sel

Killer-animal movies are surprisingly hard to get right. With obvious exceptions like ‘The Birds’ and ‘Jaws,’ they are almost always schlocky. Yet, there is a surprisingly meaningful difference between good schlock and bad. The sheer ridiculousness of campy B-movie delights like ‘The Swarm’ and ‘The Killer Shrews’ can be a genuine pleasure, while drearier offerings such as Louis Morneau’s ‘Bats’ underwhelm at every turn. Johannes Roberts’ ‘Primate’ is the latest entrant in

When making a film about Jesus, someone somewhere is going to be offended. It comes with the territory. Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ ignited controversy for its graphic brutality and interpretation of the Passion narrative, while Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ provoked outrage simply for imagining Jesus’ inner doubts and desires. Even just the idea of the Marxist, atheist (not to mention openly homosexual) Pier Paolo Pasolini directing a film ab

Until shows like ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Fallout’, decent video game adaptations were almost non-existent. For whatever reason, they proved an elusive nut to crack. From the bizarre ‘Super Mario Bros.’ surreally starring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper, to Steven E. de Souza’s ridiculously camp ‘Street Fighter’ and what feels like about fifty unbelievably trashy Uwe Boll-helmed efforts, there are so many bad examples to draw on, it almost feels like its own genre. ‘Return to Si

Some films are good, many are bad and a few downright ugly. However, even the worst can be redeemed by a strong performance. ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ is pretty lousy, yet Alan Rickman’s delightfully camp Sheriff of Nottingham makes it worthwhile. Morgan Freeman very nearly saves ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’ from the trash heap of cinema history, while Gene Hackman elevated countless films- from ‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace’ to ‘Loose Cannons’- showing that while

In 2025, Danny Boyle resurrected the ‘28 Days Later’ franchise with ‘28 Years Later’, a bold addition that split audiences straight down the middle. Plenty of viewers embraced its ambition and found it a gripping, atmospheric return to the Rage-infected world, but others were far less convinced. For some, the film’s bleak mood felt oppressive, its runtime indulgent and its somewhat restrained approach to gore a disappointing departure from the series’ feral energy. Almost exa

In an era where cinema often gravitates toward polished narratives and predictable arcs, some filmmakers still try to wield the camera as a weapon of truth- or at least provocation. Like the pioneers of cinéma vérité and the political provocateurs of the 1960’s New Wave, they strive to strip away artifice, exposing the raw nerves of human experience. Yet the paradox remains: the moment a lens is trained on reality, reality shifts. True vérité may be unattainable, but the purs

Few directors have so consistently blurred the line between agony and ecstasy as Shin'ya Tsukamoto. Ever since 1989’s ‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ fused flesh and metal into a shrieking, psychosexual nightmare, Tsukamoto has been both a chronicler and an architect of urban alienation- a filmmaker obsessed with the violence of existence in an indifferent world. His jagged, intimate films pulse with bodily horror and emotional extremity, but beneath the rust and blood there’s always

By 1977, Stephen King was rapidly becoming a household name, with the best sellers ‘Carrie’, ‘Salem’s Lot’ and ‘The Shining’ making him...

When real-life couples star together, the resulting film can take on a fascinating meta-layer. Although their offscreen bond doesn’t...

In 2002, Danny Boyle’s ‘28 Days Later’ stormed into cinemas like a blood-soaked bolt of lightning, electrifying a genre that had begun to...

There are few writers whose output is as prodigious as Stephen King. With over 65 novels and countless short stories to his name, the...

They say there’s nothing new under the sun. This is especially pertinent to cinema, where originality is often hard to come by....