In overview for the year, the worst films I watched were burdensome with clichés or else just outright tasteless, while the best films I watched had qualities that were original, quirky and heartfelt. Many of these more favoured films tapped into current global concerns (e.g. the shit-fight of ideologies in the US; relations between the … Continue reading Momentary Cinema’s Review of the Year 2018 in Film – Part 2
'2018: The Year of Okaaaay Films' By Robin Stevens I have reviewed around 20 new releases for the blog this year. There were some good films, some interesting films and some poor films, but overall there were a lot of films that were okaaaay. What I mean is that far too many of these films … Continue reading Momentary Cinema’s Review of the Year 2018 in Film – Part 1
I have always been a fan of the slasher-horror genre. The raw and chilling, but sometimes passionate, horror that provides a continuous thrill of the chase in which you never know whether the predator or prey will win. Some slasher movies can be almost comedic but Halloween from 1978 is a quintessential horror classic that … Continue reading Forty Years of Terror: Halloween (1978) vs Halloween (2018)
Venom (2018 Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures) Directed by Ruben Fleischer, featuring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed. This recent addition to the Marvel superhero/monster-menace series of films is a great box office success, but critics are harder to please. First of all, there is no doubt that Venom contains a comic-book … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Venom and Early Man
If you happened to miss the films A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (released in 2014 and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour) and Under the Shadow (released in 2016 and directed by Babak Anvari), get thee a copy of both immediately and watch them. They are, by my determination at least, two of the … Continue reading Shadows of the Night: Two Progressive Iranian-based Films in the Western Mainstream
As the book The Silence of the Lambs (1988) begins Jack Crawford is already hunting a serial killer nicknamed “Buffalo Bill”. He is short of personnel and resources and he is without his former protégé, Will Graham. He is also dealing with the increasing ill health of his wife as she struggles with cancer. If … Continue reading Hunting the Cannibal: The Heroes of Thomas Harris, Part 2 – Clarice Starling
Thomas Harris has created some chilling and hideously memorable characters. Of course, everyone remembers Hannibal Lecter (or ‘Lecktor’ in some versions of the character). This is not surprising. After all, everyone remembers Dracula and the Wolfman but few can enthusiastically list all the brave men and women who hunted the monsters. What are the serial … Continue reading Hunting the Cannibal: The Heroes of Thomas Harris, Part 1 – Will Graham
Hereditary (2018 Paramount Pictures) Directed by Ari Aster; Featuring Toni Collette, Alex Wolf, Milly Shapiro & Gabriel Byrne '...a bottle of vodka and a pillow...' This is a cliché-heavy, B-grade, supernatural horror film, which is actually more funny than scary. But it is mostly boring. How did the writer/director ever convince some decent actors (Collette … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Hereditary (2018 Ari Aster)
Vampire-themed horror movies can leave many with nightmares that last forever, but what's not to like about vampire horror? The seduction, the lust, the charm, the passion and of course, the violence and horror. The 1980s was crammed full of cult classic vampire movie feasts. The cheesiness, stereotypes and clichéd one-liners of these films make … Continue reading Vampire-fest: 80s Cult Horror at Its Best – The Lost Boys vs Fright Night
I have always been the sort of person that tries to stay away from horror movies as I get scared easily, but there is something about the classic horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s that deliver a level of terror and suspense that makes you want to sneak a peek through your covered eyes … Continue reading Classic Horror Reviews: The Shining vs The Exorcist
