Author: Peter Gray

Seasoned film critic. Gives a great interview. Penchant for horror. Unashamed fan of Michelle Pfeiffer and Jason Momoa.

Film Review: Boy Kills World is a bonkers live-action cartoon that delights in its brutal creativty

Childlike yet ultra violent, there’s a lot of style over substance when it comes to Mortiz Mohr‘s Boy Kills World, an exaggerated, audacious, attention-seeking actioner that doesn’t have much to say, but succeeds at being a delirious slice of escapism that deserves points for the fact that it’s a bonkers, live-action (R-rated) cartoon that speaks…

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Live Review: Niall Horan had one only one direction on Australian opening night of “The Show: Live on Tour”: To entertain! (Brisbane – 28.04.24)

When it came to the individual members of One Direction embarking on their inevitable solo careers, it would be a fair assumption that not many expected Niall Horan to emerge as one of the most successful.  Sure, he hasn’t risen to Harry Styles’ level of manic fandom, but Horan, with his easy Irish charm, blend…

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Win a double in-season pass to the chilling new horror movie Tarot

Your fate is in the cards. Thanks to Sony Pictures Australia we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the chilling new horror film Tarot, starring Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Mean Girls‘ Avantika, in Australian cinemas from May 2nd, 2024. When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot…

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Interview: Natasha Henstridge on new horror film Cinderella’s Revenge; “Not the fairy tale as you know it.”

After breaking as the lead in 1995’s Species, Natasha Henstridge soon took the silver screen by storm with roles in such high-profile projects as Maximum Risk, opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme, the comedy The Whole Nine Yards (and its sequel, The Whole Ten Yards), John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, and the Hugh Jackman thriller Deception. Cinderella’s Revenge…

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Interview: The Crow director Alex Proyas on navigating studio systems, AI use in films, and reflecting on I, Robot two decades on

Alex Proyas has long been one of Australia’s greatest directorial exports.  Biding his time between international and local fare – in the same sentence of his work you can mention 1994’s defining The Crow, the ambitious neo-noir sci-fi thriller Dark City, and the blockbuster Will Smith outing I, Robot – the filmmaker has made a…

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Australian pop superstars Sheppard announce release of fourth studio album Zora

Australian pop superstars Sheppard have announced the release of their fourth studio album, sure to be one of the most anticipated records of 2024.  Zora will be released worldwide on June 21st on the back of their move to Nashville, a run of headline shows in the US, and the tenth anniversary of their global…

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Body horror and dramatic flourishes don’t play together in The Demon Disorder: Gold Coast Film Festival Review

There’s a fascinating premise at its core and an impressive heft of body horror effects abounding throughout, but The Demon Disorder never quite conjures enough other-worldly strength to rise above its structural flaws. A tale of three brothers and the demonic trauma they share off the back of their father’s death – presumably the result…

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Film Review: Hanky Panky; Lo-fi comedic horror effort is intentionally nonsensical – whether you like it or not!

To call Hanky Panky inexplicable at times would be an understatement.  And in no way is that intended to be an overt criticism towards Nick Roth and Lindsay Haun‘s wild comedy-horror effort that delights in its science-fiction mentality whilst bathing itself in batshit insanity. It’s an acquired taste of a film, and it definitely benefits…

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Blink Twice trailer asks “Are you having a good time?”

Zoë Kravitz is stepping behind the camera for Blink Twice, a twisted, sinister thriller that is sure to raise a few questions about its certain topicality. Originally titled “Pussy Island”, Kravitz – who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum (TV’s High Fidelity) – directs Channing Tatum as tech billionaire Slater King, who charms (or…

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Film Review: The Fall Guy; Crowd-pleasing actioner is both a love letter to the stunt profession and another showcase of Ryan Gosling’s charisma

Not that we needed reminding, but Ryan Gosling‘s distinct energy – rightfully rebranded as “Kenergy” in the culture-shifting buzz surrounding last year’s Barbie – is entirely unmatched.  We saw it earlier this year with his boisterous rendition of the Oscar-robbed “I’m Just Ken” at the Academy Awards where, without even taking off his sunglasses, he…

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The Raid is a brutal and unrelenting action film that serves as a reminder of the true mastery of the genre: Gold Coast Film Festival Review

As easy as it is to call something like The Raid (released in some territories as The Raid: Redemption, this the result of certain legalities) a “thin” movie in terms of plot and character, Gareth Edwards ultimately thrives on such a simplistic nature, turning in a slaughterhouse of an action movie that rarely lets up…

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Sting is an enjoyably camp horror effort that backs its gross effects with some emotional heft: Gold Coast Film Festival Review

Given the ambition he showed with his Mad Max-meets-Dawn of the Dead B-grade genre piece Wyrmwood (and its respective sequel), it makes sense that Australian director Kiah Roache-Turner would continue his genre mash-ups for his follow-up.  What proves surprising, however, is that for Sting, an ode to the creature feature (and, fittingly, Australia’s fear of…

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Interview: Matthew Brown on Freud’s Last Session, casting Sir Anthony Hopkins, and staying neutral in opposing conversations

In his final days, Sigmund Freud, a recent escapee with his daughter from the Nazi regime, receives a visit from the formidable Oxford Don C.S. Lewis (author of “The Chronicles of Narnia”). On this day, two of the greatest minds of the twentieth century intimately engage in a monumental session over the belief in the…

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Film Review: Abigail deliciously balances bloody gore and knowing humour

After the underperformance of both Dracula: The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield last year, the vampire-centric subsect of storytelling – especially within the horror genre – seemed, quite fittingly, void of life with audiences.  But seeing as how much new life they injected into the once-dormant Scream series with their one-two punch of…

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Interview: Abigail directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin on the beauty of ballet and bloodshed in their heightened vampire flick

Children can be such monsters. After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight.  In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting…

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Interview: Kathryn Newton and Dan Stevens on manifesting roles and finding the humour in the horror of Abigail

Children can be such monsters. After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight.  In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting…

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Interview: Abigail stars Kevin Durand and William Catlett on character quirks and what truly terrifies them

Children can be such monsters. After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight.  In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting…

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Film Review: Challengers serves itself up as one of this year’s true cinematic winners

Going into Challengers, I think it needs reiterating for unsuspecting audiences that, as much as this is being advertised as “a sexy tennis movie” (which it absolutely is), it’s a Luca Guadagnino feature.  So don’t be at all surprised that the director of the lush and tragic Call Me By Your Name, the oft-unnerving Suspiria…

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Ladyhawke announces 15th Anniversary Australian Tour of her debut album

Acclaimed electro/rock-pop/synth artist Ladyhawke (aka Phillipa ‘Pip’ Brown) burst onto the international music scene with her self-titled debut album, released September 2008, which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary.  To honour the major milestone and calls from fans after the UK show run dates sold out in February, Ladyhawke has announced her electrifying anniversary live…

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Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and filmmaker George Miller to launch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in Sydney

Lady and Gentlemans… Academy Award-winning mastermind George Miller will unveil his highly anticipated action adventure, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in Sydney on Thursday, May 2, before he and the film’s stars begin their global publicity trek, travelling to Mexico City, the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, London, Miami, New York, Toronto and Los Angeles. Golden Globe…

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Interview: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist on Challengers; “I think all three of them are desperate for connection.”

From visionary filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, Challengers stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must…

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Interview: Carlo Mendez on his first lead role in the thriller Demise; “The challenge was making my character likeable.”

At the core of Demise, Yara Estrada Lowe‘s debut feature film, is a messy love triangle that allows the erotic thriller to lean into the campy, oft-unhinged sensibilities the genre can so continually give way to. Subtlety is disregarded and melodrama is heightened, making for one helluva wild time. At the core of the film…

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Film Review: Arcadian is a tense family drama presented as a dystopian thriller

Comparisons to John Krasinki’s A Quiet Place will be inevitable when viewing Arcadian, but, despite the familiar ground covered across the family-versus-insurmountable-odds-in-a-dystopian-future narrative, director Benjamin Brewer (a predominant music video director who also served as the lead visual effects artist for Everything Everywhere All At Once) and screenwriter Michael Nilon (who’s produced a heft of…

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Film Review: Robot Dreams is a gorgeous, wordless animated tale dipped in surreality and colourful psychedelics

Have you ever pondered what a robot would dream of?  Well, in Pablo Berger‘s gorgeous, wordless animated tale they dream in surreality and colourful psychedelics.  But in the case of Robot Dreams‘s protagonist, simply named Robot, he dreams of Dog, his owner and best friend, who he is cruelly separated from in a circumstantial situation…

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Film Review: Back to Black; Should they have made a movie about Amy Winehouse? “No, no, no!”

In 2015, director Asif Kapadia let us in on the life and legacy of the genius, tragic existence that was Amy Winehouse with the documentary Amy.  Using archival footage spanning 14 years and over 100 interviews with those that knew her best, it truly gave us an insight into the singers’ meteoric rise and brutal…

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Film Review: Civil War is an anxiety-ridden thriller that’s poised to generate conversations

There’s an apoliticality that director Alex Garland adheres to within the framing of Civil War, a film that’s inherently political as it tackles the division of the United States.  Here in a modern day USA where an alternate landscape is explored (although, chillingly, you could imagine such unrest escalating to the type of environment flexed…

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Interview: Cameron and Colin Cairnes on Late Night With the Devil, Don Lane inspiration, and not auditioning David Dastmalchian

After breaking out at last year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival, where our own Peter Gray heralded the film as one that “enjoys melding the modern sensibilities of the found footage genre with the bold mentality of horror movies gone by” (you can read the full review here), Late Night With the Devil is finally…

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Film Review: Late Night With the Devil; Nasty, yet fun, horror outing creatively flips the expected tropes of the genre

“Before we continue I’d like to apologize to anyone who might be upset or offended by what you saw before the break. It’s not every day you see a demonic possession on live television.” Not the most typical sentence you’d expect to hear from a late night host, but such is the statement made by…

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Hollywood can be a killer in first trailer for Ti West’s MaXXXine

The world will know her name. After his homage to the psycho-biddy subgenre of horror with the critically acclaimed X and its follow-up Pearl, a demented Disney-like prequel, across 2022, Ti West is closing out his unexpected slasher trilogy with the release of MaXXXine. Once again headlined by Mia Goth, MaXXXine follows her titular character,…

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Film Review: Origin; Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor proves divine in Ava DuVernay’s impactful, important drama

Released only months after the George Floyd protests that swept the United States in 2020, and garnering further attention throughout that year’s Election, Isabel Wilkerson‘s “Caste: The Origins of Out Discontents” was an impactful success that spent over a year on The New York Times’ nonfiction best seller list. Successful as the book was, its…

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