A dark twisted thriller in the same vein as Se7en and Untraceable, DarkGame is an unsettling feature surrounding a determined detective (Ed Westwick) in a race against time to stop a sadistic game show on the dark web, where captives are forced to compete for their lives and the losers are executed via live broadcast. For…
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In the wake of her husband’s devastating accident, a devoted wife becomes consumed by a mysterious portrait that resembles him in his happier days. However, as her obsession intensifies, the painting starts to unleash terror upon her life, leading her to question whether it is possessed by a malevolent force or if she is losing…
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A satire surrounding the wealthy, faux celebrities, foodies and their misplaced importance, or chefs with a God complex seems far too easy to execute for a mock artist. For director Mark Mylod (What’s Your Number, TV’s Succession) and screenwriters Seth Reiss (TV’s Late Night with Seth Meyers) and Will Tracy (TV’s Succession) it’s low-hanging fruit…
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Watching the anti-heroine of Alice Seabright‘s thrilling series Chloe, Becky Green (Erin Doherty, an absolute star-making turn), as she scrolls through the social media lifestyle of the titular Chloe (Poppy Gilbert), a flame-haired femme with a seemingly enviable and lavish existence, the loneliness and self-loathing is palpable. It’s a feeling we’ve probably all experienced, noting…
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Despite both Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton proving their worth as action figures within the spy genre previously – Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Newton in Mission: Impossible II – All The Old Knives steps away from the action-driven physicality of the genre and opts for proceedings more in tune with a John…
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Whilst it’s not uncommon for usually reliable, oft-Oscar celebrated actors to slip into filmic mediocrity, Melissa Leo must’ve really needed a healthy paycheck when she opted to commit to Measure of Revenge. Perhaps at one stage offering a script worthy of her talents, but the final 92 minute result – one which mysteriously omits a…
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When detailing delicate subject matter – in this case, sexual assault and the most toxic of masculinity – some films have the insight and intelligence to do so with a certain nuance. Asking For It is not one of those films! No, this is as subtle as a sledgehammer, ripping through its surfaces with a…
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Another day, another Bruce Willis direct-to-DVD effort that continues the odd, sad decline of his career. Keeping in tune with the last dozen or so efforts he has sleepwalked his way through (that is if he decides to actually show up for filming that day), Willis barely registers in Gasoline Alley, the fourth collaboration with…
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The core narrative of The Desperate Hour (previously screened as Lakewood at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival) is one that is ripe with tension and despair. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare come true. It’s a true shame then that Phillip Noyce‘s initially well-intentioned thriller devolves into absurdity, taking its serious subject matter and exploiting…
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Though there’s nothing particularly original about No Exit, the sheer commitment from lead Havana Rose Liu serves the film enough benefit that its genre simplicities and narrative lunacies are somewhat forgiven. Initially, Australian filmmaker Damien Power (Killing Ground) aims for a dramatic temperament, introducing Liu’s Darby as an addict in recovery who has all but…
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A thriller that both leans into the formulaic mentality of the genre whilst simultaneously hoping to combat it, Watcher, from director Chloe Okuno (V/H/S/ 94), is a dread-filled effort that plays on the terrors of voyeurism. Gorgeously shot, though consistently lingering with uncertainty, Watcher lays focus on Julia (Maika Monroe, always a welcome presence in…
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On the surface you’d be forgiven for assuming The Beta Test is just another film industry picture, spending its minutes somehow justifying its existence as it hones in on the obnoxious and obnoxiously wealthy Hollywood players who wrongfully assume they’re untouchable in their town. The film has that air about it, but this satirical-cum-unnerving thriller…
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Though there’s perhaps a few too many “missing kid mystery” tropes adhered to in Disappearance at Lake Elrod – the grieving mother, the potentially corrupt police, the buried secrets coming to life – writer/director Lauren Fash injects enough character development and psychological complexity for it to get away with it. Centred around the disappearance of…
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It doesn’t take much for director James Ashcroft to create the most horrific of situations from the simplest of ingredients laid bare in the early stages of the eerie Coming Home in the Dark. A loving family, an idyllic New Zealand locale, and a duo of passing strangers provide all that is needed for Ashcroft’s…
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A simple thriller that adheres to the mindset that not all genre efforts have to hone complicated narratives, Baby Money adjusts the home invasion subgenre enough for its familiarities to not feel habitual. The “baby money” of the title is the currency Minny (Danay Garcia) and her boyfriend, Gil (Michael Drayer), are in need of…
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It doesn’t take much for director James Ashcroft to create the most horrific of situations from the simplest of ingredients laid bare in the early stages of the eerie Coming Home in the Dark. A loving family, an idyllic New Zealand locale, and a duo of passing strangers provide all that is needed for Ashcroft’s…
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There’s really no other way to say it – M. Night Shyamalan‘s Old is bad. It’s very bad. In fact, in some instances it’s downright awful! Mirroring the same career slump he experienced after the 1-3 punch of The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000) and Signs (2002) with such misfires as The Lady in the Water…
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Translated from the Norwegian by Alison McCullough, Helene Flood’s debut adult novel follows Sara, a Norwegian therapist, in the aftermath of her husband’s disappearance. Initially, Sigurd lies about his whereabouts in a voicemail left for Sara. Soon she uncovers a web of deceit that ultimately puts her in harm’s way. Originally published in 2019, English-speaking…
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Invoking notes of revenge thrillers like Death Wish and Taken, but adhering to a female edge that lends the film a more calculating temperament, Catch The Fair One is a gritty thriller that survives more on its emotional mindset rather than gratuitous violence. Headlined and anchored by real-life boxer Kali Reis (who also serves as…
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The elevator pitch narrative of “blind subject is targeted by home invaders” is one that’s been explored before in the cinematic realm. The 2016 double offering of Don’t Breathe and Netflix’s Hush both utilised this logline to impressive effect, and though See For Me is treading familiar ground, it too is at least doing so…
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Defying the critical odds in 2004 and spanning an unlikely 8-film-strong series in the process, the original Saw became much more of a phenomenon than expected, and, arguably, than originally intended. Often synonymous with the horror sub-genre of “torture porn”, James Wan‘s grimy, low budget affair delighted in its gory aesthetics, but tried its best…
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After making a name for himself in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Sam Claflin soon earned global recognition as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games series. Romantic leading roles and character driven projects followed, with his exercises in the dark psyches of his roles continuing with the release of Every Breath You Take….
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The spirit of the 1990’s thriller is alive and well within Every Breath You Take. The upper-middle class family having their perfectly manicured lives upended by the arrival of a mysterious figure – this one British and in the form of the disarmingly handsome Sam Claflin – is a road travelled many times before; hell,…
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Ascendant is one of those films that’s equally as difficult to write about it as it is deceptively simple. A film that banks entirely on the fact that it unravels and reveals its narrative in an unexpected manner, Antaine Furlong‘s ambitious sci-fi-leaning action/thriller is a testament to the first time Australian filmmaker’s bold vision and…
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British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) doesn’t have the most suave persona. And it’s because of this very reason that MI5 and the CIA have collaborated in their bid to maximise the potential of an insider during the time of America and Russian intensifying their nuclear arms race. “You drink too much and you’re not…
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As much as The Mauritanian can boast Jodie Foster (in her Golden Globe-winning role), Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley as its headliners, it’s the central performance from the lesser-known Tahar Rahim that ultimately impresses and grounds the film around him. A factual-based dramatic thriller detailing some of the supposed inner workings of the 9/11 terrorism…
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Creepy children are always good fodder for horror-leaning films, and Here Before, whilst more psychological thriller than all-out horror, is no exception with writer/director Stacey Gregg utilising the premise and twisting it just so. Andrea Riseborough leads the charge as Laura in this small, gradual thriller that focuses on young Megan, a seemingly friendly school…
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Literally adopting the phrase “Go back to where you came from” and structuring a thriller-leaning narrative around it, Lazaro Ramos‘s Executive Order is an often infuriating and incredibly timely film given the racial prejudice that has framed the last 12 months. Set in a near-dystopian future in Rio de Janeiro, the film starts on the…
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It doesn’t take much for director James Ashcroft to create the most horrific of situations from the simplest of ingredients laid bare in the early stages of the eerie Coming Home in the Dark. A loving family, an idyllic New Zealand locale, and a duo of passing strangers provide all that is needed for Ashcroft’s…
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There’s a series of odd interludes dispersed throughout Pascual Sisto‘s unnerving thriller John and the Hole that suggest the story at hand has been passed down over time as something of a fable, one that impressionable young children may construe as a challenge on how they view their own relationship with their supposed elders. It’s…
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