The tropes it uses are old ones but simplicity works in their favour, adding to the sense that there are uncanny powers at work and that nothing is quite what it seems.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The tropes it uses are old ones but simplicity works in their favour, adding to the sense that there are uncanny powers at work and that nothing is quite what it seems.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The characters are beautifully drawn and the performances finely balanced in a film with a lot more going on upstairs than its preoccupation with violence might suggest.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The characters are beautifully drawn and the performances finely balanced in a film with a lot more going on upstairs than its preoccupation with violence might suggest.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Nagahisa...understands and embraces the complexity of early adolescence, when kids are finding their own way,

~ Jennie Kermode -

Nagahisa...understands and embraces the complexity of early adolescence, when kids are finding their own way,

~ Jennie Kermode -

Mary Dauterman's gutsy little short packs a lot of story into just four minutes..

~ Jennie Kermode -

Mary Dauterman's gutsy little short packs a lot of story into just four minutes..

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lorcan Finnegan never allows us to lose sight of the absurdity of the situation, nor of the real life absurdities that it points up.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lorcan Finnegan never allows us to lose sight of the absurdity of the situation, nor of the real life absurdities that it points up.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Hweiling Ow's sticky little fable begins with suburban wholesomeness and gradually gives way to grotesquerie and gore, just as pregnancies do.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Hweiling Ow's sticky little fable begins with suburban wholesomeness and gradually gives way to grotesquerie and gore, just as pregnancies do.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A slice of cannibal horror with a distinctly soapy aftertaste.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A slice of cannibal horror with a distinctly soapy aftertaste.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It unfolds in a way that defies expectations, finding hope and humanity in unexpected places.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It unfolds in a way that defies expectations, finding hope and humanity in unexpected places.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A host of good performances, most notably from young Marie Iitoyo, make the fear real and infectious.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A host of good performances, most notably from young Marie Iitoyo, make the fear real and infectious.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Stefanie Abel Horowitz's carefully structured short explores a kind of horror rarely touched upon in cinema: the empty ache of anhedonia.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Stefanie Abel Horowitz's carefully structured short explores a kind of horror rarely touched upon in cinema: the empty ache of anhedonia.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Longinotto has always had a knack for getting interviewees to open up in such a way that even they can seem surprised at what they end up saying.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Longinotto has always had a knack for getting interviewees to open up in such a way that even they can seem surprised at what they end up saying.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Going along with a bonkers plot and lashings of melodramatic confrontations between the characters is a hell of a lot easier to do when you have a well-done Wuxia spectacular to delight your eyes.

~ Owen Van Spall -

Going along with a bonkers plot and lashings of melodramatic confrontations between the characters is a hell of a lot easier to do when you have a well-done Wuxia spectacular to delight your eyes.

~ Owen Van Spall -

The superimposition of the Sator narrative atop material Graham had already filmed with a different story in mind gives it the depth of folklore and a disjointed aspect which contributes to its disturbing effect.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The superimposition of the Sator narrative atop material Graham had already filmed with a different story in mind gives it the depth of folklore and a disjointed aspect which contributes to its disturbing effect.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Satanic Panic is one of those films that's a lot smarter underneath than it looks on the surface.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Satanic Panic is one of those films that's a lot smarter underneath than it looks on the surface.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Ikeda is a strong lead who invests heavily in her character but her most remarkable feature is a pair of eyes which allow her to express terror with the intensity of an animé character.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Ikeda is a strong lead who invests heavily in her character but her most remarkable feature is a pair of eyes which allow her to express terror with the intensity of an animé character.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Depending on your perspective you will find this fantastically stupid or stupidly fantastic - there isn't much of a middle ground.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Depending on your perspective you will find this fantastically stupid or stupidly fantastic - there isn't much of a middle ground.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The fight scenes are kept fairly simple, the focus not on gimmicky set pieces but on doing simple things really well.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The fight scenes are kept fairly simple, the focus not on gimmicky set pieces but on doing simple things really well.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Smart, deceptively sophisticated and beautifully crafted, this is artisan cheese.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Smart, deceptively sophisticated and beautifully crafted, this is artisan cheese.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Again and again there are elements that will be echoed in later works, mirrors and masks and little friends, split screens and thrills and untimely ends.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Again and again there are elements that will be echoed in later works, mirrors and masks and little friends, split screens and thrills and untimely ends.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Michelle Garza Cervera's hard-hitting film combines an elegant sense of aesthetics with emotional intelligence and insight.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Michelle Garza Cervera's hard-hitting film combines an elegant sense of aesthetics with emotional intelligence and insight.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Korean comedies are known for their quirkiness and The Odd Family combines this with a set of principal characters so wilfully obnoxious that it would be difficult not to like them.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Korean comedies are known for their quirkiness and The Odd Family combines this with a set of principal characters so wilfully obnoxious that it would be difficult not to like them.

~ Jennie Kermode -

As heavy on symbolism as it is light on plot, Night God combines the ancient shamanic imagery of the region with the concrete rooms and endless paper-strewn desks of a more recent era.

~ Jennie Kermode -

As heavy on symbolism as it is light on plot, Night God combines the ancient shamanic imagery of the region with the concrete rooms and endless paper-strewn desks of a more recent era.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Even those elements that will seem most unlikely to audiences unfamiliar with aswang mythology are carried with conviction and grace.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Even those elements that will seem most unlikely to audiences unfamiliar with aswang mythology are carried with conviction and grace.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Although there are a couple of places in which it shoehorns the plot, this is for the most part a tightly written, fast-paced thriller with real bite.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Although there are a couple of places in which it shoehorns the plot, this is for the most part a tightly written, fast-paced thriller with real bite.

~ Jennie Kermode -

To the extent that it's successful, this is thanks to McClatchy, who manages to make Maggie completely believable even in the most absurd situation.

~ Jennie Kermode -

To the extent that it's successful, this is thanks to McClatchy, who manages to make Maggie completely believable even in the most absurd situation.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The Lodge hinges on a powerhouse performance from Keough, who inhabits the troubled Grace so completely that we can stay with her even as her ability to distinguish what's real and what isn't breaks down.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The Lodge hinges on a powerhouse performance from Keough, who inhabits the troubled Grace so completely that we can stay with her even as her ability to distinguish what's real and what isn't breaks down.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Smit is excellent in the central role, doing something a little different with each layer of the performance.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Smit is excellent in the central role, doing something a little different with each layer of the performance.

~ Jennie Kermode -

There's a lot of silliness here altogether but it works surprisingly well, Tezuka somehow managing to coordinate all the moving parts.

~ Jennie Kermode -

There's a lot of silliness here altogether but it works surprisingly well, Tezuka somehow managing to coordinate all the moving parts.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Loosely assembled from cardboard, string and panache.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Loosely assembled from cardboard, string and panache.

~ Jennie Kermode -

We don't see the much of the immediate aftermath of death here, but instead are treated to the way grief can linger, catching anger and guilt in its wake

~ Amber Wilkinson -

We don't see the much of the immediate aftermath of death here, but instead are treated to the way grief can linger, catching anger and guilt in its wake

~ Amber Wilkinson -

This is a world of ballgowns, sequins and lace...but none of that diminishes the ability of its heroes to think clearly or take charge of their own fates.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is a world of ballgowns, sequins and lace...but none of that diminishes the ability of its heroes to think clearly or take charge of their own fates.

~ Jennie Kermode -

There's layer upon layer of clever artifice here, yet the result is something that feels fresh and sexy.

~ Jennie Kermode -

There's layer upon layer of clever artifice here, yet the result is something that feels fresh and sexy.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway reboots the genre by both using and subverting its conventions.

~ Jane Fae -

Jesus Shows You The Way To The Highway reboots the genre by both using and subverting its conventions.

~ Jane Fae -

The real star here is Marine Altan's cinematography, investing locations both lavish and drab with the kind of spiritual wonder seen only through the eyes of those who have always been outsiders.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The real star here is Marine Altan's cinematography, investing locations both lavish and drab with the kind of spiritual wonder seen only through the eyes of those who have always been outsiders.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The challenging moral and psychological undercurrent that keeps it interesting as the primary narrative begins to flounder.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The challenging moral and psychological undercurrent that keeps it interesting as the primary narrative begins to flounder.

~ Jennie Kermode -

House Of Hummingbird centres on a quiet yet never passive performance from Park, who draws us into Eun-hee's world as we watch her absorbing and processing the events going on around her.

~ Jennie Kermode -

House Of Hummingbird centres on a quiet yet never passive performance from Park, who draws us into Eun-hee's world as we watch her absorbing and processing the events going on around her.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Flitting between the agonies of trying to be socially appropriate, real violence and frantic comedy, Homewrecker is a fast paced, character-driven film that will follow you around until you give it all of your attention.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Flitting between the agonies of trying to be socially appropriate, real violence and frantic comedy, Homewrecker is a fast paced, character-driven film that will follow you around until you give it all of your attention.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The Hitchhiker uses elements of fantasy to force a confrontation with the greater strangeness of reality.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The Hitchhiker uses elements of fantasy to force a confrontation with the greater strangeness of reality.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Held together by three impressive performances, with Tyra the standout, Harpoon deftly plays with audience assumptions and sympathies, exploiting our prejudices as each character gradually reveals hitherto unseen depths.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Held together by three impressive performances, with Tyra the standout, Harpoon deftly plays with audience assumptions and sympathies, exploiting our prejudices as each character gradually reveals hitherto unseen depths.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Beautifully observed and with a terrific central performance from Bolger, this is a film that takes a simple story and gives it real power.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Beautifully observed and with a terrific central performance from Bolger, this is a film that takes a simple story and gives it real power.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The noirish animation gives the girl a dramatic presence that is larger than life, small and quiet though she is

~ Jennie Kermode -

The noirish animation gives the girl a dramatic presence that is larger than life, small and quiet though she is

~ Jennie Kermode -

The film may sometimes ramble but it's punctuated with action set pieces which combine great stunt work and a playful wit.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The film may sometimes ramble but it's punctuated with action set pieces which combine great stunt work and a playful wit.

~ Jennie Kermode -

On a whole different level from most films of its ilk.

~ Jennie Kermode -

On a whole different level from most films of its ilk.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Stallone's energy and ambition knew no bounds in the Eighties.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

Stallone's energy and ambition knew no bounds in the Eighties.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

The film builds neatly, slowly to a serious turning point just past the half way mark. After that....you're on your own!

~ Jane Fae -

The film builds neatly, slowly to a serious turning point just past the half way mark. After that....you're on your own!

~ Jane Fae -

Lavishly staged and shot with dazzling confidence, Dreamland segues easily between these glamorous spaces and the scummy streets and decaying hotel rooms of contemporary noir.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lavishly staged and shot with dazzling confidence, Dreamland segues easily between these glamorous spaces and the scummy streets and decaying hotel rooms of contemporary noir.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It's all fun and games until somebody decides to read ancient manuscripts aloud.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It's all fun and games until somebody decides to read ancient manuscripts aloud.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is a film full of little observations about the sort of things that women learn to be wary of but men are often blind to.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is a film full of little observations about the sort of things that women learn to be wary of but men are often blind to.

~ Jennie Kermode -

With beautifully choreographed fight scenes intercut with gentle comedy and character-focused drama, this film takes viewers on a thrilling ride.

~ Jennie Kermode -

With beautifully choreographed fight scenes intercut with gentle comedy and character-focused drama, this film takes viewers on a thrilling ride.

~ Jennie Kermode -

At the centre of the film, Breaux is superb, not only capturing the pathos vital to the monster but carrying him through the long, slow process of cognitive development and emotional realisation without ever striking a false note.

~ Jennie Kermode -

At the centre of the film, Breaux is superb, not only capturing the pathos vital to the monster but carrying him through the long, slow process of cognitive development and emotional realisation without ever striking a false note.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The tight-knit production unit brings natural chemistry to the film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The tight-knit production unit brings natural chemistry to the film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lauryn Canny is stunning in the central role, easily adopting the same body language that Mcintosh has used continually to break away from conditioned patterns of movement and take up space.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lauryn Canny is stunning in the central role, easily adopting the same body language that Mcintosh has used continually to break away from conditioned patterns of movement and take up space.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Schwarzenegger handles his role with a restraint unusual in actors his age, so that even viewers with a strong sense of what's coming will warm to him or wonder how bad he can really be.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Schwarzenegger handles his role with a restraint unusual in actors his age, so that even viewers with a strong sense of what's coming will warm to him or wonder how bad he can really be.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is an unusually clever piece of genre cinema which also resonates emotionally.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is an unusually clever piece of genre cinema which also resonates emotionally.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Full of gothic visuals and brooding melancholy, the bleak gloom is striking.

~ Stephen Carty -

Full of gothic visuals and brooding melancholy, the bleak gloom is striking.

~ Stephen Carty -

A cheery little romp with the right balance of cuteness, comedy and gore.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A cheery little romp with the right balance of cuteness, comedy and gore.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is one film that's really going to test the mettle of Wood's mainstream fanbase.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is one film that's really going to test the mettle of Wood's mainstream fanbase.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Scoggins' use of low lighting and shifting frames of reference adds a dreamlike quality to the whole affair.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Scoggins' use of low lighting and shifting frames of reference adds a dreamlike quality to the whole affair.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lind is compelling in the lead.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lind is compelling in the lead.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A touching story of commonplace horror wrapped up in the trappings on Tinseltown, this is a thoroughly researched and carefully assembled piece of work that will intrigues fans of the director and newcomers alike.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A touching story of commonplace horror wrapped up in the trappings on Tinseltown, this is a thoroughly researched and carefully assembled piece of work that will intrigues fans of the director and newcomers alike.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Astronaut is a charming fable given life by Dreyfuss' spirited performance.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Astronaut is a charming fable given life by Dreyfuss' spirited performance.

~ Jennie Kermode -

For those who get into the rhythm of it, this is an instant classic.

~ Jennie Kermode -

For those who get into the rhythm of it, this is an instant classic.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Dreyfuss is a force of nature. His energy is boundless, his eyes sparkle with ideas, he runs (not walks), he gushes (not speaks), he laughs like a hyena.

~ Monica Wolfe Murray -

Dreyfuss is a force of nature. His energy is boundless, his eyes sparkle with ideas, he runs (not walks), he gushes (not speaks), he laughs like a hyena.

~ Monica Wolfe Murray -

This is a mess. An ambitious mess...but mess nonetheless.

~ Jane Fae -

This is a mess. An ambitious mess...but mess nonetheless.

~ Jane Fae -

Marmor resists the temptation to over-explain, yet every time you think you see a way out, some new confounding factor will emerge.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Marmor resists the temptation to over-explain, yet every time you think you see a way out, some new confounding factor will emerge.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The screenplay written by the filmmaker and Andrea Piva is a proper masterwork, from the basic plotting to the intelligent, insightful dialogue.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

From the start, there is something different about this film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Despite the anger at the unfairness of what has gone before, this is ultimately a warm-hearted, life-affirming film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It is a ride, okay, and it is a bit nauseating and therefore not sterile.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

It’s also striking to think that when Leila is looking forward into the future, she is already, in some senses, looking at our recent past, which only reinforces the sense of the cyclical and ongoing nature of her themes.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Thorne still comes across as being at the stage where many aspects of her work are experimental. She’s yet to settle into her style.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The characters work well...but there’s never quite enough energy to events.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Ahmed doesn’t need to include war footage for us to feel its weight and understand its shadow.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The colour elements prove all the more striking when in contrast to black and white.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The beautiful cinematography, the bluesy jazz score and the gentle pace of the film are beguiling, but Masciari makes sure that we don’t lose sight of the ridiculous.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Shot over 17 years, it mingles intimate personal moments with visceral concert footage, its musical sequences knitted together with some of the best editing you’re likely to see this year.

~ Jennie Kermode -

History comes alive in the voices of those who remember it.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The choice of hand-drawn animation and its ability to demonstrate a magical realism allows the film to find the right distance from what is being depicted.

~ Richard Mowe -

Successfully finds insight and social commentary

~ Jeremy Mathews -

The pace of the action helps Handal to pack a lot in and his framing is inventive.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A Teacher is not the most finely crafted film, but it is a cri de cœur.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The filmmaker and her crew deserve a lot of credit for even managing to capture this lifestyle – not to mention following it for five years.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Breslin, as so often, is the standout.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The observational approach works against the director, slowing down proceedings and making it hard to see the wood for the trees

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Lotus may love pretty things, but he doesn’t hold back on the gore.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Having set up all the elements of a thriller, the film proceeds to untangle them in a refreshingly different and mature way.

~ Jennie Kermode -

[Hart] doesn’t turn up the volume, but uses tone and repetition so effectively that the film becomes a microcosm of the real experience.

~ Jennie Kermode -

I Am Love is social melodrama in the best traditions of Italian cinema.

~ Chris -

Anime at its very finest - lightning paced, visually stunning, feverishly creative and overrun by a logic all its own.

~ Anton Bitel -

The action is pacy but that doesn’t mean Courvoisier skims the surface.

~ Amber Wilkinson -