The Woman in Black – Film Review

(Written for Rough Cut Reviews)

Starring Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, The Woman in Black is based on Susan Hill’s 1983 horror fiction of the same name, which was later adapted on to the London stage.

The gothic horror follows the narrative of young solicitor Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is summoned to Eel Marsh House in the North East of England to handle the estate of its owner; Alice Drablow. Located on an island in the marshes, Kipps starts work on the paperwork but soon begins to hear strange noises from the room above.

Chronicle – Film Review

(Written for The National Student)

Following in the increasingly popular format of found-footage film-making, Josh Trank’s science fiction film Chronicle follows the narrative of friends Andrew, Steve and Matt from Seattle who, after discovering a strange hole in the middle of a field, gains powerful superhuman abilities which they use to create mischief and increase their High School reputation. However when one of them begins to use his powers for darker purposes, they soon begin to realise that what started off as fun has since turned into something dangerous.

The Iron Lady – Film Review

(Written for Rough Cut Reviews)

Directed by Mamma Mia’s Phyllida Lloyd, British biopic The Iron Lady captures the portrait of Margaret Thatcher, portrayed primarily by Meryl Streep, in her formative and early political years, before going on to serve as the longest-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20^th Century.

The film begins near the end, with a fragile Thatcher dominating the screen. Dementia has her in its grip, and her hallucinations with late husband Denis Thatcher (Jim Broadbent) are slowly weaving their way into her unstable mind. Thatcher has aged, and scenes of her pottering around the house, looking lost and distracted, turn this once popular and powerful figure into a vulnerable and lonely human being.

The Human Centipede (Full Sequence) – Film Review

(Written for Rough Cut Reviews)

Surrounded with uproar and initially banned in the UK, before the BBFC controversially changed their mind, The Human Centipede: Full Sequence is quite possibly the most disturbing thing to come out of British cinema.

Directed by Tom Six, the sequel to the 2010 Dutch horror; The First Sequence, centres around Martin Lormax (Laurence R. Harvey), an asthmatic, overweight, mentally-ill short British man who lives at home with his emotionally abusive mother. (Vivien Bridson) Working as a security guard in an underground parking garage, Martin is seen to be obsessed with the original film; The Human Centipede (First Sequence), which he constantly watches on repeat at home and on the job. With a desire to re-enact the 100% medically accurate surgery seen in the first film, during his late-night shifts, Martin lures his innocent victims into his clutches one by one, stopping for nothing to get hold of the 12 people he needs to complete his very own human centipede.

Paranormal Activity 3 – Film Review

(Written for Rought Cut Reviews)

From Catfish directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, Paranormal Activity 3 is the latest in the horror series to get its Halloween cinema release. Set 18 years prior to the events of the previous two films, this latest outing centres around sisters Katie and Kristi, whom both befriend an invisible entity who resides in their home.

Opening in 2005, Paranormal Activity 3 introduces the two sisters on to the screen once again, in adult form, which sees sister Kristi and her husband, Daniel, decorating a nursery for their unborn baby boy. When Katie arrives at their house with a box of old videotapes, a year later a short snippet of a seemingly burgled house is shown on-screen, allowing the audience to understand the box of video tapes is the only item missing.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – Film Review

(Written for Boolean Flix)

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is among a majority of films released every year after the Post-Summer season. As cinema figures decline between the months of August to November, and even sometimes until December, this latest horror in a tradition of Hollywood remakes is taken from the 1973 TV original.

Produced by Hellboy’s Guillermo del Toro and directed by comic-book artist Troy Nixley, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is almost expected to be poor from the outset, mirroring the failures of recent horror remakes A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween.