MARKED MOVIES

Director: Jordan Peele.
Screenplay: Jordan Peele.
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Tim Heidecker, Madison Curry, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

“They look exactly like us. They think like us. They know where we are. We need to move and keep moving. They won’t stop until they kill us… or we kill them”

When Get Out hit the screens in 2017, it was one of the few films that genuinely earned the positive word of mouth and appreciation that many critics and viewers afforded it. It marked the arrival of Jordan Peele as a new voice for horror despite him being better known as a comedian and it also done no harm to Peele’s reputation when he earned himself an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. With that, there was much anticipation for his follow-up feature and it’s with delight that Peele matches his previous work and shows that contemporary horror is in very capable hands. Continue reading →

Director: Jordan Peele.
Screenplay: Jordan Peele.
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Alison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, LilRel Howery, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel, Lakeith Stanfield, Stephen Root, Richard Herd, Erika Alexander, Ashley LeConte Campbell.

“A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste”

Better known for his TV comedy sketches with Keegan-Michael Key or most recently the action-comedy, Keanu, Jordan Peele makes his directorial debut with a genre you wouldn’t ordinarily expect from him. It isn’t exactly the horror that it’s been marketed or advertised as – instead leaning more to psychological thriller – but there’s no mistaking Peele’s dramatic flair or natural ability to work outside his comfort zone.  Continue reading →

Director: M. Night Shyamalan.
Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan.
Starring: James McAvoy, Ana Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Izzie Coffey, Brad William Henke, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff, M. Night Shyamalan.

“An individual with multiple personalities can change their body chemistry with their thoughts”

When The Sixth Sense was released in 1999, it became an instant hit and has since entered popular culture. It’s director, M. Night Shyamalan, became the hot property in Hollywood and much anticipation followed his projects. However, Shyamalan has never quite reached the same level of quality. In fact, some of his films were so poorly received that he became synonymous with mediocrity or, in some cases, inspired unintentional laughter. To be fair to him, though, his ideas were always great but he just wasn’t able to deliver the finished product and his latest in Split suffers a similar fate. Continue reading →

Director: Fede Alvarez
Screenplay: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues.
Starring: Dylan Minnette, Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto, Emma Bercovici, Franciska Töröcsik.

“There is nothing a man cannot do once he accepts the fact that there is no god”

After a series of horror shorts, director Fede Alvarez was finally given his big break into feature length filmmaking by being tasked with reworking the cult classic horror Evil Dead. This also brought the backing of the original film’s director and star, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell who took producer duties. It was a huge task for Alvarez to undertake and although it worked for some, it happened to be one of the worst films I had the misfortune to see in 2013. With Don’t Breathe, however, Alvarez has managed to claw back some respect. Continue reading →

Director: Eli Roth.
Screenplay: Eli Roth, Nicolás López, Guillermo Amoedo.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Dan Baily, Megan Baily, Colleen Camp.

“I’m glad we knocked on your door”

Not being a fan of writer/director Eli Roth or the torture porn sub-genre itself, I went into this film with serious reservations. I hoped against hope that with the appealing inclusion of Keanu Reeves this might be worth some attention. Reeves has been involved in the occasional dud here and there, but he’s also been known to unearth a few gems in his time. I was hoping for the latter and also hoping that Roth may have moved on from his gratuitous early films like Hostel and Cabin Fever and actually managed to mature somewhat. Alas, I should have paid heed to my reservations.  Continue reading →