Category: Blog

Think of ghosts in film, and people will usually think of horror movies, usually representing fear of the unknown, specifically what happens after death.  But it ain't necessarily so: ghosts in film can also provide reassurance, nostalgia, mourning and even laughs.  Take a look at this eclectic mix of benign spooks and consider your all-time … Continue reading Alternative Oscars poll: Best non-scary Ghost Films

For our second weekly look at great moments/characters/scenes in film, we're going to be re-living the greatest bank robbery scenes in movie history.  In real life very, very few of us would consider doing one, but seeing characters on-screen living that out for us is one of those great escapist fantasies that cinema can deliver … Continue reading Alternative Oscars poll: Best Bank Robbery Scenes

I have a pet peeve. You might think it irrelevant, petty even, and you might very well be right: any horror film that puts a rap song over its trailer automatically gets a firm pass from me. This is not a rap thing per se, you understand, but more something born out of experience: this … Continue reading Review: Overlord

Welcome to the first of a new regular feature.  Each week* I'll be inviting your votes on some important referendums, giving you a chance to re-live some great movie memories and moments, and also maybe create a chance for you to make some new ones. For our inaugural award, we'll be name the definitive, all-time … Continue reading Alternative Oscars: Best Comedy Drunk

On the 12th (and final) day of Halloween, keep it spooky with... 'Trick 'r Treat' (2007). A series of seasonal tales taking place in the same small town on Halloween night. I've recommended some terrific, under-valued modern horror movies over the past 11 days, but it's only right that I leave you with my favourite … Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween! – Day 12

On the 11th day of Halloween... 'The Descent' (2005) 13 years on from its release, this tale of a group of female spelunkers who become trapped underground and hunted through an undiscovered cave network remains the scariest, goriest, hardest-hitting, most overall satisfying horror film of the 21st Century. Every time I watch it, I remain … Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween! – Day 11

On the 10th day of Halloween, track it down and see... 'The Ritual' (2017). Four friends take a hiking trip in Sweden to get over a shared bereavement, take an ill-advised shortcut through some deep, dark woods, and find themselves hunted by a large, dark, inhuman entity. I love monster movies. All the best ones … Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween! – Day 10

On the 9th day of Halloween, a double bill for ye... 'V/H/S' (2012) and 'V/H/S 2' (2013) The horror anthology has a fine tradition going back to 'The Twilight Zone', 'Tales from the Crypt' and beyond. 'V/H/S' and its sequel (avoid the third film, 'V/H/S: Viral') take the format and deliver not two feature films, … Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween! – Day 9

On the 8th day of Halloween, stop what you're doing and watch... 'Session 9' (2001). An asbestos clean-up crew are working in an abandoned mental asylum, with only their own fractious relationships, personal demons and some disquieting tape recordings of the institution's former residents for company. If there's one movie that deserves the title 'most … Continue reading 12 Days of Halloween! – Day 8