Grimmfest, considered one of the UK's biggest horror cinema specialists, celebrate the history of horror cinema. This year, Grimmfest has partnered with The Horror Channel to offer big screen presentations of a whole host of classic horror films from four masters of the genre all on the big screen, across Spring and early Summer. In 2020, Grimmfest will pay tribute to four Legends of Horror, in the suitably elegant, art-deco surroundings of Stockport Plaza. Experience classics of the genre in suitably grand, elegant style, in the most beautiful Picture Palace in the region. Join Grimmfest through 2020 for some classic horror movies from four of the truly great directors, Tobe Hooper (9/2/20), David Cronenberg (8/3/20), John Carpenter (9/5/20) and Wes Craven (5/7/20). 16 movies in total over 4 special day events. All events start at 1.00pm prompt! TOBE HOOPER – SUNDAY 9/2/20 “No matter where you’re going it’s the wrong place.” – Tobe Hooper. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 18 Cert Described as “an exercise in the pornography of terror” by James Ferman, former head of the BBFC, it was recently added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in 1981. POLTERGEIST 15 Cert “They’re heeeeerrrre!” Spielberg tries his hand at horror but is smart enough to enlist Hooper to direct. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 18 Cert Leatherface is back. And this time he’s got Dennis Hopper to answer to. SALEM’S LOT (180 mins) 15 Cert Nosferatu in Small Town America, in Hooper’s classic adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. DAVID CRONENBERG - SUNDAY 8/3/20 “Everybody’s a mad scientist, and life is their lab. We’re all trying to experiment to find a way to live, to solve problems, to fend off madness and chaos.” – David Cronenberg. RABID 15 Cert In the wake of the Soska Twins’ recent remake, a chance to revisit the stark, bleak original; the film in which Marilyn Chambers truly is insatiable. VIDEODROME 18 Cert “Long live the new flesh!” Remember the whole “video nasties” hysteria of the 1980s? Fear of what exposure to such things might be doing to the young? It could have been a lot worse. THE FLY 18 Cert “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don’t know why. Perhaps she’ll die…” One of the genre’s greatest ever love stories. Yes, seriously. CRASH 18 Cert Cronenberg’s cinematic reimagining of J.G Ballard’s novel was described as “beyond the bounds of depravity” by critic Alexander Walker. The perfect combination of filmmaker and source material, in other words. JOHN CARPENTER - SATURDAY 9/5/20 “In France, I’m an auteur, in Germany a filmmaker, in England a genre film director, in the USA a bum!” – John Carpenter. PRINCE OF DARKNESS 15 Cert Carpenter’s homage to Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass series. With added satanism. And Alice Cooper. BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA 15 Cert Every 70s martial arts movie you ever loved, put into a blender, and then thrown at Kurt Russell. Who comes out fighting. THEY LIVE 18 Cert Rowdy Roddy Piper is all out of chewing gum. Those alien invaders had better watch out. The perfect combination of political satire and all-in wrestling. IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS 15 Cert “God’s not supposed to be a hack horror writer.” But let’s face it, that would actually explain a lot… WES CRAVEN - SUNDAY 5/7/20 “Wes Craven reinvented horror at least four times. Most directors don’t even manage it once.” – Kim Newman. THE HILLS HAVE EYES 18 Cert Family values in conflict; a stark and brutal confrontation between civilisation and savagery in which the lines between the two become increasingly blurred. SCREAM 18 Cert What happens when the killers don’t play by The Rules anymore? THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS 15 Cert Part fairy tale, part social satire, Craven tackles the subjects of homelessness and urban gentrification in typically full-on fashion. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 18 Cert One, two, Freddy’s coming for you…… And right now, Grimmfest are hosting a social media competition to win an amazing Grimmfest horror movie goodie bag and 2x passes for our first event, TOBE HOOPER ALL -DAYER. Check out our Grimmfest FB page and website for more info. www.grimmfest.com

★★★★★ Directed by #YakimaWaner Film Review by Jack Bottomley The Harvest opens with a dedication to humanity, frankly, knowing what humanity is like, especially right at this moment in time, that could be a really bad sign. Thankfully what follows is a film that does not ignore the ills of this world (far from it) but one which stands defiant in the face of a cold, merciless and prejudicial authority and opts instead to take the spotlight from those in power (none of whom - tellingly - agreed to be interviewed) and shed it on those who are our future but who need help in the present. Starting with archival footage of a growing/harvesting programme for children in Jewish ghettos of Nazi Germany, which would prepare them for the future, we then move forward to 2018 South Africa. Our story picks up in an area known as Plastic City in Brakpan, outside of the Weltevreden landfill. This community is made up of families of recycling workers, many of whom have children reliant on their labour. These children are the very beating heart of The Harvest. This film captures a beautiful, timely and indeed harsh document of a modern day issue that most will have never even heard of. The film is almost a tribute to the spirit of community and goodness, and it’s a story built around two ladies and the little souls they care for. Jessie Nkosi and Hlengiwe “Twinky” Nkosi (and their family) are two sisters who took it upon themselves to build a creche in Plastic City, so the children would have somewhere to go while their parents were at work. What started as Teletubbies Day Care, later became Blessings Eco Preparatory School and has changed the community and in many ways some of the country. This film by Yakima Waner is far more than just a project, it is a passion, an experience and something near and dear to her heart. Starting as a curiosity, as Waner drove past the community and wondered what went on within, it grew and grew, as she was warned off by civilians, told of a criminal infested culture of “foreigners”, what she found (thanks to her social activist pal Sandy Ngwenya) was a struggling community that exemplified the human spirit. Especially within the hand built walls of Teletubbies Day Care. This documentary feature is filled with information, collated from hands on experience, and it reminded me very much of the Lucy Walker film Waste Land in how it harnesses hope from a dangerous life/setting and tells the story onscreen of wonderful real people, striving to help make this rough world that bit better. Throughout the over 2 hour duration we meet a selection of young children with stories to tell, including young Gonsalves Jose Mutsenga, as he battles with Hydrocephalus syndrome and my heart swelled at the story of young Lam and Hazira and their family, who save and show love to the abandoned dogs and animals of Plastic City (one of which, Karti, has found a new lease on life). This film is a joyful celebration of what it is to achieve goals and to help others but it is also a damning inditement of institutional powers, who intentionally make the struggle greater and who perpetuate a culture of xenophobia and fear. Some sequences in the film chill with their presentation of the uncaring government, worst of all though is the fact that this is not a surprising development. In fact this links back to the film’s opening historical focus on the Jewish people of Nazi Germany, as the film uncomfortably correlates their history with the wrongful hateful perceptions of Plastic City and its people today. This modern day South African community, where people are cast aside due to their identity and where hate crime is still a raging fire, links to such horrible history and without change we are doomed to repeat it. At one point Holocaust survivor Irene Klass tells her story and it chimes very much with the one Waner is relaying to us here. With a diverse soundtrack and some incredibly captured imagery, this is a documentary experience that is highlighting a real cause (The harvest Project) and shows how reconnecting the most abused and in need children with nature, with an education and with happiness is vital to ensuring they and South Africa has a worthwhile future. I was caught off guard early on by a use of the iconic Star Wars Darth Vader breathing audio, but its use is to powerful effect, as the film raises health concerns, environmental issues and recurring problems of humanity and asks us to watch and help make a difference. So that the next breath can be a long refreshing one, instead of a despite gasp. This is cinema of change, of hope and of a better future. Remarkable viewing. Find out more at: https://www.theharvestp.com/ #JackBottomley

★★★ Directed by: #RobHurtt Written by: #RobHurtt Starring: #PaulKelleher, #ChiaraStampone, #EdwardHalsted Film Review by: JJ Donoghue A common way in which to disparage a film’s quality is to label it as having fallen into the trap of being ‘style over substance’. However, while this is often a valid critique of a feature length film, a short film can get away with indulging in stylishness simply by virtue of its length – an engaging plot is a far more pressing requirement over the span of 90 minutes than it is over 10 minutes. This characteristic of the short film genre is nowhere more present than in Rob Hurtt’s Soho Sunset, which successfully remains sleek and bizarre enough to disguise its somewhat insufficient subject matter. The film is primarily but loosely centred around a conversation between Violetta, a woman who has run away from home, and Franco, the man who has tracked her down to the seedy strip club where she now works. This conversation takes up the vast majority of the film’s running time, and so naturally you would think that it is essential to the film that this conversation is engaging. But, while Soho Sunset does remain compelling, it does this in spite of its unremarkable dialogue. The conversation is often awkward, such as in the clunky and unnatural moment in which Violetta recites a song lyric. This awkwardness, combined with the fact that the relationship between these two characters isn’t at all made clear, should be more than enough to make Soho Sunset somewhat dull. Nevertheless, the performances from the two central characters keep the film energised; in particular, Paul Kelleher deserves much credit for his effortless screen presence. He brings a natural quality to his performance which ensures that the drama remains intriguing, even when it isn’t exactly inspired. However, in spite of these insufficiencies, Hurtt’s agenda with Soho Sunset was clearly to make a film in the most enjoyable cinematic fashion. The atmosphere created in every scene seems designed in an effort to experiment with different styles – the sentiment of slow, operatic loneliness of the opening couldn’t be more different from the neon noir of the nightclub’s interior, or the darkly surreal sleaziness of the film’s conclusion. Though these varying aesthetics jar against each other somewhat, Hurtt clearly enjoys testing new ideas and subverting the audience’s expectations, and he leaves the fate of Franco ambiguous enough that it causes you to pause for thought once the film is finally over. This ultimately means that, even if it never amounts to a coherent whole, there is enough originality and character embedded within Soho Sunset to make you feel as if it was worth watching.

★★★ Directed by:  #TrevorRyan Written by: #AllenOsborne Starring: #RyanVincent #RoriFlynn #GayleGaston ShortFilm Review by: #ChrisBuick First things first. If you are looking for a truly cool name for your lead character, you could do much worse than Erik Boomslang. Top that off with the fact he is also a charming sociopathic serial killer, you might just be on to something. But while the plot of Boomslang (“a dark comedy about a serial killer who visits a small American town and gets more than he bargained for.”) has all the hallmarks of a fun, tongue-in-cheek caper, the underlying problem is this short film instead seems like the first fifteen minutes of a much longer movie. The film as it is, does have a lot going for it. It is certainly brimming with unique and colourful individuals, and the whole cast seems to be having a fantastic time playing with these ridiculous but quite enjoyable roles, no more so than Vincent as the eponymous lead, who really leans into both the suave and dangerous sides of Erik and is clearly having a blast doing so. Each of the supporting players also manage to make their mark, every performance executed with the same high level of gusto as the next, which between that and some smart writing, manages to nicely round off each of these characters with their own wild personalities and eccentricities, making for some genuinely funny moments. But there are certain characters which while entertaining, never really have anything do with our lead or the plot at all except for a fleeting moment at the finale, which makes you think that any time with them would have been better spent exploring Erik’s story a bit more. Despite that, most other aspects of the film also manage to hit a decent standard. The camera-work is never necessarily captivating but it is never sloppy either. Perhaps on occasion the film thinks its a bit smarter than it actually is when it comes to one or two lines of dialogue, while a handful of others seem a tad half-baked, but overall its pretty punchy and quick-witted. However while the conversations between the people of this wacky world are fun to watch, they do take up almost the entirety of the film, leaving no real room for any action or drama that could give the film a bit of a kick-start, which considering the film centres around a serial killer, seems like a bit of an oversight and again, everything that transpires in this short film acts like the setup for a more developed story that actually you could get behind, but sadly its all over too quickly. Boomslang comes across almost like a proof of concept piece and when the credits roll, you will undoubtedly be asking yourself “where’s the rest?”. Director Trevor Ryan’s previous short Welcome to Willits: After Sundown was eventually expanded into a feature length piece, and it would be nice for Boomslang to get the same treatment for if it doesn't, it would be a shame as there seems to be enough potential here to create something quite enjoyable. #ChrisBuick

★★★★ Directed by #GaryOBennett Written by #BayleighYoung, #EkinNazDemirok Starring #BayleighYoung, #EkinNazDemirok Short Film Review by Jack Bottomley For all the impressive action and drama that can be created from a big screen motion picture or effects-heavy blockbuster, sometimes it is the smaller stories, the more personal stories, that pack the biggest punch. You can go to alien worlds, head to the frontline of war or go back in time to a difficult era but often the most gruelling, emotional and powerful stories can come from something more familiar than not. And what is more familiar than family? Where some families offer us protection, comfort and consolation, others offer heated arguments, fallout and grief. No family experience is exactly the same but some films can speak to many people regarding such things, and this short from director #GaryOBennett is one which will move and connect with many a viewer. The story sees two sisters currently living together and as one is planning her upcoming wedding, the other is jobless and reeling from being kicked out by their parents. What follows is a discussion that has been a long time coming and which brings up some very complex feelings and emotions. Set in just one sitting room (with well lit cinematography and tight editing by #AthenaBoutari) and limited to a cast of just two - #BayleighYoung and #EkinNazDemirok (who both also wrote the screenplay) as sisters Samantha and Alex respectively - The Absence of You is a beautifully told story of a sibling bond surviving through strain. Starting off in a quiet fashion, this 7-minute film (excluding the credits, which make use of #BlueDotSessions’ “Noodle Opus”) wastes not one second of time and soon has your opinions turned, as it speaks up for those of us who have ever felt overshadowed in our own home and/or wronged by how others in the family perceive us. The dialogue is believable and eventually rather moving, as the links with this family are touched upon and while it is only a partial glimpse into a wider picture (and issue in many families), that glimpse proves thought provoking and ultimately quite touching, as this story shows that love powers through turmoil, and only through communication can our issues ever be solved and our connections be strengthened. The plot centres upon one particular accusation but soon opens up into a lifelong tale of feelings and fears but watching these two sisters go back and forth and ultimately come even closer together makes for a rather affirming and lovely experience. This is a short but sweet story with a great big heart. The acting is realistic and in centring on the faces of the stars, it opens things up very much more, as Bayleigh Young and Ekin Naz Demirok’s eyes tell the story. It is really a very simple situation but come the poignant revelations, their eyes make all the difference and even in moments of silence, seem to tear up with pain and later joy, as these two women bond better than they clearly have in some time (if ever) through the dialogue and both Young and Demirok deliver excellent (and impressive) performances. O. Bennett’s film may feel like just one chapter of a much bigger story that we would like to see and hear but it is a chapter you are happy to read through and one that will mean a great deal to many people, particularly siblings and more so sisters. A really brilliant little short about some very big feelings.

★★★★ Directed and Written by: #JordanBlady Starring: #DashaNekrasova, #MorganKrantz, #NadineDubois Film Review by: Owen Herman Softness of Bodies, from writer/director Jordan Blady, is an unsettlingly satisfying look at the life of a deeply unpleasant individual. The narrative follows Charlotte (Dasha Nekrasova), a narcissistic kleptomaniac attempting life as a poet in Berlin. She steals everything she can, including the clothes she wears, the poems she recites, and even the hearts of the men around her. Her many, and often self-inflicted, problems threaten her delicate existence as a struggling artist abroad. Its captivating stuff and its hard not to be enthralled by Charlotte’s continuing self-destruction as she faces confrontation from a rival poet, her lover’s girlfriend, and the German police, all while struggling both financially and artistically. It’s a story that could easily have been unbearable. A character this unpleasant causing this much misery to herself and those around her is not normally something you’d expect audiences to engage with. However, when done well it can work beautifully; just look at the recent example of the brilliantly repulsive Roy family in Succession. In the case of Softness of Bodies, it all works thanks to Jordan Blady’s solid writing as well as a commanding performance by Dasha Nekrasova. Having said this however, Blady’s script does suffer from the occasional weaker moment as slightly forced lines of dialogue do stand out. The poetry itself is of a decent standard, which makes it both enjoyable to listen to, but manages to avoid the all too common trap of a fictional artist’s work not being near the standard the film makes it out to be. Nekrasova is superbly supported and complemented by the rest of the cast. Morgan Krantz is particularly strong and possess the look and feel of a young Sam Rockwell. Nadine Dubois and Johannes Frick also deliver well-rounded performances as Charlotte’s poetry rival and housemate respectively. The film is shot well with occasional moments of brilliance. The use of focus is a particular high point. Cinematographer Christian Huck does a fantastic job at capturing the feeling of Berlin on screen, from the dingy apartments of struggling artists to the understated glamour of late-night poetry readings. The visuals are further enhanced by the score, an interesting and atmospheric work by Aaron Short which feels modern but still possess some sinister underpinnings in its discordant beats. Softness of Bodies is a riveting watch, right from its intriguing opening all the way to the dramatic finale. The narcissistic world of Charlotte Parks is far from pleasant, yet at the hands of Jordan Blady, it becomes disturbingly fascinating. With a delightful runtime of just 74 minutes, Softness of Bodies is a worthwhile trip into a world of poetry and self-obsession. A cracking film. Softness of Bodies will be available to watch for free on Amazon Prime from February 14th.

★★★★ Directed by #FlavioAlves Written by #FlavioAlves #JohnRotondo Starring #CharlieGuevara Film Review by Hope Madden Newcomer Charlie Guevara charms in Flavio Alves’s drama The Garden Left Behind with a bittersweet performance as Tina, an undocumented Mexican trans woman getting by in NYC. Her performance is simultaneously optimistic, wearied, frightened and strong. Wisely, filmmaker Alves focuses his tale unblinkingly on Tina—her day to day, her loving if prickly relationship with her grandmother (Miriam Cruz), her warm and supportive community of friends, her struggle with an insecure boyfriend, her tentative steps toward transition. In a real way, every movement in the film is about transition, about claiming something that belongs to Tina, whether it’s her voice or her financial independence, her emotional health or her political power. The rawness of Guevara’s turn sometimes makes way for self-consciousness that brings certain scenes to an awkward halt. Still, Guevara and Cruz share a lovely, lived-in chemistry. It’s their relationship that both buoys the film and makes the it ache all the more. The story around the periphery crystallizes the ways in which the lives of trans people—especially trans women of color—differ from your garden variety New Yorkers’. Alves’s hand is not heavy; the fact that so many of Tina’s interactions could be taken as potentially menacing speaks volumes without an overt narrative. It’s actually in this B-story that the filmmaker may make the most salient and heartbreaking points. If the film feels authentic, that’s unsurprising. Alves not only cast trans actors for each trans role, but he also employed a staff of transgender filmmakers in creative and crew roles. This after several years of research within the NYC transgender community to develop the insightful and poignant storyline. It’s no surprise The Garden Left Behind became the 2019 SXSW audience award winner. The film breaks through as not only an admirable artistic vision produced with integrity, but a beautiful human tale of perseverance and love. #HopeMadden

★★★ Directed by #JoeBegos Written by #JoeBegos Starring #DoraMadison Film Review by Hope Madden What does true art require of its maker? It’s an incredibly common theme in film (and books and sculpture and painting and any other kind of art) because, for an artist, it’s a common point of introspection. Why am I doing this, why aren’t I better than this, what would I give to be really great? There’s such an underlying element of the diabolical and desperate in these questions that it’s only sensible so many horror flicks have sprung from this well. From Roger Corman’s A Bucket of Blood in ’59 to Sean Byrne’s Devil’s Candy in 2015, horror movies love to explore what we’re willing to become if only our art could be great. Joe Begos returns to the concept with Bliss, an unrelenting attack on the senses that equates artistic obsession with addiction and monstrosity. Frenetically paced and entirely reliant on Dora Madison’s impressive performance, Bliss works like a hypnotic pulse. Madison plays artist and malcontent Dezzy, who opens the film dodging her landlord, tooling LA in her convertible caddy and panicking. She can’t finish her latest piece, her agent wants to drop her, she’s about to lose her exhibit space. Why isn’t her dealer answering the goddamn phone? When she does catch up with him, he has something potent for her. She goes a little overboard and by the time she’s semi-conscious again, a house party is in full rage, the drugs, beat and sexy look from an old friend propelling Dezzy into a hypnotic night of excess and debauchery. But somewhere in the stew and slurry of the night, her painting starts to take shape. It’s intriguing that the more minor the character, the more likable the performance. Begos seems not to want you to care about the lead or those closest to her, and that’s always an intriguing approach to a film. The only real problem with Bliss is its lack of originality, but that’s a pretty big problem. Quick cuts and quicker tempo, nimble performances and concussive beat, like Gaspar Noe’s Climax, Bliss leaves you feeling worn out. But with little new to say, it mainly leaves you feeling more hung over than entertained. #HopeMadden

★★★★ Directed by #StevenBognar #JuliaReichert Film Review by Hope Madden When filmmakers Steve Bognar and Julia Reichert documented the last days of Moraine, Ohio’s GM plant for their Oscar nominated 2008 doc The Last Truck, they probably did not foresee a second nomination coming nearly a decade later for what amounts to a sequel. And yet, American Factory returns to the same scene, this time to provide a fly-on-the-wall peek at the Fuyayo Glass Factory, a Chinese/American experiment taking place inside those same walls. The first film released by Michelle and Barak Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, American Factory is a case study in cross-cultural miscommunication and national personality clash. After Moraine’s GM plant closed, the town sank into economic disaster—something Dayton’s own Bognar and Reichert certainly witnessed daily since the short film. Looking to expand their production in the States, China’s Fuayo Glass Industry Group purchased the old GM plant and instantly created quite a buzz. What Reichert and Bognar capture is astonishing and unnervingly honest. Chinese workers in Ohio are given a crash course in what to expect from Americans, as management tutors them to expect blunt honesty and the Americans’ belief that they are somehow special no matter who they are. Meanwhile, American managers are treated to a company meeting in China where the orderliness and productiveness of the workers inspires awe, the propaganda-riddled pageantry alarms, and the sight of employees sifting through broken glass to find pieces worth salvaging horrifies. The human struggle at the plant mostly comes down to an attempt to unionize, which Chinese management sees as an opportunity for lazy Americans to gut productivity while the American labor sees it as an opportunity to institute legal protections concerning safety, health code regulations, wages and benefits. It truly is as if the parties speak different languages. Bognar and Reichert strive to provide a balanced point of view. Any finger- wagging is directed at both sides of the argument, but even that’s somewhat limited. The filmmakers and their film are more interested in the human side of the exchange. The film sheds light on the loneliness of the Chinese workers biding their time until their families can be brought overseas. We’re also privy to the early optimism and then heartbreaking disappointments faced by the Ohioans hoping for another chance to make an honest living. While the cultural wreckage offers a fascinating sociological experiment, the film ends far more ominously as automation proves to eliminate all concerns over wages, hours, productivity, quality, jingoism, racism and any other human frailty you can think of. What the filmmakers encapsulate about humanity, culture and the future of labor is equal parts enthralling and frightening. #HopeMadden

★★★★ Directed by #PetraCosta Film Review by George Wolf Documentaries can often be judged by how successful they are at showing us unfamiliar worlds. But for the Oscar-nominated The Edge of Democracy, it is the familiarity of the story it tells that makes it so heartbreakingly urgent, as it wraps a personal memoir around a first hand account of Brazil's fragile hold on democracy. Veteran documentarian Petra Costa (Omar & the Seagull, Undertow Eyes), whose own parents risked their lives protesting Brazil's military dictatorship, narrates the film with much personal insight, starting with her feeling that she and Brazilian democracy "have grown up together." Taking power through a U.S.-backed coup in 1964, a succession of generals ruled Brazil until 1985, when the Workers Party began to take hold, thanks in large part to union leader Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, who was finally elected president in 2002. Costa, backed up by a string of working class Brazilians, speaks in glowing terms of the economic progress made under Lula, and we see no less than Barack Obama dub him "the most popular politician on Earth." Indeed, Lula left office in 2010 with an 87 percent approval rating, when his hand-picked successor, former militant Dilma Rousseff, won the presidency. Three years later the economy stumbled, Dilma announced a crackdown on corruption, and the knives came out. Even then, not many would have thought it possible for the democracy Brazilians long fought for to succumb so easily to primal populism, or for Jair Bolsonaro, a bigoted, hostile, "fake news" decrying candidate who began as a joke, to be elected president in 2018. But here we are. Costa's passion for her cause is weary but evident, and her earnest narration often asks us to assume much without pausing to consider any contrasting evaluations of what she dubs "the coup of 2016." That's not to say Dilma's ouster doesn't stink to high Heaven - it does - but it also isn't hard to find accusations against the Workers Party that don't seem that flimsy, and while the one-sided approach is in line with the film's personal journey, it leaves the documentary side wanting. But Costa's ultimate success comes from weaving her family's story into the political tumult of her homeland, and in turn mirroring a more global struggle. We get a stark illustration of the rising tides of authoritarianism, leaving the Edge of Democracy a film that should be pretty damn personal to all of us. #GeorgeWolf

★★★ Directed by #ReedMorano Written by #MarkBurnell Starring #BlakeLively #JudeLaw #SterlingKBrown Film Review by George Wolf The sexy assassin. The beautiful killing machine. The Rhythm Section plays a tune that's lately been as popular as Taylor Swift at the high school talent show. But hey, there's still a ways to go before it catches up to the macho men, so have at it ladies, the right arrangement can always find some swing in the mustiest of standards. Blake Lively is Stephanie, a top student at Oxford who falls hard after losing her family to an airplane bomber. How hard? She's an addict and a prostitute, but her destructive spiral finds a new avenue when an investigative reporter seeks her out. He's on the trail of the terrorist responsible for the bombing, and Stephanie's cooperation sets a chain of events in motion that quickly lead to an ex MI-6 operative (Jude Law) training her to be a killer. And why would he do that, exactly? Keep that question at bay and you'll find a serviceable thriller that hits plenty of familiar beats, but is always kept watchable through Lively's committed performance. Screenwriter Mark Burnell adapts his own novel as a globe-trotting exercise in exorcising your demons. And while multiple character motivations can get murky, the relationship between Stephanie and her mysterious mentor is always engaging. Director Reed Morano (I Think We're Alone Now, TV projects such as The Handmaid's Tale and Halt and Catch Fire) can stage a nifty fight scene and breathless car chase, but she too often seems desperately in search of a definitive style that never finds a groove. While soundtrack choices and soft focus flashbacks feel forced, Morano's detached treatment of Lively's physical appearance may be the most original pillar in the film. Though her role is plenty physical and Lively never shrinks from it, even the obligatory "red sparrow" sequence offers an overdue counterpoint to the usual leering camera served up by Morano's male counterparts. Expect the usual questions of "who can I trust" and the usual fine performance from Sterling K. Brown (that guy's busy), who shows up as an ex-CIA agent with valuable contacts. But most of all, expect Lively to keep The Rhythm Section humming, even when it's set on repeat. #GeorgeWolf

★★★ Directed by #OsgoodPerkins Written by #RobHayes Starring #SophiaLillis #AliceKrige #SamuelLeakey Film Review by Hope Madden It’s still early, but 2020 has not been great in terms of horror. First came Nicolas Pesce’s pointless reboot of The Grudge. Yikes. And I do not mean that in a good way. And then last week we had Floria Sigismondi’s boldly wrong-headed reimagining, The Turning. In keeping with a trend, this week Oz Perkins revisits an existing story. Gretel & Hansel pick on the bones of that old fairly-tale—the one that actually did scare the shit out of me as a kid. Two kids are turned out into the woods because their parents can’t feed them. Things go from bad to worse once they’re left to fend for themselves and soon cannibalism comes into play, as I assume it always does when you get lost in the woods. Perkins, working from a script by Rob Hayes (East Meets Barry West), abandons much of the original bits (fewer breadcrumbs). His spookier imagination is more interested in Gretel’s burgeoning womanhood. Sophia Lillis (IT) narrates and stars as Gretel, the center of this coming of age story—reasonable, given the change of billing suggested by the film’s title. The witch may still have a tasty meal on her mind, but this is less a cautionary tale than it is a metaphor for agency over obligation. Alice Krige and her cheekbones strike the perfect mixture of menace and mentorship, while Sammy Leakey’s little Hansel manages to be both adorable and tiresome, as is required for the story to work. Perkins continues to impress with his talent for visual storytelling and Galo Olivares’s cinematography heightens the film’s folkloric atmosphere. It’s unfortunate, though, that Perkins doesn’t also write. The two films he both writes and directs, I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House and, in particular, The Blackcoat’s Daughter, sidestepped predictability while mining primal anxieties to produce excellent, memorable horror. The writing here doesn’t quite reach the heights of the storyline told through imagery. Gretel & Hansel loses itself too often in a dreamscape horror without rectifying or clarifying, which leaves the metaphor foggy and the horror muted. The whole affair feels like an intriguing if unsatisfying dream. #HopeMadden