Wives' Tale film review by UK film critic Chris Buick. Starring Rebecca-Clare Evans, Ken Ogborn, Finley Rowland directed by Cameron Lalor. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Wives' Tale Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Chris Buick | Posted on: Sep 26, 2025 Directed by: Cameron Lalor Written by: Antony Woolmer Starring: Rebecca-Clare Evans, Ken Ogborn, Finley Rowland Fables and legends of the sea have lived for as long as superstitious sailors and fearful fishermen have been sailing them. But the stories must come from somewhere, right? Wives’ Tale , the deeply atmospheric short from Cameron Lalor and Antony Woolmer, plunges a distant father and son into the point where truth and superstition blur, suggesting some cautionary tales are right to be heeded. Having seemingly been estranged for some time, Oisin (Rowland) finally reunites with his father, Cormac (Ogborn), to partake in some late-night fishing. Around the campfire, before heading out into the moonlit water, Cormac begins to tell his son accounts of women who lure men to their watery graves, leaving Oisin to wonder if his father's “old wives' tales” are simply folklore or if dark family secrets are hiding beneath the waves. Wives’ Tale certainly doesn’t hang about in putting its audience right where it wants them to be, uncomfortably on edge at all times. Composer Harry Prescott’s creeping, menacing, almost buzzing score strikes from the very first second, snatching the audience and dragging them under the film's treacherous waters. But visually is where the film is at its strongest. Lalor and Woolmer make a terrific technical duo who keep us struggling under that current of uneasy apprehension. The bleak palette, fabulous lighting and claustrophobic framing effortlessly create and maintain a constant restlessness. This technical prowess is amplified when they let us peer into the dark, desolate night beyond the characters, using brief, unsettling glimpses, such as a lone woman walking along the shore, to make us question what is and what isn’t real. Speaking of credible duos, we are also spoiled by two performances that also manage to match the mood perfectly. Both Rowland and Ogborn admirably do their part, with palpable nerves radiating off both characters, contributing significantly to the film’s already uncomfortably high anxiety levels. The actual narrative of the piece, however, doesn’t quite match the technical heights. Despite all the foreboding promise leading up to its climax, the film's abrupt culmination causes the expertly built tension to deflate rather than bowing out with any final hurrah or flourish. The film could have given itself a bit more time to plunge a little bit deeper with its ideas in order for the ending to float better, perhaps then delivering a conclusion that the immense dread preceding it deserved. Despite its slightly rough conclusion, Wives' Tale is an example of filmmaking technical brilliance and how to evoke the perfect atmosphere for your audience. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Chris Buick Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

The Meaning of Hitler film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Yehuda Bauer, Saul Friedlander, Deborah Lipstadt directed by Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Meaning of Hitler Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Aug 11, 2021 Directed by: Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker Written by: Sebastian Haffner, Michael Tucker Starring: Yehuda Bauer, Saul Friedlander, Deborah Lipstadt At a time in history where fascism, neo-Nazism, nationalism, antisemitism and white supremacy flourish out in the open, it seems natural that our collective conscious directs its attention to the rise of the Nazi party. And at the same time, doesn’t one more documentary about Hitler just add to his legend? Filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (Gunner Palace ) grapple with that conundrum in their latest, The Meaning of Hitler. Their primary aim is to look at how it happened in the first place to see how it might be stopped this go-round without romanticizing Hitler himself. But that had a lot to do with how he became the cult of personality he was, and why he continues to fascinate entitled, angry people. “The Nazi ideals were acted out by people who were absolutely normal.” Historian Yehuda Bauer, a 95-year-old who knows firsthand, shares this insight. And while much of what Epperlein and Tucker cover feels well-worn, this one bit of information gives the film upsetting relevance. That’s why it’s happening again. Hitler was little more than a spoiled, profoundly selfish, childish man who wanted what he wanted. What he wanted was evil, but he found that an awful lot of people were OK with that as long as they believed they would also be allowed to take whatever it is they wanted. That sounds familiar, but thankfully the film’s main point is not simply to draw obvious parallels with another vane and repugnant manchild. Their central problem is how to expose a fascist’s need to be mythologized without mythologizing the fascist. They find freshness and relevance, partly in the transparency of their thought processes. It’s often as though we’re privy to the actual construction of the film: images of Epperlein in the scene with a clapboard or boom mic, the sound of Tucker asking the subject a question. Part of what makes this approach work is the way it deconstructs the propaganda that Hitler used to pretend he was more than a failed artist and spoiled child. Inviting us behind the curtain, Epperlein and Tucker puncture the gaudy theatricality that makes weak men look like something they’re not. These filmmakers are making a documentary about Hitler specifically to point out that it’s time we end our fascination with fascism. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release, Indie Feature Film, Documentary < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Read the film podcast transcript from the episode titled Joker 2 - The Substance - Speak No Evil movie reviews on Episode 20 of UK Film Club on UK Film Club part of the UK Film Review Podcast. < Back Joker 2 - The Substance - Speak No Evil movie reviews on Episode 20 of UK Film Club Listen to This Episode UK Film Club 00:00:00.01 Brian Penn I wonder what the problem was. I could hear you, but typically you couldn't hear me. It's always the way, isn't it? 00:00:06.28 Chris Olson Well, I think it might be a sign of things to come that maybe one day that's the way the world will be, that everyone will just hear me and that'll be it, you know, and it will be, yeah, maybe be a little bit. 00:00:14.07 Brian Penn Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? No, no one, no one's asking you back. You know, no one's to disagree with you. No one's contradict you. 00:00:21.27 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:00:23.69 Chris Olson I mean, not that you do any of those things, Brian, but you know, but I don't want to give you the chance, you know, I don't want you to suddenly change and turn into one of these objectives to my, yeah my vast opinions. 00:00:25.60 Brian Penn No, no, no, no. I'll try not to, you know. Yeah. 00:00:34.14 Brian Penn Uh, well, yeah, you know, I mean, we like live the conversation, don't we? Let's, let's put it that way. 00:00:40.93 Chris Olson Well, that's why we're here, mainly. 00:00:42.46 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:00:42.96 Chris Olson um But have you been? You been okay? 00:00:44.30 Brian Penn I've been very well. Thank you. so 00:00:46.61 Chris Olson Yeah, not too bad. I mean, it's the season of getting ill, isn't it? We're suddenly in that part of the year again, and that came really quickly. 00:00:50.90 Brian Penn well Yeah. I know. 00:00:54.14 Chris Olson um 00:00:54.95 Brian Penn Yeah. The, uh, cops have gone back an hour now, haven't they as well? We are dead in Winston now, aren't we? Really? 00:01:00.45 Chris Olson And it's spook season. you know It's um you know almost Halloween, although when you're listening to this, it would have been Halloween. 00:01:02.48 Brian Penn I know. 00:01:07.66 Brian Penn one Yeah, it would have been, yeah. And we have got a kind of a Halloween strike horror themed show, haven't we really? Some of the films we're looking at here. 00:01:17.03 Chris Olson Yeah, some on purpose, some by accident. And and yeah, just a ah little bit of and jiggery pokery. Some of the indie filmmakers that submitted, there was one that asked if they could be in this episode because there's um is a very horror based film, but we'll get to that in the indie section. 00:01:32.51 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:01:36.11 Brian Penn that Yeah. 00:01:39.10 Chris Olson um But yeah, no, if this is your first time to UK Film Club, um welcome, as always. And you are with me, ah Chris, and with Brian, ah dedicated film critics of UK Film Review. And in this show, part of the UK Film Review podcast, UK Film Club is where we review all manner of films. So Brian, 00:02:03.70 Chris Olson gets you know gets himself to the cinema and actually sees the movies on the big screen because i have two kids and i'm lazy and i can't be bothered to get out so i don't do that anymore 00:02:09.83 Brian Penn and 00:02:14.79 Brian Penn And you know I will don't you you know I will for all yeah No 00:02:14.82 Chris Olson and yeah Yeah, exactly. This is all part of that new world order that I'm talking about, yeah, i where I get others to do, yeah you're you're basically minions at this stage. um And yeah, so we review cinema films, we're going to review a streaming film, so that's a film available on a platform like Netflix. Then we review a bunch of indie films, these are ones that have been sent to us specifically to review. um and we finish up with our nostalgia pick which is a film that we look back on that we haven't really set the full rules on this but generally it's got to have been out a little while um to to merit but there are you know probably going to be times where we have to 00:02:47.07 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 00:02:51.97 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:02:54.41 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:02:54.70 Chris Olson relax that rule. But but we'll see. um Yeah, so it's I mean, it's actually it's one of those jam packed shows this one because we've got five indie films. 00:03:00.65 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:03:05.06 Chris Olson um So I don't really want to do too much preamble. 00:03:05.24 Brian Penn me 00:03:10.02 Chris Olson um The only quick preamble was going to mention was as it is October when we're recording this, I did watch a spooky film, I just thought I just mentioned it because it wasn't very good, which was Hocus Pocus 2. 00:03:20.85 Chris Olson I'm not sure if you've imbibed on such a movie, Brian. 00:03:21.30 Brian Penn oh i think a very long slime ago i think i saw the first one yeah yeah 00:03:27.64 Chris Olson Oh yeah yeah, first one, a classic, don't get me wrong, love it. Bette Midler, I'm all for it. But this this sort of sequel that they've brought together, it actually feels like they've brought something dead to life. I was watching it going, what is this? um It was just trash and the it's a shame because it's I think, i you know when you're watching a film and you're like, I get the spirit, I understand why you're doing this and on paper, this looks fun. 00:03:53.55 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:03:56.52 Chris Olson But what when you're watching it, it's like, no, no, this isn't fun. 00:03:56.56 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:03:59.66 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:04:00.13 Chris Olson This is really cringy. And yeah, it was a shame because I i do have a lot of time for the original. 00:04:02.82 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Well, the curse of the sequel strikes again, doesn't it? 00:04:07.64 Chris Olson Oh, yeah, big time. 00:04:07.68 Brian Penn And again, then again, usually. And what seems like a good idea, the theory is fine. But you put it into practice. It just doesn't work, does it? 00:04:17.73 Brian Penn And but you just hope and pray that something happens to it that's positive, but By the sound of it, I don't think that's going to happen. 00:04:26.07 Chris Olson No, and I think where we get in these sequels coming long time after, you know, when the actors are, unless there is this sort of reason for it. 00:04:26.36 Brian Penn You never know. 00:04:31.55 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:04:36.28 Chris Olson ah like We reviewed them Beverly Hills Cop, right recently, we did that, and they did the actual F1. 00:04:39.13 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. 00:04:42.00 Chris Olson I thought that was actually pretty good. 00:04:42.43 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:04:43.48 Chris Olson I enjoyed that. 00:04:43.68 Brian Penn I enjoyed it. I thought it was good. 00:04:44.78 Chris Olson And I think The reason why it worked was because they really embraced the idea that he was now older, he has a daughter, and that was a different dynamic. It wasn't going, oh, let's do it again. 00:04:55.70 Brian Penn Yeah, well, yeah, it'd grown up though, hadn't he? 00:04:56.02 Chris Olson Exactly the same. Yeah. 00:04:58.94 Brian Penn Axl, it'd grown up. And that's, that's good when you can see characters maturing and growing up and you trace them through the sequel and whatever comes after that, if there is anything, that's different. But when you just rehash the same idea, then that's where it falls, falls out of bed. 00:05:11.31 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:05:14.10 Brian Penn Isn't it really? 00:05:15.05 Chris Olson Yeah, and Hocus Pocus definitely fell out of bed. 00:05:18.56 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:05:18.64 Chris Olson if that's ah Is that a phrase? that Are we we running with that now? 00:05:20.43 Brian Penn ah Well, when should we make that a phrase? You know, I've been playing with it. 00:05:22.35 Chris Olson Mm hmm. Fell out of bed. Love it. 00:05:24.84 Brian Penn was was that a bit? Yeah. 00:05:26.47 Chris Olson um Well, this next film, the well, the first one of the cinema releases we're going to review is almost well, for a lot of people has fallen out of bed because I was talking to Jack Salvadore on an earlier episode yeah we do every so often I catch up with Jack on the podcast and he tells me all the films you've seen at 00:05:31.33 Brian Penn yeah 00:05:48.09 Brian Penn yeah 00:05:48.60 Chris Olson festival. So he went to Venice, he'd been to Cannes, and he watched Joker, Foley Adair, which we're going to review. 00:05:54.11 Brian Penn and 00:05:56.15 Chris Olson ah Well, you're going to review very kindly soon, but he absolutely loathed it. 00:05:56.28 Brian Penn Yeah. Mm hmm. 00:05:59.58 Chris Olson But what about you, bro? 00:06:01.07 Brian Penn What about me? 00:06:02.23 Chris Olson yeah 00:06:02.25 Brian Penn Okay, let let's just run through the basics then, directed by ah Todd Phillips starring Yakin Phoenix, Lady Gaga and Brandon Gleason. So this picks up where the previous film left off Arthur Fleck is held at Arkham State Hospital awaiting trial. 00:06:18.61 Brian Penn ah He'd been charged with murder, but his lawyer will argue that Fleck suffers with a personality disorder. that caused the Joker to commit these crimes. During a therapy session, Arthur meets Harleen Quinzel, and they become smitten with each other. She becomes his muse at as as the trial slowly unfolds. This film is a bit like Marmite. You'll either love love it or you'll hate it. I'm in the latter camp. It's an absolute mess. It goes all over the place. but but They take a great DC character like the Joker. 00:06:52.77 Brian Penn place him in a musical that's also a courtroom drama and a love story. It just doesn't work. It tries too hard to be too many things. And also, Joachim Phoenix can't sing. I mean, whoever told him he could sing, or whoever told him that he should sing. He's flat, then he's sharp. I mean, it's quite an achievement, really, to be flat and sharp. he um One of the songs that he sings, and I use the words sing in parentheses, 00:07:21.97 Brian Penn bewitched, bothered and bewildered, which is an old show tune from My Pal Joey. It absolutely murders the song, absolutely bushes it. You know, when you go to a musical, right, and you see ah an actor cast in a particular role, they don't have great voices, but they carry the tune, you know, they get by, they they do all right with it. 00:07:42.16 Brian Penn But you know, if ever a phrase can't carry a tune in a bucket was made for anyone, it's whacking Phoenix. Dreadful. Lady Gaga sounds great, right? 00:07:50.61 Chris Olson Oh yeah, she would, right. 00:07:52.07 Brian Penn But you wouldn't expect her to, that's the point. But I think the film lets her down. you know 00:07:58.37 Chris Olson Well, because I'm spit-balling here, because I'm not seeing it. And is there an element that is meant to be bad? Like, is it to showcase him as being kind of unstable? 00:08:05.57 Brian Penn well 00:08:07.27 Chris Olson Or is it just, yeah, it's just kind of difficult to listen to? 00:08:07.47 Brian Penn Now, I just there's a hint of self-indulgence about it for me. There's no need to turn it into a musical. You might say that's bold, you know to so try what they feel is something different. 00:08:21.80 Brian Penn but You know, i you know i'm not ah I'm not a huge fan of DC and Marvel films per se. I love that the books, I love the stories, I love the comics. But but to me, they're ruin they're ruining their own characters here. you know it's They're sending it out to such an extent now it becomes vaguely ridiculous. And the comics are so much better than the films. They're works of art. You use your imagination. But these films just feel like they belong to a PlayStation module. 00:08:52.04 Brian Penn It's very, very disappointing. But as I say, there is a Marmite like quality about it, but I don't buy I don't buy the idea that it that it's kind of like a self paradigm. I think it just it just completely backfires on them. 00:09:08.11 Chris Olson Well, that's, yeah, that's what I think is interesting because obviously, you know, it's great seeing filmmakers take and like crazy ideas. 00:09:08.81 Brian Penn okay 00:09:16.65 Chris Olson But the the fact that this film seems to be alienating everyone, I've not seen really a strong camp of go, oh, okay, yeah, those people love this film, that it's like, even people that I know that are 00:09:25.91 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:29.12 Chris Olson apologists for DC completely through and through. 00:09:30.00 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:09:32.14 Chris Olson they They just love everything they do. they Even they were like, do you know what, this one's not for me. 00:09:34.69 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:09:36.34 Chris Olson And I thought, well, you know oh, God, like that's the most damning criticism I could have heard. 00:09:36.54 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. I know. I know. It's right. when When you, when even the fans are kind of switching off and saying, no, this is not good. On Rotten Sommatos, I think it got 32% or something. 00:09:49.91 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:09:50.20 Brian Penn You know, so I'm not the um and certainly not the only one who thinks that way. And it's, In all the years we've been doing Film Club now, we've been doing it for what, a couple of years now, haven't we I think? 00:09:58.90 Chris Olson A couple of years Wow, I mean, i I was intrigued to hear your your version, um and because I tell you, somebody did like it, it was Madwolf, they reviewed it on the website. 00:09:59.97 Brian Penn Yeah. I've never reviewed a theatrical release that I can, that there's nothing I can say anything positive about, but this to me completely misses the mark. You know, for all its high production values, for the huge budget it's got and the flash premiers and what have you, you know, and I don't think it's doing great, great business at the box office. 00:10:20.02 Brian Penn I don't think it's making huge songs. um and I think it's a mess for me. An absolute mess. Yeah. 00:10:37.77 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:10:38.32 Chris Olson ah so who's oh and it was They actually sort of liked it, um but it was Jack's review that came first, and he reviewed it, I think it was... 00:10:38.71 Brian Penn Yeah. I saw that. Yeah. 00:10:43.23 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:10:48.52 Chris Olson can i think and um yeah he he gave it one star and i was like oh my goodness i mean don't get me wrong jack maybe ah get out out of the bed wrong way or whatever but it's um but no he when i spoke to him he really still hated it you know months and months after he was still just didn't like it and yeah i don't 00:10:54.81 Brian Penn well yeah yeah yeah ah yeah i have to agree here yeah really enjoyed the first one yeah yeah 00:11:09.10 Chris Olson I don't see why this film was made as well because the first one was a very strong film. yeah It's a really enjoyable kind of taxi driver-esque type sort of film. 00:11:21.39 Chris Olson And it I think it was a great idea to go, do you know what? Actually, let's just take a different look at a baddie. 00:11:26.74 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:11:26.81 Chris Olson um And because of, you know, we know all these characters through and through. There's been so many films about Batman and Joker and all that stuff. 00:11:31.38 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:11:33.98 Chris Olson that it was, okay, one is enough. like We don't need really to keep doing this, right? 00:11:38.37 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:11:40.20 Chris Olson So it's it's strange that they decided to go in such a vast, almost, yeah it feels like they went in such a crazy direction almost to try and knock it on the head because I think maybe it was so successful. 00:11:42.84 Brian Penn i 00:11:51.86 Chris Olson I know there was a thing about the filmmakers being asked and asked and asked, oh, will you make another? Will you make another? Maybe they just kind of like, all right, fine, we'll do it. And then yeah this will get us out of it. 00:12:01.05 Brian Penn Yeah, well, yeah. Also, if they're chucking a big budget at you as well, no you're getting the spondulics. You think, oh, why not? What the hell? But i I honestly think they have a responsibility with the subject matter, with the characters, with the stories. They do have a responsibility to guard that legacy because it is a legacy. You know, I don't think that they're paying it proper respect by doing what they've done with this particular film. You know, I just think it's unnecessary and you you laugh in the wrong places for all the wrong reasons. And it would have been much better without the songs, without the songs. It was just a distraction. As I say, Whacking Phoenix is a fine actor, but he can't sing. And I think people that can't sing shouldn't, if you see what I'm getting at. 00:12:49.85 Chris Olson Well, also, yeah it's unforgivable in this day and age where they have so many tools at their disposal to make people sound good. 00:12:54.84 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 00:12:55.29 Chris Olson right yeah they could They could fix that by the sounds of it. 00:12:57.44 Brian Penn Yeah. But yeah, but maybe it was unfixable. but again, it just makes no sense to me. And the brand is so strong as well, that you wouldn't think that they'd take these sort of chances with it. 00:13:10.03 Brian Penn And as I say, box office coverage so far, I don't think it's brilliant. one um Yeah. 00:13:14.72 Chris Olson No, I've heard similar and yeah, like you said, the aggregate sites are giving it very middling, if not poor ah scores. 00:13:20.58 Brian Penn Yeah. right Yeah, not good. 00:13:22.17 Chris Olson So there you go. It fell out of bed and we are done with the Joker part two. 00:13:26.09 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:29.13 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:13:29.96 Chris Olson I don't think they'll make another one. And it yeah, if if they do, I'll still send b Brian to see it. 00:13:31.89 Brian Penn I hope not. Well, I hope not. Not like that anyway. 00:13:36.67 Brian Penn Oh yeah, of course. Yeah, I'll still go and see it, of course. I've got them for punishment. 00:13:40.33 Chris Olson ah Yeah, absolutely. um Moving on to another cinematic release. um I'm not home to this one, so I'm intrigued to hear about the substance, Brian. 00:13:51.40 Brian Penn Oh, right. Okay, The Substance. Written and directed by Coralee Fargates. Starring Demi Moore, Dennis Quaid and Margaret Kweli. yeah this This is quite a long and involved synopsis. 00:14:04.94 Brian Penn So I'll try and be as concise as I can, but it takes some explaining, so bear with me. 00:14:09.93 Chris Olson Strapping. 00:14:11.01 Brian Penn All right. um So Lizzie Sparkle has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, although recently has carved out a career on TV as a Keep Fit guru. However, scheming producer Harvey Pfizer with a younger model in mind. 00:14:23.99 Brian Penn A crestfall on Lizzie is later involved in a car crash. She's taken to a hospital where a nurse slips her a note. describing a mysterious potion called Substance. It promises users a better version of themselves. She receives a kit full of syringes and takes the plunge. The chemicals do their job and another version of Lizzie emerges, young and beautiful with a great figure. All the things that Lizzie used to be, all the things that she wants to be again. Her alter ego is called Sue and consequently replaces Lizzie as host of her other TV show. 00:15:00.74 Brian Penn However, the substance only allows Sue to function on alternate weeks whilst their other self regenerates. Sue and Lizzie begins to fight with each other with disastrous results. 00:15:13.88 Brian Penn This is a quality horror film. 00:15:16.09 Chris Olson Ooh, good. 00:15:17.02 Brian Penn This is really the real quality. um It will become a go-to for fans of the genre, I'm sure that. ah Special effects are stunning. The sound effects are stomach churning. 00:15:28.19 Brian Penn I've never heard sound effects like this. I mean, if you say at the cinema, the sound effects are almost overpowering really, they're really, you know, they they really do their job. Let's put it that way. um Some things in the film are reminiscent of David Cronenberg. um But of course, I'll leave that to to listeners and viewers to so what decide whether whether it is really that close to Cronenberg, what Cronenberg does. um Only downside for this film 00:15:59.26 Brian Penn The last 20 minutes are totally absurd, and not necessary. There's a natural point at which all films should end. Some might say that's the best bit, but you know when you're watching a film, right? 00:16:11.92 Brian Penn And in your own mind, you become the director, you become the editor, and you think, right, I think the film should end now. Have you ever noticed that? But it carries on, and it goes on for another half an hour or something, and this is what happens with this film. 00:16:20.55 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:16:25.45 Brian Penn And whilst it's not a hugely long film, it's two hours 21, you take off the opening and closing titles, it's probably about two hours 10. So it's not a long film, but it adds nothing to the story. But there will be a point, as I say, maybe 20, 25 minutes from the end, we think, right, this is the finale. This is the climax. This is where you've got to end it. Right? But they don't. And it goes on. But it gives you an extra helping of blood, guts and gore. It's an 18. 00:16:59.46 Brian Penn Interestingly, the trailers don't show you much of the explicit stuff. Well, maybe maybe they want it to be a nice surprise when you go. But it's certainly six order boxes for the horror genre. It's an impressive piece of work. But an extra 20 minutes, not necessarily they didn't need it, but the story had finished and it carried on, in my opinion, and it it sort of shine off what is a very, very good film. 00:17:27.19 Chris Olson Yeah, I think that is interesting, because like you say, sometimes it's like, I don't know, films have a good quality, youre you're happy to kind of stay along with it. 00:17:33.90 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:17:34.01 Chris Olson But you you question, why is that gone there? Or why is it? 00:17:37.54 Brian Penn Yeah, I know. 00:17:38.20 Chris Olson yeah I've had that before. Because also, I suppose sometimes as well, it's the impact they want on the viewer, like how do they want the viewer to leave the story. 00:17:40.22 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:17:45.87 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:17:46.09 Chris Olson and But yeah, obviously without seeing it, I can't fully say on this one. But it does sound very intriguing, though. 00:17:50.24 Brian Penn yeah it It is and it's, um it's an intricate storyline as well. And it's quite challenging in some ways. I mean, I have to be very mindful of how I i kind of I don't want to give too much of the story away. 00:18:05.32 Brian Penn I mean, the um the overview that I normally give of a film, it's enough to let you know what it's about, but not give away anything else. But so I want to hook people in and say, right, this is major curious enough to go and see it or stream it or whatever, you know, and that's, that's what I try to stick to. 00:18:24.40 Brian Penn But there's, there's kind of a lot more to it than that. And it's this idea of duality and of an alter ego, a doppelganger, 00:18:27.21 Chris Olson Mm. 00:18:33.79 Brian Penn Um, it's an interesting concept and this is what they delve into. Uh, and that's kind of, that's jockeying for prominence with the visuals. So unlike a lot of horror movies, the story is quite strong and Demi Moore is excellent in the role. She, she has a lot of fun with it. You know, you can tell she's enjoying it. the It's, you know, she's, she's having a ball with it. I like, I like to see actors enjoying a role and it's very different from what you'd expect from Demi Moore as well. 00:19:03.81 Brian Penn It's not normally the c type of film you would you would see from her. So that's kind of, it new I feel it's new territory for her. 00:19:13.05 Chris Olson Well, I mean, you've sold me. 00:19:15.71 Brian Penn Good, nice to hear it. 00:19:17.09 Chris Olson Let me have a look. so I think we had a reviewer um send in something for this. 00:19:21.49 Brian Penn All right. 00:19:21.71 Chris Olson um The substance, yeah. It's interesting, you like you say, something like and Demi Moore obviously deciding to so take a film like this on. 00:19:31.03 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:19:31.20 Chris Olson I think that can often work because it does feel like the sort of film where it's playing against well first off you're going into horror then you are gonna need to have a sort of almost shock value and i think like you say the the trailer not giving lots of way having demi more in the role it having a kind of all right it's called the substance there's not really enough there you know if it's called like evil twin tries to kill me sort of thing then that gives you a bit more of an idea um that you might well i can imagine a lot of people going into this being very surprised yeah you know you're like oh god sort of thing 00:19:44.61 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:19:47.55 Brian Penn um 00:19:52.47 Brian Penn No. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Exactly. yeah Yeah. Yeah. I think so. I think so. I mean, what you see in the trailers gives you enough. You know, it's a chiller. You know, it's a thriller that You know, it goes along those sort of lines, but, but it will also surprise people as well when they see it, you know, because, because it's, you know, you look at the roles that Demi Moore plays usually, um, they're much more kind of wholesome role, shall we say, you know, that this is a bit more kind of sinister, frightening, you know, uh, and I like it. 00:20:16.27 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:20:37.21 Brian Penn It's good. You know, as I say, as I've often said, I'm not a huge fan of horror. But um um if it's out there and and it's mainstream, i I'll go and watch it and very enjoyable. 00:20:50.03 Chris Olson Well, we had a couple of listener reviews of this. um One from Max Martin, who gives it four stars. um So, yeah, also a fan, much like yourself. And yeah, he says, the substance is perhaps the most audacious and provocative film of the year. 00:21:06.98 Chris Olson although it starts out as a drama with a woman's slow descent out of the celebrity scene, quickly becomes a spine-chilling horror that leaves you grabbing your seat not out of fear but out of sheer disgust. 00:21:18.01 Chris Olson ah ah Max also picks up about the sound design being brilliantly horrific. 00:21:18.54 Brian Penn Yeah, it's it's very good. 00:21:22.60 Chris Olson um The eating of prawns has never looked or sounded more gruesome. 00:21:25.68 Brian Penn Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh god, yeah. yeah Forgot about that. 00:21:28.88 Chris Olson ah So thanks Max for that. 00:21:31.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:31.15 Chris Olson Max, that was a great review. There's a lot more to his review. i that's just read about Another ah critic send in a review, Jaden Abbott, also gives it four stars. 00:21:33.43 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:41.21 Chris Olson ah There is nothing more marketable than the shame we've been taught to feel regarding our bodies. So it's interesting picking up the themes of the film, you know, talking about, you know, there's no sort of the lines and things like that. 00:21:48.23 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:51.78 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:51.96 Chris Olson It's a so movie thoroughly swaddled in the vestments and tropes of 90s and modern day advertising. 00:21:56.25 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:21:59.59 Chris Olson Fage re-weaponized the implements of marketing to develop an argument about misogyny, society and self-loathing. So I think that's another thing which stood out because I think the film had on its like title and things was like a can 00:22:09.46 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:22:13.65 Chris Olson and logo and obviously I think it's it's won awards and things like that. 00:22:17.65 Brian Penn yeah 00:22:18.24 Chris Olson So it almost feels like a bit more of an, I mean, so I'm being very rude here, but an intelligent horror film, if you know what I mean. It's kind of a bit more cerebral sort of thing. 00:22:25.53 Brian Penn Yeah, no, I think that's fair. I think that's very common. Yeah. 00:22:29.28 Chris Olson um But I mean, I must say, I am peaked. 00:22:30.28 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:22:33.16 Chris Olson I'm very peaked to go and see that. 00:22:34.17 Brian Penn I know. 00:22:34.88 Chris Olson That sounds great. 00:22:35.58 Brian Penn yeah It's very good. and Of course, the the added dimension is the kind of the, the treatment of women in the media, traditionally, the, the way yeah the way it used to be, or the way it tends to still be is that, you know, women's careers cut short when they get to reach a certain age. 00:22:52.08 Brian Penn Thankfully, that's not so much the case now, but it It's still an issue, isn't it? In the industry, in film, TV, it's still there. So it's dealing with that side of it as well. um And then it's quite plays a very, a very good slimy TV producer, I must say. He does very well. So highly recommended, but you need a strong stomach because they the effects, the the visuals and the sound effects are thoroughly realistic. Really are, you know, the sound of ah of a syringe being plunged into someone. i 00:23:24.00 Brian Penn Yeah, you know, it's good. They, they, they really get the job done. 00:23:28.90 Chris Olson you go. Let us know anyone else that watches the substance. 00:23:32.74 Brian Penn Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So director by James Watkins, starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNary, Ashling, Franciosi, Alex West Loeffler and Daniel Hough. I've named all six actors there because 00:23:33.50 Chris Olson Another cinematic release, um Speak No Evil. It's a James McAvoy film, right? 00:23:54.05 Brian Penn I think they they are all equally stars, but the real standout here is James McAvoy. Let's just run through the yeah the plot very briefly. the So the Dortons, Louise and Ben, are on a holiday with their daughter, Agnes. They make friends with another couple, Paddy and Kiara. They have a son, Ants, who is unable to speak. Paddy and Kiara later invite the Dortons to spend the weekend at their country home. They have reservations, but they decide it will do them good. 00:24:24.25 Brian Penn However, they soon discover a darker side to the couple and unlock some gruesome secrets. This is top notch filmmaking. James McAvoy is brilliant in the role Paddy. He switches persona so quickly. One minute is friendly and outgoing. The next sinister and threatening. It's a remarkable performance. Great supporting cast to big shout out to Dan Hough, who plays on in technically a very difficult role to master because there is no dialogue for him. 00:24:53.89 Brian Penn And in many respects, his character is key to the story. Sadly, this film got relatively little attentional release. um It would never get the publicity generated by the Joker, for example. 00:25:06.44 Brian Penn But this is a damn good film. And it's a bit of a sleeper, but easily the film of the month for me. 00:25:13.35 Chris Olson Oh! 00:25:14.11 Brian Penn Easily the film of the month. Genuinely very gripping. um It's a film that that really puts you in that couple shoots, you know, the Dalton's who've gone to visit this couple, Padilla and Kiara and you think, oh, you really root for them. You sort of kind of science yourself. Get out, get out there now. Don't do this. Don't do that. Um, so it kind of puts you in the time of the place. You feel like you're in the room with them. You feel like you're in the car with them. And it's a damn good film. It's a very, very good film. And it's got, it's probably gonna be 00:25:52.40 Brian Penn coming off the big screen very shortly. It's still running. At the time of us recording this podcast, it's still on. Go and see it at some if you can, because it is an excellent piece of filmmaking. 00:26:04.50 Chris Olson Wow. I mean, it's got all the credentials that I need, but you just saying it's filmed with a month, even having just said the substance was so good. I'm like, oh, wow, this must be amazing. 00:26:14.22 Brian Penn you Exactly. Well, yeah, but see to me, to me, you may see both films and think differently, but um Speak No Evil just kind of shades the substance. It's just ah a little bit stronger, a little bit more relatable. The substance is a fantasy really, isn't it? You know, the the the storyline of the substance is just pure imagination, isn't it? But the um Speak No Evil feels real. It feels like it could happen to someone. You know, what 00:26:50.82 Brian Penn what the the Dalton's go through in Speak No Evil could happen to people. But the substance is about suspending your disbelief. And if I had the choice between the two, do I want something that's a bit more realistic, a bit more relatable and a bit more believable? I'd take that film over the ah the more fantastic storyline. Even though ah the substance is is very good, I'd say Speak No Evil is just a little bit little bit better. Because for one thing, 00:27:20.93 Brian Penn I don't think it has the gloss purely because it doesn't need it. 00:27:26.67 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:27:27.26 Brian Penn It's more of a kind of a raw basic story and that I can get into a lot more easily. But, you know, that's my take on it. But, you know, you could let me know what you think and listeners can let us know what they think. 00:27:39.98 Chris Olson Yeah, don't have... 00:27:40.35 Brian Penn ah garness so 00:27:41.69 Chris Olson Yeah, I haven't got any reviews as far as I'm aware um of that. But yeah, if you've seen Speak No Evil, do send it in. In which case, by the way, you can speak evil if you want to. 00:27:53.09 Chris Olson That's OK. 00:27:53.37 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 00:27:53.73 Chris Olson If you want to speak evil about the film, that's fine. 00:27:56.86 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:27:56.99 Chris Olson we not We're not going to stop you. 00:27:57.44 Brian Penn Oh, that's yeah. It's a clever playing word style. I hadn't thought of that. 00:28:01.10 Chris Olson I've been sat on that for a few minutes here. 00:28:01.75 Brian Penn I wish I'd thought of that. Nevermind. Yeah, but a good film though. 00:28:06.16 Chris Olson Oh, good. 00:28:06.77 Brian Penn Great film. Really enjoyed it. 00:28:09.49 Chris Olson Well, that's your cinema releases for this episode. We're going on now to our streaming pick. This is a film which I have also seen because I can be bothered to turn on Netflix. 00:28:17.99 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:28:20.98 Chris Olson um And yeah, this was an interesting one. um Yeah, called Trouble, and originally called Stroul. 00:28:27.87 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:28:29.89 Chris Olson And ah Swedish film was it? 00:28:32.67 Brian Penn Swedish. Yeah. Yeah. 00:28:33.50 Chris Olson Swedish film. Sorry, it's a while back I saw this. And I have to recall what I actually said about it. 00:28:35.87 Brian Penn Yeah. I mean, it needs to actually to be fair. 00:28:39.68 Chris Olson But yeah, um directed by John Holmberg. And yeah, it's kind of this sort of comedy crime thriller movie with action thrown in. 00:28:50.57 Chris Olson And yeah, all it it's a very enjoyable romp. We get this character who essentially gets in prison for something he didn't do um and whilst he's there he then gets kind of wrapped up in a plot to escape ah the prison which he kind of needs to do in order to then clear his name and and and become free because he's um obviously not meant to be there but he's also trying to make up to his daughter who is now seeing him as a criminal. 00:29:02.01 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:29:24.03 Chris Olson It's got so much going on in the film. I felt it was a very kind of, and well a bit of a rough ride, um but I did enjoy it. 00:29:35.42 Brian Penn yeah 00:29:35.52 Chris Olson What did you what did you think of Trouble, Ryan? 00:29:36.30 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, I am really liked it now. Look, I mean, the greatest of respect to Sweden, I never realized Sweden had a filmmaking industry that they do make film. 00:29:45.99 Chris Olson How dare you? 00:29:48.11 Brian Penn Honestly, I do apologize in advance. I never realized, but um I found it a very pleasant surprise. You know, Swedish dubbed into English and it works really well. 00:30:00.14 Brian Penn um I mean, some reviews I've read have been a bit snippy about this film, but I think that's on Julie Harsh. um I think it's really good fun. It's a bit on the daft side. ah The plot has one or two holes, shall we say. um But it's great fun. And in places, it's very funny. Now, what I think is interesting about the ah kind of the comedic elements in this film, whether it's the ah the kind of the slapstick or the verbals, is that the dubbing doesn't affect the comic timing or the characters. 00:30:30.05 Brian Penn it still works really well. I really like the um the girl who's the the ah police constable, the junior police officer. I thought she was really funny in it. They came across really well. 00:30:41.17 Brian Penn ah like I like this thing where they're carrying the plasma screen around with them as well. 00:30:44.72 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:30:45.22 Brian Penn Because they can't transfer the CC, CV footage onto a memory stick. I think that's really good. um But um you know, I like these so elements of good cop, bad cop as well. 00:30:56.10 Brian Penn um I think it was really good fun. Really good fun. 00:30:58.78 Chris Olson Yeah, it's funny because I watched the I didn't watch the dubbed I watched the with the subtitles. So I watched it. 00:31:04.88 Brian Penn Ah, that's interesting, right? 00:31:05.52 Chris Olson Yes. And because I find um with dubbed it does often impact but it sounds like maybe it didn't for you. 00:31:12.98 Brian Penn Not for me, no, no. 00:31:13.00 Chris Olson And the the comedy really hits, I think because your you you're reading the lines as they're about to be spoken and you're sort of going, oh, this is gonna be funny, this is gonna be funny. 00:31:22.05 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:31:24.66 Chris Olson And I was laughing quite a lot. And I think the film had a lot of, I've used the word sort of spunky because it was, it had this sort of edge to it. 00:31:26.95 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:31:33.49 Chris Olson Like for example, there's a bit early on in the film where the hives are playing, so it was sort of rock song and it's really, really good. 00:31:38.80 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:31:40.22 Chris Olson um And then later on, they've got like hooked on a feeling which kind of, 00:31:40.36 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:31:43.40 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:31:44.06 Chris Olson was reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy, like the tone of like that, because you've got this sort of ah almost murder going on in the background and he's there trying to fix the TV with his headphones on. 00:31:44.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:31:52.25 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:31:55.48 Chris Olson And I think it was very much a film of that contrast where you've got a really sort of dark story, but like you say, it's a little bit daft on the other side. 00:31:56.06 Brian Penn yeah 00:31:59.91 Brian Penn yeah 00:32:02.51 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:32:04.25 Chris Olson And I can imagine it not being everyone's cup of tea but I do think there is also something in there for everyone like if you'd like a crime plot it's there if you'd like you know kind of silly antics that's also there crazy characters you know strange things that happen action set pieces there's loads there to enjoy and it's also it's one of those movies that it it didn't drag at all it flew by to be honest absolutely flew by 00:32:08.00 Brian Penn No. 00:32:10.91 Brian Penn no 00:32:21.93 Brian Penn you 00:32:30.67 Brian Penn No, no, you know, I didn't even stop it. I mean, when it's on stream, I mean, I don't know what you do or what listeners do, but I mean, I will often stick it on pause while I do something else, while I make a cup of tea or go into another part of the house. 00:32:44.27 Brian Penn But I didn't do that with this film. I sat down and watched it all the way through. And that, that to me, is a great compliment. Bearing in mind how easily we can access films now, that we don't go to this slimmer that often, do we, generally? 00:32:56.34 Brian Penn When I say we, I mean we, we the public, we the, you know, the minions, yeah, the minions, yeah. 00:32:59.88 Chris Olson The minions, yeah. 00:33:03.29 Brian Penn So, but, and the fact that I was prepared to sit there at home and watch it all the way through without any kind of breaks, shows that that it it holds your attention. And that's what a film should do. That's what the characters should do. And I think it was hugely likable. And as I say, I never realized there was a subtitle version, because I just saw the dub version. But that still works all right, though. It still works. Because I think usually, if you've got the choice between the two, you should probably pick the subtitle version normally. 00:33:35.67 Brian Penn I think you you kind of get slightly more from it, but this works. All right. It's really good fun. 00:33:40.81 Chris Olson and 00:33:40.84 Brian Penn Really enjoyed it. 00:33:42.36 Chris Olson Well, there you go. I mean, streaming picks can be very hit and miss, and I'm glad this one was a bit of a hit. 00:33:48.57 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:33:49.61 Chris Olson I did enjoy it. um It is a bit throwaway. I think you will come away from it kind and go, oh yeah, I'm done with that. like It's not something that's going to stay with you for that long, but enjoyable romp, I think. 00:33:55.42 Brian Penn Yeah. No. Yeah. Yeah. It's good for ice. You know, it's, Some films are like that, though, some films are naturally sort of more disposable, but they do their job. 00:34:08.16 Brian Penn They're not meant to be any more than that. It's meant, you know, again, come back to what Spielberg said about a popcorn movie, you know, it's their friends, the same as for you, and it does it does its job. That's the important thing, you know, and yeah, and, you know, all very well executed as well by the cast, director, writers, they get it right, they get it right. 00:34:20.16 Chris Olson does its job. 00:34:31.12 Chris Olson There you go. Well, let us know if you see trouble um sending your reviews. Moving on now to our indie and short films. um Like I say, we've got a jam-packed show. 00:34:41.92 Chris Olson So we're gonna crack on with these because there's some incredible movies here. 00:34:42.25 Brian Penn Yes. 00:34:46.92 Chris Olson ah The first of which I reviewed on the website, um brilliant short film called Line of Fire, ah written and directed by Weston Porter. 00:34:53.11 Brian Penn Ah, yeah. 00:34:56.60 Chris Olson And the film stars 00:34:56.85 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:34:59.21 Chris Olson Max Mattern and Sidney Flanagan and they play Oliver and Shelley respectively and they live in kind of small town America. It's in the present day as far as we're aware but both of them have quite troubled home lives. um So Oliver has a very sort of overbearing father who's sort of a gun-toting masculine kind of guy, and he berates Oliver, and he's very unkind to him. 00:35:24.44 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:30.10 Chris Olson Shelly, she lives at home with her mother, and which played by Cathy Moriarty, which I was I was so pleased to see her. I thought that was amazing. 00:35:38.40 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:35:38.55 Chris Olson I haven't seen her in a long time. 00:35:38.72 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 00:35:40.95 Chris Olson And yeah, she has not a great relationship with her mother and also her father, it sort of seems to be a bit estranged. She's on the phone to him and it sort of becomes clear that he has another family somewhere else that he's making more time for. 00:35:53.09 Brian Penn yeah 00:35:54.39 Chris Olson So Oliver and Shelley, very upset about their situation in life, not a lot of opportunities and things, decide to 00:35:57.94 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:36:01.76 Chris Olson make their getaway um and they're going to rob the local convenience store before they do just to make sure they've got some cash. um Not going to say anything more because it's only a 20-minute film and I've already given, I would say, 18 minutes of it away. 00:36:12.25 Brian Penn No. Yeah. Yeah. no Yeah. 00:36:15.92 Chris Olson um not that it's like yeah It's not like a twist or anything but people should definitely go and see this film. 00:36:18.44 Brian Penn No. 00:36:21.79 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, it's good. 00:36:21.94 Chris Olson It's brilliant. What do you think of Line of Fire, Brian? 00:36:24.59 Brian Penn Yeah, I really enjoyed it. This is another hit for me. um As you mentioned it in your review, a Bonnie and Clyde type story, isn't it really? Ollie and Shelley, they they've got that kind of vibe going about them, haven't they? 00:36:37.27 Brian Penn You know, they have these domineering parents parents and they're ah strangled by routine and boredom. They want to escape to a better life. And I like the Swiss thing. There is a Swiss really when as because the story itself very quickly on phones, we would do in 20 minutes, but they pack a lot of D selling and the um ah final scenes ah to me are like a sucker punch because you're not expecting expecting it. 00:37:02.23 Chris Olson Yeah, so i I was trying to sort of lay that there wasn't a twist, but now you're saying that there is a twist, Brian. 00:37:04.41 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:37:07.16 Chris Olson I mean, stop it. 00:37:07.45 Brian Penn All right. 00:37:08.46 Chris Olson Everyone's going to know. 00:37:09.79 Brian Penn Okay. Okay, but no. 00:37:10.70 Chris Olson There's not a twist, guys. There's no twist. 00:37:14.23 Brian Penn but Well, ah that doesn't make them any worse. But I don't think really, you know, they're, they're, 00:37:17.32 Chris Olson No, exactly. Now they've got no idea who to believe, have they? 00:37:19.92 Brian Penn Yeah, um but no, it's really, really good film, ah very neat, compact, 00:37:19.92 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:37:27.01 Brian Penn um very impressed with it. And to do what they do in 20 minutes is an achievement for me. um that that's You need to be highly disciplined and a very skilled cross, because I was gonna say craftsman, cross person. 00:37:48.15 Brian Penn um But yeah, very good. I enjoyed it. And a very good review, Chris, by the way, as well. 00:37:53.10 Chris Olson Oh, thank you, Ryan. I mean, it's not why we're here, but it is actually really why we're here. 00:37:54.13 Brian Penn Yeah. and Yeah. 00:37:57.10 Chris Olson So yeah, that's the main thing. 00:37:57.88 Brian Penn Yeah. I mean, that's gotta be said, really. Very impressed. I mean, I mean, you are the editor, after all. I mean, you're, you are going to be good at it, aren't you? 00:38:06.22 Chris Olson Well, yeah, if not, you I would just change what you said. a If you said it's something different, I'll edit it to make it sound like you said that. um Thank you, Brian, it's very kind. um But no, it's, you know, when you're watching, I mean, you know this anyway, but when you watch a film that's really good, you sit in there going, oh, thank God, because the review is going to be so much like easier and more fun. 00:38:26.95 Chris Olson um It's a big kind of misconception about film critics that we love, like, slagging off films, because it's like, 00:38:27.92 Brian Penn Well, 00:38:33.08 Brian Penn no. 00:38:33.32 Chris Olson We really don't. 00:38:33.52 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 00:38:34.44 Chris Olson It's not nice. Well, we UK film review, we don't anyway. 00:38:35.98 Brian Penn but Yeah. 00:38:38.26 Chris Olson And it's actually, we want to celebrate the film. We want to talk about the great movies and great performances. 00:38:44.14 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:38:44.66 Chris Olson And, you know, in this it's it's absolutely chock full of them. 00:38:45.03 Brian Penn um Yeah. Yeah. it's It's a pleasure to review a film like this because you can only say good about it and you could you could wax lyrical about a film you've enjoyed. 00:38:55.85 Brian Penn You could write pages. on films you've enjoyed. But, you know, genuinely, why would we enjoy slagging the film off? I mean, to me, it's it's a waste of energy. Where's the funny in that, really? The real pleasure is seeing a work of art. And it is a work of contemporary art, isn't it? That you have a story, great storytelling, strong characters, good dialogue. And when you see that, you know, it's a pleasure to write about it, and it's a pleasure to talk about it as well. 00:39:27.57 Brian Penn I suppose you could say the same thing about a bad film as well, because you could say just as much about a bad film. But, you know, I didn't like saying what I said about the Joker, but to me it was unavoidable. Because it's just, yeah you have to be honest to about it. 00:39:38.39 Chris Olson Mm. 00:39:41.09 Brian Penn And I honestly couldn't find anything positive to say. And and that's something that shots and surprised me. But no, I never liked that bad things about it. 00:39:49.36 Chris Olson And I think you when a film that you are engaged with, because like you say, yeah, bad films you could write loads about, but good films you could write loads about in it in a sort of really meaty kind of way. 00:39:59.89 Brian Penn and possible 00:40:00.23 Chris Olson With Line of Fire, there was lots of themes as well that was going on, and a lot of that was swirling around. Because sometimes you can just have a good story, like it's fine, like the story's just good, the plot's just good, and and like kind of Trouble, which we just reviewed. 00:40:13.77 Chris Olson story's fine, but I didn't really take much away from it. But with Line of Fire, it's talking about things like ah ah gun ownership, homophobia. 00:40:23.20 Brian Penn Yeah, it's a lot in there. 00:40:23.45 Chris Olson there were some ah There's a lot being being presented with these two characters, which is why in my review, I mentioned this sort of, it is familiar, like the Bonnie and Clyde thing, but it's also not because you've got these two sort of wayward teens living in modern America that are 00:40:24.63 Brian Penn It's hell of a lot in there. Yeah. 00:40:33.39 Brian Penn and 00:40:40.09 Chris Olson also at odds with this older generation and how they look at things and how, you know, also say the the prevalence of masculinity in America guns being because i i I wasn't sure if the film's title was in correlation to the Clint Eastwood film, you know, it's because it's a film called Line of Fire, right? 00:40:52.02 Brian Penn oh 00:40:59.40 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah 00:41:00.38 Chris Olson And if it does feel very masculine, and it's like, oh, but you watch the film and that's not like the message that you come away with, right? 00:41:04.25 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:41:07.77 Chris Olson It is very much actually against that. 00:41:08.02 Brian Penn know 00:41:10.38 Brian Penn Yeah, no yeah, I think it conjures up a certain image in your mind. And, you know, one of the first things you may think about is the Clint Eastwood film, but and it it does. ah You get a mental picture with any film cycle, don't you, I guess, but it's not what you expect, which kind of helps it in a way, because that then it's another surprise, isn't it? 00:41:29.35 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:41:29.80 Brian Penn So that's another good thing about it. But I think it says a lot about what's going on in America today, though, doesn't it? that you know This almost sort of Trumpian approach to life it is ah really where where America's at. It does say a lot. And it becomes a social document, doesn't it, really? 00:41:52.13 Chris Olson Absolutely. um I think for me, I was so pleased to see it. um I felt really honored to see it. It felt like it could have been a bigger film. It did feel like maybe this could have been a feature. 00:42:02.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:42:03.30 Chris Olson We could have easily seen an hour and 20, hour and 30 of this. 00:42:03.53 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:42:05.80 Brian Penn Well, but that's the test though, isn't it? That we always seem to, uh, adopt, you know, would it work on a feature length format? And you would say yes, definitely, because there's mileage in those characters, isn't there? 00:42:17.82 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:42:17.96 Brian Penn You know, they can be fleshed out and you could see it turning into a feature very easily. Yeah. So again, that's another measure of a great, a great short film that you wish was longer. 00:42:31.78 Chris Olson um but yeah um I don't have massive information about the film obviously you can go to the um website you'll be able to read my review, which ah you know according to other people, such as Brian, is amazing. 00:42:47.28 Brian Penn Mm-hmm. 00:42:47.55 Chris Olson It is probably the best review written this year. 00:42:48.12 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, it's good. 00:42:50.13 Chris Olson ah But you can also, there's a link, out you can watch the trailer. 00:42:50.22 Brian Penn Yeah, it's good. 00:42:53.70 Chris Olson ah So Western Port has got the trailer on there. 00:42:54.14 Brian Penn Ah. 00:42:55.89 Chris Olson You can, there's a link to my video review where I pretty much say very much what me and Brian have already been talking about. 00:43:00.78 Brian Penn Mm. 00:43:00.97 Chris Olson But hey, look, why not just immerse yourself in everything that I've ever said? 00:43:05.02 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:43:05.34 Chris Olson You know, why not? um I think you should. 00:43:06.84 Brian Penn and 00:43:08.20 Chris Olson So Line of Fire, short film, absolutely brilliant, really, really good. um Moving on now to a feature film called Nowhere. 00:43:17.87 Brian Penn ah 00:43:18.54 Chris Olson And I may have a clip for this. 00:43:21.21 Brian Penn Oh, you're spoiling us aren't you? 00:43:21.83 Chris Olson that means Well, this is just slightly unprepared because I realized I had the clip, but I hadn't uploaded it. I'm gonna upload it now and we're gonna see what happens. 00:44:28.42 Chris Olson Wow, I'm so glad I found the clip because it does give you a really good sense of the film. 00:44:29.24 Brian Penn and 00:44:32.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:44:32.91 Chris Olson um Yeah, indie feature film, written and directed by Tim Safer. Do you want to take the synopsis on this, Brian? 00:44:38.56 Brian Penn I cool. Yeah, pleasure. um So American teacher Max is coming to terms with a traumatic event in his life. He decides to make a fresh start and follows his girlfriend Emily to England relationship breaks up and Max begins to drift, dabbling in drugs and casual sex. He takes out a living as a supply teacher. 00:44:58.57 Brian Penn a chance meeting with Michelle in a nightclub sparks a chain of events as he takes a job at a high performing school. Now, I really enjoyed this. 00:45:09.21 Chris Olson Yeah, I thought it was great. 00:45:10.09 Brian Penn Very well-paced storytelling doesn't try too hard. You know, it's, it's the kind of fun that's not in your face too much. It has that kind of the real confidence that can tell its own story and draws you in. 00:45:24.18 Brian Penn As you go along, you invest in the characters and feel concerned for their welfare. So you buy into it. There's a lot of heavy issues as well, doesn't it? You know, addiction, grief, loneliness. 00:45:35.78 Brian Penn There's an awful lot going on there, but I loved it. 00:45:35.77 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:45:38.83 Brian Penn I really, really liked it a hell of a lot. 00:45:41.26 Chris Olson I thought it's one of those films that has its own spirit about it. 00:45:41.33 Brian Penn and 00:45:45.77 Chris Olson And this is what we get a lot with indie films in UK Film Review is that it's been untouched really by anyone but the people involved in the film, like making the film, telling the story. 00:45:56.61 Chris Olson And they did it in such a way that felt really authentic. um I know in, I think Patrick Foley reviewed it on the website and he talked about that the film isn't that like he really liked it by the way he also sings its praises do go read his review but one thing that he picked out was the fact that the film isn't that ambitious cinematically like it's quite you know it does other than the Cornish location which is lovely um it is often just like in a school room or in his ah in his flat and I actually was totally on board with that because I felt that 00:46:12.72 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:46:18.06 Brian Penn No. Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. 00:46:31.90 Chris Olson we needed to stay with this character. and We needed to be with him because the whole thing is his whole journey out of this pit that he's found himself in. 00:46:37.79 Brian Penn Hmm. Hmm. 00:46:43.55 Chris Olson And to then throw in anything that would distract us, you know, anything kind of like, oh, here's a big, motorcycle chase or something like that, it would have felt almost disingenuous. 00:46:50.81 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:46:52.66 Chris Olson And yeah, no, but I feel like I've actually picked up and Patrick was, again, like I said, really on board with the film. I think he was just picking up something that viewers may find if they aren't really, really into the story, that there's not actually that other spectacle to keep them going. 00:47:10.07 Brian Penn No, no, I mean, what it feels like to me is a bit like a kind of ah a feature length TV play. 00:47:17.39 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:47:17.52 Brian Penn And I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. You know, but you wouldn't imagine it weren't necessarily working that well on a big screen. But, you know, it doesn't have to be cinematic to be good. You know, you could have a film with cinematic quality in it and it does nothing. 00:47:31.95 Brian Penn Come back to the Joker again. You know, that's cinematic, but the it doesn't work on all kinds of levels. It doesn't work, but this film does. So the fact that it is kind of raw and it's paired back and it's just simple storytelling emphasis on the characters. 00:47:50.32 Brian Penn No worries about about the visuals as such. It's just telling a ah story about real people living real lives. And I love that sort of thing. Love that. 00:48:00.37 Chris Olson It was interesting to have this school set up. It briefly reminded me of School of Rock, you know because there's this bit in school the right way, obviously Dewey gets like brought into the school and he's sort of like a bit a bit wayward. 00:48:08.87 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah. 00:48:12.40 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. that true I straight up thought that. Yeah. 00:48:15.19 Chris Olson but ah There's not many similarities between the two films, but that was one. But the film did have a lot of uh sort of film and no sorry so school and literary sort of detail and that gave it a lot of sort of credence it felt like oh you really are you you really believe that this guy is a substitute teacher you it's not too too much of a stretch and i felt that it 00:48:26.72 Brian Penn Hmm. Yeah. 00:48:40.94 Chris Olson gave that film a really great foundation that we were going into this story. 00:48:43.06 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:48:44.67 Chris Olson I mean, he's also a bit of a fish out of water, right? Because he's an American as we hear in that clip, he's American living in Cornwall, we came here to be with a girl who then went off. 00:48:51.11 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:48:54.64 Chris Olson um And I think that that gave it a very accessible nature. I think people that could be watching this could sort of relate to that, you know, that he's got this humdrum career now having made just one bad relationship, you know, choice. 00:49:09.05 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:49:12.00 Chris Olson And even then it's actually not just to do with that, it's actually to do with his own sort of family baggage that he's got, um keeping him back and keeping him making bad decisions. 00:49:20.95 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:49:22.19 Chris Olson Like he is his own worst enemy throughout a lot of the scenes. 00:49:22.82 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. But, but he is a character that's relatable. He could be somebody you know, he could be a work colleague, a next door neighbor, he could be a cousin, a nephew, a brother, you know, it has that sense of reality about it. 00:49:40.37 Brian Penn Now, you may well say that's not for some, that's not the reason why they watch a film, they want to escape to a different world and a different life. But to me, 00:49:51.66 Brian Penn Films are about truth and about reality um and um making scenarios believable. Right. So whilst it kind of lacks that kind of big, big screen presence, it's just as as effective in its own way, you know, and it's probably more indicative of, um, the type of budget they were working with, but they, they do a hell of a job with it. They really do. 00:50:16.17 Chris Olson And like you were saying about it, touching on lots of these themes, um I think ah the the filmmaker ah Tim Safer had actually got in touch saying about its semi-autobiographical and to do with yeah the idea of grief, and but also masculinity. 00:50:20.02 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:50:29.07 Brian Penn Ah, really? 00:50:34.70 Chris Olson And I think that's a really powerful theme. yeah And we've we've talked about that and in the other short film, that it was um 00:50:37.05 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:50:39.83 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:50:42.28 Chris Olson It's a very powerful film to stick with because he's got this sort of, on the one hand, his behavior is very typical of of a young man who's sort of being reckless and and wayward. 00:50:47.87 Brian Penn Hmm. 00:50:54.23 Chris Olson But then on the other hand, you see him, he's actually quite fragile. And when we when you find out why, it it was very moving. 00:50:57.85 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:51:00.86 Chris Olson I actually found that section of the film particularly hard to watch and just from a personal sense and yet also lifted 00:51:05.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:51:09.54 Chris Olson very much by the music. The music in the film was really well done. There's a scene where there's a band playing where he meets the the girl who actually turns up by the woman who turns out to be also working at the school. 00:51:21.33 Chris Olson um That was really well done. It's really fun, really like lively, but there's some also other great music choices later on. 00:51:24.62 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:51:27.77 Brian Penn Yeah. I would always think a soundtrack is so important for any film. 00:51:29.18 Chris Olson Yeah. 00:51:32.83 Brian Penn Now the songs like they select it can make or break a film literally it can because it helps the narrative doesn't it the narrative can write on on a ah certain songs and they've done it very well here and never forget how important songs are you pick the right song it it helps the film you know it it helps move move it along it keeps the place going the momentum going so yeah that was good as well but it doesn't surprise me that it was semi autobiographical because 00:52:04.41 Brian Penn you know, for any aspiring writer, strike direct, so they will always say, write about something you've experienced, something you've been through yourself, and it becomes more authentic, doesn't it? 00:52:11.97 Chris Olson Mm. 00:52:14.79 Brian Penn You know, or write about something that happens to somebody close to you. You know, there's nothing like writing about you your, your own experiences in life, because then they become more powerful. 00:52:26.29 Brian Penn So that really shows as well. 00:52:28.29 Chris Olson Yeah, I wanted to shout out Derek Nelson who plays Max because it's a difficult character because he's quite at times unlikable, right? 00:52:31.79 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:52:35.23 Chris Olson I think there is an element of like, oh, he's not being a particularly nice boy. 00:52:35.96 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:52:40.91 Chris Olson um But then there are lots of sort of depth to that performance. 00:52:41.03 Brian Penn No. 00:52:45.20 Chris Olson But I also want to shout out Jennifer Martin who plays Michelle because there's a scene 00:52:45.63 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:52:49.32 Chris Olson and I won't spoil it but seen later on in the film where he's she's in his apartment and it is incredible she gives this brilliant ah and performance scene and yeah it's worth watching for those things and I think I love when these things happen because it shows that you know the 00:52:49.52 Brian Penn yeah 00:52:53.78 Brian Penn Hmm. Yeah, that's really good. 00:53:07.26 Chris Olson director knows what he's doing with the material and knows how to elicit that response. He knows how to do sort of ah curate that. And yet the whole film is absolutely littered with these moments of ah brilliant sections. 00:53:19.28 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:53:20.57 Chris Olson But I think it's definitely got that touch of someone that knew what they were doing. 00:53:21.40 Brian Penn yeah 00:53:25.86 Chris Olson Like you say, that you can tell slightly that there's a a person behind this story, a real person. 00:53:25.93 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And as to say, it works all the much better for that doesn't mean to say that characters you invent, I mean, 00:53:38.22 Brian Penn writers and directors will write will just invent a character sir and invent a scenario that means that's not anything to do with them personally, that can still work just as well. 00:53:41.56 Chris Olson Hmm. 00:53:48.27 Brian Penn But I think if you're writing about something firsthand, then and it becomes more special as a result of that. So it is good. It's good. 00:53:58.90 Chris Olson We reviewed the film earlier in the year, um so do feel free to go and read Patrick's review. The film is going to be available to watch soon on Amazon Prime and Apple Plus from November 29th. 00:54:11.56 Brian Penn Oh, all right. 00:54:16.95 Chris Olson Take that with a pinch of salt, because I know sometimes filmmakers suddenly have other things come up, and imagine I don't know, maybe it doesn't happen. 00:54:22.10 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:54:22.49 Chris Olson But hopefully it does happen, and go and find it. and You may struggle sometimes, you if you're looking, especially on Amazon Prime, for a film called Nowhere, because it will show you loads of things you didn't really look for, or it will show you a toaster or something. 00:54:30.88 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. and I 00:54:35.59 Chris Olson um So yeah, it's directed by Tim Safet, S-E y f e r-T. ah And I'm sure if you go and and follow them on your socials, if you're into that sort of thing, um they're called Colonel Fournier films. 00:54:41.91 Brian Penn yeah 00:54:49.26 Brian Penn and 00:54:51.86 Chris Olson and So yeah, do go and and stay up to date with the release of that film and and watch it and send us your review because we'd love to hear what you what you think of it. um Because yeah, it was really, really powerful. 00:55:03.68 Brian Penn definite Definitely a thumbs up. 00:55:05.61 Chris Olson Yeah, next film, powerful, but also one of the craziest films I've watched in a very long time. 00:55:05.72 Brian Penn Double thumbs up. 00:55:12.52 Chris Olson ah Indie film, Watch Them Come Blood and directed by Mike Cuenca and co-written with Joaquin Dominguez. 00:55:13.28 Brian Penn Oh, right. 00:55:20.32 Brian Penn a 00:55:22.76 Chris Olson it is absolutely terrifying um and and shocking. 00:55:25.78 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:55:28.31 Chris Olson It's a horror thriller and I'm saying this by the way as a preview too, I did very much enjoy it. 00:55:28.58 Brian Penn and 00:55:33.47 Chris Olson I just want to say that outright. 00:55:34.58 Brian Penn yeah 00:55:35.03 Chris Olson I thought it was very powerful as a horror film but I'm intrigued to see what Brian thinks because I don't think this is his wheelhouse. 00:55:40.17 Brian Penn yeah 00:55:43.51 Brian Penn ah Well, ah yeah now you you do the synopsis and I'll come in after that. 00:55:43.67 Chris Olson Do you want me to do the synopsis or would you rather take this on? 00:55:48.25 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah 00:55:48.44 Chris Olson I'll take it on. So yeah, this group of friends are getting together for sort of almost one last time. and so It sort of feels like they're on the cusp of adulthood. They've all got things they're going to go off and do. And they all manage to just get this one last evening together and decide to kind of and anything goes. Even the goody two shoes of the group steals a vegan cake um from a nearby shop. They end up in a bar and they witness this guy um self-pleasuring in the bathroom and yes ah rather than you know run in fear which is what I would have done they decide to follow him um even getting a taxi to follow him because he is still self-pleasuring they eventually come to a brothel um and again rather than running a mile they decide to go in and inside the brothel it is all manner of um 00:56:18.53 Brian Penn Very well described that by the way. 00:56:44.82 Chris Olson crazy things going on, but actually it becomes clear. It's a bit of a spoiler, so if you don't hear a spoiler, do skip ahead a few minutes, um that this isn't just a brothel, it's actually a sort of euthanasia clinic almost, where people can end their lives whilst having the fetish of their desires yeah acted out. 00:57:03.92 Chris Olson um Also running sort of tangent to this is a pair of ah criminals, ah the thieves yeah that are planning to rob the place and to come in and take all the money. 00:57:17.41 Chris Olson And they are also terrifyingly violent. um It is, I mean, purely unique. It is so thrilling and gripping. 00:57:28.05 Chris Olson It is quite scary. But Brian, what happened? Are you okay? Do you need to talk to someone? 00:57:32.98 Brian Penn um yeah Yeah, no, no, I'm okay. I'm okay. I've stopped crying myself to sleep now, so I'm okay. Look, I mean, I would never say that a film should should be constructed in in a certain way. There's no right or wrong way to make a film. Depends what it is you're making. And what they've what they've done here is very clever. It's very smart. 00:57:54.92 Brian Penn It's it will be a cult horror movie in years to come. 00:57:58.13 Chris Olson Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:57:59.38 Brian Penn Absolutely without a shut of a doubt. There's so much going on in a plot that's so incan incoherent. I can't follow it properly. It times it feels like a series of unrelated sketches without any really coherent thing. 00:58:15.25 Brian Penn Maybe that's deliberate that you can trace a ah vague seam of what's going on, you know, it's like the these this group of friends ah I've got a one last road trip and they're going to go out with a band kind of thing. um So I see that side of it. Every frame screams anarchy and chaos. You know, it's ah it's ah amazing in that way. And it's relentless. It keeps it going. You know, there's no less up at all. um mainstream it isn't. And it is designed for a specialist audience. So 00:58:48.88 Brian Penn So respect to the filmmakers in that sense is so far that they've made an excellent film that fits its niche. I'm not a fan. It's not my kind of film. 00:58:59.95 Brian Penn But first one to admit that, but it's very effective. 00:59:04.21 Chris Olson Yeah, i I watched this and I was watching it thinking, I'm really into this because I just think, I don't know, I just i was into the chaos of it, but I was watching it also thinking, Brian is not gonna be a fan of this one. 00:59:04.27 Brian Penn But where would Yeah. but 00:59:14.85 Chris Olson um but not But I also knew that you were gonna be in the sense of you knew it wasn't aimed at you and you would obviously respect it from a professional distance. 00:59:21.42 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah, of course. Absolutely. Yeah. 00:59:24.84 Chris Olson um Because i yeah I've read a few other reviews about it and I i sort of read up about the film and I knew a bit going into it, which I think it does help sometimes. 00:59:33.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:59:33.42 Chris Olson um that it is designed to sort of unnerve you it is disjointing it isn't it's not linear they have these chapters but they move back and forward in time and it is sort of yeah it's very hard to sort of fully appreciate what's going on um I just thought that it had a ah rawness to it that was, I haven't seen anything kind of like that in a long time and that that got me that you know in that sort of sense. 00:59:36.88 Brian Penn Yeah. It does that. It does that. Yeah. 00:59:48.59 Brian Penn Yeah. 00:59:53.99 Brian Penn yeah no no yeah oh yeah she would yeah absolutely yeah yeah yeah hmm yeah 01:00:00.09 Chris Olson And we say that you're both me and you are not really massive horror fans. We always say that. i Rachel on the Scream Test, she's yeah she'd love this. um But I was so glad that I got to see it, especially in this month of you it being spooky time. 01:00:16.94 Chris Olson Yeah, no, I thought it was really, really good. um Even down to things like the lighting was really good. like It was like red at the bordello and it was sort of there's this spooky school going on. um ah Yeah, I just found it. 01:00:26.72 Brian Penn yeah 01:00:29.86 Chris Olson It was passionately made and it was not for the faint of heart. Absolutely not. 01:00:33.98 Brian Penn No, not so. 01:00:34.74 Chris Olson Gory bits as adult scenes. 01:00:35.35 Brian Penn No, no. 01:00:36.94 Chris Olson um But that it was this 01:00:37.67 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:00:40.56 Chris Olson recklessness, I guess, of the characters. They were just abandoning their reason and throwing in their lot as, you know, as adolescents do. 01:00:44.62 Brian Penn yeah 01:00:47.78 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:00:47.86 Chris Olson And then they were paying like a crazy price for it. 01:00:50.40 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:00:50.60 Chris Olson um One thing I one i did find with the film is you couldn't really attach to many people. 01:00:51.07 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:00:58.42 Chris Olson um It was like, that girl actually who I mentioned who steals the cake. I think she's really the sort of the only likable character in it. Like most of them are quite ah nasty or or do do bad things. 01:01:07.18 Brian Penn Yeah. I know. 01:01:11.45 Chris Olson um And I think that can often put people off if there's not someone that they can follow and root for, you know? 01:01:14.42 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:01:16.94 Brian Penn Yeah, there's nothing, yeah, there's nothing particularly redeeming about the characters generally, but they're not meant to be. That's not meant to be the case, is it? You know, the, that's the idea of it. 01:01:24.29 Chris Olson Hmm. 01:01:26.44 Brian Penn And usually in films, like you could even root for a bad guy, couldn't you really? Or, or, or someone who's a, a bit of a bit of an nasty piece of work but you still they still strike a chord in you somewhere but this doesn't do that but I think it's still deliberate you know that the characters are drawn in that way that there is nothing vaguely redeeming about them they are doing what they do but I love the wackiness of it I respect the wackiness of it and then the sense of as I say anarchy and chaos there's all sorts going on there but you know within its field within its genre it stands up 01:02:05.59 Chris Olson Absolutely. um Watch them come below. I don't think it's actually been reviewed on the website, um but we've reviewed it here, so you're welcome. um And if you want to find out more, the film is having a premiere in LA. 01:02:19.01 Chris Olson Not a lot of our listeners in LA, I don't believe. If you are, give us a shout out. 01:02:22.50 Brian Penn Yeah, that's not you there, yeah. 01:02:23.08 Chris Olson We'd love to hear from you. Um they're happening uh they're premier the american cinematic cinematic void and if you go to mike coenka so that's m-i-k-e-c-u-e-n-c-a dot net uh and they there's a page on the four slash what time come blood premiere you'll be able to sort of find out more about the film more about the filmmaker um And yeah, if it does sound like the sort of thing that you like, and you given what me and Brian have said about it, I would recommend going and have a look. 01:02:54.99 Brian Penn yeah 01:02:57.55 Chris Olson and There is also an Instagram page, actually, which might be easier to find information. 01:02:58.31 Brian Penn yeah 01:03:01.61 Chris Olson So they are at Watch Them Come Blood, or One Word. Just be careful when you're searching these things, guys, online. um There's some buzzwords there that you may want to make sure that you maybe add add the word, I don't know, Mike Cuenco or something into it. 01:03:09.34 Brian Penn Yeah, that's very true. Yeah. Yeah. 01:03:16.09 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 01:03:17.58 Chris Olson don't want to I think they've done that on purpose to mess this podcast up. 01:03:17.89 Brian Penn That's probably just be on the slave slide. Yeah. Yeah. I know it's, it's, it's mischievous, isn't it? It really is. 01:03:25.50 Chris Olson yeah 01:03:26.24 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:03:26.51 Chris Olson um But no, i like I said, I actually, for all its wackiness and absolute shocking theatrics, I thought it was a really interesting horror film. 01:03:33.79 Brian Penn and Yeah. 01:03:34.39 Chris Olson One of the most interested I've watched this year, actually. 01:03:36.36 Brian Penn it It's very effective. It does its job very well. 01:03:38.84 Chris Olson There we go. 01:03:40.86 Brian Penn Let's put it that one there. 01:03:41.95 Chris Olson Moving on now, this is not the nostalgia pick, but interestingly, we get to hark back to a classic horror film in our October episode because we have a documentary about the exorcist to review. 01:03:54.50 Brian Penn o 01:03:56.58 Chris Olson um Directed by John Larkin, this documentary called Fear and Love, the story of the exorcist 01:04:03.81 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:04:04.38 Chris Olson really gets into the, you know, detail behind the film and some of the things that went on, some of the passionate, you know, situations ah going on regarding the director and everything else. 01:04:06.58 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:04:12.35 Brian Penn yeah 01:04:15.94 Brian Penn I know. Yeah, it does. Yeah. 01:04:20.41 Chris Olson I mean, just I'm going to preface this with all the fact that I'm not someone who's watched the excess. I think I've watched the excess once a long, long time ago. 01:04:28.30 Brian Penn Well, yeah, now this is, well, this is surprising. 01:04:30.42 Chris Olson What about you, Brian? 01:04:33.18 Brian Penn Um, but I only saw the exorcist all the way through and it's in clarity only about a year ago. 01:04:39.13 Chris Olson Oh! 01:04:39.80 Brian Penn It was on BBC two, I think late on a Saturday night and I came in, I thought, Oh, do you know, I've never seen it all the way through and I watched it and it's, it's one hell of a film. 01:04:50.98 Brian Penn It still packs a hell of a punch. You know, it's, but Bear in mind it's 50, what, 51 years old now, 1973 it came out. And whilst I was very, very young, I do remember the film coming out. I remember all the fuss, you know, the Ferrari over it being released um on what it represented and the alarming subject matter that it dealt with. But as is often the case, I think I've mentioned it before when we've been chatting that when something's hyped up too much, it puts me off, it deserves me. 01:05:23.66 Brian Penn And for years, I swerved it, not because I didn't want to watch it, because I thought it's just too, they built it up too much for me. And consequently, I only saw it about a year ago, but it's such a good film. And this documentary, I think is excellent because it's very revealing. It gives you real insight. They actually talked to people that were involved in the projects. It's a shame that they couldn't talk to Linda Blair. She didn't participate, which is a shame. 01:05:53.06 Brian Penn a great performance from her as a 14 year old. And really, it it it gets under the skin of the story, doesn't it? Because you you get some idea of what was inside the mind of William Freakin, the director. 01:06:08.10 Brian Penn And Ellen Bernstein's interview was revealing, like there's a lot I didn't know. I mean, she sustained some quite bad injuries making the film. 01:06:18.92 Chris Olson Well, we have a little clip actually, let's play it. 01:06:19.03 Brian Penn ah was and Oh, I clip. 01:06:21.32 Chris Olson Let's see what you think of this. 01:06:22.31 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:06:59.94 Chris Olson So just to give you a sort of tone of the doc, just in terms of, yeah like they do get some big names from the film, and the original, and yeah some really moving testimony about what happened. 01:07:03.41 Brian Penn and 01:07:09.22 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 01:07:14.16 Chris Olson Like you said, the um physical elements that happened, um and yeah the actions of the director and how he was, 01:07:16.62 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:07:24.88 Chris Olson ah Shall we say an artist? um I think that's a nice way of putting it. 01:07:27.31 Brian Penn Yeah. Well, yeah, that's a nice word, but yeah, I was going to say, yeah. 01:07:28.84 Chris Olson um Yeah. It's because it was, like you say, such a long time ago, the film was made and the practices and the society has come a long way since then. 01:07:34.74 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:39.71 Brian Penn yeah 01:07:41.02 Chris Olson And it's yeah it's always quite disturbing when you hear about some of the methods that they were using. And that was something that definitely stuck with me watching this. 01:07:45.96 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:49.52 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:07:49.94 Chris Olson And yeah I think alludes to the title as well, right? 01:07:50.35 Brian Penn and Yeah. 01:07:53.05 Chris Olson Fear and love, like this idea about the atmosphere that Freakin was creating. 01:07:58.22 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. and and it it it really works though doesn't it i mean even now i mean i always I always wonder to the the yeah how the passage of time affects a film like The Exorcist. Once it attains a significant age and the um special effects, technology and film overtakes the story somewhat and where and where that leaves the original film. you know But it's still powerful, it still works. And what I thought was fascinating was that the you know you get a true measure of the film's greatness but where 01:08:34.55 Brian Penn the last 10 or 15 minutes of the documentary, ah they were talking to the makeup artists and the effects artists that work today in films. And they're still talking about it like it's, you know, a reference point for them. 01:08:48.25 Chris Olson Mm. 01:08:50.85 Brian Penn You know, that's how influential it was and still is that today's technicians still looked back to the Exorcist to say, right, how did they do it then? And that to me is the greatest compliment you could play a film like that. 01:09:04.48 Brian Penn that it it's a supernatural film, it's a chiller, it's horror, you know, it belongs in that genre, but it relies so heavily on effects. But they are still valid, they're still affected, they still work today. And when you hear today's ah technical artists talking about it in those harsh times, you know how what ah what a great film it was. 01:09:27.32 Chris Olson And I think anyone going into watching a documentary like this, as I said, I've only seen the film once and I can't really say that I remembered it that well. I'm not sure what state I was in when I watched it. 01:09:39.80 Chris Olson um We won't go into that. 01:09:40.26 Brian Penn the 01:09:41.59 Chris Olson But the I think this is a documentary for people that will be well versed or at least have you seen the film a number of times and know the sort of general history of it. 01:09:52.97 Chris Olson um I know it is a very revered movie um and I used to be a big fan of the Mark Kermode podcast and things. I know he he always whacks his lyrical about The Exorcist. 01:10:00.68 Brian Penn Right. ah Yeah. Yeah. 01:10:03.70 Chris Olson It's a big big 01:10:03.89 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:04.92 Chris Olson lover of that film. 01:10:05.96 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:05.98 Chris Olson And ah you I think this is a documentary for film lovers. I think it's yeah people that are gonna, either you love this film or you love filmmaking. 01:10:10.82 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:15.14 Chris Olson ah There's ah a really great section where the stuntman is talking about the bit where he goes out the window and down the steps. 01:10:15.21 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:21.57 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 01:10:23.28 Chris Olson And that I was you having, yeah see, I had definitely seen that bit. I was like, this is really powerful, really yeah great to hear from this person. 01:10:31.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:10:32.91 Chris Olson um who who did that and and how they did it. And he kind of just sort of did it, which, you know, when it was, this thing's like, oh yeah, I put put a mattress here and there and I was fine. 01:10:38.85 Brian Penn and 01:10:42.03 Chris Olson I was like, my God, they would never let you do that now. 01:10:43.00 Brian Penn but Yeah, I know. That's right. Yeah, I mean, God god forbid. Yeah, but the um yeah, I love seeing documentaries like this that explain how films were made, what the thinking behind it was, what the logistics were. Actually, what are the brass tacks get down to brass tacks? How did you make that scene? How did you affect that scene? And it it gives lots of technical detail. So for the likes few of you and me would be fascinated by that, about what goes into a film and how it's made. Now that may be what will suit everyone but to me it was one of these all encompassing documentaries that but gives you insight, gives you detail. It's revealing and I never realised that the exit the book The Exorcist was based on facts. There was a ah young boy in but in New York or Brooklyn or somewhere in the late forties who were subjected to a similar exorcism so I never knew that. 01:11:41.56 Chris Olson Yeah Yeah, I mean it's 01:11:41.70 Brian Penn so It tells you things that you wouldn't have known, but you have to be interested in the and the mechanics of filmmaking to really enjoy this this type of documentary, I think. 01:11:54.72 Chris Olson It's a really slick doc and there's lots of bits which I was like, oh, that's what I've done. 01:11:56.51 Brian Penn ah 01:11:59.43 Chris Olson Oh, he's got that clip and you they were using some really great. 01:12:00.74 Brian Penn yeah 01:12:01.85 Chris Olson But when I, the um filmmaker ah John Larkin actually got in touch when when he submitted the film and said it was self-funded for 30K. It's a low budget here for it's such a good, I could have easily seen this on the BBC. 01:12:12.08 Brian Penn Yeah, it is. Yeah. 01:12:15.05 Chris Olson They were watching this guy. 01:12:15.49 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12:15.85 Chris Olson They've got like a documentary about the exorcist. 01:12:16.98 Brian Penn Well, ah yeah, I'm shocked if it was because it looks more expensive than that. 01:12:21.31 Chris Olson Hmm. 01:12:24.64 Brian Penn Much more expensive. You know, you could you could see that on one of the big streaming channels easily, couldn't you all the as you Yeah. 01:12:29.46 Chris Olson Yeah, I mean, it should be. I mean, like, filmmakers love it, right? ah Phil Founds are going to love it. And James Leeroy, who reviewed it on the website, um he's he's a really good critic and he absolutely yeah loved it too. 01:12:35.29 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:12:43.70 Chris Olson um It just shows you it's resonating with people that love films. And if you're in that niche, which a lot of people are, I could easily see this too very, very well. 01:12:53.05 Brian Penn Yeah, no, ah I really, really liked it. Really did. And, you know, when you've got those high production values and they've done it so cheap, that's, it almost seems impossible to be able to pull something like that off, particularly when Well, 01:13:06.42 Chris Olson Well, he also goes on to say he spent five years doing it. So I think maybe the trade-off was that he gave a lot of his time, and but absolutely worth it. 01:13:14.79 Brian Penn Well, yeah, but it's been worth it, I guess, though. I mean, yeah. 01:13:18.25 Chris Olson Such a great doc. 01:13:19.71 Brian Penn But what you often get with a documentary like that, you get a lot of talking heads that weren't directly involved in the in the film they were talking about. You you will get writers and ah celebs and actors, you know, who were just talking about the film. 01:13:28.01 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:13:36.06 Chris Olson Or like, yeah, I like to celebrities that will kind of just go, oh yeah, I've always loved the X's and you're kind of like, yeah, but you weren't there. 01:13:38.19 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, yeah. 01:13:41.69 Chris Olson Like, what are you talking about? 01:13:41.95 Brian Penn You weren't there, yeah. But you see that they talked to the the stars of the film, the that the the sound men, the technicians, the stuntmen. So and they're talking to people that were actually there, they were involved, and it gives it validity. It gives it weight. It gives it gravitas. And that's what I think is great about this. 01:14:03.91 Chris Olson There you go. Fear and love, the story of the exorcist. um Do go to the site and read James's review. um And the film has been released through Film Hub just to get it out there. So not sure if in the UK you can watch that, but do go check it out, see if you can. ah Drop us a line if you if you see it and what you think of it. 01:14:28.21 Chris Olson ah Our last indie film is a short film called Bonding, ah which Jason reviewed on the website, ah written and directed by Luke Rex. 01:14:39.15 Chris Olson And as the name subtly implies, it's a little bit of a James Bond type movie. 01:14:44.91 Brian Penn really and Really? 01:14:45.98 Chris Olson Yeah, just a little bit. 01:14:47.69 Brian Penn Really? Really? 01:14:47.79 Chris Olson um There's a lot of talk about Martinis being shaken, not stirred. um There is a guy in a bar, John, um played by Luke Rex as well, I believe. 01:15:00.12 Chris Olson And he's talking to his partner on the phone and it sort of it seems that he's A little bit distressed, shall we say. um Then a woman turns up at the bar and things get to be a little bit espionagey and a bit, what's the word? 01:15:15.04 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:15:17.91 Chris Olson It's kind of, there's like a frisson in the air. It feels like something's going to erupt and it feels like the tension, yeah. 01:15:20.73 Brian Penn Yeah. Tension. It's tension there, isn't it? 01:15:24.66 Chris Olson It's tension. 01:15:25.27 Brian Penn Yeah. yeah 01:15:26.31 Chris Olson that it feels like yeah he's going to be given a mission ah to do. And yeah this seems to be quite troubling for him. 01:15:34.54 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:15:35.24 Chris Olson um What do you think of bonding, Brian? 01:15:37.71 Brian Penn Yeah, I like this. I mean, look it's pretty obvious where where it's inspiration lies. um you know Flemingson, the name is Flemingson, John Flemingson. Does that work? 01:15:47.79 Brian Penn I think it kind of does, doesn't it? um I liked it. I really liked it. I think it was very slick, very, ah very well, well shot. And it does feel like and it is cinematic and feels well, it feels a bit like a trailer for a big movie. 01:16:05.12 Brian Penn It's me. 01:16:05.20 Chris Olson Yeah, 100%. It felt like a proof of concept, right? 01:16:07.64 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:16:07.63 Chris Olson It was like, okay, yeah, this could be like a spy thriller that you could do. 01:16:10.70 Brian Penn You know, And I liked, I liked the characters. I liked John Flemingson. I liked who's the shaven headed lady. Anastasia Mansfield. That's a blonde girl name, isn't it? 01:16:22.65 Chris Olson That's a name, yeah, that's strong. 01:16:23.54 Brian Penn That's a blonde girl name, obviously. 01:16:24.37 Chris Olson I love it. 01:16:25.84 Brian Penn Um, but yeah, I think it was really nicely done and, um, makes no secret of, of where, where its inspiration comes from, as I just said, but nothing wrong with that. 01:16:37.51 Brian Penn Really enjoyed that. I liked it a lot and ah I'd like to see more. There's another test of a great short film. You want to see more. They've left us wanting more. So that's good. I like that too. 01:16:49.83 Chris Olson Yeah, I would say it doesn't pass the test of it working as a short film, though, in terms of it being ah like on its own. I feel like it needs more. It's it's one of those things, yes, you want more. 01:17:00.28 Chris Olson I absolutely want it more. 01:17:00.79 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:17:01.28 Chris Olson And it felt like ah ah a scene or a trailer for a much bigger film. 01:17:04.10 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:17:05.76 Chris Olson But it has it on its own, I don't think you're going to walk away from that satisfied, you know? 01:17:08.71 Brian Penn No. It's an hors d'oeuvre, isn't it? It's a bit of an hors d'oeuvre. 01:17:12.21 Chris Olson Yeah, unorder, I love it. 01:17:12.87 Brian Penn It's an hors d'oeuvre. I mean, you nailed it when you said that it's proof of concept. It's almost like a demo, isn't it? 01:17:20.47 Chris Olson Yeah. 01:17:21.01 Brian Penn If you were making a record, this is what you come up with kind of thing. It's a demo. And it's it's is's something you might even present to a producer that or a film studio and say, look, what do you think about this? 01:17:33.81 Brian Penn you know and Who knows? Maybe that's what will happen to it. But it it's enough to get to reel you in and make you curious. And that's, that's what it aims to do. So good stuff. 01:17:46.81 Chris Olson Yeah and it's it's got a caliber about it that felt like I was watching someone very far down the line if you know what I mean I felt like oh yeah this this does feel like it's been taken out of a much more so established film um but yeah as far as I'm aware the the film is set for a world premiere 01:18:02.97 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:18:09.43 Chris Olson um although that was a while ago, so maybe it's already come out. Let me see, so there is a trailer. Yeah, if you go to the so our review of it, you'd be able to watch the trailer um from Luke Rex's channel. 01:18:24.79 Chris Olson um And yeah, it's it's got that, I mean, a little bit similar to... 01:18:24.83 Brian Penn yeah 01:18:30.10 Chris Olson trouble, not not in the comedic sense, but just in that sort of slick, fast paced kind of thrillery sort of, you've got a henchman and you've got, you know, intriguing plot going on. 01:18:34.66 Brian Penn yeah 01:18:41.70 Chris Olson I could see this ending up on a platform like Netflix, it feels like that sort of film, you know, you kind of go, oh, look, they've got this yeah bonding film. 01:18:46.20 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:18:50.82 Chris Olson I'm not sure about the play on words if it needed that, because it felt like maybe it would stand up on its own. 01:18:55.22 Brian Penn Yeah, maybe that's it. 01:18:55.35 Chris Olson i But I guess it gives people a good idea. 01:18:58.23 Brian Penn Yeah, maybe that was a bit too obvious, perhaps to call it bonding. um But, you know, um perhaps they didn't need to do that. But it just sets their stall out, doesn't it? 01:19:10.29 Brian Penn They're making no secret where, where it all comes from what it's based on. And that's, that's fair enough. But Yeah, maybe they maybe they could have been a bit less obvious, but you know, there you go. 01:19:21.41 Chris Olson um So yeah, sorry, it's it's been out. of ah They had a festival run in 2023. So the film has kind of um been around. ah So yeah, we might might well be available. do Do seek out, I say, the director's Luke Rex. And yeah, really interesting. So you can follow them on 9livesentertainment. So Instagram, that's 9 underscore lives underscore entertainment. And I'm sure they've got plenty of information there. um And you can stay up to date. 01:19:56.35 Chris Olson So that's the Indian short films done. A great crop. Absolutely. And what a wide ranging amount of films we had there. 01:20:06.60 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:20:06.76 Chris Olson We're moving now. He was already mentioned earlier in the episode. So I'm not sure if eagle-eared listeners would have picked up on the mention of David Cronenberg. 01:20:16.06 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:20:16.60 Chris Olson But our nostalgia pick for this episode is Videodrome. 01:20:19.32 Brian Penn Hmm. 01:20:20.99 Chris Olson And for no other reason, well, two reasons. One, it's a bit of a scary film, but secondly, it's one of those films I haven't seen and I always get told I need to watch. um I've not seen it. 01:20:31.19 Brian Penn oh you not Oh, right. a 01:20:33.77 Chris Olson So I'm taking from your reaction, Brian, that you had seen it before. 01:20:37.10 Brian Penn Yeah, I've only seen it once. Do you you know, again, you've done it to me again, Chris. You've got me into a film that I've never seen before. Bear in mind, this is 1983, which was really the the decade that I started to go go out and see movies seriously. 01:20:51.92 Brian Penn It would have been the 80s. That's when I became a grown up, physically became a grown up. 01:20:55.93 Chris Olson Hehe. 01:20:57.48 Brian Penn um That's when I started watching films, and I never never saw it when it came out, which I find surprising, but there you go. So, yeah, so it's directed by David Cronenberg, as we just mentioned, ah starring James Woods and Debbie Harry. I love James Woods. I love Debbie Harry, but as a singer, not necessarily as an actor, but anyway, anyway, very briefly, then the synopsis, ah Max Ren is a programmer at, say, Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment, it's probably fair to say, but he becomes intrigued by the mysterious Nicky Brand and begins to look for the producers of a dangerous broadcast channel called Video Drone. 01:21:29.82 Chris Olson Yep. 01:21:39.58 Brian Penn Now this deals with some very dark themes, typical David Cronin though, self harm, suggestion of snuff movies as well. ah It's all highly effective. As I said, I've never seen it before, but I found myself comparing it to Cronenberg's other films, and I think about Crash and Dead Zone, it doesn't really come close to to those films. But one of his earlier efforts, but still, you know, a spine singlet still gets you on the edge of your seat. um ah It's a very kind of raw look at filmmaking. yeah There's no gloss there. There's no shine to it. It's 01:22:24.91 Brian Penn It's kind of like the underbelly, isn't it? It's the it's the underworld. you know It's a twilight world that we but most people keep away from. And ah there are some really, really sort of startling scenes, particularly with Debbie Harry. And although, as I said, I don't think she's a brilliant dancer, but she looks great on screen. You can't take ah your eyes off her. And James Woods is a great character as well. 01:22:52.39 Brian Penn and The fact that I mentioned David Cronenberg when I was talking about the substance film, there are similarities. There may be listeners who can check both films out and let us know if they see any similarity there. But the techniques that Cronenberg used in that film were, I would suggest, also being used in the substance. um But you know bearing in mind, those two films are four years apart. But you know as a film, it's very good. 01:23:23.93 Brian Penn It's very alarming. It's, it's not a comfortable watch. But it's a film that you have to get your eyes are glued to the film. You can't take your eyes off it. But it's not I would say not one of his best. It's good, but it's not one of his best. 01:23:39.12 Chris Olson Yeah, it's interesting, filmmaker, because um we reviewed The Fly a few, well, quite a few episodes back, which i I had seen before, and I i enjoyed rewatching that. 01:23:44.25 Brian Penn Yeah, we did. Yeah. 01:23:50.20 Chris Olson ah With Videodrome, I was impressed. yeah I do love watching these 80s sci-fi films where they've gone full on with the body horror and that stuff still stands out really well, I think. 01:23:57.92 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:24:01.00 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:24:03.88 Chris Olson like It's often the special effects that let a film down, but the body stuff, the physical stuff, the practical stuff is still really good. 01:24:07.67 Brian Penn Yeah. Yeah. 01:24:11.26 Chris Olson James Woods, great performance, um but I couldn't help but comparing it with The Fly. like I was watching it kind of going, do you know what? I'd rather be watching The Fly. i'd rather I think I'd rather be watching 01:24:21.28 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:24:22.41 Chris Olson ah yeah know yeah our legendary Jeff Goldblum ah go through that. 01:24:25.47 Brian Penn yeah 01:24:26.32 Chris Olson But I was intrigued enough by the story. I liked the film touching on these themes you about our yeah absorption into media and into things like that. 01:24:36.59 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:24:36.69 Chris Olson It still has relevance now, you know the way we are all with our phones and things now. um I think the the The plot got slightly muddled for me. It started to sort of, ah because he gets kind of semi-wrapped into it and things get a little bit wayward, it didn't quite make all that much sense to me and and not in a good way. 01:24:55.14 Chris Olson I was kind of like getting a little bit lost at times. 01:24:55.25 Brian Penn ay Yeah, ah it's not. It's not the most coherent storyline. 01:25:00.64 Chris Olson m 01:25:01.00 Brian Penn I think to be fair, but it but Yeah. 01:25:01.95 Chris Olson um the the score dates it quite a bit um but yeah I don't think it's his best no not by any means but I felt like it was like one of those films now where I can kind of go yeah I've seen that like that's that's filled a hole in my cinematic ah knowledge 01:25:10.52 Brian Penn No, no. 01:25:17.60 Brian Penn yeah Yeah, a gap in your knowledge has been filled down. Yeah, and that's true enough. But yeah, look it's it works. I mean, there is a certain quality, you know, great directors have a have a ah mark of quality about them. And Cronenberg always does that. You will and you see it there. But as I say, not to be absolutely firm, not one of his best, but you know, 01:25:38.61 Brian Penn riveting stuff, it keeps it keeps you on your toes. It's that kind of film. 01:25:44.91 Chris Olson Well, it was available on now TV. I think it still is depending on when you're listening to this. um So if you've got the now movies or Sky Cinema or whatever it is, i'm it's available on there. 01:25:56.35 Chris Olson And I think if you are a Cronenberg fan, then you have to watch it. Like you just need to yeah fill in that ah bit of his ah back catalogue. 01:26:01.16 Brian Penn Oh, yeah. 01:26:05.25 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:26:05.45 Chris Olson But I think for fans of horror films, for fans of that sort of stuff. Like there's other films in his list that I would go to first, um not to mention other films just generally that I would go see. 01:26:17.83 Chris Olson um I mean, I should probably rewatch The Exorcist having watched that very good documentary. I still feel like I should probably watch that. 01:26:23.68 Brian Penn Yeah, should give you a slice for it really, in a way. 01:26:26.75 Chris Olson you know i mean we've got halloween coming up maybe i'll just uh close curtains and stick that on um or i just watch hocus pocus 2 again and ruin my whole evening do you see how i brought it full circle there i just thought do you know what let first film last film we're talking about hocus pocus 2 01:26:26.88 Brian Penn and Yeah. 01:26:30.27 Brian Penn Yeah, that'll do the job. Yeah. 01:26:37.20 Brian Penn i Yeah, yeah. Masochist. 01:26:46.58 Brian Penn Yes. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Good stuff. 01:26:50.35 Chris Olson oh But yeah, thank you. If you've listened all the way to the end of this podcast, we do appreciate you. ah Thank you to all the filmmakers who sent us their movies. They were terrific. Really enjoyed all of those. 01:27:00.58 Brian Penn Yeah. 01:27:01.72 Chris Olson um We have already got a bumper selection for next month. So we may be doing an extra episode. 01:27:05.31 Brian Penn oh Wow. 01:27:06.79 Chris Olson I'm going to talk to my minion shortly and see what his availability is. 01:27:09.44 Brian Penn Okay. Yeah. 01:27:11.45 Chris Olson But yeah, that is all for this episode. And yeah, thank you again to Brian for everything you do. Go to the cinema and yeah watching Joker. 01:27:17.62 Brian Penn sure 01:27:20.54 Chris Olson ah 01:27:20.91 Brian Penn Yeah, yeah, I hope you're grateful. 01:27:22.07 Chris Olson which which you loved. um But yeah, um thank you for listening. Follow us on all our socials if you can. If you can't, don't worry, it's not a big thing. um And we'll see you again next time. 01:27:26.79 Brian Penn Bye for now. Previous Next

The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs film review by UK film critic Cat McAlpine. Starring Navjot Randhawa, Ranjit Khajuria directed by Pushpendra Singh. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Cat McAlpine | Posted on: Mar 20, 2022 Directed by: Pushpendra Singh Written by: Pushpendra Singh Starring: Navjot Randhawa, Ranjit Khajuria “Beauty is a curse when you’re born into a poor family,” muses Laila’s new husband. This is her curse. Laila (a fantastic Navjot Randhawa) is beautiful and poor, and there’s nothing she can do about either ailment. When Tanvir sets eyes on Laila and decides to marry her, all he has to do to win her hand is complete a feat of strength and gain her brother’s approval. Laila has no say in the matter, and soon she is migrating to a new county. In the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Laila is targeted by the men of local law enforcement for her beauty and minority status. Writer/Director Pushpendra Singh paints his fable beautifully, with long atmospheric shots in moody forests. Paired with a gorgeous score The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs is a cinematic triumph in style. As Laila goes out into the world to fight her own battles against the men that dog every step, the traditional songs of her culture, the bleating of goats, and even sometimes the thunderous silence of the forest all become a haunting soundtrack to her own introspection. Singh doesn’t shy away from dissonance though. One of the chief conflicts of his tale is that “Times have changed.” The Bakarwal herders can no longer freely migrate without proper paperwork, and they are constantly under the eye of government officials. We watch Laila herd her flock along a paved road with cars in the distance. Rich campfire scenes are brightly punctuated with flashlights. Contemplative moments are underscored with quiet radio broadcasts that remind you this is a land of tension and conflict. Laila’s true trial doesn’t begin until she catches the eyes of local officer Mustaq (Shahnawaz Bhat, effortlessly charming and suspicious). The power struggle between the tribe and the local police becomes hyperfocused on who will possess Laila. Local officers ceaselessly pursue her, even though she is already married, a testament to how little the Bakarwal are respected or given autonomy. Singh empowers Laila with her repeated manipulations of the men in her life, desperately trying to show them her boundaries and needs. But the story begins to lose steam as Laila’s circumstances fail to improve. Finally, she asks herself “Perhaps it is my skin that is the problem” while admiring a shed snakeskin. It is the circumstances she was born into that she cannot escape. She is a woman, she is poor, she is a minority. What was a story of a fiery woman in difficult circumstances becomes an exhausted lament. And while women’s stories don’t need to be fierce or triumphant to hold value, The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs disappoints some with its meandering end and lack of resolution. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Cat McAlpine Digital / DVD Release, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

All About Evil film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Dekker, Cassandra Peterson directed by Joshua Grannell. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS All About Evil Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Jun 8, 2022 Directed by: Joshua Grannell Written by: Joshua Grannell Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Dekker, Cassandra Peterson Creepy twins! Librarians! Drag queens! These are a few of my favorite things… The long-lost 2010 cult-film-in-the-making All About Evil brings all this and more to its Shudder debut this week. What’s it about? The business of show! Natasha Lyonne is Deborah Tennis, anxious librarian. Deb inherits her dad’s beloved single-screen San Francisco theater and vows to keep it afloat, no matter how. Her plan of action: make grisly, hyper-realistic horror shorts with literary puns for titles. You’d be surprised how well it works. Writer/director Joshua Grannell (aka Peaches Christ, who co-stars) surrounds Lyonne with some underground heavy-hitters including Mink Stole and Cassandra Peterson. Between that and the Herschel Gordon Lewis love, All About Evil is a mash note to camp. Performances and writing fall right in line. It’s community theater bad, but in the best way. Lyonne is in her element, hamming her arc from mousy literary type to vampy directress with Gloria Swanson skill. She’s even more fun when she’s directing her fine crew (Jack Donner, Noah Segan, and Nikita and Jade Ramsey). The underlying story that we need to stop assuming every troubled, white high school boy is a danger to society has not aged well. But Grannell also hits on timeless lessons about cell phone use during a movie (never OK!) and Elvira’s hotness (eternal!). All About Evil offers clever midnight-movie fun from start to finish. The filmmaker is clearly a devotee of cult and kitsch, a love that brightens every frame of the film. Plus, the film memorabilia! Come for the movie posters, stay for more movie posters, enjoy some madcap campy mayhem in between. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Digital / DVD Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

The Promised End film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring JP Meldrum, Matthew Finn, Maxwell Patterson directed by John Ledingham, JP Meldrum. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Promised End Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Apr 26, 2026 Directed by: John Ledingham, JP Meldrum Written by: John Ledingham, JP Meldrum Starring: JP Meldrum, Matthew Finn, Maxwell Patterson A feature-length music documentary written and directed by John Ledingham and JP Meldrum and starring Meldrum, Matthew Finn and Maxwell Patterson. Shot on iPhone, this film follows Meldrum as he prepares for an experimental live music performance with drummer Patterson, while working as a radio DJ. His gig will be a rock opera version of William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear , where he will be performing as the vocalist. Separated into chapters, the documentary observes him doing his work at the radio station, doing a rehearsal with a couple of guys and performing at the show. While he is at the station, he plays a variety of amusing songs and this is probably one of the highlights of this film. What does not go well for this film? Well, let's look at the scenes at the station first. For a long period of time, Meldrum is seen working as a DJ, speaking in the microphone, playing songs and interacting with the computer. Learning what the work of a radio DJ involves has its appeal, however spending so much time on this turns into a dull viewing. Then there is the performance at a community centre, where Meldrum sings while Patterson drums. This event is shown from start to finish and unless one is interested in this kind of music, they are unlikely to enjoy it, especially for more than half-an-hour. Although some might not enjoy the gig, one must acknowledge and commend the energetic performances of Meldrum and Patterson as they carry out the lengthy event. Regarding themes, this documentary provides a perspective on life as a radio DJ and working in the music industry. Additionally, it is also about having ambitions and pursuing a goal. This is a feature with many long sequences filmed with the camera being motionless. A guy works as a DJ, prepares for a gig and does it. Not a large variety of things take place and this does not support the duration of one hour and forty five minutes, especially if one has no significant interest in what happens inside a radio station or during a live music performance. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Indie Feature Film, Documentary < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Death Drop Gorgeous film review by UK film critic Rachel Willis. Starring Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe directed by Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe, Brandon Perras. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Death Drop Gorgeous Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Rachel Willis | Posted on: Sep 8, 2021 Directed by: Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe, Brandon Perras Written by: Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe, Brandon Perras Starring: Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe Don’t let the low-budget look of Death Drop Gorgeous deter you from watching this film because if you do, you’ll miss out on a hilarious, campy slasher film. Recently dumped, Dwayne (Wayne Gonsalves) has returned to Providence and begged back his old job as a bartender at The Aut Haus. Rooming with best friend, Brian (Christopher Dalpe), Dwayne comes back to work just as a serial killer begins hunting the queens and patrons of The Aut Haus. Using the dating app, Poundr, the killer lures his victims to their doom. Populated by drag queens and serious shade, this movie sends up some of the best of 80’s camp horror. Writers, directors and stars Dalpe, Michael J. Ahern and Brandon Perras manage a lot with a low budget. By doing double and triple duty with their cast and crew, they mine every bit of talent they can from what they have available. That’s not to say the film doesn’t have its distractions. The camerawork and lighting are occasionally poor. However, there are also times when it perfectly sets the tone. Some of the actors, most of whom have no previous acting experience, are better than others. Michael McAdam is perfectly cast as gloriously named Gloria Hole, a queen who no longer commands the respect she used to. McAdam plays perfectly against younger, hotter queen Janet Fitness (Matthew Pidge). Their nasty back and forth offers some of the film’s stand-out moments. A few scenes toward the beginning of the film are a bit longer than necessary. But the pace picks up in the second act as more and more people are dispatched in gruesome ways. You’ll probably never look at a meat grinder the same again. Social commentary is delivered via catty banter and barroom brawls. The culture surrounding Dwayne and Brian is quick to deride certain qualities. One man goes so far as to say Brian is “too fem” and that he doesn’t date “blacks” in reference to Dwayne. Gloria Hole is shamed simply for aging. This is deeper content than one might expect from a campy slasher flick, but it works. The writers and the actors camp it up for all its worth, and it makes Death Drop Gorgeous a cut above many films benefiting from a bigger budget. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Rachel Willis LGBTQ+, Digital / DVD Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Final Gasp film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Catarina Carvalho directed by David E. Teixeira. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Final Gasp Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Aug 15, 2023 Directed by: David E. Teixeira Written by: David E. Teixeira Starring: Catarina Carvalho Sinister things are happening to a woman who is by herself in her apartment. Lindsay (Carvalho), a young woman, is alone inside her apartment, playing the piano. Suddenly, she begins to hear sounds of knocking that do not appear to have a source. She snoops around and eventually, she discovers a pink box that was left outside her front door. She brings it indoors and finds out that it is not addressed to anyone and it contains a sinister-looking white mask and a black cloak and from then on, things go from bad to worse. Filmed in Lisbon, Portugal, this spooky short horror film does a great job when it comes to building suspense and sending chills down the spine. The whole narrative takes place inside the apartment and initially, it relies on mysterious noises in order to indicate that something is up, such as knocking here and there, whistling and the ringing of a doorbell, apparently by no one. The atmosphere becomes much more serious following the arrival of the mysterious box, with darkness taking over, the sound of someone breathing heavily and more. Lindsay is the only character in the film, and that creates a feeling of isolation, which works well here, because it gives the impression that she is somehow trapped in the apartment, unable to escape the evil that is approaching. She spends a great deal of time investigating, trying to figure out where the noises are coming from and what is going on with the box and Carvalho's performance effectively captures her fear and agony. There are creative lighting techniques and the sound effects are quite effective in creating feelings of dread, especially during the scenes with darkness. Things get a bit surreal during a montage sequence that involves the heroine, wine and a facial mask and the upside-down angle technique is applied a couple of times, although it is unclear what effect it is supposed to have. Teixeira and Carvalho also worked on the music and the result is a frightening atmosphere. This award-winning horror film has a screenplay that leaves it to anyone's guess whether Lindsay is dealing with supernatural forces or whether someone is playing tricks on her. Overall, this is a creepy story that will most likely chill the viewer to the marrow. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

A Beautiful Day film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Jennifer Drummond, Dhanya Lott, Nancy Gair directed by Ryan Nunes. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS A Beautiful Day Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Nov 11, 2024 Directed by: Ryan Nunes Written by: Ryan Nunes Starring: Jennifer Drummond, Dhanya Lott, Nancy Gair A short drama written and directed by Ryan Nunes and starring Jennifer Drummond, Dhanya Lott and Nancy Gair. A young woman (Lott) is at a park, sitting on a bench by herself. She is soon joined by another woman (Drummond) who sits next to her. The clothing gives the impression that the story takes place in a time long ago, maybe the fifties. Following some brief small talk, the two of them end up having a meaningful conversation about the hardships and beauties of life. The dramatic and well-structured screenplay adds a great deal of quality to this eight-minute-long film that contains valuable lessons about life and explores the characters well. What begins as a chance encounter between two strangers turns into a strong rapport with the two of them sharing regrets and loses that they have experienced. Although the topics that they discuss are primarily negative and involve losing loved ones, it is by sharing them with each other and expressing their emotions that they build a rapport. The moving atmosphere is supported by the melancholic but beautiful piano melody that plays throughout the film and the plot twist is quite emotional. The convincing costumes, makeup and hair are the work of Claudia Marie Negalha, who deserves commendations for the contribution. Is there anything that could had been done differently and added further value to this project? This short was made in a way that effectively explores the chosen themes and manages to be a story about sad times but also joyful ones. Taking this under consideration, it would be safe to assume that the film hold up well as it is. Basically, this is a story about two women bonding with each other and they have similarities due to their experiences and they have differences because of their personalities. Lott's character seems to be a vulnerable woman who is struggling with loss and having to deal with her mother who has a condition that is affecting her memory. Drummond's character appears to have more self-esteem and knows how to handle her issues and she shows her values by comforting her new friend. Both Lott and Drummond deliver strong performances, making their characters believable and creating good chemistry between them. Loss is an evident theme that is explored here, along with regrets and conditions that are related to memory loss, such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia. From a more positive perspective, the film points out the significance of support and that memories will be with a person forever and therefore that way they will never lose the ones they love even after they are gone. This short could be described as a period drama about an emotional meeting. It is a deeply moving story that deals with some of life's harsher realities and also suggests that maintaining happy memories can help a person be strong and come to terms with tragedies. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Abruptio film review by UK film critic Daniel Baldwin. Starring James Marsters, Sid Haig, Robert Englund, Christopher McDonald directed by Evan Marlow. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Abruptio Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Daniel Baldwin | Posted on: Oct 25, 2023 Directed by: Evan Marlow Written by: Evan Marlow Starring: James Marsters, Sid Haig, Robert Englund, Christopher McDonald Genre-bending mysteries were big in the ‘80s and high concept thrillers were all the rage in the ‘90s. Attempting to combine both is a bit of a tall order, but it’s one that writer/director Evan Marlowe aims for with Abruptio . What we have here is an increasingly tense and weird tale of a mild-mannered sad sack named Les (James Marsters – more on that in a moment) who finds himself at the center of an increasingly weird and violent conspiracy. Forces beyond his comprehension are compelling him to commit heinous acts at the drop of a hat. If he refuses, he dies. But will he be able to live with himself if he continues to accept these diabolical missions? You’d think that would be enough of a tightrope act for Marlowe to walk, but you’d be wrong. Not satisfied with crafting just any mere genre-melting pot thriller, Marlowe decided he should also do the entire thing with puppets and other handcrafted effects. The potential failure rate for such an additional complication is high, but Abruptio nonetheless manages to pull it off. Because of this, every last bit of tension, violence, and weirdness gains an extra layer of uncanniness, absurdity, and existential dread. Quite a few of our puppet leads are voiced by familiar genre performers. There’s the aforementioned James Marsters, who voices a troubled middle aged lead who 30 years ago could have easily been played in the flesh by J.T. Walsh. We also get the late Sid Haig as a sketchy stand-up comedian, the great Robert Englund as a haunted neat freak, and Christopher McDonald as a gruff intimidating police chief. All of this is an added bonus atop a film that bears multiple influences from genre filmmaking luminaries like David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, Don Coscarelli, David Lynch, and Joel Schumacher. An experimental, genre-bending, high concept thriller performed entirely with advanced puppetry should be a recipe for disaster. In the hands of Evan Marlowe, his crew, and his voicecast, it sings. Abruptio should not work, but it very much does. The world has been gifted a wild little midnight movie here that isn’t for everyone, but the people who it is for are going to love every last bit of it. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Daniel Baldwin Indie Feature Film, Film Festival < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Below A Dark Wood film review by UK film critic Joe Beck. Starring Jesse Massaro, Jackie McMahon, Lucy McMahon directed by Bill Slovick. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Below A Dark Wood Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Joe Beck | Posted on: Aug 2, 2022 Directed by: Bill Slovick Written by: Bill Slovick Starring: Jesse Massaro, Jackie McMahon, Lucy McMahon When will movie characters learn that you should never, ever, under no circumstances, go and stay in an isolated cabin in the woods. Quite frankly, they only have themselves to blame when some form of zombies/ghosts/monsters/demons/serial killers/insert other terrifying creature of evil turns up and ruins their time - I mean, they’re practically asking for it! Still, in ‘Below A Dark Wood’, a man (Jesse Massaro), who clearly hasn’t seen many films, does just that and settles down for a nice quiet time in the wood with his dog (Lucy McMahon). As expected, the man is haunted - though not by evil. No, this man is haunted by his past, something to do with a woman (Jackie McMahon), who is seen only in a photograph. 

That doesn’t lessen the tension, in fact, it only amplifies it. The serene sound of nature coupled with the monotonous sounds of everyday chores and activities. It’s bizarrely unsettling, and puts you on edge so that when no real shock comes, you feel slightly let down and disappointed. The ending, to an otherwise impressively tense piece, feels artsy for the sake of being artsy, and lacks any real punch. 
This is for two reasons, the first being the aforementioned boiling pit of tension ultimately just ebbing away into an anti-climactic finale. The second problem arises due to the overall vagueness of the film, which, whilst it suits the tension-building side, fails to add any character to the man, and leaves us with more questions than answers come the end of the film. For instance, we don’t know the man’s relation to this woman - presumably his mother or partner - and we are unclear of his motivations in his final act towards the end of the film. Nevertheless, this is a film which superbly builds tension, all without saying a word. The performance of Jesse Massaro is frightening - his eyes piercing into the mirror as though possessed by a spirit, and gazing down the camera sent shivers down my spine. Behind the camera, Bill Slovick does an admirable job, and frames the picture well - with some gorgeous shots of the haunting wilderness. It’s a film which feels as though it’s trying to say something, but the words just don’t come out - and not just because no words are spoken. The imagery of the man putting on a dress and some lipstick could be some veiled pointed message, however, we’re not given enough to truly follow what that message might be - in short, it’s too vague. There’s a lot going for ‘Below A Dark Wood’, but it ultimately comes to nothing, leaving you with a sour taste in the mouth. It has all the elements of a good story - it just doesn't stick the landing, which then causes everything which came before to crumble as well. If you want a lesson on how to build tension in a short film without saying a word - then look no further - however, for an exercise in a fully-formed story you will have to look elsewhere. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Joe Beck Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Rotten Society film review by UK film critic Holly Baker. Starring Unknown directed by SS Jishnu Dev. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Rotten Society Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Holly Baker | Posted on: Dec 15, 2025 Directed by: SS Jishnu Dev Written by: Unknown Starring: Unknown Rotten Society is an experimental Indian film which acts as a commentary upon society, religion, and ethics. As well as this, the film acts as a psychological study of its protagonist. The story follows a seemingly schizophrenic old man who has become the owner of a journalist’s camera and takes it around with him. Throughout his day, he documents each location he visits and expresses his thoughts upon every one. The film starts as a found footage film, presenting the idea that the journalists have put together footage from a missing journalist's camera to create a narrative. However, as the film progresses, the purpose of the supposed found footage film loses shape, and the ‘crazy’ man’s commentary takes over the themes of the film. The film effectively uses ultra-long takes to create realism. The ‘crazy’ man props the stolen camera up and speaks to it whilst carrying out his daily activities. For instance, near the beginning, he puts the camera in a tree before bathing in a river. However, in his attempt to bathe, he decided not, deducting that the water would give him a fever, commenting on the fact that the river was dirty, and, like him, was once clean. Throughout this monologue, similar to many of his during the film, the viewer gains insight into both the man’s social state as well as the state of society. Whilst the man is clearly insane, as his words and constant manic laughter reveal, through the film’s wide, realistic shots, the viewer can see that the society around him is in peril. The film uses landscapes such as bin dumps and funeral scenes to encapsulate a feeling of dismay. There is a magic to Rotten Society’s madness. There is never any clear logic to where the film is leading, however, the viewer is fully encapsulated in every feeling of disillusionment the film projects. The location settings, such as the bin dumbs, as well as the town streets, and their naturalistic soundscape, create the effect of stark realism. Viewers see the action through voyeuristic shots of the actions such as through a gate. This adds to the sense of intrusion of something real, and the perception of something meaningful, especially as many of the film’s moments are permeated by a character with a compromised mental state. This main character has an incredible performance, disconcerting viewers from scene to scene. After acquiring the camera, the man frequently refers to the camera as Jesus, casting a very clear picture of how he views the camera as some kind of judgment. The viewer themselves therefore bears that burden and must think for themselves as they view the events of the film. Overall, Rotten Society is an interesting film with a lot to say about the state of society, and the way that the outcasts are viewed. The film must be watched delicately and with an open mind. Many of the takes are multiple minutes long and contain non-conventional dialogue. As well as this, there is no clear narrative or direction to the film. As you watch, you must just accept what you see, and where apt, judge. Allow the feeling of dismay and injustice to take over as you sympathise with the protagonist and let that sit with you, perhaps even after watching. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Holly Baker Indie Feature Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >