Silence film review by UK film critic Holly Baker. Starring Hryhoriy Naumov, Iolanta Bohdiun directed by Pavlo Shpegun. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Silence Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Holly Baker | Posted on: Sep 21, 2026 Directed by: Pavlo Shpegun Written by: Pavlo Shpegun Starring: Hryhoriy Naumov, Iolanta Bohdiun SILENCE is a Ukrainian short film written and directed by Pavlo Shpegun. The film stars young, fresh-faced actors, with Hryhoriy Naumov as Luka and Iolanta Bohdiun as ‘Mia’. Set in the war-torn country of Ukraine, SILENCE poses intriguing questions about identity and time, using almost exclusively indoor, intimate shooting styles to create a dreamlike array of sequences with surreal characters. The film incorporates political dark humour and relies on the impeccable chemistry between Naumov and Bohdiun to carry most of the narrative. It all begins when Luka’s stand-up comedy act has a very disappointing reception, enjoyed only, and wholeheartedly, by a mysterious nameless woman, who requests to stay over at his place. Shpegun’s short had a tremendous run at the 83rd International Venice Film Festival, receiving the newly established prize of the Airone della Laguna- International Collateral Award. One of its many achievements is in the film’s ingenious title; a play on words, as the writers parallel the significance of silence in a comedian’s terms- a marker of their death- to the indefinite silence of the tragic lives lost to the conflict in Ukraine. Whilst bringing avid awareness to the monstrosities occurring in the current political world, SILENCE is mostly a lighthearted film, and fits, though atypically, within the romance genre. Luka and Mia’s first interactions do not present an immediate spark the way viewers may expect within a meet-cute. Their conversations are slightly awkward and Luka even seems uncomfortable with the forwardness of Mia’s intrusion. However, as the film goes on, the two characters are brought together by an emotional connection, more specifically a shared understanding of the devastating world they are living in. This acknowledgement seems to bring them both some comfort, as they both recognise that their hopelessness brings them a sense of freedom. Mia is characterised very similarly to Kate Winslet’s Clementine Kruczynski as seen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, fitting into the manic pixie dream girl trope with her mysterious and unpredictable personality. Similarly to Charlie Kaufman’s 2004 sci-fi romance, there is intrigue in the clear temporality of Luka and Mia's relationship, and in the way the characters seem not to fully understand one another, or the world around them, but still have a distinct and unique connection which audiences feel transfixed by. Along with its surreal feel and alluring characters, SILENCE contains important commentary about modern relationships, particularly in concordance with the patriarchy and the way that women are taken advantage of. Some nuances of this are seen in the subtle shot choices during Luka and Mia’s sexual exchange, as there is no attention drawn to intimacy or pleasure; it is a purely loveless act, posing the way that sex is seen as an expectation in dating nowadays, rather than an act of passionate connection. With many strong ideas about the political state of the world, touching characters, and incredibly artful uses of lighting and handheld camera work, SILENCE is an excellent example of genre-blending filmmaking, with an incredibly memorable finish to fully bring the film’s message home. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Holly Baker Film Festival, Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

A Few Moments of Happiness film review by UK film critic James Learoyd. Starring Nabil Safieddine, Tala Safieddine, Wissam Smayra directed by Shaden Safieddine Tazi. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS A Few Moments of Happiness Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: James Learoyd | Posted on: Sep 21, 2026 Directed by: Shaden Safieddine Tazi Written by: N/A Starring: Nabil Safieddine, Tala Safieddine, Wissam Smayra A Few Moments of Happiness is a stark work of filmmaking. As unusual as it is uncompromising, the film takes the form of a series of screen-recordings, phone calls, audio clips and phone camera footage, all of which either capture or refer to the horrific, and continuing attacks on Lebanon by the Israeli military. All of these glimpses of footage are edited together with enough thought and patience that a purposeful cinematic approach reveals itself (though not one of sequencing or cinematography in any regular sense). As well as obviously being about the indisputable, genocidal evils Israel is currently committing – and just one example of a people and a place currently suffering genuine horrors, it manages to also be a meditation on how one processes these horrors, or distances oneself from them, through the context of our digitally connected world. I find it slightly dispiriting that the top Letterboxd review of this film argues that what we’re watching here cannot be considered filmmaking. And as valid as it is to criticise the form this piece takes, the fact is that a film can be anything. There’s also no better way to experiment with an idea like this than in the form of a short film – because, no, this would not be effective or interesting as a feature. But a short allows it to be an exercise in something; a unique abstraction of real life without being bound by the grander expectations of an entertainment-based medium. Whilst I’m uninterested in the idea of continuing to use screen recordings on smartphones to constitute a ‘film’, one must concede that when there’s a deliberate point to doing so – whether it be spectatorial or information-based – we don’t have to like it, but we should be open to the creative vision. I’ve used the term ‘documentary’ broadly; however, this is a short film which is using its form to document reality – and so despite the lack of scenes, shots or conventional form, the fact that the medium of cinema has been selected is a significant and deliberate decision to consider. For instance, the filmmaker is well aware of the fact that during the recorded phone calls, the audience will be staring at a black screen. Here, the absence of an image is just as relevant as if there were images to look over; it leads the viewer – or in this case, listener – to isolate these crackled voices, place yourself in the frightened, focused perspective of our documentarian, and observe the truth in the words. It’s also helped that the use of sound design and editing in this 17-minute piece is incredibly immersive. A Few Moments of Happiness is a revealing work about the ways in which social media can connect you with the suffering in the world or in your home, or – on the flip side – numb you to it. This is illustrated in the high point of the short film. The pace of the editing increases dramatically as we cut back and forth between phone footage of people dancing and partying as a form of escapism, and the visceral truth of the continuing bombings and chaos ensuing in Lebanon. There’s some powerful messaging taking place here, even when it’s simply drawing a line between one thing to another – but to me, that’s called editing, and therefore filmmaking. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic James Learoyd Short Film, World Cinema, Documentary < All Reviews Next Film Review >

The Heir Of Time film review by UK film critic William Hemingway. Starring Leah Eddleston, Anna Cameron-Mowat, Simon Alexander Mark, Adit Marciano directed by William Emmett. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Heir Of Time Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: William Hemingway | Posted on: Sep 19, 2026 Directed by: William Emmett Written by: Trent Meacham and Marco Jonathan Starring: Leah Eddleston, Anna Cameron-Mowat, Simon Alexander Mark, Adit Marciano In the middle of an intergalactic war, a princess struggles with a dark power that she cannot control which propels her through time, offering her insights into a brutal and terrible future that has yet to come to pass. In The Heir Of Time , we are dropped slap-bang into the middle of a war between a dynasty of space elves and a human federation of colonisers. The Armelion (space elves) are led by King Thallan (Mark), Queen Fiorella (Cameron-Mowat), and their daughter Sel’van (Eddleston), who are arguing amongst themselves about whether to continue the war or to sue for peace. The humans are represented by a young soldier called Zac (Marciano), from a planet called Xalgoria, where the peace treaties can be ratified, but no other real mention of how or why the humans are spread throughout space is ever offered to us. Much like a lot of the dreadful Star Wars prequels (1999 – 2005), plenty of this space opera focuses on the politics and bureaucracies that go on behind the scenes to propel the theatre of war. This keeps everything very wordy and grand, as we enter into the chambers and halls of the space elves, but it also keeps things very boring and bland as we’re forced to listen to garbled exposition of arguments and beliefs which underpin the reasoning behind the war, which mostly takes place somewhere else. In amongst all of this supposed intrigue and machination, along with the stock star-crossed lovers side story between elf and human, is Sel’van and her gift. Every so often she is dragged across time into some pretty hairy situations, and only barely makes it back each time to report on what she has seen, remaining vulnerable and mortal as she drifts from one point to another. All of this rests in the centre of some other over-arching plot which is yet to be expanded upon, as what we have in this pilot episode of The Heir Of Time , is just the first instalment of what is to be a full-blown web-series. The far-reaching narrative that is attempted here from writers, Trent Meacham and Marco Jonathan, should definitely be afforded the credit that is due, as it sprawls across the galaxy and through time to deliver a sci-fi fantasy epic that could, if done right, rival some of the most ambitious space flops of cinema history, such as John Carter (2012) and Jupiter Ascending (2015). The problem with these vast stories, which is also something that is being seen in the drop off in interest and quality in the Dune sequels (2024-2026), is that past a certain point people begin not to care anymore. Ancient space dynasties that mean nothing to the regular viewer, along with fantasy characters and places that have a litany of silly names, just become too esoteric for most audiences, as they offer no hope of being identified with and feel too disconnected from anything that is real. Coupling that with the fact that the animation in The Heir Of Time is clunky and stiff, with an ill-advised dance segment and a laughably bad fight sequence where no-one touches each other really showing off the limitations of the Blender generated 3D models, means that what we’re offered at the end of it all is an amateurish cartoon, with Y2K CGI visuals, masquerading as something that is grand and spectacular, when in reality it’s just quite poor. Thankfully though, The Heir Of Time is a passion project led by a group of over seventy creative volunteers who have surrendered their time and expertise over the space of six years to create this first episode. This means that the quality is not so much of a priority as the actual creation of the vision, and that the real success of the project is the fact that it exists in the first place. For those who are invested in the story of The Heir Of Time there should be a deserved sense of pride in accomplishing this first half-hour of footage, especially considering the workload and timeframe that it has taken to get to this point, but the hard part is then getting anybody else to be interested in that vision, especially when it’s something that is going to take a long time to tell. What is offered in The Heir of Time is the first part of a lengthy epic, which in all reality may never see its conclusion. The introductions to the characters and scenarios in this first act are fairly impenetrable without further knowledge of what’s going on, or what has already happened to get us to this point, and there’s no guarantee that the threads that are left for us to follow will ever get the opportunity to be tied up. This makes jumping into The Heir Of Time a tricky and perhaps unsatisfying prospect, as at this rate, for a regular eight episode series, any audience member will have to be willing to wait another forty years to see it through. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Hemingway Digital / DVD Release, Short Film, Animation, Web Series < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Snapshot film review by UK film critic Madeleine Lavers. Starring Tom Stourton, Cathy Wippell, Hazel Rogers directed by Joseph Archer. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Snapshot Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Madeleine Lavers | Posted on: Aug 18, 2026 Directed by: Joseph Archer Written by: Cathy Wippell Starring: Tom Stourton, Cathy Wippell, Hazel Rogers Snapshot (2026) is a horror feature film that premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It is also an official selection for this year’s FrightFest film festival. The film is set in Whitechapel in 1988, where an inventor uses his moving image machine to document the lives of women in an all-female ghost hunting group amidst the Jack the Ripper murders. The group believes the murders to be the work of a supernatural being, not a sadistic man. The women in the ghost hunting group also work together at the brothel. Nervous about their safety and desperate for answers, they investigate the murders within the group, hosting a séance that goes wrong and causes character Minnie (played by writer Cathy Wippell) to be possessed. The whole film is shown through the pinhole camera of the protagonist, Tamworth, who is experimenting with his moving image machine. The story is told purely through one man’s footage, yet the story focuses on the women and the downfall of their group. The found footage horror creates a new spinoff to the Jack the Ripper case, commenting on society at the time and the struggles of the women in the area. Mental health issues, prostitution, grief, fear, and even crime are all segments that the filmmakers have shed light on with this story. This film was extremely engaging; even with footage being viewed in a circle, the performances were powerful and very convincing. The costumes, hair and makeup, set design, and script felt historically accurate. Audiences can appreciate the beautiful visual identity of the film, which says a lot considering you only see a small fraction of it due to the pinhole element. The wide array of characters and locations has the capacity to hold the audience's attention well. Even with its quick shots and large cast, the film still allows viewers to connect deeply with the main characters, such as the friendship of Minnie and Fanny. This heightens the emotional investments of viewers, continuing to keep them hooked. The horror genre was greatly utilised, with eerie shots, jump scares and meticulous sound work proving to be effective. I found the end section to be particularly frightening. The quick visuals of women screaming were edited in a repetitive form, and it was haunting. This technique was utilised throughout, sections of the film bookended by fast-cutting creepy montages. This ensured the film always had a shock feature throughout, allowing for further audience captivation. To conclude, this film was uncanny, whilst successfully turning a well-known true crime story into one that evolves around women as they grieve the loss of their friends and fight for survival. I appreciated the aesthetics of the pinhole camera and thought this was a unique touch. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Madeleine Lavers Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Leaving Ealing film review by UK film critic James Learoyd. Starring Sima Sheibani, Mahtab Parnian, Adie Mueller directed by Saba Ghasemi. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Leaving Ealing Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: James Learoyd | Posted on: Sep 18, 2026 Directed by: Saba Ghasemi Written by: Saba Ghasemi Starring: Sima Sheibani, Mahtab Parnian, Adie Mueller Saba Ghasemi's superb LEAVING EALING is brimming with both passion and frustration. It follows the journey of Sima, an Iranian film student currently working towards her graduation piece. She wishes to film in Iran, but must navigate the potentially life-threatening nature of her venture, in addition to the creatively oppressive pushback from her tutors, whilst also staying utterly true to her vision. The screening I attended at BFI Stephen Street was a truly lovely experience; a gathering of people who clearly had invested a lot of love into the project. There was certainly a sense of catharsis that the film was finally getting its moment to shine. To touch on the technical briefly, this is a precisely shot and edited work, demonstrating a consistently impressive balance of lighting and a sturdy, confident approach to composition and focus. The sound recording is also as sharp as anything. This is a high-level production. I already love reflexive filmmaking -- movies that deconstruct the struggles and processes that went into the work of art you're consuming. But for that struggle to be centred around one's culture and family makes this piece feel more substantial than most 'films about filmmaking' student or low-budget works. It's our protagonist's determination to produce her own art without social or creative compromise that makes this an important and moving story. No matter the dangers posed by the unrest in her home -- and despite her tutors' dispiriting, by-the-books response to filming in the place she is most emotionally connected to -- Sima knows that this journey is not just that of one filmmaker's... Her narrative has wider-reaching implications outside of personal fulfilment. And the wave of warm support LEAVING EALING received at the screening is illustrative of this. Our character of Sima is compelled to create something honest, and she succeeds. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic James Learoyd Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Sunny Dancer film review by UK film critic Rachel Willis. Starring Bella Ramsey, Ruby Stokes directed by George Jaques. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Sunny Dancer Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Rachel Willis | Posted on: Sep 18, 2026 Directed by: George Jaques Written by: George Jaques Starring: Bella Ramsey, Ruby Stokes Ivy is pissed off. It might be hard to understand why at first. She’s been in remission from cancer for 10 months, so one might think she would be happy. However, writer/director George Jaques isn’t interested in how you think a person should feel after surviving cancer. With Sunny Dancer , Jaques gives us something nuanced yet familiar as Ivy (Bella Ramsey) finds her way with a group of teens at summer camp. Ivy’s disconnection from life is the reason why her parents (James Norton and Jessica Gunning, making the most of their limited screen time) want her to spend four weeks at “chemo camp.” And though she is reluctant to participate and surly with the other campers, Ivy soon realizes camp was exactly what she needed. Despite the hardship Ivy and her fellow campers have faced, they’re still teenagers at heart. Anyone who has felt rebellious or snuck out at night or just spent time with people who know you like no one else can relate to Ivy’s story. The highlight of the film is the cast of kids who surround Ivy. Each one, from Ivy’s first love, Jake (Daniel Quinn Toye), to her horny best friend, Ella (Ruby Stokes), are fun to follow as they run wild and bring Ivy back to life. The problem with any film that introduces a large cast of characters is finding ways to flesh out each one. Though the kids are great, not all of them get much depth. And the writing doesn’t bring each character to life as much as it could, but this is Ivy’s story. The two people she most gravitates to are the ones who most come to life. As Ivy, Ramsey is good, but Stokes steals the show. She dominates each scene. Ramsey is a fine choice to carry the film, but the best scenes feature Ella. With such a strong, naturalistic film, the movie’s emotional climax feels manipulative. It’s hard not to be disappointed by it when the rest of the film is so lovely. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Rachel Willis Theatrical Release, Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Baby Doe film review by UK film critic Matt Weiner. Starring Gail Eastwood-Ritchey directed by Jessica Earnshaw. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Baby Doe Film Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Critic: Matt Weiner | Posted on: Sep 18, 2026 Directed by: Jessica Earnshaw Written by: Gail Eastwood-Ritchey Starring: Gail Eastwood-Ritchey There’s no true crime mystery at the heart of director Jessica Earnshaw’s riveting documentary Baby Doe . Gail Ritchey gave birth in 1993 and left the newborn in the woods in Geauga County, a conservative rural suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The case was a local sensation that went unsolved until 2019, when DNA evidence led investigators to arrest Ritchey for murder. What follows from that arrest is a challenging examination of the criminal justice system, its treatment of women and their mental health and how we view those accused of what popular culture (and pulpier true crime fare) dub acts that are “especially heinous,” told through a blend of contemporary footage and intimate access to the Ritchey family and their legal team. Earnshaw’s camera becomes an ever-present member of the extended Ritchey family as they grapple with an unthinkable crime. Ritchey’s high school sweetheart and now husband Mark was unaware that Gail was even pregnant with their child at the time, and Earnshaw doesn’t shy away during interviews as Mark and Gail both reckon with their deeply conservative Christian upbringing that may have contributed to Gail’s state of mind at the time. As Ritchey’s defense team confers with experts on how to get a jury to sympathize with Ritchey, Earnshaw touches on other high-profile cases on the subject of “denied pregnancy.” This is where the documentary takes yet another surprising—and enraging—turn, with medical experts on one side offering up compelling and deeply moving testimony on the under-discussed condition. On the other side, there is Ohio law, which in this case bars Ritchey and her team from using any of this as part of her defense. Instead, her lawyers must focus on the argument that the baby was stillborn. Earnshaw’s raw interviews ultimately weave a sad, winding narrative that starts with Ritchey’s overbearing father and ends up in a suburban Cleveland jury room filled with male jury members and a reproving judge. It’s difficult to shake the sense that whatever is happening in that courtroom, it’s not about justice. We do at least find more tender moments and even grace outside of the trial. Some of this comes from likely sources (a welcoming church, spearheaded by a caring pastor’s wife). But one of these moments comes from a surprising figure near the end of the film, one of the few men outside of the Ritchey family who sees Gail as someone who is more than the acts she has committed. These moments, rare as they are, hardly make up for a criminal justice system that seems both unequipped and uninterested in understanding the mental health of why some people do what they do. Thankfully, Earnshaw is, and she tells the story beautifully in a way that suggests if sympathy is impossible, we can still find room for empathy. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Matt Weiner Digital / DVD Release, Documentary < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Goody Goody film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Samantha Robinson, Colleen Foy directed by Raymond Creamer. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Goody Goody Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Sep 18, 2026 Directed by: Raymond Creamer Written by: Raymond Creamer Starring: Samantha Robinson, Colleen Foy Filmmaker Raymond Creamer made the most of what he had for his feature debut, Goody Goody . What did he have? Four talented actors, two locations, and a knack for atmosphere. Samantha Robinson (who was utter perfection in 2023’s The Love Witch ) is Goody. Goody is pregnant, and she’s creating the beautiful childbirth her baby deserves. She knows that he’ll feel it. He’ll know. It has to be perfect. Colleen Foy is Sarah, the grownup in the room. Sarah is Goody’s midwife, the one who warned Goody not to give birth in a remote cabin deep in the woods during winter. The only reason Sarah agrees to the job is the fear that Goody, her husband Jayson (Colby Hollman), and his sister Candace (Zoe Renee) will go through with the home birth on their own. Pregnancy/childbirth horror is so common because it is custom made for the genre. A beast is attempting to burst out of a human body. That human is swollen to a ludicrous degree and is, therefore, wildly handicapped when it comes to things like running or lasting more than ten minutes without having to pee. It is easy to generate dread because, even in real life, it’s terrifying and vulnerable and bloody and it really hurts. Because it is so common, it can also feel tired. But Creamer develops dread differently. Our point of view is Sarah, the competent one. Watching her grow anxious generates a different kind of dread. When the one who knows what she’s doing is worried, everybody needs to worry. Foy is remarkable in this role. The way Sarah’s patience and care are soothing but authoritative is a comfort to Goody and family, but also the viewer. As her nerves begin to show wear and tear, we feel more realistically trapped in this nightmare with her. Robinson’s also wonderful, treading a line between entitled and defenseless, reckless and idealistic. She’s almost hypnotic, almost seductive, and that level of ecstasy helps the film find its tone. It’s a gorgeous movie. Creamer creates striking moments in a dreamily rustic environment, slowly and quietly introducing the supernatural before pivoting to a full-blown creature feature. The tonal shift wouldn’t work were it not for Robinson’s spellbinding work bumping against Foy’s urgent realism. For some, it still may not work. The film’s waning moments are mesmerizing, beautiful, and unsatisfying. But for most of Creamer’s 110 minutes, he counted his blessings and made them count. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Digital / DVD Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

The Weight film review by UK film critic George Wolf. Starring Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe directed by Padraic McKinley. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Weight Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: George Wolf | Posted on: Sep 18, 2026 Directed by: Padraic McKinley Written by: Matthew Booi, Shelby Gaines, Leo Scherman Starring: Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe A few desperate men are given the chance to wipe their slates clean. Transport some precious cargo across 100 miles of hazardous terrain —including one very unstable bridge — and they’ll all be free to start new lives. The Weight will bring to mind Sorcerer and The Wages of Fear , specifically, but on a more general level it recalls a throwback brand of thriller that’s dense with themes of sin and redemption layered through the choices, toil and sweat of conflicted souls. It’s 1933 in Oregon, and the country is still reeling from the Great Depression. Sam Murphy (Ethan Hawke) is already struggling to provide for his young daughter Penny (Avy Berry) when a brush with the law lands him in a labor camp. Warden Clancey (Russell Crowe) notices that Murphy is a quiet man who can solve problems, so he presents a tempting offer: move the stash of gold out of Blackhawk mine before FDR confiscates it, and Murphy will be out of jail in time to save his daughter from becoming a ward of the state. It’s an easy call, so Murphy handpicks a small team, and heads out — under the watchful eyes of two armed chaperones, of course. Director Padraic McKinley, reuniting with Hawke after The Good Lord Bird series, crafts his big screen debut with detail and vision, adapting the weighty script from Matthew Booi, Shelby Gaines and Leo Scherman into a tense and visually striking adventure. The forests and rivers become daunting obstacles that raise the stakes, while McKinley illuminates an exquisite fight for life via lighting bursts of a thunderstorm. And of course Hawke is perfect. He’s become such a reliably wonderful actor, and this type of understated inner struggle is his sweet spot, finding an authentic, cautious chemistry with a terrific Crowe and the solid ensemble, including Julia Jones (Dexter: New Blood ) as a runaway woman eager to join the mission and not look back. You may guess a plot turn or two, and a tighter grip in the editing room would have trimmed some bloat from the nearly two-hour runtime, but The Weight still carries plenty of welcome genre heft. It manages to balance familiarity with richness of character and craft, giving us the kind of movie we should be glad to still find in the theater. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic George Wolf Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

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FarEye film review by UK film critic William Curzon. Starring Djamari Roberts, Jesse Royal, Donisha Rita Claire Prendergast directed by Hayden Mclean. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS FarEye Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: William Curzon | Posted on: Sep 17, 2026 Directed by: Hayden Mclean Written by: Hayden Mclean Starring: Djamari Roberts, Jesse Royal, Donisha Rita Claire Prendergast FarEye follows a young Jamaican boy, Khalil (Djamari Roberts), as he finds refuge in a Rastafarian community guided by music, spirit and faith. This spiritual connection awakens something deep within him that will change the course of his life forever. FarEye is a short film from writer/director Hayden Mclean, known for his work on The Last Dance (2025), which also explored themes of identity and community. The film was shot entirely on location, giving its production design an incredibly raw, authentic quality in its rural spaces, largely because so much of what the viewer sees is captured in-camera. Writer/director Hayden Mclean is clearly more concerned with the protagonist's present-day growth than his traumatic past, and he conveys this through Khalil exploring the vast environment, captured through his point of view. The film tackles so many different themes of identity, abuse and transformation in such a short span of time, and it's impressive how it never feels rushed despite its brisk runtime. That said, the runtime hurts certain aspects of the narrative, such as leaving much of the Rastafarian community’s involvement in Khalil’s life open to interpretation. While the film visualises Khalil’s growth through surrealism and hypnotic visuals, the opening overexplains its themes through voiceover. The narrative becomes far more engaging once it lets Khalil take in the world and community through its visuals. These aspects are heightened through its effective coming-of-age elements that never shy away from the central character’s journey of healing and trauma. While a longer runtime would undoubtedly help flesh out these themes, it's incredibly impressive how confident the filmmakers are in their depiction of community. Joel Honeywell, the film's cinematographer, captures Khalil’s innocence by consistently placing him at the centre of each frame. The camerawork consists of extreme close-ups to convey Khalil’s journey through the music, spirit, and faith of the Rastafarian community. The film also employs hypnotic visuals to convey the spiritual journey Khalil goes on as he realises the impact living in fear had on his upbringing, and how integral a feeling of safety could be in a place of fear. Music is also a potent part of the central characters’ arc and the narrative itself through its conveying of the Rastafarian idea of faith. The filmmakers never hold the viewer's hand, and this is particularly effective during a standout musical sequence, allowing the imagery to remain more provocative and open to interpretation. Djamari Roberts’ lead performance as Khalil ranks among the best child performances in recent memory. Much of the central performance is built around stillness, and the writer/director clearly has faith in Djamari Roberts to convey both the fear and curiosity the performance requires to be compelling to the viewer. It's an incredible performance that conveys both the childlike innocence of Khalil and his growing maturity as he becomes acquainted with the Rastafarian community. The supporting players are also a memorable addition to the cast, assisting Khalil’s journey of self-discovery. FarEye is a visually stunning piece of indie filmmaking that reinforces our belief in Hayden Mclean as a raw, compelling talent, whose work offers a bold exploration of identity, community and belonging. Held together by its inspired casting choices and mesmerising camerawork, FarEye is an unforgettable journey of self-discovery. FarEye will screen at the BFI London Film Festival (October 7-18) in the Altered States programme - premiering on Tuesday 13th October at Vue West End at 17:50. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Curzon Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Resident Evil film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Austin Abrams directed by Zach Cregger. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Resident Evil Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Sep 16, 2026 Directed by: Zach Cregger Written by: Zach Cregger, Shay Hatten Starring: Austin Abrams A lot of people seem curious to know what Zach Cregger is doing following up Weapons —one of the most revered horror films of the last decade—with the seventh installment in a horror video game movie franchise. By the looks of Resident Evil , having a blast is what he’s doing. Rather than offer another badass on a mission story, Cregger’s episode, co-written with Shay Hatten (John Wick 3 & 4 , Army of the Dead ), enters the newly overrun Raccoon City with a hapless courier (Austin Abrams) tapped to run an important medical package to the Raccoon City General Hospital. Things go from bad to worse to much worse to oh my god no pretty quickly in an impressive series of set pieces showcasing body horror, carnage, mutants, goo, and more. Cregger’s direction is fresh and fun, building dread and releasing it with bits of humor. He gives us some nifty first person shooter POV, but not enough of it to become tedious. The camera lingers when you don’t expect it to, and turns away when you really hope it will. Cregger never takes the film too seriously, which is usually the downfall of any video game adaptation. But he absolutely embraces the video game-ness of the film, digging into the grossest and most disturbing elements of the game while rooting the mayhem in a character you can care about. Resident Evil is frequently funny without falling into camp. Abrams, who was such a standout comic force in Weapons , delivers an ideal doofus to root for. John Walter Hauser has a fun expository sharing cameo, and Zach Cherry is also pretty funny. It’s also pretty gross, fast paced, tremendously violent, and harrowing in a fun way. The unhinged horror of it all won’t surprise those of us who saw Cregger’s 2022 feature Barbarian . He’s a horror guy. He knows horror and he has fun with it while still leaving some scars. Resident Evil isn’t going to win anybody an Oscar, but it’s a good time. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >