Dagr film review by UK film critic Patrick Foley. Starring Riz Moritz, Ellie Duckles, Tori Butler-Hart directed by Matthew Butler-Hart. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Dagr Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Patrick Foley | Posted on: Mar 1, 2024 Directed by: Matthew Butler-Hart Written by: Graham Butler, Matthew Butler-Hart, Tori Butler-Hart Starring: Riz Moritz, Ellie Duckles, Tori Butler-Hart Dagr is an original and modern take on the found-footage film, utilising the genre to build-up an engaging protagonist pair whose energy is unfortunately lost as weaker, mundane horror traditions take over in the film’s final act. Thea (Ellie Duckles) and Louise (Riz Moritz) are anarchist youtubers who seek fame by stealing from the wealthy and extravagant to help feed the poor. Posing as caterers, they plan to steal from a high-end fashion shoot in the Welsh countryside being organised by director Tori (Tori Butler-Hart), and document their journey to the site. But unbeknownst to any of them, an ancient evil also resides at the house, waiting for its chance to reawaken. Dagr’ s strength is in the relationship between its leading sisters-in-arms Thea and Louise – an outlaw pair motivated by both egotistical desire for notoriety and an ethical backlash against an extravagant upper class that excludes them. Ellie Duckles and Riz Moritz give great performances and have excellent chemistry that realises a committed bond between the girls. Framed through the perspective of an unedited version of one of their videos, the audience gets both their ‘performance’ selves as well as their real personalities off camera – which is effectively used to show the growing danger as their boisterous YouTube personas give way to their authentic and vulnerable selves. Whilst each character is played with a carefree, insensitive edge, the characters are enjoyable and viewers will find themselves rooting for the pair when the scares start. The film jumps back and forth between the girls and the film set they aim to rob. The haunting begins before their arrival, but despite this the happenings at the manor are far less engaging than the ominous road trip. It’s not for lack of trying – the crew led by Tori Butler-Hart’s director are an interesting enough collective. But it’s a general lack of imagination and reversion to tried and tested techniques that mean these scenes are ultimately forgettable even when the main plot events are taking place. There’s no real sense that the supernatural terror is connected to the flaws or features of the people in attendance, and its stalking of them one-by-one feels trite because of this. The girl’s arrival at the house unfortunately succumbs to these generic horror-chase tropes rather than alleviating them, which given the amount of time we spend with the girls feels like a let-down. The handheld footage corner of horror has found it difficult to surpass its Blair Witch genesis – with most films reverting to the same beats established in the 1999 classic. Dagr ’s social media slant feels like unrealised potential to go in a different direction, and it is unfortunate that it loses its way towards its conclusion. The story of Thea and Louise is the film’s driving force, and their unapologetic, risk-taking lifestyle seems like a fantastic dynamic to place in the genre. But rather than them utilise their survival instincts, nous or fighting instinct, they become typical final-girls running from a ghostly apparition. The film is still enjoyable, and horror junkies will find a lot to like. But if it maintained the strength of its intriguing and fantastically-crafted first half throughout, perhaps it would attain the viral fame the likes of which Thea and Louise crave. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Patrick Foley Digital / DVD Release, Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

William Baines writes movie reviews for UK Film Critic. As one of the talented UK film critics, find out more here. William Baines William Baines is a writer at UK Film Review. Providing film reviews for the entertainment website. Read Latest Film Reviews The Promised Stones Read Film Reviews William Baines Heartland Read Film Reviews William Baines Galician at Midnight Read Film Reviews William Baines CLOAcKED PENs Read Film Reviews William Baines Misha and the Wolves Read Film Reviews William Baines

Alicia Moore writes movie reviews for UK Film Critic. As one of the talented UK film critics, find out more here. Alicia Moore You could say my personality is composed of only film, because that’s how passionate I am about it. I love watching good films, bad films, any film at all, and then finding the time to write from my heart about it. It’s a passion that will never lower in level. Poetry and I have a pretty close friendship too. I think I just adore words. Find your spot of creativity and let it flow wildly and widely!” (I’m terribly sorry if that is too long you can shorten it however you want, my twitter can be added to if that’s okay, I tweet freely about film a lot. Read Latest Film Reviews Eye Without a Face Read Film Reviews Alicia Moore

The Target List film review by UK film critic Patrick Foley. Starring Jessica Culaciati, Holly Lorge, Charlie Manoukian directed by Andrew Arguello and MJ Palo. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Target List Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Patrick Foley | Posted on: Aug 12, 2021 Directed by: Andrew Arguello and MJ Palo Written by: MJ Palo and John Reizer Starring: Jessica Culaciati, Holly Lorge, Charlie Manoukian Big Pharma have certainly improved their reputation over the last 18 months, what with the world-saving vaccination business and whatnot. The Target List is an action-thriller that reminds us that these shadowy firms have a serious malevolent side. At a press conference, Donna (Jessica Culaciati), the CEO of medical company WAND, announces a revolutionary technology that holds the key to curing cancer. Her colleagues Shane (Charlie Manoukian) and Clyde (Jude Ault) are concerned that the announcement is coming too early – and could lead to backlash from big pharma who may feel their profits are under threat. Their fears are well founded – as in secret, shadowy corporations have enlisted a team of assassins to track down the WAND team to prevent the technology seeing the light of day. As a short pilot for a potential feature length project, The Target List is a tricky film to review. The film is far from the finished product, with the story beginning and ending suddenly. What we are presented with is clearly extracted from a longer and more developed script – the sample effectively setting up the film’s premise, key themes and tone. However, the short itself concludes right as pivotal and shocking plot developments take place – quite unsatisfying for viewers of the pilot alone but an effective hook for a larger project. It’s harsh to give marks against this short because of this, but audiences should be prepared not to receive the whole story. Thematically the film tackles issues of corporate corruption and the ruthless pursuit of money over life-saving innovation. The film initially seems to sway between presenting the WAND team as in over their hands (or even presenting a faulty, Theranos-style scam), and the team being revolutionaries who are hunted by vicious profiteers of the old order. The former is ditched within the short’s runtime for the latter, which is a shame as the angle that not all is as it seems at WAND is intriguing and gives the film an extra complexity. Again, it is hard to judge this fairly knowing there is more to the story, but it is a shame the film abandons some of these elements as the action takes over. The ensemble cast are largely fine and get sufficient time to establish their characters. Jessica Culaciati and Charlie Manoukian’s scientists ground the film, each bringing a humanity to their roles. Jude Ault’s eccentric Clyde is much more cartoonish and higher-strung – the classic conspiracy-theorist-proven-right. We never see any of the assassins who hunt the cast, but given that we know Dan Bailey’s fearsome Bruno appears to be directing them, it is easy to get a sense of their threat. The characterisation is a strong point of this pilot, and bodes well for a full-length offering. Production quality is mixed, with sharp and professional cinematography mixed with impressive set design to elevate what could have been a much laxer pilot into a short film that stands on its own with genuine quality. There are some missteps though, with visual effects seriously lacking – especially in a scene with an explosion – on which the cameras seem to linger for an unnecessarily long time. These unconvincing moments would have been better represented with innovative camerawork which would hopefully be resolved in a full version. The Target List manages to hit the goal of any pilot – in that it leaves the viewer wanting more. It has a solid set-up and brings interesting ideas to the table, which would hopefully be explored in-depth in a full-length version of the story. With a few kinks ironed out, this could be an intriguing medical thriller. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Patrick Foley Amazon Prime, Short Film, Digital / DVD Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

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