The term folk horror inspires certain kinds of imagery: pastoral fields, shrouded woods, period pieces, and witchcraft. In North American horror, legends tend to take the form of tall tales (Urban Legend, Candyman, I Know What You Did Last Summer) or whispered myths (Wendigos, Indigenous burial grounds, etc). In Irish writer/director’s Kate Dolan’s directorial feature […]
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[TIFF Review] Netflix’s Korean Drama Series ‘Hellbound’ Has a Great Premise, But Struggles With Its Execution
As far as TV properties go, Hellbound has a pretty awesome hook. The gist of the six-episode live-action Netflix series is as follows: What would happen if angels began appearing, informing individuals that they would die for their sins in a few days, and when the time arrived, those people were beaten to death by […]
[Review] Edgar Wright’s ‘Last Night in Soho’ Is a Stylish, But Repetitive Thriller
There’s an infectious energy in the early parts of Edgar Wright’s new film, Last Night in Soho. The film opens with a dance number as aspiring fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) lip-synchs to one of her many records in her grandmother’s (Rita Tushingham) country house and this effusive excitement permeates the screen. Eloise is an […]
[TIFF Review] Erotic Thriller ‘Inexorable’ Is Stuck at Half-Mast
Inexorable. Adj: meaning impossible to stop or prevent. That’s not quite an accurate depiction of what occurs in Fabrice Du Welz’s latest film. Sure, once events are put into motion, they’re difficult to stop, but the Belgian filmmaker, known for his share of provocative films, is treading lightly with Inexorable, an erotic thriller that’s sadly […]
[TIFF Review] ‘Memoria’ Is a Contemplative Meditation on Memory and Experience
There’s a calculated aimlessness to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria, particularly in the way that the writer/director’s first film English and Spanish doesn’t employ a conventional narrative structure (there’s no rising action or climax, for example). Instead, as its title suggests, Memoria is intent on exploring memories and memorials and, in the process, (re)creating them as experiences […]