A gift from the lady upstairs, Last House on Cemetery Lane

The Last House on Cemetery Lane

April 10, 2019 Matt Blake 0

Although it’s not exactly a good film, The Last House on Cemetery Lane is a surprisingly likable affair. The plot is old hat and the script littered with insane dialogue, while nothing much actually happens for large stretches of the running time

Is it a bird, a plane, a... tank? Soldiers of the Damned

Soldiers of the Damned

April 5, 2019 Matt Blake 0

Despite the fact that this is a rather flat looking production – given the locations and the plot the lack of visual style is a real missed opportunity – Soldiers of the Damned is a surprisingly effective little film, one of those productions that has the ability to lodge in the mind after its conclusion.

Enjoy your stay in... Eden Lodge

Eden Lodge

May 26, 2018 Matt Blake 0

First things first: this is not, repeat not, Eden Lake (whatever the packaging may very deliberately imply). That was a clever film that punched well above its weight and stands up as a classic of modern British horror.

Happy families in Estranged

Estranged

May 10, 2018 Matt Blake 0

Director: Adam Levins Writers: Simon Fantauzzo, William Borthwick Stars: Amy Manson, Craig Conway, James Cosmo There’s something of a history of British films about aristocratic […]

Crisis on the wing in The Carrier

The Carrier

April 23, 2018 Matt Blake 0

Director: Anthony Woodley Writers: Luke Healy, Helen Kingston, Stefan Mitchell, Anthony Woodley Stars: Zora Bishop, Rebecca Johnson, Edmund Kingsley A few years back I wrote […]

A bit of a puzzler: Cryptic, starring Ed Stoppard (centre) and Vas Blackwood (right)

Cryptic

December 28, 2017 Matt Blake 0

Taking two prominent strands of low budget British cinema – gangsters and vampires – and combining them seems like a logical enough step. After all, many would argue that crime is a kind of vampirism, that criminals and vampires share an innately parasitic nature…

We've all had mornings like that... Joanna Ignaczewska in The Scopia Effect

The Scopia Effect

October 29, 2017 Matt Blake 0

If there’s one thing that the makers of The Scopia Effect can’t be accused of it’s a lack of ambition. Whereas most low budget science fiction films try to make the most of their limited resources by reducing their scope – relying on a small number of characters and settings – this does something rather different