From arthouse to trash: film reviews and discussions about new releases and classic cinema
watched at the London Film Festival
The shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 shocker Psycho is famous for its technical audacity, but does this two-minute sequence merit an entire 91 minute documentary? This fascinating and insightful film left the audience wanting even more.
Part coming-of-age tale, part supernatural horror, Joachim Trier's Thelma is a sensitive thriller.
Michael Haneke makes uncomfortable films. Happy End - his latest - is surprisingly light in tone and even funny in places. A departure of sorts, it's certainly less extreme than we've come to expect, although its dark themes linger.
Let The Corpses Tan is the latest from French film makers Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani. This time they set their sights on a crime thriller with spaghetti western influences. Their most coherent film so far, it's stylish, breathtaking stuff.
From the director of the BAFTA-nominated Sherpa and narrated by Willem Dafoe, Mountain explores our fascination with mountains by combining gorgeous footage, contemplative narration, and a bespoke soundtrack.
For many fans of cult cinema, Suspiria needs no introduction. This year, Dario Argento's incredible Italian horror movie is forty years old. To celebrate, it's been lovingly restored and is back in cinemas to enthrall us.
Cate Blanchett is in full chameleon mode in this fascinating and surprisingly playful film. Neither fiction nor documentary, Manifesto is an entertaining oddity with a very unusual concept.
Terry Gilliam's first film as sole director, lovingly restored by the BFI and Criterion, is an energetic and amusing yarn with a strong visual style. Even the mud looks beautiful.
"I've made a number of films in my career that are prestigious and important. This isn't one of them".
Phantasm was a low-budget independent horror film from 1979 that had a second life on VHS in the eighties. It’s now been restored by Arrow Video.
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