At the invitation of the Swedenborg Society, Best For Film is publishing a special series of reviews to follow its ‘Images of the Afterlife in Cinema’ film season, which will be exploring life, death and everything in between. This week it’s the turn of Adrian Lyne’s harrowing supernatural classic Jacob’s Ladder. Hold onto your sanity…

Even as a hardened horror fan, I sat down to watch The Human Centipede with a therapist on speed dial. I need not have worried. Yes, the film is disturbing, but ultimately The Human Centipede is a pretty lifeless creature, that neither makes you think, fear or even laugh enough for it to gain the cult status it so clearly craves.

We know, we know. You’ve got no realistic intention of seeing Piranha 3D, because it looks like it’ll be an hour and a half of breasts, gore and unconvincing CGI. But somehow, that doesn’t stop it being brilliant.

A Paris outsider seeks to hurl himself off a bridge, buckling under the weight of a debt as huge as the chip on his shoulder. His plan is foiled by a mysterious Amazonian beauty who walks around changing his life and being tall. Is the allegory behind Angel-A as heavy-handed as its title suggests?

The Last Exorcism is the horror film chosen to close Frightfest 2010. The film trailer for The Last Exorcism suggests a horror mockumentary but this witty, funny and scary horror film makes for an entertaining and thought-provoking Frightfest finale.

I love horror films! Well, more accurately, I love the viewing experience of horror films. Not so much the fearsome aftermath of shaking in my pyjamas at 3oclock in the morning not daring to leave my bed to go to the toilet. Despite this, you can imagine my delight when it was announced that Film 4’s annual FrightFest had landed in London. Held at the esteemed Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, the festival is committed to supporting independent horror films and bringing lovers of the genre together for a packed programme of palpitating peril!

Jen wasn’t the only one who felt strapped to her seat whilst experiencing The Bounty Hunter. Joyless, clichéd and hackneyed, we never want to watch Gerard Butler in a rom-com again. Do you hear us Gerard? Do you?

Production company Hammer continue their return to form with Wake Wood, a chilling horror set in the Irish countryside. On paper it could be dismissed as an Irish version of The Wicker Man, but sets itself apart by grappling with the realities of grief, the occult, and how to safely deal with cattle. It’s not perfect, but strong performances, a strangely Scandinavian feel (part of the filming took place in Sweden) and artistic flair makes Wake Wood an enjoyable addition to Hammer’s canon.

Another day, another remake. But before you throw your computers across the room at the mere sight of the dreaded ‘R’ word, take heart – Breck Eisner’s The Crazies is actually a pretty good horror film, and a definite improvement on George A. Romero’s original.

Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five sees Po return to teach a rabble of young bunnies the philosophy of the ancient Chinese art. The short animated feature, originally a deluxe DVD extra, is now a film in its own right. But is it cute and succinct or a not-so-secret attempt to simply rake in more money?