In 1994 Wes Craven reclaimed the original slasher nightmare and helmed the final instalment in the franchised vision of terror – Nightmare on Elm Street. The outcome of Craven’s combined writing and directing efforts in this film – Wes Craven’s New Nightmare – was a vivid horrorscape of the unimaginable and an exercise in intelligent, disturbing inventiveness. 17 years later and My Soul To Take has summoned the cinematic corpse-monger back to the business of blood – but it’s a far cry from the slick-witted slice ‘n dicer – and this time the result may be more bed-time story than Nightmare…
A Turtle’s Tale, the biography of a dismally boring chelonian who spends fifty years biffing around in the sea and then turns into John Hurt, has been billed as an adventure/thrillride/treat etc “for all the family”. Should you wish to protest this blatant lie, the Trading Standards Institute can be found here; nobody over the age of five will find any joy in Sammy’s aimless paddling, trite relationships and pious eco-preaching.
A devastatingly right-on documentary determined to plumb the depths of America’s capital punishment system, In the Land Of The Free follows the life and times of three men: Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King – collectively known as ‘The Angola Three’. Between them, they have spent over a century in solitary confinement for the murder of a prison guard; a murder that, in all likelihood, they never committed. It’s all sufficiently horrid, worthy stuff – but we have to ask, why is Samuel L involved?
Nakashima’s genre-busting revenge drama is an intense tale of the unremitting evil that lies within children’s hearts (and, possibly, the hearts of their teachers). It’s dark, intense, internationally lauded and would make probably make Gus Van Sant (a) feel jealous and (b) do a happy in his pants.
The Chaser is a dark yet charming Korean cop thriller with a detective-turned-pimp antihero who has discovered all his girls are going missing. The western remake is hitting the big screen in 2013, so for god’s sake see the original first!
A more-than-a-little-smug celebration of Dadaism, Rubber is nevertheless a wholly original, entertaining and technically outstanding exploration of the boundaries of storytelling. Following a serial killer tyre by the name of Robert and those who watch him work, it certainly makes you question the cinematic conventions we take for granted. But considering it does all that within the first five minutes, its feature-length running time is a little unnecessary.
Edie Falco shines, as do the supporting cast in Nuse Jackie, a medical comedy/drama from Showtime, now entering its second season.
Snipe London
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