What would you do if you woke up in a cell during violent riots on your first day as a prison official? This is the terrifying premise behind Daniel Monzón’s prison drama, Cell 211. With fine perfomances from Alberto Ammann as the quick thinking official, and Luis Tosar as the menacing ‘Malamadre’, or ‘Badass’, little wonder that the Spanish thriller picked up eight Goya awards.

This update on the original ‘video nasty’ ups the ante not only on its predecessor, but on the entire torture porn genre. Low on chills and high on squirm-inducing “thrills”, it trades on the original’s notoriety while outstripping it on production values, acting and gore. If you go down to the woods today you may not be in for a big surprise… but take some nausea tablets just in case.

A brand spanking new South London film from the fresh faced Sam Holland, Zebra Crossing is far from pedestrian.

Dog Pound details the lives of Davis, Angel and Butch as they try unsuccessfully to stay out of trouble in a Montana detention facility. Director Kim Shapiron addresses gang violence, corrupt prison guards and rape in this brutal drama, which contains haunting moments in spite of the ubiquitous nature of the genre.

Russell Crowe uses the thin veil of circumstance to justify stomping about, shouting in various coats and getting all emotion-chinned in the utterly mad The Next Three Days. According to the posters, it co-stars Liam Neeson. He’s in one scene. Rats, sinking ship, anyone?

Following hard on the heels of sensational exposés including An Inconvenient Truth and End of the Line, GasLand seeks to turn a harsh spotlight on yet more outrageous behaviour by arrogant US energy corporations. Whether it quite manages to be the call to arms it aspires towards is another matter.

The Reef is a masterful, engaging and ultimately harrowing survival thriller billed as ‘the scariest shark movie since Jaws’. Two thumbs up from Best For Film!

Director Kim Sung-Hong treads an oft-travelled path with this vicious tale “inspired” by true events. That claim could well be disputed but Missing does boast a genuinely creepy central performance by Moon Sung-Keun as a farmer with an eye for the ladies and an original idea on what constitutes quality chicken feed. No wonder their eggs taste so good!

Johannes Roberts’ F is definitely heading the right way for an ASBO. A teacher who’s lost his bottle after a particularly nasty run in with a classroom thug finds himself on the wrong end of some corporal punishment from some hooded slashers. Desperately searching the deserted school for his daughter, Mr. Anderson (not that Mr. Anderson) embarks upon some extra curricular activities that will leave your skin crawling.

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story tracks five days in the life of a self-indulgent teenager who slowly (very slowly) realises he’s not that interesting. We could have told him that from the opening credits.