‘Hostile’ is a post-apocalyptic film that reveals the past of its protagonist, Juliette (Brittany Ashworth), through flashbacks when she becomes badly injured after going on a supply run. There are many things I liked about this – it balances the horror and action with the romantic plot that runs alongside it. Despite this giving it two different tones, it still works and it succeeded in making me sympathise with Juliette’s character. In an over-done genre, she easily could have been a stereotype, but she is complex and flawed. My one criticism would be that I wasn’t a fan of Jack (Gregory Fitoussi); he was meant to be charming but I kept getting a creepy Christian Grey vibe from his character (not quite as bad as that, though). However, I really recommend this film and love the themes that it brings up, particularly questions around what the point of being alive is when there’s nothing and no one left for you.
Firstly, whilst I didn’t like this film, I really appreciate how unique it is and the experimental aspect of it. ‘The Black Gloves’ takes influence from films of the 1950s and the noir genre; director Lawrie Brewster named ‘Sunset Boulevard’ being a specific influence and it is actually filmed in black and white. It tells the story of a psychologist who becomes obsessed with helping a reclusive ballerina with the same problem as another young patient who disappeared – they both believe that an owl-headed man is after them. It’s certainly visually interesting with its use of unusual camera angles and perspectives giving a surreal edge to it, and the music is incredible (despite sometimes drowning out some important dialogue), but it falls flat with how confusing it becomes as well as with some of the acting. Although I understand that the acting style was most likely trying to imitate that of 50s melodramas, sometimes it becomes too much – for example, Lorena (Macarena Gomez) didn’t take long to get on my nerves with her constant shouting and screeching. Having said that, I’m still excited to see Brewster’s future projects and check out ones from the past, as he seems to have a unique vision and isn’t afraid to experiment.
Of course, the creature feature with giant ants was my favourite film of the day. Inspired by the 80s video game of the same name, the film follows motorbike racer Lukas and his insecure mechanic Brian as they discover a secret underground facility when they go partying in the desert. Obviously, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and genuinely made me and a lot of other people in the audience laugh. The characters are likeable and the actors bring a natural charm to the table. This film is a great time and I’ll definitely be buying it on DVD when it comes out, because it’s so damn watchable.
How do I even begin to describe this movie? It completely caught me off guard as I was watching it, because it’s so strange. It’s pretty disturbing, I’ll give it that. The story is about Holly (Clementine Poidatz), who witnessed her mother kill her sister and father when she was a child. As an adult, she’s married but still isolated, still unable to deal with the memory of what happened. After an old friend returns to visit her, she’s introduced to the world of a cult – the leader of which (David Sakurai) gets inside her head and starts showing up in her dreams. This part of the film is the most interesting, like ‘Inception’ and I would have liked to see it explored more. The problem is that nothing makes sense, like it’s just being weird for the sake of being weird. It also felt too short and probably would have benefitted from being longer. This seems like it’s made for a very specific type of audience, but it’s worth watching if you’re looking for something unusual or particularly messed up.