Trisolaran

A tribute as well as a fresh-spin on classic slasher and horror movies, X brings together familiar genre tropes while incorporating various strange and arthouse elements that give this film a striking feel that helps it stand out from its mainstream counterparts. It tells the story **** of young adult film crew and actors who travel to a reclusive elderly couple’s remote farm residence to shoot a movie in secret, but things quickly turn deadly come nightfall when the owners start to find out what their new guests have been up to. What I particularly liked about this film is that it is patient in taking the time to develop its characters and to build up the tension before unleashing the inevitable carnage. For a large portion of the film, you don’t even realize you are watching a slasher movie, but you can tell something sinister is brewing in the background constantly, and you are just waiting for the fateful moment that it boils over. There are some very cool shots and film sequences throughout the movie with long takes, birds-eye view angles, as well as cutting back-and-forth between events in the real world and the movie the crew is currently shooting to enforce a story-within-a-story dynamic. When the killing does start the violence is impactful and disturbing but never overdone, and the movie also finds ample opportunities to sneak in some comedic relief here and there which I appreciate. Furthermore, I want to highlight the top-notch acting from everyone involved and some awesome popular music inserts and the soundtrack. If there is one thing that I wanted a bit more from the movie, it would be to explore deeper into the history and the motivation of the killers. From some of the actions and dialogues that were peppered throughout the story, it is already hinted that the villains are not your average chainsaw-wielding mask-wearing maniacs but rather folks that have an emotionally-charged reason that are driving them in their heinous deeds which are more than just random killings. I just wished the story spent more time on that, as currently it just ends up being a good ol’ slasher movie when it had the potential to be something deeper and more special. Overall, a very solid entry into the slasher genre that I’m sure will satisfy people both looking for blood and gore as well as something a bit more on the indie/artsy side of things. A24 has done it again so definitely don’t miss this one out if you are a fan of horror.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

A hauntingly disturbing and brilliant look into a woman's gradual descent into madness, Repulsion is a movie that is a classic slow-burn where characters and situations become increasingly twisted as time passes. It tells the story of Carol, who is a reclusive and distant young woman struggling with social interactions with men, and the terrible things that begin to happen as she withdraws further into isolation. The film focuses on small details and motifs to reveal the psyche of our main character, such as the little repeated actions and tics from her, the exasperated sounds and music that she hears, as well as the strange things that she starts noticing which may or may not be in her head. The pacing is definitely on the slower side, but I never found it boring or trite, as I feel everything succeeds in building suspense and a sense of dread in the viewer. Some of the more explicit sequences are a bit tame and unrealistic by modern standards, but I don't fault the film for that as it is a product of its time, and since it doesn’t rely on them heavily the payoff is still plenty disturbing. Considering the year this was made, it was honestly quite impressive they were able to show some of these things on screen. Overall, definitely one of the most harrowing and memorable depictions of spiral-into-madness stories committed to film. Check it out if you are in the mood for a patient, smart psychological horror movie that slowly drags you into the claustrophobic hellscape of our main character’s mind through the course of its runtime.

A masterclass in character study, Trainspotting depicts the lives of heroin addicts as they struggle to distract themselves until they can get their next 'hit' with sex, mayhem, and other substances. All the characters come alive with superbly crafted dialogues and performances from the entire cast, and coupled with a frantically-paced style of direction from Danny Boyle that combines apt pop music inserts with innovative dream sequences, the viewer is presented with a piercing look inside the mind of a junkie. There were some sentiments surrounding the movie about how it glamorises drug use, but if one were to look just a little deeper it's easy to see that's not the case at all. The film pulls no punches when it comes to depicting tragic events and sickening actions from various characters due to their drug use. For that I believe this is actually the perfect anti-drug film: beneath all the humour and catchy songs, what the viewer gets is an honest and convincing depiction of what drugs do to someone, nothing more and nothing less. Overall, an unforgettable dark comedy that expertly balances the ‘dark’ and the ‘comedy’ that will have you reeling from laughter to disgust from one scene to the next. A must-watch.