3
Sadako begins tempting enough, with a decent setup and a few effective scares, but as the runtime progresses, it slowly derails into a slog that makes Sadako vs. Kayako look like the most logical movie in existence.
8
With its surprisingly dark turn and impeccable script, The Art of Self-Defense is a wonderfully crafted and memorable comedy that will no doubt stay with you long after you leave the theater.
8.5
#NYAFF Review: Deftly tapping into a common Millennial anxiety, 5 MILLION DOLLAR LIFE is a sardonic, existential exploration of one's value in society.
6.5
Like some kind of badass Vietnamese version of Taken, Le-Van Kiet’s Furie brings fast, fluid action with a heavy dose of style to make it a martial arts bonanza that’s not one to be missed.
A teaser trailer for the upcoming thriller Blood On Her Name has been released ahead of its premiere at this year’s Fantasia Festival in Montreal. Directed by Matthew Pope, the film involves a woman whose conscience gets the better of her after
7.5
A fresh take on the tired zombie formula, played with enjoyable farcicality by a standout cast, makes The Odd Family: Zombie for Sale an absurdist delight.
5
Full of gratuitous eye candy, White Snake is a derivative exercise that wrongly believes overloading itself with style and action can sustain yet another take on the ancient Chinese legend.
7.5
Bolstered by its strong performances from Yoon-seok and Ji-hoon, Dark Figure of Crime is an enthralling and well crafted true-crime thriller.
2
Sporadic and disheveled, The Fatal Raid is a film without a voice that throws everything at the screen with no discernible structure.
7
Violence Voyager remains a disturbing bait and switch of gory delights for all who can stomach it.
A clip has been released for David Mamor‘s horror thriller 1BR, which will be making its world premiere at this month’s Fantasia Festival in Montreal. The film stars Nicole Brydon Bloom as a young woman who scores a great apartment in Los
5
Walk With Me just misses the mark in being an effective and thought-provoking thriller that perhaps would have benefitted from a tighter script and different editing choices.
7.5
While trying to sell you on the maverick, anarchist sensibilities of its central subjects, Dare to Stop Us slots itself into standardized yet serviceable biopic formula.
5
Not even the inclusion of a robot could invigorate the stale, self-pitying lowlife comedy, HARD-CORE, into anything endearing.
6
Although uneven in certain spots, this period piece from director Bernard Rose, known for his horror classic Candyman, is an entertaining if not slightly underwhelming look at an interesting piece of history.
It’s tough to narrow it down to just five most anticipated films from this year’s Fantasia Festival in Montreal, but here’s my best attempt. With the lineup recently announced, there’s a metric ton of great genre cinema to choose from, but
