Author Archives: Ross Birks

Prisoners (2013)

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Ross Birks

I remember seeing Prisoners the week of its release in 2013 and at a certain point I asked myself “Did Roger Deakins shoot this or something?” Lo and behold, as his name appeared in the credits at the end I … Continue reading →

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Before I Wake (2016)

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Ross Birks

Probably the closest Flanagan has come, so far, to making a del Toro-esque gothic fairy tale. Plays more like a dark fantasy movie than a horror film and, once you refit your expectations accordingly, is all the better for it. … Continue reading →

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Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Ross Birks

Denis Villenueve’s vaporwave remix of Ridley Scott’s seminal and divisive sci-fi classic will no doubt end up being the best looking movie I’ve seen in 2017, or any other recent year for that matter. Stunningly realised by cinematographer extraordinaire Roger … Continue reading →

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Prom Night (1980)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ross Birks

I can confirm that the first murder of this 92 minute “slasher” occurs exactly 1 hour, 2 minutes and 45 seconds in. And no, this isn’t some slow cinema, arthouse take on an 80s horror flick that bubbles with unbearable … Continue reading →

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47 Meters Down (2017)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ross Birks

Honestly, this is a pretty kickass concept for a situation thriller (or a sitthrill? Remind me to stop pulling genres out of my ass). It’s as if the filmmakers saw The Shallows and were like “how about we did that … Continue reading →

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The Wolf Man (1941)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ross Birks

As soon as Claude Rains and Bela Lugosi show up in The Wolf Man, there’s no doubt that the Universal Horror movies were the original extended cinematic universe! I love all of the crazy opticals in this movie. The use … Continue reading →

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The Mummy (1932)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ross Birks

One of the things I keep experiencing with these Universal horror classics is that their imagery and ideas have been canonised and cannibalised to such a degree that expectations are quite a stone’s throw from what the films themselves are … Continue reading →

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The Telephone Book (1971)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ross Birks

Wow. This was beautifully shot and edited. Part swinging 60s softcore sexual odyssey, part Robery Downey Sr-eque comedy of vulgar absurdities, The Telephone Book rises above its potentially smutty premise with a barrage of playful and inventive formalism. Helium voiced heroine … Continue reading →

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The Void (2017)

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Ross Birks

I don’t mean to be another incarnation of “that guy” but this really does buckle under the excessive John Carpenter vibes. Not just in the electro-pulse score but by sharing Carpenter’s penchant for the single-location-under-siege set-up that he used so … Continue reading →

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Enemy (2013)

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Ross Birks

This movie looks like it has kidney failure but damn does that piss-yellow and sharpie-black colour scheme work for me. Enemy is one of the more effective exercises in nightmare storytelling from recent years that is at its best when … Continue reading →

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