#59 - Death Race (2008)

"The editing of the car chases cuts more times than the multitude of useless bullets fired, the visuals dour and lifeless. Mix in a plot with no tread, every female character existing solely for the male gaze or villain and you have a video game film for young boys that looks like it was directed by one as well"


- 3/10

#58 - Jack Goes Home (2016)

"Like the mood of our protagonist, the themes and genre displayed are wildly inconsistent, almost rotating through the entire horror playbook to try and generate a sense of confusion and wonder.  Whilst there are many scenes where this odd combination enhances the overall presence, sadly any semblance of plotting and conclusion is sacrificed for tonal and artistic choice"


- 6/10

#57 - The Kindred (1987)

"Switches gears effortlessly from slasher to body horror to all out creature feature to keep our attention from waning, The Kindred is an average horror affair brought up by enjoyable special effects (very reminiscent of Xtro, a body horror from five years prior) that make up for some of the more campy line delivery from the actors"


- 5.5/10

#56 - Housebound (2014)

"Lures you in to expect a style of horror only to pull the rug out from underneath in a delightful swerve into something else entirely, all the while gloriously dripping in dark humour. From gore to gasps, the film has an identity as its core that separates it from the legion of other spooky house horrors"


- 7.5/10 

#55 - The Blood Lands (2014)

"Wastes no time getting going, however this home invasion horror is nothing new and views like an exercise in genre writing, each scene coated in the fingerprints of numerous other films. It's a shame because the lead actress excels, her fear is genuinely believable and the only saving grace of an otherwise forgettable experience"


- 3.5/10 

#54 - Leviathan (1989)

"Whilst the creature effects are good, and the claustrophobia levels within the dripping bowels of the deep sea mining vessel apt, the entire film elicits a strong feeling of deja vu before we slowly realise that all this has been done before by much better films, leaving this nothing more than an ersatz Alien"


- 4/10

#53 - The Jigsaw [short] (2017)

"Would have benefited from steeping up the tension in the latter half of the short runtime rather than just the start. Despite commendable performances, good camera work, and genre appropriate music, this horror falls rather flat as the pieces come together too quickly - the climax revealed before the dread can truly seep in"


- 6/10 

#52 - Call Me By Your Name (2017)

"Like a daydream, the tranquil setting absorbs us into a world where time loses meaning or any sense of passage. Through the hypnotic lens of the director this serenity is expertly pierced with the pining tendrils of a blossoming love, and more so the realisation of what it means to have loved"


- 9.5/10 

#51 - Don't Kill It (2016)

"Lundgren is surprisingly delightful as a lethargic demon hunter who wonderfully chews the scenery harder than the possessed humans he seeks out. Restrained by a minute budget, the focus is wisely centered upon comedic gore aplenty with a keen blend of dark humour to balance out the rather strained, serious finale"


- 4/10

#50 - Black Panther (2018)

"A very welcome entry in the Marvel universe that feels grounded in its own world, rather than a build up to a future film. This works best when playing off its well earned conflict and believable characters before being anchored and almost sank by the sadly obligatory uninspired action blurs"


- 7/10

#49 - Nails (2017)

"How this ever got approved by a producer makes even less sense than the script. An astonishingly bad mish-mash of almost every conceivable horror cliche in the book. Nothing makes sense, the 'rules' of the evil change to suit the scene, and the characters have nothing to do"


- 2/10

#48 - The Forger (2015)

"An implausible blend of heist and tragic tearjerker that never truly works, both the actors and plot competently swim round and round the fishbowl story like automated robots, instantly forgetting what happened only five minutes before. It's all rather bland and the stakes couldn't feel less at stake"

- 5/10

#47 - Zathura (2005)

"Zips by with a bright and fervent optimism and hunger for adventure that is both imaginative and enjoyable. The backdrop of the endless space and its myriad interactions against the enclosed house mirrors our protagonist brothers and the journey they undergo to learn and accept each other"

- 6.5/10

 

#46 - Sweet Sixteen (2003)

"Loach relays this bleak coming of age tale without ever feeling exploitative of class or running riot in cliche. Through the grey and grit we follow our young protagonist who we want to succeed despite his crimes - and that is ultimately the success of the film"


- 7/10

#45 - Good Time (2017)

" A beautifully nightmarish tapestry of vivid colour and raw emotion.Every step our main character takes to try and help his brother only leads to more cracks on the pane of glass that is his sanity - a perfect antihero dripping in both pathos and repugnance"

- 9/10 

#44 - Snakehead Swamp (2014)

"In the vast and turgid waters of low budget creature features, this manages to fall below even my low expectations. A collection of cliche that offends every sense through ineptitude, the schlock isn't enough to make it through without watch glancing every five minutes"


- 3/10 

#43 - Cardboard Gangster (2017)

"Commendable for stakes that feel real and at risk round every dodgy street corner with visceral and powerful performances, however at its core this is a story without redemption, of only bleak cyclical violence in which empathy is an archaic and moribund emotion"


- 6.5/10

#42- Infinity Chamber (2016)

"Juggling its flicker between flashback exposition and the mystery of the main characters present situation very well, the sinister implications that slowly grow like roots to form the landscape of this film are gripping even if the pace is sometimes rather laborious"  


- 7/10

#41 - The Call [short] (2016)

"Managing to create characters with a more believable emotional connection in three minutes than a lot of features do, the call is testament to how the right shot with the right lines and the right ending can lead to audience investment"


- 7/10

#40 - Species III (2004)

"Plodding along with all the grace of a drunk trying to get home, Species doggedly lurches from one scene to the next with no real sense of escalation or drama and tries to masks its many imperfections through gratuitous nudity"


- 3/10

#39 - Oppressed Majority [short] (2010)

"A thought provoking and densely packed exploration of sexism covering all ends of the scale via role reversal 'white man's burden' style - sometimes an overtly blunt approach is the necessary way to make people take heed of your message"


- 7/10

#38 - Eviction [short] (2017)

"There's a difference between thematic message and literal message - this falls in the latter. Eviction drapes a story around educating about housing rights in a smart and succinct matter with its factual help always visible at the forefront"

- 8.5/10

#37 - The Post (2018)

"Like the ever reliable printing presses on-screen, it conveys the message of its creators with expert precision. Spielberg turns what could have been a stodgy affair into a gripping story through the absolute mastery of his craft" 


- 7.5/10

#36 - The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

"A script that has been surgically nipped and tucked a thousand times too much - all that's left in the shadow of potential is the shape of a film that could and should have been much more"


- 5.5/10

#35 - Hellraiser: Judgement (2018)

"Commendable practical effects allow some potentially squeamish ideas play out like a hellish reverie, only to be hooked back to reality by a depressingly stagnant script let down by anemic characters and first draft plotting"


- 3/10

#34- Bullet to the Head (2013)

"An actual bullet to the head would be more subtle than this schlock fest. Both hero and villain are cut from the same ludicrously over-the-top cloth, but are surprisingly enjoyable to watch"


- 6.5/10

#33 - Picture Day [short] (2015)

"Translates its message and themes very well in the minimal run time it has, however some awkward camera work and strange line delivery plucks you back to reality with a rather disapproving punch"


- 5/10

#32 - Dig [short] (2014)

"Wonderfully shot, each frame is sublime to the eye as we watch a child watch an adult silently digging in his garden. The message? Well, sometimes a hole is just a hole"


- 7/10