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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 25.Aug.24

The Dæmon  
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5
The Daemon
dir-scr Matt Devino, Dave Yohe
prd Thom Spitler, Tyler Q Rosen, Matt Devino, Dave Yohe
with Adriana Isabel, Tyler Q Rosen, Sara Fletcher, Oscar Wilson, Mario Daggett, David Bernard McClain Jr, Nick Searcy, Blake Ellis, Olivia Day, Rich Gomez, Easton Mark Nagel
release UK Aug.24 frf
24/US 1h27

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day
Moody and dark, this creepy dramatic horror is sharply shot and edited, with cool-looking effects work and outrageous yuckiness. Much of this feels overstated, most notably the characterisations and dizzying camerawork. And because it's played at such a serious pitch, it sometimes tips over into nuttiness. The title gives away what we're dealing with here, and the filmmakers show admirable determination to make this as unnerving as possible.
Haunted by the suicide note left by his father (Searcy), Tom (Rosen) drives to the family house on Lake Michigan where he died. But this sparks memories of watching his mother (Day in flashbacks) being dragged into the lake by an unseen hand when he was a child. Worried about Tom, his wife Kathy (Fletcher) asks for help from her grievance counsellor sister-in-law Jess (Isabel), and they head to the lake with Kathy's brother Mark (Wilson). Tom isn't happy to see them, because he knows that whatever lives in the lake will take them too.
While the film is evocatively shot in beautiful locations, it's also accompanied with a groaning underscore that layers overpowering menace into even the most innocuous scenes. Filmmakers Devino and Yohe play up the nastiness with imagery and sounds, while keeping the tension high between characters who overreact to everything. So there's rather a lot of screaming involved. But the script waits for quite awhile before revealing what's up.

Each of the four people who gather in this lake house is a bit heightened, with their own messy characteristics and oversized emotions. Rosen's Tom internalises everything, while Fletcher's inebriated Kathy constantly screams for attention and Wilson's dude-bro Mark is a swaggering chatterbox. Isabel has the most intriguing role as the thoughtful, textured Jess, who has her own issues but is trying to see people and situations as they are.

Oddly, the menace here doesn't feel particularly demonic: this is essentially a story about some sort of malevolent lake-dwelling monster that invades people's minds and warps perceptions, blurring the lines between reality, nightmares and deep-seated fears. So there's plenty in here to keep us freaked out as things get exponentially grisly. Without something particularly evil going on, the peril feels out of reach. Even so, we can sit back and admire the filmmakers' impressive odyssey of sights and sounds.

cert 18 themes, language, violence 18.Aug.24


Members Club  
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5  
Members Club
dir-scr Marc Coleman
prd Raghav Mukerji, Kevin Harvey, Antoine Dixon-Bellot
with Dean Kilbey, Perry Benson, Mark Monero, David Alexander, Steve Oram, Liam Noble, Emma Stannard, Barbara Smith, Jade Johnson, Juliet Cowan, David Schaal, Peter Andre
release UK Aug.24 frf
24/UK 1h30

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mollica and hyde
Camp, messy and outrageously grisly, this British working-class horror comedy starts as a silly riff on The Full Monty and quickly descends into bonkers hellish mayhem. While it's consistently witty and gleefully nasty, the story feels somewhat simplistic, which leaves the pacing rather slack. It doesn't help that the story is flatly ridiculous. But there are very funny touches along the way, and some cool character-based thrills as well.
Now firmly in middle age, the four strippers who make up Wet Dreams refuse to stop when their manager Deano (Noble) gives up on the business after 30 years. Optimistic group member Alan (Kilbey) takes over, and books a promising working men's club gig for the group, which includes pals Neil (Benson), Ratboy (Monery) and Carly (Alexander). But this booking is actually a trap, with the boys due to become sacrifices in a satanic ceremony to raise a 16th century witch from the grave. And coven leader Christine (Stannard) doesn't seem to be in control.
Snappy banter fills most scenes, as events spiral in increasingly nutty directions. Trapped in this club, Alan discovers that his estranged daughter Daisy (Smith) and her girlfriend Trish (Johnson) are coven members. Then Christine's long-lost ex (yes, that Peter Andre) turns up. And when the venue manager (Cowan) becomes a vessel for this slimy-rubbery ancient witch, the violence becomes increasingly over-the top. With some added magical nuttiness for good measure.

While there are moments that are played with either serious or emotional edges, the general tone is silly, so these likeable actors have a lot of fun. They also of course struggle to navigate the whiplash tonal shift when things turn suddenly serious. Kilbey is the one doing the most heavy lifting in this sense, but his inner turmoil doesn't really resonate. More interesting is his awkward connection with Smith's sparky Daisy, adding an emotional angle that only tangentially registers.

Writer-director Coleman is much more effective when he centres on central joke that this witch needs four male members in order to achieve her purest form, so the film becomes a stalker-style horror as men are taken out one by one. This builds to a properly jaw-dropping sight gag. And if you're looking for a message here, that would be in Neil's frantic admonishment: "This is what you get when you don't read the contract, Alan."

cert 15 themes, language, violence, sexuality 5.Aug.24


7 Keys  
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5  
7 Keys
dir-scr Joy Wilkinson
prd Dylan Rees, Cassandra Sigsgaard
with Emma McDonald, Billy Postlethwaite, Kaylen Luke, Joey Akubeze, Amit Shah, Jane Goddard, Jemma Moore, Andrew Scarborough, Georgie Lee-Robinson, Gem Carmella, Mina Sharman Ahmet, Joel Williams
release US Mar.24 sxsw,
UK Aug.24 frf
24/UK 1h33

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postlethwaite and mcdonald
Skilfully shot and edited, this British dramatic thriller is vividly centred around a young couple who behave transgressively as they travel around London. Writer-director Joy Wilkinson beautifully captures the inner lives of two strangers as they get to know each other in other people's homes. And along the way, several superbly orchestrated set-pieces inventively mix romance and suspense. Although it's increasingly difficult to hope for a happy ever after.
Discovering that they were both stood up on their dates in a restaurant, Lena (McDonald) and Daniel (Postlethwaite) decide to have dinner together instead, freed from the pressure of a date. So of course they hit it off. Lena is fascinated that Daniel has kept the keys to places where he used to live. And she proposes that they try them out. The first key fits, and no one is home, so they enjoy a sexy afternoon. Then at each flat they take more risks, opening up to each other while also concealing some secrets.
Indeed, there's quite a lot of information that's being hidden here. Daniel is clearly freaked out by sneaking into his old homes, but the intrepid Lena keeps him off-balance with her bravado. It doesn't exactly come as a surprise that not everything is as it seems, and the story takes a turn about halfway in with a couple of startling revelations that add both deeper emotions and an element of peril. Things only twist from there, getting increasingly intense and violent.

McDonald and Postlethwaite are excellent in remarkably textured roles. Lena and Daniel are extremely complex people, becoming more intriguing the more we get to know them. We don't exactly like them, but we want to spend more time with them. Lena's free-spirited attitude contrasts strongly with Daniel's timidity, so as the situation evolves, what they're facing begins to feel genuinely terrifying. And their interaction gets increasingly dark and unsettling.

With each new situation, the film becomes increasingly harrowing, sending the plot in some very nasty directions. After the warmer, lighter scenes in the first half, it's almost heart-stopping when the story's ultimate message turns out to be almost outrageously bleak. But then, this means that Wilkinson did her job expertly, pulling us so deeply into the situation that we vividly feel the distress and desperation. And also, thankfully, the relief.

cert 15 themes, language, violence, sexuality 6.Aug.24


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