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The ensemble cast members create believable characters who are messy and passionate about their feelings. So even if the loose editing and sound mix can leave scenes feeling a bit amateurish, watching these chaotic people is thoroughly entertaining. Bawn generates some cute chemistry with both Kennedy and Ware, as sparks of attraction complicate professional situations. And Rogers' Eric has a superb authenticity as a loudmouth who understands more than he seems to.

Most of the story points feel somewhat underwritten, peppered with implausible details, but there are more interesting things going on. At the centre of the conflict is the question of how to give investors what they want while making sure the community has what it needs. But the main message is about being fully present, showing up for your friends and family when they need you. So where all of this goes has wider repercussions that provide an important commentary on society.

themes, language, sexuality

16.Apr.26

MacKay is terrific in this strikingly physical role, expressing as much with his body as with words. He's a young man simply trying to provide for his family, worried that this freaky time loop means that he has sacrificed everything by taking this job. His friendship with the magnetic Turner's quieter, steelier Liam is fascinating, uneven and unpredictable. Surrounding characters often feel almost like a chorus around them, confronting and challenging their perceptions.

All of this ripples into the present through wider topicality, touching on everything from climate change to shifting global economics. It's a powerful idea that this small community is no longer the vibrant part of larger society that it used to be. And on a more personal level, the film explores how past tragedies echo through generations and have an impact that's deeper and wider than we can ever really know.

themes, language, violence

29.Jan.26

Frustratingly, voices down the line never quite become fully fledged characters, while Evy's only depth is her sense of responsibility for her mother and a vaguely strained relationship with her boyfriend (Turner). Instead of trying to deepen the audience's involvement using coherent storytelling, Tuason leans entirely into the extraordinary soundscape, which comes to life every time Evy puts on her headphones, enveloping the cinema in an eerily cold silence before the cacophony begins.

Hints about witchy demonic folklore build on the religious icons positioned around Mama's fusty house. So how the camera's artfully drifts around the sets creates a vibe that's creepy but never actually frightening. There is the odd blurry figure in the dark, plus red herring shots of mirrored doors swinging open and closed. But the main thing that unsettles us is the skilfully constructed onslaught of sounds, carefully mixed to be as jarring as possible. And in the end we are still waiting for something horrific to happen.

themes, language, violence

1.Apr.26