Film: Mea Culpa

When his young son witnesses a gangland killing a disgraced former cop enlists the help of his old partner to track down those responsible.

This French thriller features a powerhouse performance from Vincent Lindon as Simon, a man troubled by his past who is also struggling to come to terms with his current standing as an estranged Father.

When it all kicks off the action is ferocious and there are a few twists and turns along the way ensuring the story remains gripping throughout.

Mea Culpa is my first World Cinema movie of 2015 and it has served as a timely reminder that we shouldn’t limit ourselves to only Hollywood (or even English speaking) productions.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: Citadel

Following a brutal attack on his pregnant partner, Tommy (Aneurin Barnard), is reduced to a nervous wreck who can’t leave his house, but he must overcome these fears if he wants to keep his baby daughter.

This UK horror film opens with a scene so nasty I wasn’t sure I could continue to watch but Aneurin Barnard’s performance as the distraught Tommy is so compelling that I just couldn’t switch off.

Tommy consults guidance councillors and the local Priest (James Cosmo) in a bid to tackle his fears but they are soon realised when his daughter is taken and Tommy is forced to take action.

Like a lot of horrors these days Citadel starts really well and, in this case, the tension continues until the true identity of the hooded villains is revealed. It’s all a bit silly after that but this remains an enjoyable British horror.

Citadel is released on DVD in the UK on 30^th September 2013.

Ric’s Rating: Good  

Film: Entity

A British tv crew head to remote Russia to explore the place where 32 bodies were discovered.

A renowned psychic (Dervla Kirwan) is part of the crew and she soon begins to see visions of the dead who lead her and the team to an abandoned building.

Needless to say this was the scene of some pretty horrific crimes and some strange forces still linger.

Fans of Paranormal Activity may enjoy Entity but if, like me, you are tired of the whole found footage / shaky camera genre then any interest in this will quickly evaporate.

Entity is available on DVD in the UK from 24th June 2013.

Ric's Rating: Poor

Film: Hidden Face

A successful orchestra conductor is shattered when his girlfriend leaves him for no apparent reason after moving into a new house.

Time moves on and he finds a new lover but she doesn’t like being left in the house alone as she is convinced she can hear strange noises.

This superior Columbian drama tells its story by way of two different time-lines. We begin with the new relationship but soon go back to previous events with the original partner, leading to a brilliant finale that cleverly joins both stories.

Every so often a film comes along that greatly exceeds expectations. Hidden Face is such a film.

I knew little of it prior to watching it but I was expecting a ho-hum ghost story. Little did I know I was about to be treated to the best foreign language film I have seen in a long time, and thankfully there isn’t a ghost in sight.

Original, imaginative and totally compelling with great performances from the three main characters, Hidden Face is the type of film that I implore people to see.

If you have any reservations about subtitled movies try this and you’ll never look back.     

Hidden Face is available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric’s rating: Essential.

Film: Frozen Silence

An army detective hunts for a serial killer who easily hides during the carnage of World War II.

This Spanish film is set within a team of soldiers who are sent to help Germany fight against the Russian army.

It opens with a beautifully shot scene showing a frozen wasteland littered with the remains of both humans and horses. It is among these bodies that the first victim is found.

This wisely doesn’t get too bogged down in the politics of its setting and I wouldn’t consider this a war film as such. It is a detective drama set amongst war.

Unfortunately the initial promise isn’t built on and the investigation becomes somewhat stale. Maybe a few more war type battle scenes would have livened things up!

Frozen Silence looks fantastic but the story doesn’t match up to the cinematography. It’s available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric's Rating: Dodgy

Film: Come Out And Play

A newlywed American couple visit a remote Mexican island but soon realise that something isn’t quite right.

There seems to be hardly any people on the island and almost all of the ones they see are children. It turns out that the island’s children have succumb to some sort of madness which makes them attack adults, with deadly results.

Our couple are soon fleeing for their lives from the nasty and violent gang.

What’s worse than a scary kid film? A film with a whole bunch of scary kids.

At times this is really unintentionally funny as the little boys and girls attempt to look menacing. There are some shocking scenes of violence but that’s mostly when the hero decides to fight back, overall this is just silly.

Come Out And Play is available on DVD in the UK from 6^th May 2013.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.  

Film: The Echo

An ex-convict attempts to get his life back on track but when he moves into his deceased Mother’s apartment strange events begin to occur.

Bobby Reynolds (Jesse Bradford) starts to hear weird noises in the old apartment and then there’s the neighbours to worry about. A Mother and her young daughter seem to be at the mercy of the abusive man of the house, but Bobby daren’t confront him as he just happens to be a cop.

While all this is happening he also attempts to hold down a job and rekindle an old romance.

Bradford gives a decent performance in this compact chiller but the good work done in the first 45 minutes unfortunately makes way for yet another scary kid story. Am I the only one who’s had enough of them?

That being said there are plenty of worse horrors out there and this works well as a late night popcorn ghost story.

The Echo is available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.  

Film: Room 237

This documentary feature examines the apparent multi-layered complexity of Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror The Shining.

Room 237 consists of countless clips of The Shining with commentary from various fanatics regarding their theories on any potential hidden messages.

With theories ranging from the massacre of the American Indians to the holocaust this is very strange stuff indeed. Throw in a few silly pieces of sexual innuendo and consistency errors and this amounts to the equivalent of a room full of Star Wars fans nitpicking those movies.

It really is nerds day out as we are supposed to see significance in the fact that an empty chair disappears from view when we return to the same shot.

This sort of stuff could apply to any film and the fact that this has been made into a film in it’s own right almost beggars belief.

Unless The Shining is one of your all time favourites and you’d enjoy examining every piece of minute information that it’s possible to interpret from what’s on screen then steer well clear.

Room 237 is available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric’s Rating: Poor.         

Film: Battle Of Warsaw

This Polish film may be marketed as an all-out action War film but it’s really the tale of newlyweds Ola and Jan and the effect war has on them and their relationship.

Jan goes off to fight against the invading Russians while Ola attempts to keep her job as a nightclub singer.

As we might expect each has a different set of circumstances to deal with. Jan finds himself amongst the enemy and must use his intelligence to survive and Ola quickly has to fend off the advances of an amorous old colonel.

Although the production is a bit rough round the edges this is an enjoyable film that throws in some nice touches of humour amongst the tragedy.

Are Ola and Jan reunited?

Catch Battle Of Warsaw on DVD in the UK now to find out.

Ric’s Rating: Good  

Film: Thale

“Troll Hunter’s twisted cousin” exclaims the poster. But does this Norwegian folklore flick meet the same high standard?

Leo and Elvis are specialised cleaners, they clean crime scenes and houses where the dead have lain for quite some time. While cleaning a remote cabin they make a startling discovery, one of the occupants is still very much alive.

Meet Thale, a beautiful young woman who has apparently been kept captive in the cabin. It soon emerges that Thale isn’t exactly a typical 20-something. She can sense illness and impart her memories through touch. As the guys wait for help to arrive others begin to sense Thale’s presence.

The film mostly takes place in the cabin and relies heavily on the performances of the three main actors. Thankfully they are up to the job and we are treated to a tense and creepy film that even manages to handle the weirdness on display very well indeed.

Thale isn’t quite as good as Troll Hunter but it isn’t far off it and will appeal greatly to fans of that film.

Thale is available on DVD in the UK from 25^th March 2013.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended. 

Film: Jackpot

Based on a story by bestselling author Jo Nesbo this Norwegian film starts with a Tarantino-esque shoot-out in a strip-club. The story of four co-workers winning a mega-money jackpot on football betting is then gradually revealed.

Oscar runs a factory that employs ex-offenders and he reluctantly agrees to join a betting syndicate with three of the workers. When their results come up it isn’t long before greed, rivalry and some long-forgotten grudges begin to influence the behaviour of the group.

The result is a violent and often hilarious film that keeps the viewer guessing how things will turn out.

Jackpot is available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended 

Film: Lovely Molly

Molly (Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis) decide to move into the long-time vacant house where Molly grew up, unaware that this would bring back forgotten memories of traumatic events.

Former drug user Molly begins to experience some strange feelings in the house and she is particularly vulnerable while Tim is away working. As her behaviour becomes more and more erratic she finds herself in trouble at work and begins to seek solace in the drugs she battled to quit.

Gretchen Lodge delivers a fantastic performance as the woman attempting to forget past demons but struggling to stay on an even keel. If only they hadn’t bothered with the “spooky” element this would have been so much better.

Lovely Molly is available on DVD in the UK from 22^nd October 2012.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: The Monk

An abandoned baby is left on the steps of a monastery in this French gothic horror.

The boy soon grows up to be the most charismatic Monk within the order and people flock from far & wide to hear him preach, but when a strange newcomer arrives things begin to spiral out of control quickly for the revered Ambrosio  (Vincent Cassell)

The new arrival is a boy called Valerio who wears a mask to hide burns sustained in a house fire. The mask makes Valerio a very creepy character indeed and the whispering voice that accompanies the chilling look adds to his unnerving presence.

Sadly the mask soon comes off and the entire film takes a turn for the worse when Valerio’s true identity is revealed.

Even a few murders and a great performance from Cassell can’t get this back on track. When the tension is gone, it’s gone.

The Monk is a potentially genuinely scary horror that suffers by turning into a tale of forbidden love.

It’s available on DVD in the UK now.

Ric’s Rating: Poor.   

Film: Exit Humanity

Its ten years after the American Civil War and upon his return home from a hunting trip Edward Young (Mark Gibson) finds his wife has become one of the walking dead....and his son is missing.

Young eventually decides to go in search of his son. On his travels he meets a fellow survivor and learns of a ruthless General (Bill Moseley of The Devil’s Rejects) who will stop at nothing to find a cure for the unnatural outbreak. Young must deal with all these issues while also attempting to keep a promise.

The Civil War setting is a cool twist in the zombie genre and the story moves along nicely using pages from Young’s journal to illustrate events and Brian Cox provides a smooth narration.

The trouble is we don’t get enough background on Young to ever really care about him and the action often slows to a near standstill.

Cool but lacks excitement.

Exit Humanity is available on DVD in the UK from 2^nd July 2012 courtesy of Metrodome.

Ric's Rating: Dodgy     

Film: Resistance

In this World War II drama the D-Day mission has failed and Great Britain is under Nazi rule.

The women of a small farming community find themselves having to cope with the ruling enemy forces while the men of the village are away fighting.

The intriguing premise soon fades, leaving behind a dreary tale of forbidden attraction between one of the wives and the commanding German officer.

Even a brief appearance from the usually excellent Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, Unthinkable) doesn’t help raise the interest level.

A dull plodding affair with no compelling characters and a very anti-climactic ending.

Resistance is available on DVD in the UK now courtesy of Metrodome.

Ric’s Rating: Poor

Film: Stay Cool

The old cliché about books and covers comes into play here. Check out the cover. High School chick flick, right? Wrong. What we have here is a whole lot more interesting.

It’s the tale of successful author Henry McCarthy (Mark Polish, who also wrote the film) returning to his High School to deliver a motivational speech to graduates. In order to get into the minds of the teenagers McCarthy decides to spend some time at the school and what follows is a surreal story that takes the 37 year old right back to his own High School days.

All the essential elements of a classic school movie are here, from staying with his parents (where his bedroom still has posters of The Lost Boys), old friends, enemies, teachers and the object of his teenage affections (Winona Ryder).

It all comes together perfectly to create a funny and poignant film that takes one back to their own school days. This is a perfect example of a “little known gem”, it’s the kind of film that doesn’t get a UK cinema release because it has no current major stars and it’s a school film aimed at adults so no mass appeal, such a shame.

The entire cast are fantastic. Mark Polish is perfect as the former geek still looking for love and Winona Ryder (who starred in the classic school movie Heathers) is excellent as his long lost sweetheart. Chevy Chase does a cool comedy turn as the principal and Sean Astin (The Lord Of The Rings trilogy) is hilarious as the flamboyant “Big Girl”.

I managed to find another poster that much more accurately depicts the film so I had to post

that too.

Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates the influence that their school days had on their lives , pretty much everyone then.

Stay Cool is released on DVD in the UK on 30th January 2012 courtesy of Metrodome.

Ric’s Rating: 92%

Film: Cash

Jean Reno is fast becoming France’s answer to Steven Seagal, he seems to be appearing in an endless amount of straight to dvd films of varying quality.

This effort gives Reno second billing and he features prominently on the cover but he doesn’t show up for quite some time, although he does make a significant impact and his charisma shines through.

The main character is a con artist called Cash (Jean Dujardin, a man who strongly resembles UK tv star Robson Green). Following the death of his brother, Cash plans revenge and with the help of Reno and others he goes about hurting the culprits where they’ll feel it most, in their pockets.

The Ocean’s Eleven type antics are mildly interesting but the whole thing lacks excitement and pace. A surprising appearance by Ciaran Hinds from UK tv’s Above Suspicion was the most entertaining thing about it, he even speaks French, complete with the accent.

Cash was made in 2008 but arrives on DVD in the UK on 9th January 2012 courtesy of Metrodome.

Ric’s Rating: 37%

Film: Faces In The Crowd

Anna Marchant (Milla Jovovich) survives an encounter with the notorious serial killer Tearjerk Jack but the incident leaves her suffering from Prosopagnosia aka “face blindness”.

Unable to recognise her attacker Anna makes for a bad witness, much to the chagrin of cop Sam Kerrest (Julian McMahon) but even more troubling is the fact that she cannot recognise her friends, her partner or even her own reflection.

This begins very promisingly with Jovovich performing admirably as the nervy victim. Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break, The Walking Dead) also puts in an appearance but it’s all too brief as the actress playing her part frequently changes in order to illustrate the face blindness. This happens with all the characters, the notable exception being McMahon and the reason for this is explained, rather shoddily, towards the films finale.

What could have been an excellent serial killer film turns out to be a cheesy and predictable effort that’s mediocre at best, although it’s nice to see Jovovich in something other than a Resident Evil film.

Faces In The Crowd is released on DVD in the UK on January 9th 2012.

Ric’s Rating: 58%

Film: The Flight Before Christmas

When impetuous young reindeer Niko unwittingly leads wolves to his herd he decides they would be better off without him so he sets off on a quest to find his Father, one of Santa’s famous flying reindeer.

Along the way he is joined by Julius the flying squirrel and Wilma the weasel, together they embark on the seemingly impossible journey to Santa’s Fell, but the wolves are close behind.

This beautifully animated film is a festive treat for both kids and adults. It has charming characters and nice moments of humour but the trio’s journey isn’t without peril.

The Flight Before Christmas is an ideal movie to enjoy with the kids as we approach the festivities, it’s available on DVD in the UK now courtesy of Metrodome.

Ric's Rating: 71%

DVD: Saint

Just released on DVD in the UK by Metrodome this Dutch horror comes across as a mash up of Halloween and Bad Santa.

In 1968 young Goert witnesses the slaughter of his entire family by a mysterious group led by the red robed, white bearded St Nicholas.

Fast forward 42 years and Goert is a police officer who attempts to warn his bosses of the coming atrocities. He has learned that St Nicholas strikes when there is a full Moon on December 5th.

Meanwhile a group of teens prepare to celebrate and unwittingly encounter the evil Santa and his helpers.

Not being familiar with the tradition of St Nicholas and Black Peter I struggled to comprehend what was going on (apart from the obvious killing spree) but there are enjoyable scenes in this movie. While dressed as St Nicholas the gormless Frank happens across the man himself and a brilliant fight / escape scene ensues where Frank, fuelled by panic, manages to fend off the ghouls.

It's all very silly but good fun in parts and works well as an alternative Christmas movie.

Ric's Rating: 63%