Cinerama Capsule – quick read film reviews

Based on the classic cabin-in-the-woods premise, Dead Shack laces its zombie gore with gloriously dark humour. Fourteen-year-old Jason (Matthew Nelson-Mahood) is about to escape his volatile home life for a weekend in the woods with his best friend Colin (Gabriel LaBelle), his older sister Summer (Lizzie Boys), their dad Roger (Donavon Stinson) and his new girlfriend Lisa (Valerie Tian). The trip is about escape, with their log cabin serving as a sanctuary of relaxation, card games, and teenage hormonal energy. However, not far up the road, a doting mother protects her unique family at all costs as family mealtimes become a sinister game of cat-and-mouse. 

Dead Shack gloriously unpicks the family unit, openly challenging the notion that adults know best by placing its teen leads in charge. Here, its intelligent screenplay hums with brilliantly timed comedy while the blood and gore flow through creative, practical effects. The result is a genuinely engaging and entertaining zombie horror full of dry humour and Canadian charm.

Based on his 2014 autobiography HAM: Slices of a Life, Broadway star Sam Harris brings his collection of personal essays to the stage in a delightful, funny and touching one-person show. His journey from Bible Belt Oklahoma to the Broadway stage is full of colour, heartfelt emotion and glitter. Of course, it’s entirely possible that for British audiences, Sam Harris may be mostly unknown. However, that does not distract from the sheer talent on display in his one-person show. His life story is full of electric energy that brings a smile to your face, and when this is combined with moments of deep emotion, song, dance, and vivid characters, his honey-glazed show shines with sincerity.

What do you get when you take the brooding mystery of Donnie Darko and mix it with the imagery and style of Jacob’s Ladder? The answer is one of the most divisive yet creative horrors of 2019: Daniel Isn’t Real.

Reviews of Adam Egypt Mortimer‘s film, starring Miles Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger, were mixed upon its release, with many critics calling it more style than substance, while others argued it presented a damaging portrayal of mental health. However, in my view, Mortimer’s horror should be commended for taking some significant creative risks as it merges psychological terror with supernatural evil.

Daniel Isn’t Real crawls deep under the viewer’s skin, its lasting effect far more potent than the initial viewing. Some may find the content exploitative of mental health and, at times, insensitive. But the absolute terror sits within the supernatural world created by screenwriters Brian DeLeeuw and Adam Egypt Mortimer.

Despite a solid cast, Concrete Plans never finds a firm foundation, with its weak plot built on muddy ground: a group of cash-in-hand Welsh builders unexpectedly becomes cold-blooded killers. Their descent into madness and murder is the result of a financial dispute with the ex-military landowner who treats them with disdain, forcing them to live in a dilapidated caravan onsite, while he and his beautiful wife sit in luxury. Concrete Plans excels in its exploration of a building trade where cheap foreign labourers are often treated with contempt. However, while playing with the social issues ranging from racism to illegal employment and class divide, Concrete Plans never manages to find a unique voice. 

Slipping under the radar in 2019, I See You is an accomplished, riveting and eerie family-in-peril thriller with a delightful twist. Every scene of Adam Randell’s overlooked chiller drips suspense and intrigue as debut screenwriter Devon Graye keeps the audience on tenterhooks from the first scene to the last.

I See You shines with originality as we embark on a thrilling rollercoaster ride where nothing is as it first seems. Here, a loving mum, Helen Hunt, her husband Jon Tenney, and their teenage son Judah Lewis find their luxurious home turned upside down in a community fearing the return of a killer from the past. 

As events spiral out of control and the truth behind the community’s pain and the family’s torment converge, dark, long-held secrets are brought to light. Also starring Owen Teague, I See You is a hidden gem just waiting for the perfect Friday-night-in.

We all love a haunted house movie, right? On first appearance, BJ Vernot’s new film would appear to fall directly into the traditional haunted house genre; after all, here we have a young man, Roger (Richard Harmon), returning to his family home following the sudden death of his father, where he is greeted by a mysterious apparition that emanates from the walls.

However, BJ Vernot’s film is not what it initially appears to be, as it throws us a curveball of epic proportions. Much like Ghosts of War, The Return is a sci-fi thriller in supernatural clothing. I am not about to spoil the twists, but as with many films that attempt to transcend genre boundaries, there are a few problems: from a twist that can be seen coming to a final act that descends into farce. Despite these flaws, there is much to admire and enjoy, and The Return is creative and engaging, if not perfect. 

The Vigil is rooted within the Jewish tradition of someone sitting with the body of a recently deceased community member before their burial. The person is called a ‘shomer.’ Their responsibilities include reciting ‘Tehillim’ until the dead person is ready for burial. This act helps calm the spirit as it leaves the body, ensuring it travels the right path.

Yakov (Dave Davis) opted to leave the Orthodox Jewish community following a personal tragedy, his life a mix of post-traumatic stress and financial pressure as he attempts to rebuild his sense of belonging. Following a group support meeting for people in a similar position, Yakov is asked to conduct a Vigil for a recently departed man with his former Rabbi, who insists this is a one-off request because the agreed Shomer has disappeared. Reluctantly, Yakov agrees, but as he steps into the house, he has no idea of the terrors awaiting him as he faces his demons and an ancient sleeping evil.

Keith Thomas’ debut film slowly builds its tension, the dimly lit streets of Borough Park echoing the eerie residential silence of The Exorcist. Thomas plunges his audience into classic supernatural terror while exploring supernatural themes from a religious angle different from many similar pictures. 

Australia’s complex, violent and colonial history has been reflected through several influential films over the years, from The Nightingale to Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country. 

High Ground never quite matches the power of these films through its exploration of imperialism, genocide, and cultural appropriation in a John Ford Western style. However, that doesn’t mean High Ground does not contain moments of brutal honesty as we follow Gutjuk (Guruwuk Mununggurr), a young Indigenous boy taken into the care of a mission following the slaughter of his family. Through Gutjuk’s journey, High Ground asks us to reflect on the horror of colonialism and its horrific legacy of power imbalance, enslavement and genocide. 

Australian writer-director David O’Donnell’s Under My Skin is a fresh, delicate, captivating exploration of gender that unpicks and rewrites the classic romantic drama. At the same time, it embraces and furthers non-binary representation on screen. The result is a complex yet accessible slice of drama that explores the barriers and challenges of a non-binary ‘coming out’ process within a stable, loving, yet delicate union.

Denny is a musician who travels from bar to bar, earning meagre tips and fees while waiting for a lucky big break. Meanwhile, Ryan (Alex Russell) is a corporate lawyer, slowly working his way up the slippery slope of success while his boss demands attention. But on a work night out, Denny and Ryan’s worlds collide in a local bar when Denny’s music and energetic spirit captivate Ryan. They develop a deep relationship and emotional connection, quickly moving from casual dates to something more serious.

However, as Denny begins to explore their gender, Ryan starts to worry that his life and career may not be able to support a gender-neutral partner.