VESPER - Mayhem Festival Favourites

 

Hello Folks,

Following on from the 1st favourite of mine Wolf Manor from this years great Mayhem Festival next up is Vesper.

It was a film I had seen a few stories about and I couldn't quite put my finger on what had grabbed my attention  but there was something about the film that really peaked my interest and I must say it surpassed all my expectations.

Its a story of a young girl named Vesper played brilliantly by Rafiella Chapman who was also in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's home for for Peculiar Children and as a young actress she is superb in this and definitely has a very bright future ahead of her.

It tells the story of the collapse of earth's eco-system and is focused on a group of survivors trying to get some kind of normality back and do what they can to keep the human race alive. This particular group have a leader, Jonas played by Eddie Marsan who personally has become a favourite British actor of mine in the last few years, problem is he is a total shit head!

Vesper has her bed ridden father who can communicate through a floating droid that follows her around and has a painted face similar to Wilson from the Tom Hanks movie "Castaway" who helps her out when he can and does his bed ridden best to keep her spirits up.

Vesper is a lot more intelligent than basically all the people around her give her credit for but when a craft crashes in the woods it changes everything. She has a plan to get planet earth back on track to being how it was before the eco disaster, But will she succeed? 

That's all I can really say without spoiling it and I was going to put a trailer on but that could spoil things so you haven't got one !

One thing that did surprise me was how great the special FX were and the scenery was brilliant, Some have said that it lays on the message of climate change a bit heavy but honestly lets face it if we do carry on like we are we are actually fucked, So it may well do but don't be an arsehole and rant about that if that's your opinion just enjoy it for a bloody great dystopian look into the future and if you do get chance to see it in a big screen please do, It looked great and I would definitely love to see it on the big screen again.

8/10 From Jonny T. 

Wolf Manor - Mayhem Festival Favourites

 

Wolf Manor,

UK 2022, 85 Minutes,

Directed by Dominic Brunt,

Starring James Fleet, Nicky Evens, John Henshaw.

"Shooting a vampire movie in an old abandoned house should have worked like a dream. However, with the full moon, The nightmare begins, The body count rises as the cast and crew encounter the mansion's resident werewolf."

Hello Folks!

I recently attended Mayhem festival in Nottingham and it was brilliant as always! The setting is Broadway cinema in Nottingham which is a fantastic cinema. If you've never been you really should.

So the next few posts will be some reviews of my favourite films of the weekend starting with a new British Werewolf movie "Wolf Manor" known in the USA as "Scream of the wolf"

So, It was Thursday and the start of Mayhem Film Festival and first up was Wolf Manor, From Director and Emmerdale star Dominic Brunt and it was bloody great! Set in an old mansion house it is based around the making of a vampire movie with a superb performance by James Fleet who plays Oliver, A pretty much washed up older actor that is to reprise his vampire role one last time, He does moan about a lot of stuff(and drinks a lot!) which is hilarious and if you have ever read about Christopher Lee by the time he got to Dracula A.D.1972 you can definitely see where the influence comes from!

This brings me to the Q&A  session after the screening with Dominic Brunt, Joel Ferrari the writer of Wolf Manor who was a man of few words but hilarious! He has also written an upcoming horror called Pandora which i would also keep your eye on if Wolf Manor is anything to go by.

One of the Joel did say was that "it is a horror films written by horror fans for horror fans." And that summed up  Wolf Manor perfectly.

It's basically a homage to many classics, I especially noticed many references to An American werewolf in London but there were loads more. When the Wolf arrives at the Manor it turns into a classic werewolf/ movie with the body count mounting up and some brilliant kills. Also a great thing to see was al the practical FX, The wolf itself also looked great and as menacing as can be.

Th gore level is super high as well as the laughs, Over the last few years there has been a few classic British werewolf films such as Howl and of course Dog Soldiers and i personally would put this easily up there with those movies.

Wolf Manor is a solid entry into the genre and destined to become a future favourite of many many horror fans, Like Joel said "It is a horror film written by horror fans for horror fans" Go see it as soon as you can.

A Very Solid 8.5/10

  

'Censor' Prano Bailey-Bond’s acclaimed ‘thrilling, dizzying debut’ is set for its release on Standard Edition Blu-ray on 31 October from Second Sight

 

Hello Folks!

Some great news that the fantastic movie "Censor" is getting a release on Halloween!

If you've not seen it yet I strongly suggest you do it's one of the best movies this year,

Please see details below a well as a pre-order link from Second Sight films,

Jonny,

PRE-ORDER LINK BELOW

https://secondsightfilms.co.uk/products/censor-standard-edition  

Following its highly praised Limited Edition release from Second Sight Films, Prano Bailey-Bond’s acclaimed ‘thrilling, dizzying debut’ Censor is set for its release on Standard Edition Blu-ray on 31 October, perfect for Halloween viewing.

The film features the incredible Niamh Algar in a mesmerising performance as a dedicated, intense film censor during Britain’s infamous ‘video nasty’ era, whose work slowly becomes intertwined with her past, in this brilliantly dark and disturbing British horror

‘This thrilling, dizzying debut... is a nostalgic treat for anyone old enough to remember the infamous "video nasties" scare of the early 80s’ Mark Kermode

‘Feels lovingly worked-at, slathered in period detail and aesthetic beauty’

The Independent

 

‘Bailey-Bond displays a tricky skill: moving from realism to nightmarish oddness while taking viewers along with you’

Sunday Times

Saint Maud comes to all formats and mega competition!

Hello Folks,

Some new that the brilliant Saint Maud comes to all formats on February 1st,  To celebrate the release I have teamed up with Organic for a competition to win some fantastic Saint Maud goodies, These include a T-Shirt, Posters and of course a Blu-Ray release of the movie, All you have to do is answer the question below and email me at jonnyscultfilms@gmail.com it's that easy!

Competition closes 1st February 2021, Contest open to UK residents,

Thank you and good luck!

Jonny.

QUESTION - Name the Director of the fantastic Saint Maud.

The Guardian ***** Daily Telegraph ***** The Independent ***** The Sun *****

Daily Mirror ***** Metro ***** Evening Standard *****Time Out ***** Digital Spy *****

 The Observer ***** SFX ***** Den of Geek *****

THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT BRITISH FILM OF 2020 

SAINT MAUD

DVD, Blu-ray and Limited Edition Steelbook artwork WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ROSE GLASS STARRING MORFYDD CLARK and JENNIFER EHLE ON DVD, BLU-RAY, LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK and DIGITAL RELEASE FROM 1ST FEBRUARY 2021 

“One of the best British debuts of all time” | Charlotte O’Sullivan | Evening Standard 

“Extraordinary" | Matt Glasby | Total Film "Utterly original" | Rosie Fletcher | Den of Geek

Following its breakthrough cinema release, STUDIOCANAL are excited to announce the DVD, Blu-ray, limited edition SteelBook® and digital release of Rose Glass’ universally acclaimed directorial debut SAINT MAUD, starring Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle, on 1 st February 2021. Available to pre-order now from Amazon on Digital, DVD & Blu-ray.

 The Zavvi exclusive limited edition SteelBook® can be preordered HERE. Live-in nurse Maud (Morfydd Clark) arrives at the home of Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a famous dancer now frail from illness and trapped in her grand, isolated house. At first Amanda is intrigued by this religious young woman, who provides distraction from her failing health. Maud, in turn, is bewitched by her new patient. But Maud is not all that she seems. She is tormented by a violent secret from her past and by ecstatic messages she believes are directly from God. She becomes convinced she has been sent to Amanda not simply as a nurse, but to serve a divine purpose. As her grip on reality slides out of control, Maud's care turns into a deadly mission to save Amanda’s soul, by any means necessary. Screen ‘Star of Tomorrow’ Morfydd Clark and BAFTA and Tony Award-winner Jennifer Ehle come together in this electrifying psychological horror from debut writer/director and Screen ‘Star of Tomorrow’ Rose Glass. Extras: • Audio Commentary with writer director Rose Glass & editor Mark Towns • Virtual Q&A with Rose Glass & film critic Robbie Collin • Constructing the Scene featurette • Maud and Amanda featurette • Creating the World featurette SAINT MAUD will be released on DVD, BLU RAY, Limited Edition steelbook and Digital platforms on 1st February 2021 

 

0.00MHZ -Reviewed

It was a Sunday night on lock-down and i was looking for something to watch, I'd been through Netflix as we all do trying to find something which can take as long as it takes to watch a film!Netflix options were exhausted and nothing peaked my interest, So i was flicking through my phone on the Shudder app and came across an interesting Asian title called "0.0MHz". And as you all know we love a good Asian horror over here so decided to give it a go.

The movie opens up with a ceremony outside a remote hut with the local villagers in attendance, They appear to be trying to eradicate a spirit that it seems to have caused a woman to hang herself in the cabin, This ceremony goes not as  planned  resulting in both of the people trying to rid the demon dead, In particularly gruesome ways.

Then we cut to a group of "Ghost Hunters" teenagers with a bit of knowledge and some equipment to be honest, The are called the 0.0Mhz club as that is the frequency where the spirits appear and cross over, Or something like that but you get the idea. As with all standard movie group of teens you have the couple,The geeky one, The weird one ETC. They load up the vehicle and stop off on the way to get supplies of food and Beer where they are warned by a local not to disrespect the dead basically do not have a party there,Do they listen? Of course not!!

They start their ghost hunt with drinks and piss taking but it all starts to go very very wrong, Surprisingly they all make it out and back to the vehicle, But have they done everything the should have to leave the spirit behind? Once again, Of course not!!!

So, You get the idea. It was i thought anyway great, Kind of seen it all before, The great long haired ghost is present as always and the settings and atmosphere is great, One part actually made me really jump! The only down side i would say i that some of the CGI is at time a little ropy but you can forgive that for the most part.

So, In summing up don't expect anything too original but it does have some good twists and some genuinely creepy bits, Well worth a watch 0.0MHz is now streaming on Shudder.

7.5/10

Jonny T.

The Occupant - Reviewed

Hello Folks,
Whilst going through the international section on Netflix came across The Occupant, I had read about it and love the lead actor Javier Gutierrez so i decided to give it a go.
It tells the story of a failing Advertising executive who is looking for work but not much success, This ultimately leads to him having to move out of his beloved apartment with his wife and son in tow.
But what gives it a twist is that he still holds a key to his old apartment, He returns to spy on the new occupants then eventually lets himself back in whilst they are out, From here on in we see his mental state deteriorate as he slowly befriends the new owners without them having a clue of who he is or what the hell he has been up to in their absence
There are some real tense moments and even though you know what he is up to i personally felt some sympathy for him at first anyway!.   
He basically gets to know the young couple and manipulates them in i must say some very clever if horrible ways against each other, i shall say no more.
All i would say is watch it, I thought it was great, Javier is great and slimy horrible in equal measures, It's got that feeling that it's bound to be if already not remade for the Hollywood audience but please watch this version, It's solid.
8/10.
Jonny T.

Sea Fever - Reviewed.

The crew of a West of Ireland trawler, marooned at sea, struggle for their lives against a growing parasite in their water supply.

Director: Neasa Hardiman

Writer: Neasa Hardiman

Stars: Connie Nielsen, Hermione Corfield, Dougray Scott 

From Irish female director Neasa Hardiman Comes Sea Fever, She's mostly known for directing TV shows such as Jessica Jones,Inhumans and Happy Valley and it's great to see her direct a full feature and the result is pretty good in my opinion.

When student Siobhan (Hermione Corfield) is set with the task to join a crew of an Irish Trawler to undertake studies on the catch and note any anomalies she takes on the job but it turns out a lot more than anomalies she will be up against. Not the most confident of people she boards the ship and doesn't feel comfortable trying to be a part of the crew family so just finds various places to do her studies and keeps her self to her self.

The captain gets a radio message from the coast guard about the course they are taking that will be leading them into an exclusion zone and to change course. One thing that Siobhan asks the crew when she boards is that she has to do a short dive whilst out at sea. The trawler comes to an abrupt stop as if it has hit something, Reluctant but asked by the captain she takes that dive and what she finds below the surface that is holding the trawler is not what she or anyone on-board expects.

I really did enjoy Sea fever, I found it to have elements of many other movies such as The Abyss, The Thing to name just a couple, The acting was solid as were the FX for a low budget movie, It's one of those films where you really don't know who will survive, It has it's gory moments and i would say if you are squeamish about "eye" things you may want to look away once or twice!

So in summing up, A great little independent horror movie and keep your eye out for, You can do a lot lot worse like all the crap that comes out of big Hollywood studios, Well worth a look,

7.5/10,

Jonny T.