Movie Review: Red Dot (2021)

Red Dot (dir. Alain Darborg, 2021) – A young couple travels to the north of Sweden for a romantic trip that soon goes awry.

Solitude in the wilderness has seldom boded well for campers, at least on film. Away from civilisation, the adventurers often become easy targets for the malicious, man or beast. The deceptively beautiful hiking trails aren’t exactly safe either. Just ask the boys who had unknowingly braved The Ritual.

Nadja (Nanna Blondell) and Einar (Johannes Kuhnke) heeded none of that warning when they decide to go on a romantic trip to see the northern lights. The couple has long felt a strain on their year-old marriage, therefore pouring the last of their hopes into the belated honeymoon that may rekindle their passion.

As seasoned horror veterans may come to expect, things quickly go wrong. The game between the hunter and hunted begins when the titular Red Dot lands on their tent. Live bullets rip through where they stand as they realise the perils of their isolation.

Movie Review: Fried Barry (2020)

Fried Barry (dir. Ryan Kruger, 2020) – An alien visitor assumes control of an ill-mannered junkie as he discovers the weird world of humankind.

Something strange has made its way into Cape Town – wordlessly. Finding its first and only victim in Barry (Gary Green), the body snatcher inhabits the unlikable heroin junkie and invades his being in more ways than one. From there on, his bad trip never seems to end.

When the new Barry returns to Earth, he roams the streets as though he is seeing the world for the first time. He acts upon instinct and mimics the people around him, provoking violence at times. Yet he also performs heroics, albeit unintended, and surprises his estranged wife with uncharacteristic kindness.

It is hard to truly make sense of what he does and perhaps, unnecessary to do so. Fried Barry is at its core an avant-garde experiment, where the experience takes precedence over logic and story. Its original 3-minute film presents a small taste, though it proves inadequate to prepare us for the feature version and its 90-odd minutes of madness to come.

This review was originally published on Fleshcuts. Read the full post here.

Series Review: Sweet Home (2020)

Sweet Home / 스위트홈 (by Lee Eung-bok, 2020) – A suicidal high school student re-evaluates his decision when he comes to face monsters trying to wipe out all of humanity.

After losing his family and endured months of brutal bullying at his high school, Hyun-su (Song Kang) was ready to end his life. Or so he truly believed, before a horde of monsters begin to infest the apartment building he lives in. Realising how much he wants to live after all, he finds his new purpose to survive, if only to protect the lives of others.

Adapted from the viral webtoon of the same name, Sweet Home may sound like Hyun-su’s coming-of-age story. But the sprawling series goes far beyond his personal journey of self-discovery. The teenager shares the spotlight with several residents of Green Home, each with their own compelling story to tell.

Movie Review: His House (2020)

His House (dir. Remi Weekes, 2020) – A refugee couple escapes from war-torn South Sudan and begins a new life in an English town, where they struggle to adjust to their new home.

War refugees Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) have arrived on British soil. When they are granted probation asylum for 3 months, they make clear of their gratitude in tears. They embrace their new home, despite it being distant from the city and infested with pests.

They settle in, only to start hearing whispers and seeing shadows in the hallways. Baggage is not all they brought back with them from the war zone. An apeth, also known as a night witch in Dinka folklore, has come to claim its debt.

Movie Review: Black Box (2020)

Black Box (dir. Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, 2020) – An amnesiac attempts a new therapy in hopes of reconnecting with his family, only to uncover unwanted secrets in his past.

Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) sees a hole in the wall. Except he doesn’t remember punching it. The rage doesn’t feel familiar to him, but he hasn’t been feeling like himself for a while now. Months ago, a horrific car accident has left him without any of his memories. He wakes up to a life he has never known and struggles to reconnect with his daughter Ava (Amanda Christine).

When he finds out about an experimental treatment that may recover his past, he takes the chance. He allows Dr Lillian Brooks (Phylicia Rashad) to hypnotise him through untested technology, only to draw out a contorting entity that attempts to strangle him in his dreams.

Movie Review: Nocturne (2020)

Nocturne (dir. Zu Quirke, 2020) – A gifted pianist makes a Faustian bargain to take her twin sister’s place at a prestigious institution for classical musicians.

Success takes more than talent and hard work. Not all who dedicate their lives to a craft can achieve greatness. What then if you’ve spent every second into perfecting your life’s work, only to realise that it isn’t for you? Young pianist Juliet (Sydney Sweeney) learns this hard truth when she fails her audition for Julliard.

Her wound deepens when she realises that her twin Vivian (Madison Iseman) made it to the esteemed institute. Living in the shadow of her favoured sister all her life, she almost gives up on her lifelong dream. But she soon finds a way to change her fate when she discovers a score of Giuseppe Tartini’s Devil’s Trill, left behind by her deceased classmate Moira (Ji Eun Hwang).