EvilPhoEniX

The best religious horror ever, the best prequel ever, and without question the best mainstream horror genre stuff of the year. It was beginning to look like all horror movies with nuns were doomed, as few have managed to climb to at least above average, but this prequel to The Omen is a flash in the pan that is, above all else, also a great film rather than just a run-of-the-mill horror movie. It's got a wonderful period setting in 70's Rome. The setting is really very crucial to the whole film, great craftsmanship, amazing music, perfect acting – Nell Tiger Free is a great discovery, she is amazing, and the scene with the awakening of the demon in her body is downright Oscar-worthy. I enjoyed the plot, which is well thought out, the twists work, where the crucial one is quite shocking. It has a great dark atmosphere and steamy horror sequences. The triple suicide- jump-burn-hanging is perfection. There are two very unpleasant car crashes, one disgustingly creepy vision of a mutilated nun, two insane births that almost earned the film an NC-17 rating, well a blast that made me very happy. Uncomfortable feelings about horror for the first time in a while. Mission accomplished baby. 85%.

A wonderful film about cooking from historic France. The story is set in 1870 and the main character, considered the Napoleon of the culinary arts, cooks for his influential friends with Eugenie, who is his cook but also his mistress, but so far refuses to marry. They also have the daughter from a neighbor who has a great talent for discerning flavors. The first hour is a great gastronomic experience, it is a pleasure to know that they really cook with fresh ingredients that they have to grow, pick and possibly hunt themselves. The second half veers into drama and it got a bit ragged for me, but the ending kicks things up again nicely. I also praise the intelligent dialogue and solid acting performances. Taste does rub off with age, requires a good memory. This wine has everything: elegance, nobility and purity. Impressive France. 75%.

A very good occult body-folk horror from Mexico! The story revolves around a tabloid photographer who shoots dead bodies at crime scenes, only to have one case prove fatal. Suddenly, he succumbs to a mysterious illness – or curse – that robs him of one of his five senses every day! The premise is original and very good. The protagonist is also subject to terrifying hallucinations – these are the only horror elements and they are fine, but there are not many of them. Good craftsmanship, sinister atmosphere, witchcraft, Mexican traditions and one ritual of sacrifice – animal lovers will not be comfortable. I was expecting a more intense ending, but it's a good film and well worth your attention. Definitely one of the biggest surprises this year. 7/10.

Tubi Originals usually suck, but this is definitely their bright spot. A lightweight cannibal home invasion slasher, where two families get into it in an isolated house. It is surprisingly well made, it has a good cast, occasionally good jokes and even a bit of gore (they could definitely have gone a bit harder here, as some of the murders seemed rather stilted and not very creative). It's mostly decent fun and a pretty rewarding genre film that will make you reminisce about horror movies a decade back. It's definitely a pretty unconventional cannibal family that's decently twisted, and I was entertained. By the time it comes to getting down and dirty, there's quite an atmosphere that works as well, with the unsuspecting not expecting an attack. A decent surprise for me, but I missed more gore to get to 4 stars, but it's definitely worth a recommendation. 65% "I Rather eat pussy than people!"

Those Poles are just different. Another solid film on hacking and child prostitution. Better than Sound of Freedom, but not as striking as Patryk Vega's Small World, somewhere in between. The story revolves around on a young journalist investigating the mysterious death of a TV celebrity, which doesn't seem to be an accident, but she is soon becomes the victim of a cunning hacker intent on ruining her life, starting by posting her masturbation video for all to see. Mentally she is down in the dumps and gets a tip on a guy who knows knows computers and can track down the hacker. However, she soon uncovers a mysterious conspiracy surrounding online child prostitution. This could have been developed more and we don't get any explicit footage, so it's nothing downright shocking, but as a thriller it's suspenseful enough, with nice performance and execution, with some twist at the end. For those who can stomach these kind of films, definitely a good pick. 75%.

A French satire that pokes fun at Muslims and their entire religion, but when Muslims make fun of themselves, everything is fine. The film has a very interesting premise. We have a couple in love, but the girl’s brother comes back from Yemen, where he’s been radicalised and he’s starting to get a bit off kilter. Of course he keeps his sister locked up at home and doesn't tolerate any friends of other nationalities. So the boyfriend hatches a plan to put on a Hijab and pretend to be the new sister so he can see his girlfriend, but Mahmoud soon falls in love with the sister! Some sequences are very funny, the scene where the son dressed in a hijab sits in the bus and his mother who hates Muslims stands opposite him is really good, and there are more situations like that. Those who know a bit about Arab culture will understand the allusions more, but the French really do it tastefully, intelligently and with wit. 75%

Wong Ching-po is an experienced Taiwanese director, who has made the gritty revenge thriller Revenge: A Love Story and the excellent martial arts flick Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (I recommend both), and with his new film he makes another a dent in the world. The film has been receiving rave reviews in Taiwan, with the main character being nominated for the local Golden Horse awards for his performance and the film itself winning the prestigious award for fight choreography. The film mixes genres, alternating between drama, gangster, action and in the end a sectarian thriller. Surprisingly, the biggest plus point of the film is the story itself, its captivating. The main character is a criminal who is diagnosed with lung cancer and on top of that he learns that he is the third most wanted criminals in the country. Depression falls on him and he decides to get rid of the top two criminals so that only he can be the top one; definitely an original and unconventional revenge motivation. Unfortunately, there are only two action scenes, but I have to say that both fights are really classy and they shot me off the couch. They're brutal, the choreography is breathtaking and they're also long. It really sucks that there's not more action, but that’s quite made up for by the finale with the twisted cult, which is properly suspenseful, there's no shortage of twists and turns and the unpleasant atmosphere in the air worked well – it all culminates in a mass brutal execution! A good film with an interesting main character and an unusual story. 75%.

I'm not a gamer, but this is a post-apocalyptic gem with the works. I love in this genre and I devoured the whole thing in one breath. A nuclear apocalypse breaks out on earth and the survivors live in fallout bunkers called Vaults, because on the surface there is radiation, bandits, ghouls and mutants. The main character played by Ella Purnell with her big eyes is cute and very likeable, even though she is no action machine. The action is mostly handled by the excellent Walton Goggins, who plays the Ghoul and is the best character in the series, even though he is an anti-hero. He has great lines, he's uncompromising in action and all the scenes with him are among the best (even the flashbacks). I also enjoyed Maximus, even though it annoyed me that he runs half the series without that awesome Warhammer armor. The action is nicely brutal and stylish, although in the second half of the series there's a lot less of it than I would have liked and we only get two animal mutants, which is a shame, but it's all made up for by a great story packed with twists and turns, atmosphere, mystery and suspense. The Vault scenes reminded me a lot of Silo. The series has great pacing, it never slips into the kind of plodding drama that The Last of Us slid into. This is just lighter and crazier as well as just twisted enough, I enjoyed exploring that world and some dialogue about the destruction of the end of the world gave me a decent chill. There was also a more action-packed finale, so I'm satisfied. I was also a little disappointed that we didn't get to learn much from the Brotherhood faction, but they seemed very interesting. I want Season 2 now! It grabbed me by the balls properly. It's only April and already you could put together a top 10 series list, there hasn't been a series this strong in 10 years. 9/10.

"That chicken has declared jihad on us all!" I avoided this film for a long time, but I thought I'd give it a chance. It's an ultra brutal WTF flick from Troma that is beyond normal viewer taste – here I can really understand both a five-star and a Boo! Rating. But even though it's stupid crap at its core, the people who came up with this film are definitely not stupid. The premise is very original, the dialogue is surprisingly great, and the all sorts of politically incorrect innuendos and references to older horror films is delivered with such care that you can definitely feel the talent and love for the genre. 65% is a really nice above average for this kind of film. The first 40 minutes reminded me of the redneck American comedies of 20 years ago, and I actually had a decent laugh. Once the zombie-chicken carnage begins, it's a decent gore atrocity, with things happening that I haven't seen elsewhere (and all sorts of fluids squirting: blood, slime, shit, vomit! ). The film is not afraid of nudity, you don’t see so many boobs in horror movies nowadays. The film is more or less a satire and takes on fast food chains, lesbians, fat people, vegetarians, big corporations, movie clichés, Mexican Muslims (the Arab woman in the jihad really made me laugh!). To my surprise, even the sick musical numbers had interesting lyrics, you just can't make that stuff up. It's so perfectly twisted, incorrect and brutal that it won my heart. PS: The most enjoyable references are Day of the Dead, Aliens, The Thing, and Braindead. 80%

A gripping story set in 1907, with miners facing hard times and difficult conditions. The story revolves around a young boy, Konrad, who escapes from a farm where he was forced to work for free. He applies for a job in a mine and has a pretty tough start, it's a not a job wimps and he's an outsider among the adults who don't give him much of a chance, but he surprises them and soon becomes a full member. The film tells a compelling story that immediately draws you in, captivated by the nice period setting, the rough work of the miners, who are treated badly, their pay is cut, they are given tough assignments and the management are getting greedy and want more money, but as it happens action provokes a reaction and rebellion is inevitable. Visually the film is very nice, so is the acting, it's even quite suspenseful in certain sequences, there are some skirmishes and minor plot surprises. All in all, a well made film with a strong story from a tough setting. 75%.