The Ritual (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written September 18th, 2017*

"The Blairy Bunch"

There's not a massive lot to be said about The Ritual, a low-budget British horror film about four friends who find themselves lost in the woods being taunted by a monster after they go on a memorial trip after their friend dies in a store robbery.

It's all just fairly serviceable and stuff you've seen before, there's clear inspiration from The Blair Witch Project, and to be honest, this is still a better Blair Witch film than last years remake disguised as a sequel. There is also a fairly intriguing mystery at what the monster is and where that goes at least.

Where The Ritual shines most is easily in its lead character. Luke (Rafe Spall) is a man haunted and guilty after the death of his friend, his arc of facing his demons (Both metaphorical and literal) is easily the most compelling part. Spall manages to hold his own in a horror film, he's always an actor I've liked, even from his days in the vastly underrated Channel 4 comedy 'Pete Vs. Life'. 

It's a shame that the rest of the cast are very under served an one not. I honestly can't remember the name of a single one of them, and I wasn't too bothered when any of them were killed off. That said, I was surprised at how funny this could be at times, the cast all had great chemistry together, it's just a shame their characters were so bland.

Being a 90 minute film really helped too. Things went by really fast and before I knew it, I was in the middle of a very surprising and decent final act that none of the trailers spoiled at all. It changed from horror into something else (It also made me realise I need to finally watch The Wicker Man. Not the Nicolas Cage masterpiece, the original).

We don't get a lot of answers as to what the monster is directly, but it was pretty easy to work out. I also liked the design of the creature, it's hard to explain other than "A horse mixed with a Jawa from Star Wars". There's also a lack of jump scares and extreme gore, which I'm getting tired of, the film gets its tension from mystery and atmosphere, which I always appreciate.


The Ritual might be far from the best horror films of the year in a very good year for the genre, but for what it was, it's a perfectly acceptable lost in the woods horror that might make up for that terrible Blair Witch remake.

6/10 Dans

The Ritual is out October 13th in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

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The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written July 28th, 2017*

"The Last of Us"

The zombie genre has been one running on fatigue for quite a while now (Mostly thanks to the success of the insanely overrated The Walking Dead), but The Girl with All the Gifts is some fresh life into a genre in desperate needs of freshness. Tonally they could not be more far apart, but I'd go as far as saying Gifts is the best zombie film since Shaun of the Dead.

Despite being based on a book written long before it, there are many clear similarities between Gifts and The Last of Us. It really helps that Gifts retains a small budget, so it doesn't fall into the recent zombie pitfalls of being a mindless action film (World War Z for example). It's a film that focuses on character first, with zombie violence and action second.

It's not an action heavy film, but there are some disturbing scenes of brutality and morality choices. The idea of making the zombie children still children, but will become vicious and animalistic is an interesting take on things. The first act sees the zombie children being put in some sort of prison/school as they're experimented on in order to find a cure before things go to shit and the characters are forced on a road trip.

I loved the different stages of infection you see from the adult zombies. This virus takes the form of a fungal infection, again, like The Last of Us. I know people are divided on running zombies, so if that offends you for whatever stupid reason, you might not like this. The idea of the fungal infection makes way for a really dark and almost fairy tale like ending.

Visually, the film is gorgeous. England is an fuck ugly place, so it was funny to see that it looks so much nicer when nature takes over and wild lands have spread into the murky grey streets of the city. It also amuses me to see places I see every day like 'M & S' become abandoned and desolate. There's also a shot towards the end involving fire that is BEAUTIFUL, I won't say any more than that. 

The score wonderfully complements the bleak and apocalyptic tone. I can't even describe the score because it's unlike anything I've ever heard, but Cristobal Tapia de Veer (Who also composed the score for the insanely underrated and sadly cancelled Channel 4 show 'Utopia') did a great job here, making for some unforgettable and unique music.

I don't feel like I've mentioned any of the performances, but everyone is great. They're not quite on the level of Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us, but damn, Gemma Arteton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close and newcomer Sennia Nanua all do a wonderful job at bringing life to characters we care about by the end.


It's quite upsetting to me that a film like this went so under the radar despite its positive reviews, but original films like this need to be supported. The Girl with All the Gifts is a smarter, smaller and more focused zombie film and one of the most underappreciated films of 2016. See it.

10/10 Dans 

The Girl with All the Gifts is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:

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Hot Fuzz (2007) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written June 5th, 2017*

"It's just the one killer actually..."

While is Shaun of the Dead was a homage to zombie and horror films, Edgar Wright's follow up Hot Fuzz is a tribute to the action films of the 80's and 90's. The results aren't as masterful as Shaun of the Dead, but this is still amazing piece of entertainment.

Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a London cop who puts all the rest to shame, once he is forced to move to the sleepy town of Sandford, a seemingly perfect village with no crime, he uncovers that frequent deaths that are deemed "accidents" are far from what they seem.

You know what to expect with the trio of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Nearly every scene references some sort of film, it is insane and there are so many subtle jokes that I am still catching for the first time even though I've watched it several times already.

The cast are all fantastic. It was nice seeing Simon Pegg doing a role that was a complete 180 from Shaun, he plays a straight-headed and dedicated to the job rather than the loser. While he plays it fairly straight, he still shines for the comedic moments and works so fantastically with Nick Frost's bumbling action film fan cop who lives for something to happen.

There is a huge supporting cast here too, I can't list everyone but we get the vastly underrated James Bond, Timothy Dalton as the head of the local supermarket, who is just so fantastically slimy and wonderful.

Hot Fuzz has this gorgeous look to it that mimics a Tony Scott film, although it was filmed on a micro-budget compared to his films, it still looks really cinematic and just great. The last act when the action explodes is just amazing, Edgar Wright really is a truly great director when it comes to visceral set-pieces. I love the idea itself of setting a big action film in a small countryside village in the middle of nowhere within England. It's an odd mash-up that works far better than it should.

There are so many funny big and small running gags throughout the runtime. One of my favorites is the swear jar in the station which has all the swear words censored on it... apart from "cunt". It's small stuff like this that makes Hot Fuzz amazing.

Hot Fuzz is another hit from the trio of Edgar Wright, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, while it doesn't hit the same height that Shaun of the Dead set, it still comes pretty damn close with this homage to the action genre.

9/10 Dans

Hot Fuzz is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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Shaun of the Dead (2004) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written June 5th, 2017*

"You've got red on you...."

Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead is one of those films I have seen dozens of times since its release in 2004 and I still love it as much as I did when I first watched. It is quite possibly my favorite comedy of all time and easily my favorite zombie film.

Shaun of the Dead follows Simon Pegg's Shaun, a loser in his late 20's with a dead end job in an electrical store, a relationship that is crumbling and a housemate who is a complete slob. On top of all this, there's a zombie invasion in London.

What works so well with Shaun of the Dead is how it combines all three if its genres perfectly, horror, comedy and romance. At the same time it is also a genius love letter to horror cinema, filled with lots of references and homages to George Romero's work.

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg

The comedic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so great here and believable, probably due to the fact they were real housemates before they worked on the fantastic and underrated cult-comedy Spaced on Channel 4. In fact, all the comedy here is just top-notch, it is filled to the brim with small and subtle jokes you only notice on multiple viewings.

There is something endearing about Simon Pegg's character that gives the film a huge heart. It still surprises me how good of a dramatic performance he can give, especially in the last act of the film where things just get worse and worse for him and the characters. I really do relate to Shaun in ways I didn't expect.

Watching this again, I didn't expect Shaun's journey to hit me this hard. Despite obvious differences, Shaun is a character that's very much like me. Lazy, scared of changing and going outside his comfort zone and smokes. All things I'm trying to change right now. Shaun is someone who is a young adult in his 20's desperately trying to change, as am I. Maybe all I need is a zombie invasion to sort me out too?

Nick Frost's Ed is fantastic too, just a weed dealing slob and all around loser that spends all his days playing Timesplitters on PS2 on the sofa. Frost is also part of the central core that provides the heart in Shaun of the Dead. His friendship with Shaun is one that's very real and likeable, despite being a deadbeat. He's makes way for some hilarious and even heartbreaking scenes towards the end.

As a horror film it also works so incredibly well. Even though it is a comedy first, there are some really disturbing and grotesque moments where the film seems to go full on horror. This jarring change of tone could be seen as messy at the hands of a different director, but Edgar Wright's grasp and hold of the film is so perfect that every moment just works.

With Wright's directing you get some really great and stylish set-pieces, most memorable of which is the finale that takes place in the pub. A scene where the cast beat an old zombie to death while Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now' is still one of the best scenes of demented genius I have ever seen in film. I'm always constantly impressed at how wonderful Wright's editing is, making the whole film move quickly and is a breeze of an easy watch. It's 90 minutes that flyby no matter how many times I've seen it.

Kate Ashfield, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

For such a low-budget film, I was also surprised at the amount of excellent licensed music they could get hold of that includes Queen, The Special and Chicago. The film even opens to the music from Dawn of the Dead, which was a nice touch. The score (Which is impossible to get hold of) is also great, fittingly eerie at times and works perfectly within the scene.

Shaun of the Dead is one of those rare films where everything just clicks perfectly thanks to its perfect cast, stylish directing, graphic horror and memorable lines. My favourite comedy and zombie film of all-time.

10/10 Dans

Shaun of the Dead is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK 
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