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Movie Review: Martyrs Lane (2021)

20 Monday Sep 2021

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Martyrs Lane is a slow painful pull into a deep and psychological dive into grief, blame, and self-destruction immersed inside an insular family dynamic. 

We witness this story from the perspective of 10 year old girl, Leah (Kiera Thompson) at the family home, an old vicarage, who begins to unearth hidden secrets that her family members have tried to bury.

Slowly, Leah is provided with clues to point her (or lure her) in the direction of truth, but who is behind the mystery and what is the price of uncovering past haunts?

The pacing of this movie is deliberately drawn out to build up the tension of the tale which is to be commended, especially as the actors of the piece beautifully tap into the darkness. It does however serve as a detriment to our engagement, often suffering under the weight of its own caliginosity. There are listless moments throughout the film as we’re often left to languidly drift through the storyline unable to connect.

Ruth Platt’s third outing in the director’s chair proves that she’s no stranger to the craft and manages to steer her actors through a pot-boiler that wrangles every ounce of drama out of them. The children in particular deserve high praise, with some naturalistic performances that grind the drama into a sense of realism. 

The Diagnosis: 

A hard film to engage with and fall into some of the admittedly beautiful shots on display,

The performances are great and if you bide your time and indulge in the slow pacing, you will be rewarded with a fantastic tale.

But man, they make hard work of it.

  • Saul Muerte

Martyrs Lane is currently streaming on Shudder.

Movie review: Superhost (2021)

12 Sunday Sep 2021

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On face value Superhost begins by focusing on insipidly vacuous couple Claire (Sara Canning – The Vampire Diaries) and Teddy (Osric Chau – Supernatural) are unbearably false and vain, which is the point right?
But as the story unfolds there are glimpses of their former selves, prior to the burning desire to boost their social ratings. 

Claire’s and Teddy are a duo travel vloggers who spend their time residing in airbnb’s and promoting their thoughts of the locations and more importantly their hosts online.

Worried that their numbers and fanbase appear to be dwindling they start to up the ante in how to turn around their bad fortune.

So at their next location, when things appear to be hitting a dull point, they encounter more than they bargain for, but is it from the psychotic former host, Vera (Barbara Crampton – Re-Animator) from a previous location that they stayed at leaving unfavourable reviews? Or will it be the slightly off-kilter host Rebecca (Gracie Gillam – Fright Night) from their current place of stay?              

The Diagnosis:

Director Brandon Christensen (Still/Born; Z) much like his previous films manages to generate  some genuinely cool moments.
Here it is notably enhanced by the performances from Crampton and Gillam, but the end result is a mediocre affair and doesn’t generate much of a flicker outside of originality.

There’s enough here to entertain but not necessarily to stimulate.

  • Saul Muerte

Superhost is currently streaming on Shudder

Movie review: Mosquito State (2021)

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

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I cannot stress enough that this film falls firmly into the ‘be patient’ basket.

I really struggled with the opening 30 minutes of the movie that seemingly dragged along at a snail’s pace. And it didn’t help that the dialogue is dripping with a specialised niche dialogue that smacks of wankdom, but this is exactly the intricacy of its lead that cements and provides a complex character. 

The cinematography is equally stylised and polished to encompass the lifestyle and setting that elevates the feel of the movie, but could easily be strained too far… That is until the storyline sets and takes effect.

It’s clear that Director Filip Jan Rymsza is drawn to the inner psychosis of humanity and here he infuses it into the biological makeup of mosquitos, and juxtaposes this imagery alongside that of honeybees. All of which is embedded in the murky depths of trading and the stride towards success. But what exactly defines success? This defines the moral of the film.

As mentioned, our lead character, Richard (Beau Knapp) is a quirky and lonely figure, driven by his compulsive obsession with financial data, analysing the movements in trading figures. In many ways the symbolism of his character reflects the tragic gothic figure Quasimodo from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame,  isolated in his tower, in this instance the apartment overlooking Central Park in New York.

His stride for perfection is what initially steers his love interest, Lena (Charlotte Vega – Wrong Turn, The Lodgers) away, but there is a hint of a connection that doesn’t deter Richard in his pursuit. 

The mosquitos too are part of this imagery that surrounds Richard’s psychological collapse and the infestation that has taken hold of both the apartment and his state of mind. The contagion soon takes hold of Richard and us (the viewer) embedding into the psyche and dictating his every action and one that is represented in his own disfigurement as he becomes a walking human feeding/breeding ground for the parasite.

It is this incubation that can ensnare you and for me lifts the film into a loftier response. Once Richard starts to fall from the successful heights embedded in his own ambition, he not only gains in confidence, breaking out of his shell, but subjects himself deeper into isolation and on to a journey that only some can follow.

The Diagnosis:

This movie is highly intelligent and beautifully shot. It’s the kind of film that gets under your skin.

It takes a while for it to take effect but once it does it pulls you in and infects you.

There are many elements at play with each layer revealing the dark truth behind the powers and money of the world.

Mosquito State has successfully infested my mind, a mark for me is always an important ingredient in filmmaking.

I’m still letting it resonate as I write this but I find at this stage I’ve fallen for its charm and lulled by the hypnotic score.

  • Saul Muerte

Mosquito State streams on Shudder from Thursday, August 26th.

Movie Review: Jakob’s Wife (2021)

16 Monday Aug 2021

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For his sophomore outing in the director’s chair, Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor) he serves a refreshing take of the vampire tale through the lens of a middle-aged couple who have lost their zest for life. Anne (Barbara Crampton – Re-Animator), the titular character has been playing the role of the dutiful pastor’s wife in a small rural town for the past thirty years, bottling up her emotions and constantly under the shadow of male oppression. This is exactly how the nosferatu preys on this weakness, hunger for new victims or brides to bring into her fold.

Pastor Jakob (Larrey Fessenden – The House of the Devil) is equally lost in his world. Set in his ways and with no real vocation, he has succumbed to the rituals that his position has provided to him. 

When tempted by an old flame, Anne falls into seduction and it awakens a dormant part of her life. This too coincides with the arrival of the Master (Bonnie Aarons – The Nun) and soon she begins to pick apart the remnants of the town. 

Anne reaches a crucial crossroads in her life… choose her existing life, give-in to the darkness, or find a way through turmoil and create a new path of her own.

In many ways, Jakob’s Wife defies the stereotype of middle-aged life where Stevens presents the world as a slow-paced, dull exposition, but as soon as the first kill happens, this world and our expectations get suddenly thrust onto its head. With every kill that follows, there is no holding back and the blood pours forth to the extreme. This choice in direction is what keeps us engaged and coupled with his two leads in Crampton and Fassenden, we’re provided with some depth to the extreme circumstances with some dry humour to make sure we stay tuned in.

The Diagnosis:

It’s a painfully slow start and I thought that it was going to drag, but it then suddenly unleashes with a lot of fury.

While it struggles to keep the momentum going, Jakobs’ Wife inflicts enough torment to satisfy and keep you engaged with a peppering of decent humour to boot.

  • Saul Muerte

Jakob’s Wife streams on Shudder from Thursday, August 19th.

Movie review: Teddy (2021)

11 Wednesday Aug 2021

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There is something that I find instantly appealing about French films and the way it both challenges and delivers in-depth personality.
There are times that it misses the mark, sure… but there is genuinely a unique appeal to the country’s artistic lens.
This is why you shouldn’t be deterred by this quirky take on an age-old tale set in the heart of a rural French town.
While it certainly isn’t an out and out scare fest, there is something reminiscent about the film that taps into Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris. 

The writing/directing partnership of the Boukherma brothers Ludovic and Zoran inject some decent humour into this coming of age tale, centred around no-hoper Teddy (Anthony Bajon), the town’s laughing stock.
Teddy may have resigned himself to making ends meet at the local massage parlour, but he has grand plans to save up and build a home for him and his girlfriend Rebecca (Christine Gautier).
These plans turn sour though when Teddy is attacked by a wolf that has been roaming the woods and then the stuff of lycanthropy come to the fore, starting with the amped up sexual appetite, and leading into the bizarre such as hair growth on his tongue and protruding from his eyeball.

As much as he tries to hide these strange bodily changes, it soon overcomes him and right at a time when Rebecca appears to be losing interest in him.
The one person who seems to understand his plight and warns about the dangers of the monster lurking within, is his foster parent, Pepin (Ludovic Torrent) an admittedly slow-thinking man.

What the Boukherma brothers do remarkably well is own the grit and realism of both the setting and the characters including the actors who portray them.
Particular applause has to go to Bajon’s portrayal of the titular character, perfectly capturing the heartache and desperation.
When you’re already down, there’s no place to go but deeper and embrace the animal within.

The Diagnosis:

Yes there are flaws.
But some of those blemishes are part of Teddy’s attraction and at times the film borders on genius.
It’s a bold approach to a mythological tale and while it doesn’t necessarily scare, it does provide a quirky, and sympathetic slant that will satisfy those into curiosity.



– Saul Muerte

Teddy is currently streaming on Shudder ANZ

Movie review: Bleed With Me (2021)

10 Tuesday Aug 2021

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On face value this slow burn of a movie from Director Amelia Moses feature length debut can feel like it’s happy to flow along without much pace or kick to its narrative. But as it shambles its way pulling you into a false sense of lull, it gradually reveals more to its outward exterior with a few jolts out of the comfort blue.

Our protagonist Rowan (Lee Marshall) appears to be a lost and vulnerable soul, who welcomes the friendship and support from Emily (Lauren Beatty – Jigsaw) and her partner, Brendan (Aris Tiros – Slaxx), but like the movie itself, none of these characters should be judged by appearance and harbour secrets that run deep. 

We join the trio at the start of a winter retreat in a log cabin far from any other human contact. As the story unfolds and the wine continues to pour, the emotional instability begins to show.
Rowan and Emily are drawn to one another with whispers of a traumatic past connecting them through some harboured common understanding of the pain that they have both had to endure. Rowan clearly doubts her sanity however and begins to suspect that her Florence Nightingale saviour, Emily may actually be drugging her. Is this another sign of her losing her way, or is there something more sinister at play? Rowan continues to doubt all about her, but is trapped between trusting her judgement and allowing herself to fall at the mercy of the one person who is giving her the love and attention that she so craves. It’s an intimate and finely balanced episode that gently rests between serenity and despair. 

Moses manages to craft a lot of ambience and emotion from the remote setting and the minimal cast, that despite some flaws in substance, there is enough flair and intrigue involved to warrant intrigue into her next directorial venture, which looks to reunite her with Beatty once again in Bloodthirsty. 

The Diagnosis:

A little slow but a nice balance of psychological interplay between two women suffering from traumatic episodes in their lives.

Director Amelia Moses crafts an intricate tale that constantly questions the real state of affairs and what are ripples of past suffering.

Bleed With Me is currently streaming on Shudder ANZ.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: An Unquiet Grave (2021)

27 Sunday Jun 2021

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If I could cast a single element of praise towards Terence Key’s directorial feature debut An Unquiet Grave, it would be for the bold attempt to have two actors carry the entire 1hr and 12 min running time. The problem is that despite what is admittedly fairly short for a feature, it still stretches the premise too thinly to warrant your complete attention.

The premise itself feels like something drawn out of Pet Sematary, where a man Jamie (Jacob A. Ware) hatches a plan to bring his wife back from the dead with the help of her twin sister Ava (Christine Nyland, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Key). Using some dark magic macguffin which relies on a ritualistic act taking place at the site of the death, Jamie drives Ava to the location in order to carry out said deed. What he fails to mention is that a blood sacrifice is in order.

From here on in the movie drags its light plot to a bitter end using a few tricks of the trade in scares and thrills until the restless grave can find peace once more for its occupant. Both Nyland and Ware do incredibly well to lift the film using every ounce of acting prowess and for this the film can be thankful for their on screen presence but there’s not much else on show here.

The Diagnosis:

It was always a tough task to add depth to a shallow conceptual grave but there is enough substance here to keep you engaged… just. 

Both actors chew on as much of the dialogue to keep up the momentum and there are also some choice decisions from director Keys to make his mark for hopefully more budget to expand on his and Nyland’s writing and directing future.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Superdeep

19 Saturday Jun 2021

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Don’t be deterred by this Russian flick and it’s admittedly slow start to build up its central protagonist, Russian epidemiologist Anya Federova (Milena Radulovic) from smart but failed scientist out to prove herself into full on action guru.

Inspired by the real location of the Kola Superdeep Borehole, (one of Russia’s experiments to bore to the Earth’s core, which at its deepest reaches 12, 262 meters down), Anya gets the opportunity to redeem herself when a supposed viral outbreak has occurred in a Secret underground research facility.

Set in 1984 Russia, The Superdeep evokes the stark and oppressive nature that woke out of The Cold War era.

As soon as Anya arrives with a squad of soldiers to find out what has happened at the facility and is charged with retrieved with finding some samples of the unknown disease which appears to be infecting all who work at the facility.

They are greeted by Dr. Grigoriev, the head researcher at the facility but it soon becomes apparent that he has an ulterior motive and refuses to allow them access to to the lowest level of the facility, trapping them on one of the other levels.

It then becomes a race against time to prevent the spread of the infection from reaching the surface and potentially wiping out all of humanity in the process.

The Diagnosis:

There are some nice little elements at play here, especially with the virus that is threatening the characters. It’s essentially a fungal type of entity that infests it’s hosts and shows signs of high functioning intelligence.

The idea behind this is a worthy one and keeps the audience entertained along with some decent effects to ground the film and support the believability of the film

Where it does fall down however is in some of the dialogue and action points that slip into predictability all too often.

It is still entertaining however and Radulovic’s performance and portrayal of Anya is strong enough to keep you invested til the end.

-Saul Muerte

Movie review: Skull: The Mask

06 Sunday Jun 2021

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Skull: The Mask is one of those movies that has a complexity of moments that form a conglomerate of the mad and macabre. 

Each piece of the puzzle seems out of sorts with one another but when placed together it somehow works.

The fact that it is set in Brazil just adds to the vibrant and energetic personality that is on show.

Written and directed by the dual partnership of Armando Foncesca and Kapel Furman, the film centres loosely on Brazilian mythology which dates back to the pre-Columbian era of Anhangá, a demon-type spirit according to the Christian version who wanders the earth after death.
In this instance Anhangá initially takes the form of a skull that has been heavily guarded over the centuries but is commandeered by Nazis (yes, them again) before once again being lost in time. 

That is until an archaeologist unearths the artefact and brings it back to Brazil to be stored in a museum.
Before it gets there though, a sacred ritual is performed and the spirit is unleashed, killing everyone in its path.
With every kill, it starts to take on human form, presumably with the blood of those it’s killed.

The only thing that can potentially stop this entity is Padre Vasco Magno (Ricardo Gelli), who has no faith in the old religions; Manco Ramirez (Wilton Andrade), a kick-ass vigilante who seems to have inhuman strength; and Beatriz Obdias (Natallia Rodrigues), a crooked, hard-boiled detective who is trying to redeem her old ways. 

The performances are top-notch with no one pulling any punches, allowing the grit and determination to pour forth.
The directing team have definitely leaned into their strengths with Foncesca seemingly bringing out the best from the cast, and Furman producing some gloriously gnarly and bloody moments with his brutal special effects on display. Making them a force to be reckoned with in the South American film-making scene.

The Diagnosis:

The storyline may be a fractured and complex one, but Skull: The Mask more than makes up for its faults by producing a frenzied and energetic slasher flick that taps into the heart of its country’s mythological roots.

It’s hard-edged approach and cracking SFX make this an enjoyable and crazed journey with some wickedly dark humour along the way, that if you’re willing to let it course through your visual senses, will prove to be well worth your time.

Hats off to the creative team Foncesca and Furman.
You’ve made a fan out of this writer.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Caveat (2021)

05 Saturday Jun 2021

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Damian Mc Carthy’s directorial debut that taps right into my heart with its psychological twists and turns that are so fractured that I can’t help but be lured in to its complexities. 

This style of narration can turn some people off and get frustrated by the director’s choice. Especially with the convoluted ending to the tale.

I just lap this stuff up as if addicted to the abstract approach to fear, guilt, and paranoia.

Clearly, its tight budget constraints are on show, but Mc Carthy manages to utilse the deficits to his advantage, and wrangles everything that his actors can muster to the fore, particularly through our lead protagonist, Isaac (Jonathon French), who struggles to piece things together because he is suffering amnesia. Also, placing the setting on an desolate house on a remote island fuels the anxiety and isolation, amping up emotions of both characters and his audience. 

The film is quite hard to unpack, but essentially we follow Isaac to this isolated island when hired to look after Olga (Leila Sykes), who also appears psychologically disturbed and constantly falls into catatonic states, hence the need for someone to supervise her. Our first introduction to Olga is deeply scarring as she wields a curiously freakish wind up toy, a symbol of the unhinged minds of all that enter the house.

We have to allow our minds to stretch into the realms of the unimaginable to a degree, when Issac agrees to the caveat in question, being chained into a harness that restricts him from accessing certain parts of the house; another metaphor for the ties that bind us to our past regrets. The wielder of the caveat is Olga’s uncle Barret (Ben Caplan), who comes and goes throughout the piece but his presence is always felt.
As Isaac fumbles around the crevices of the ramshackled abode, more truths are uncovered but still steers us further away from transparency. The deeper he delves, the more unhinged and dangerous the characters become.

The Diagnosis:

It’s a bold and momentous achievement for a directorial debut, and while it doesn’t necessarily tick all the boxes, the performances are faultless, and the fragmented narrative are compelling enough to keep you chained to the storytelling. 

It will either grip you, or grind you up.

For me, it was a well-constructed tale, that is just the right side of deranged.

  • Saul Muerte