THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT

Starring: Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson
Writers: Bryan Bertino, Ben Ketai
Director: Johannes Roberts

Parents Cindy (Hendricks) and Mike (Henderson) take son Luke (Lewis Pullman, son of Bill) and troubled daughter Kinsey (Madison) to a secluded mobile home park in order to get a much-needed break. This turns out to be not such a great idea as the family is targetted by three masked psychopaths with a liking for a) bloody murder and b) 80s music...

Director Johannes Roberts was also behind last year's shark thriller 47 Metres Down and he was more than able to wring plenty of tension from that frankly ridiculous premise so I was confident he could deliver the goods in the more naturally frightening environment of the (mobile) home invasion genre.

And he does, giving us a pared-down suspenser which doesn't lark about with a surfeit of unnecessary character development, instead getting fairly swiftly into the business of running, hiding, stalking and slashing, set to a killer soundtrack which features not one but two Kim Wilde tracks (full disclosure: big fan of Kim Wilde - I'm sold) and many others from that era, including another jet-black comic outing for Total Eclipse Of The Heart.

It's also pleasingly light on jump scares too. Yes, there's one moment where one character leaps out of another just for a laugh early on but from there the film lets the situation do the talking in terms of palm-moistening fear. The Strangers don't lay in wait, they're front and centre. They taunt their victims and they want them to know they're out there.

Performance-wise, there's little room for the principal actors to show much before they're plunged into the rushing around/shouting/screaming phase of the flick but even so they're all more than sympathetic enough to care what happens to them, particularly Madison and Pullman who grow in likeability as the sister and brother as events become progressively more grim.

The three Strangers, on the other hand, are pretty much killers behind masks and that's your lot. They've no backstory to speak of other than they really like bumping people off. At one point, when one of them is asked why they're doing it, they respond with "Why not?". The lack of motive may be a convenient get out in terms of plot but sometimes there is no grand plan behind these acts. Some people are just evil.

Anyway, back to the action and Prey At Night's brisk run time of 85 minutes means you're unlikely to be drumming the arm of the char with your fingers waiting for the next bloody scrap. The set-pieces are very-well orchestrated and the violence is brutal, even more so for the fact that it isn't awash with gore. Arguably it never tips into OTT territory, making those stabs and slashes all the more painful.

The Strangers: Prey At Night isn't a game changer for the horror/thriller, nor does it set out to be. What it does do, however, it does very well and chances are you'll be gripped. It may not linger too long in the memory but you'll have a fine time while you're watching it. And it features a lovely tip of the hat to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre towards the end.

THE ENDLESS

Starring: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Callie Hernandez
Writer: Justin Benson
Directors: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead

Many years after engineering their escape from what some described as a "UFO death cult", brothers Aaron (Moorhead) and Justin (Benson) receive a mysterious video tape which leads them to take a trip back to the group. They're accepted with grace and good humour and Aaron enjoys meeting up with their old acquaintances. Justin, however, is somewhat more suspicious of what's going on...

Full disclosure here - I love Resolution and Spring, Benson and Moorhead's previous movies. Both films defy genre boundaries and although many familiar elements are thrown into the mix the overall effect - for me, at least - in each case was having seen something genuinely different.

There was no reason for me to believe that this wouldn't be the case with The Endless but with expectations having been set to such a high level their third outing was bound to be a least a little bit of a disappointment, right?

Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

Not only does The Endless glide through multiple genres - multiple times - with the deftness of Benson and Moorhead's earlier work, the story constantly confounds convention and there's that wonderful, rare feeling of having absolutely no clue as to what's coming next. If you like predictability and by-the-numbers storytelling this one's going to drive you totally insane.

To be honest, it's difficult to write a review of The Endless because pointing you in the direction of most of the things I adore about it will spoil the film for you to a greater or lesser extent. This is a case where you really should go in knowing as little as you possibly can.

So what can I tell you? Well, the idea of the movie's directors taking on the lead characters is quite a bold move and one that runs the risk of failing spectacularly. Here, Justin and Aaron are thoroughly engaging as Justin and Aaron, Justin's cynical, world-weary smarts providing an entertaining contrast to Aaron's almost childlike enthusiasm and sense of wonder.

Bonus points, too, for featuring a cult that isn't full of gibbering, wide-eyed lunatics. Yes, these guys live off the grid and they're a little quirky but they come across as pretty decent, dare I say nice, people (although it might take you a while to warm to Smiling Dave). Surely this bunch don't have evil, murderous stuff on their minds? Yeah, like I'm going to tell you here.

The Endless belies its low budget time and again, serving up gorgeous visuals and stunning effects which are deployed at the perfect time, adding to the movie's marvellously strange surroundings. There's real variety in the locations, too, from the intimate environs of the cult's compound to woods, lakes and vast open spaces. These places aren't just a nice backdrop to have the actors against, they play into the story.

There are also beautifully set-up, brilliantly executed callbacks to another movie. If you haven't seen that particular film it matters not, The Endless works superbly as a standalone piece. However, if you have seen it you may react in the way I did which was to sit there with a massive grin on my face as things I'd wondered about for several years fell into place. I would have stood up and shouted "YES!" but I'm a pretty respectful moviegoer.

Scary, funny, twisted, surreal, shocking, puzzling - The Endless is all these things and more. It has a wonderfully dreamlike quality and as its layers of plot slowly reveal even more strange and bizarre incidents you may be struck by the following thought: Where the hell is all of this going? It's perfectly fine to think that but you should also allow yourself to be swept along. This movie is as much about the journey as the destination and once you've reached the end you'll want to look back and see how many of the signposts you can spot.

I saw The Endless back in 2017 and it was one of my favourite films of last year. It may very well be one of my favourite films of this year too. Heading off in any number of directions, this ultimately weaves together its many weird strands of plot in a way that's incredibly satisfying yet leaves just enough questions unanswered for you to be talking about it for a very long time afterwards. Prepare to have your mind blown.

UNSANE

Starring: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah
Writers: Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer
Director: Steven Soderbergh

After relocating to a new city in order to escape the attentions of creepy stalker David (Leonard), Sawyer Valentini (Foy) is in the process of rebuilding her life when she begins to see David in various places again. Finding a place to get help, a counselling session there turns nightmarish as Sawyer finds herself committed to the mental institution. Worse still, it appears that David is now part of the organisation's healthcare staff. Or is he?

Previously, the title "Unsane" only reminded of the dreadful US version of Dario's Argento terrific thriller Tenebre but thankfully I have something else on which to hang my memories now other than a hacked about version of a classic giallo. Also, a fair bit has been made of the fact that Steven Soderbergh shot this movie on an iPhone but that's a rather gimmicky angle that frankly this movie doesn't need.

In actual fact the lower-fi approach works well and the tight, almost selfie-style close ups work to create an off-beam, claustrophobic atmosphere that serves the opening act well. As the plot progresses and Sawyer's psychological state shifts the filming style does become more conventional but that doesn't stop the odd interlude in which the side effects of medication blur and shake the very frame itself, adding to the disorienting feel.

That's not to say there aren't issues with Unsane. There is a point at which the whole thing seems to be three different movies fighting for space and a thoroughly intriguing first half gives way to a more conventional second where several familiar horror tropes come into play and set the stage for a climax which doesn't break any new ground, right down to the behaviour of the local law enforcement, who are - shock! - slow to catch on in order for the suspense to be cranked up.

Despite the slightly disappointing slide into predictable stalk (literally) and slash territory what makes Unsane an unexpected treat is the performance of Claire Foy. Her performance is superb and it's nigh-on impossible to take your eyes off her whenever she's on screen. Sawyer is a tough, no-nonsense woman who doesn't really care what people think of what because her focus is on surviving no matter what and Foy's work here shifts the movie up to an entirely different level.

The script is careful not to portray its central character as a victim and it's refreshing to see that at no point does our lead descend into helpless horror heroine whimpering, in fact my over-riding feeling for most of the film was that if it came down to a straight fight between Sawyer and stalker then Mr Stalker would be getting his arse kicked in the most non-negotiable way possible.

Elsewhere there's good support from Pharoah as a patient who isn't averse to a spot of wheeling and dealing on the side, Amy Irving is entertaining in a smaller role as Sawyer's mum and Joshua Leonard hits all the clammy chill buttons as the quietly unnerving David. But at the end of the day it's Foy's show and you should watch Unsane just to see how brilliant she is. Without her this would be a watchable, efficient suspense thriller. With her, it's definitely something else.

TOMB RAIDER

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins
Writers: Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Alastair Siddons
Director: Roar Uthaug

So here it is, the brilliantly-named Roar Uthaug's reboot of the Lara Croft tale in which our heroine isn't even raiding said tombs when the proceedings kick off. She's a stroppy bike courier who refuses to believe that her missing explorer dad (West) is dead and has no designs on inheriting the family fortune even though Kristin Scott-Thomas turns up to tell Lara that she really ought to cash in.

Of course, it's when Lara decides that maybe she should accept Lord Richard Croft is indeed a goner that she's drawn into a plot on the other side of the world which will see her hone her arrow shooting, wall climbing, puzzle solving, chasm jumping skills as she goes up against bad guy Matthias Vogel (Goggins) who is intent on discovering the remains of an ancient Japanese witch whose power may be strong enough to - you guessed - bring about the end the world as we know it.

If the above sounds a bit hokey, well, it is. The second half of the film, in particular, has echoes of a certain hat-wearing archaeologist/adventurer's first outing and unfortunately Tomb Raider does suffer somewhat from a series of increasingly sub-Raiders sequences. Rope down a long drop? Check. Traps? Check. Faces melting? Well, no. Actually, sort of.

It also doesn't help that the tomb is set up as a virtually impenetrable structure where sudden, icky, terrifying death is lurking around every corner and yet Lara and co manage to reach their goal with much less fuss than I expected. Of course, a couple of disposable henchmen get caught in traps but that's more through blundering carelessness than fiendish construction.

And yet, it is still kind of enjoyable. An early bike chase through London is a real highlight. Excitingly shot and edited, it's a shame that the rest of the action's a touch plodding and predictable compared to this opening gambit. And it's difficult to find fault with Alicia Vikander who throws herself into the role and gives us a character that isn't immediately likeable but is nonetheless strong, interesting and impressively athletic. As she charges around the exotic landscapes you may feel out of breath.

West chews the scenery with gusto and his aristo pathfinder is good value in his limited screen time. Unfortunately, it's the bad guy who gets short shrift here and poor old Walton Goggins is saddled with a criminally underwritten role. To be fair, Goggins gives it a decent shot because. let's face it, he's a fine actor but the script doesn't present Vogel as a genuine threat save for a climactic face-off against Lara as they duke it out in time-honoured 12A certificate fashion.

Even after the main plot is tied up, Tomb Raider manages to botch the not entirely unexpected set up for a potential sequel. It's very oddly executed, clumsily cramming in a rushed, cross-cut mishmash of information and flashbacks which were never especially alluded to during the rest of the movie. I'm fine with late rug pulls but the rug has to be there in the first place, you can't just chuck it in front of the audience after an hour and three quarters then immediately yank it away with a theatrical "ha ha!".

Roar Uthaug can definitely turn out an excellent, character-driven action flick - see his previous Norway-set disaster flick The Wave for evidence of this. Here, the pressure of a helming a big studio movie may possibly have blunted his approach but there's still fun to be had from Tomb Raider. If there are further movies, however, they'll need to up the action ante and take more risks than this does.

WILD BEASTS

Starring: Lorraine De Selle, John Aldrich, Ugo Bologna

Writer: Franco E. Prosperi

Director: Franco E. Prosperi

*** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

When PCP somehow finds its way into the water system of a northern European city, the animals in the zoo get completely off their faces and escape, posing a lethal threat to all they encounter. It's up to zoologist Rupert "Rip" Berner (Aldrich) - luxurious of barnet and impeccably groomed of moustache - to save the day...

After co-directing the infamous series of "Mondo" documentaries, Franco E. Prosperi breaks out on his own here with this genuinely deranged tale of man's not-so-best friends running amok in a metropolis teeming with potential meals. His previous work featured genuine scenes of animal cruelty so maybe he thought it was time the animals got their own back. Does it redress the balance? Well, as it's fiction, not at all. Still, on with this very strange show.

Early on, a canoodling couple in a car helpfully leave the doors open and decide to let a whole load of rats chow down on them and from there the film steadily ups the ante in terms of the dangerous beasts on show, giving us a dog (who clearly doesn't like its owner's choice of LP), a cheetah, elephants, a tiger and ultimately a bloody great polar bear versus a bunch of humans who were never going to get the "most likely to survive in a crisis" award.

I suppose the "northern European city" referred to in the film's opening moments is never actually referred to by name because its residents are such idiots, choosing to drive into each other or somehow manage to send their cars airborne through shop windows instead of, well, you know, maybe steering around the animal that they can see a bit further down the road. For most of the movie it does feel like if these people hadn't been eaten by tigers or trampled by elephants they'd have probably touched some bare wires sticking out of a mains socket or just blundered off a cliff before too long.

There's virtually no character development either as the main players are dropped into the mayhem with very little build-up and so it's difficult to care about them much, save for Rip with his animal rapport and his, ahem, "animal magnetism". And despite his genuine affection for his furry pals at the zoo he's also a bit of a dick, exchanging laddy bantz with local cop Bologna at the expense of his girlfriend, journalist Laura Schwarz (De Selle, top-billed here but sidelined for a substantial portion of the running time).

Which brings me to the script. It's unwaveringly dreadful, full of dialogue exchanges that would never take place anywhere else other than in this movie. It's also overloaded with a smarmy sexism that renders the female characters in the movie - De Selle included - little more than damsels in distress who ultimately need rescuing by guys such as Rip. Laura doesn't even get to do much in the way of investigative journalism either, it being Rip who suggests she may have a contact at the water company who may give some insight as to what's going on.

The performances are generally perfunctory save for Aldrich who gets the lion's share (I know, I'm sorry) of the story and at least he seems to be enjoying himself. De Selle, who's actually pretty good in other sleazy Euro exploiters such as Cannibal Ferox and The House On The Edge Of The Park, looks a touch bored here. As well she should be considering her character is given so little depth beyond having a difficult relationship with her bratty daughter which finally comes into play courtesy of a late, taste-free twist. To be honest, the cheetah out-acts most of the cast and probably should have demanded a bigger role.

And yet it's not all awful. Yes, it's mostly awful but the sequences where the animals attack do work fairly well despite how clumsily they're put together. The scene where a cheetah chases a VW Beetle is memorably bonkers, not to mention an impressive technical achievement considering the paucity of the budget I'm assuming the film-makers had to work with here. The appearance of the polar bear is a showstopper too, it's just a shame the rest of that section of the movie doesn't go on to deliver a truly satisfying payoff.

If you're turning up for the gore there's plenty of offal getting cleavered and chucked about for starters and a couple of the munched victims are a bit on the grisly side but it never really goes genuinely full-on in terms of blood and guts and errs on the side of super close-ups of its slaughtered unfortunates so you end up looking at something which is bloody and vaguely unpleasant but generally undefined beyond that.

A crazy concoction of lunk-headed machismo, terrible writing, gossamer-thin characterisation and muddy visuals, Wild Beasts is sunk even further by its climax, which isn't really a climax at all. It just ends. There's no resolution other than the fact that eventually the drugs will wear off and everything will go back to normal. Even so, couldn't there have been one final, totally batshit battle between bloke and beast? Apparently not.

If you're of fan of genuinely trashy movies then Wild Beasts does possess at least some entertainment value, if only for its utterly barmy plot and the odd moment that must be seen to be believed. However, if your idea of human-animal interaction begins and ends with Doctor Doolittle then you should avoid it this like it's a herd of stampeding elephants. And if you're smart enough to even consider avoiding them then you obviously don't live in the aforementioned "northern European city".

THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN

Starring: Howard Vernon, Anne Libert, Alberto Dalbés
Writer: Jess Franco
Director: Jess Franco

*** This review is of the 74-minute French version ***


As Doctor Frankenstein brings his creation to life, he and his assistant are attacked and killed. The creature is brought to Cagliostro (Vernon), a powerful mesmerist who can control it by thought. Frankenstein's daughter Vera (Beatriz Savón) takes it upon herself to locate the monster, avenge her father and thwart Cagliostro's plan to create a master race.

At this point, let's say a little about the movies of Jess Franco. If you're used to nipping along to the multiplex every few weeks and seeing the latest big studio movie then you may need to prepare yourself for the culture shock of experiencing this style of movie making. It isn't put together in the way you would normally expect and you may be disoriented because it doesn't necessarily have that comforting structure you're used to but hang in there, stay with it and you may end up enjoying it.

As far as I know it's only the UK where this movie is known as The Erotic Rites Of Frankenstein (see the ace Go Video cover above from those halcyon 80s video days) and it's a title which sums up this heady mix of sexualised horror rather nicely. It also promises a level of luridness which you're pretty sure it's never going to deliver but when you have a movie this enjoyably bonkers, who cares?

So you have classic horror characters such as Doctor Frankenstein (of course) and Doctor Seward thrown into a plot that's straight out of the strangest comic book you've ever seen. Fans of the seminal literary sources may be horrified at the treatment but Franco's spin bears very little resemblance to the novels which provided the spark of inspiration and in my opinion there's something encouraging about shooting certain elements of those original stories off at the most bizarre tangent possible.

In this universe, Frankenstein's monster is silver, the dead are re-animated briefly to provide clues to the ongoing mystery, there's an outing for the seldom-used sulphuric acid method of self-defence and instead of the captured good guy awaiting their fate in a dungeon they're wheeled out for entertainment and whipped repeatedly as they try to avoid collapsing on to a load of bloody great spikes while Cagliostro's baying minions watch on.

Central to the piece is Cagliostro's amazing sidekick Melisa (Libert), a half-woman/half-bird who tears her victims to pieces with her talons and often communicates in tweets - not the social media type either. Even if she did, it'd be something along the lines of "Just ripped off someone's face. LOL".

Even if you think this sounds like a load of old cobblers - and, let's face, part of the this film's charm is that it clearly is a load of old cobblers - allow me to point you towards the performance of Anne Libert. She's absolutely astonishing as she vamps around various period locations, barely dressed, dialogue drifting from her in wonderfully smoky tones. Simultaneously gorgeous and nightmarish, it's not too bold a claim to suggest Libert would have found herself being talked of as a horror icon had she been in a more high-profile horror picture.

In a smaller role Vernon is just as effective, letting his screen presence do the talking (whilst letting Libert do most of his actual talking). He's seldom better than he is here and the only disappointment is that he's not in the movie more because he's such a memorable villain. Cagliostro is a bad guy not only in the best pantomime tradition - you feel the soundtrack is missing the boos and hisses whenever he appears - but Vernon imbues him with a sense of genuine, gleeful menace.

This is a definite case of that old adage about people always remembering the bad guy. TEROF has such a striking set of anti-heroes that their opposing paradigms of virtue are staggeringly dull by comparison. Even Savon, with her revenge mission, is pretty much sidelined until the very end and even then she doesn't really figure much in the climactic face-off between good and evil, which isn't much of a face-off at all. In keeping with the general off-kilter nature of the enterprise, the whole thing comes to a fairly abrupt halt and that's your lot. FIN.

You may view this and think it's 74 minutes of your life which you'll never get back. You may view this and wonder what the hell you've just watched - and then think it's 74 minutes of your life you'll never get back. I think it's wonderful that something so out there is out there. For fans of exploitation movies, this is something of a treat. It may lack the gory special effects and the pace of today's horror flicks but it has atmosphere by the bucketload, it looks wonderful and it's driven by the power of a fantastic imagination.

Want to broaden your cinematic horizons? Try this.

THE COMMUTER

Starring: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Writers: Ryan Willinger, Philip De Blasi, Ryan Engle
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

*** WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

Michael MacCauley (Neeson) is not having the best of days. After ten years working as a life insurance salesman he shows up at work to find out he's lost his job, which is extremely bad timing as he's trying to work out how to finance his son's college education. Taking his usual train home, his path crosses that of the mysterious Joanna (Farmiga) who offers Michael the chance to make $100,000. Someone on the train doesn't belong, and Michael's knowledge of his fellow commuters - plus his previous job as a cop - should make him the ideal man to carry out the task...

Liam Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra reunite for a thriller than shares more than a little of its DNA with their previous collaboration in airborne conspiracy flick Non-Stop. There's transport involved, there's a mystery to solve and Neeson plays a guy who faces a race against time to sort out the good guys from the bad. He has a very specific set of skills, skills he has acquired over a long career. Skills that make him a nightmare. He will look for them, he will find them, and he will....hold on, that's Taken.

Having said that, MacCauley does possess a very specific set of skills and having Neeson playing another pleasingly scuffed, scrappy everyman with an almost superhuman ability to step up in a crisis is like plonking down in a favourite, well-worn armchair. It's comforting, you know where you are, you know what to expect. He may get bruised and battered but arse will most definitely be kicked.

Of course, the problem with finding yourself in such recognisable territory is the complete and utter lack of surprises and if you're looking for a movie which constantly confounds your expectations The Commuter really isn't it. Like its featured method of transit, it sticks steadfastly to its tracks for the vast proportion of its running time and even when the plot finally goes off the rails we can even see that coming, entertainingly daffy though it is.

The revelation of the bad guy's identity would be a shock if it wasn't so blindingly obvious who they are from the get-go. It's made all the worse by trying to throw in someone else whose behaviour, dialogue and backstory is such a blatant piece of misdirection that there's even less doubt who's going to show up at the denouement to deliver that crucial "yes, it was me" speech. And you're not even a quarter of the way into it.

Then there's the potential for a complex mystery, muddied even further by a carriageful of characters, each of whom could be a killer or someone in need of protection. Surely all of that wouldn't be jettisoned in favour of a resolution which hinges on just one piece of observation. And what of MacCauley's family, who we're told are in mortal danger for most of the movie and will surely die the moment he doesn't comply with his instructions? Well...

And yet, there's enjoyment to be had from The Commuter. Neeson is as watchable as ever. Vera Farmiga always elevates the proceedings and it's a shame she isn't in the movie more. Andy Nyman is good value as a fellow traveller as is Florence Pugh, continuing the "Brit playing an American" theme. She doesn't get up to any of her Lady Macbeth shenanigans, by the way.

Yes, the sudden lurch into destructive action territory is ludicrous. Yes, the climactic siege and stand-off invites a slew of "but why didn't they...?" questions. Yes, the final scene is annoyingly improbable even if it's kind of satisfying. Yes, if you start picking holes in the plot chances are it will collapse into tiny bits without an especially large amount of effort on your part. Even so, I've a feeling this will fit the bill for moviegoers looking for an undemanding flick and while there's nothing wrong with that this could have been so much more.

In the end, what I can say about The Commuter is that it's just about passable. And that's possibly the most damning criticism of all.