I’ll admit from the off that I approached this film with some trepidation.

Not that I was concerned about quality. On the contrary, I’ve been excited about the film for several reasons, foremost of which is that it is written and directed by one of my favourite current UK actors – Paddy Considine - who is always an asset to whatever he appears in, and frequently shines as charismatic and troubling characters (A Room for Romeo Brass, My Summer of Love and Dead Man’s Shoes).

However, the subject matter of Tyrannosaur presents a problem, as it’s difficult to look forward, or choose to watch a film that features a gritty depiction of spousal abuse and the inner violence of people, no matter how accomplished the film and performances might be.

This is especially difficult when the film in question doesn’t place itself within the frame of a genre – this is not a horror film, so the vicarious pleasures encountered as part of that genre, the fantastical/stylised vision of violence done to the body, is stripped away. For these reasons, I had to steel myself to get into the right frame of mind to watch it.

Tyrannosaur concerns the forming of a relationship between an aggressive and short-fused widower, Joseph (Peter Mullan), and Christian Charity shop worker, Hannah (Olivia Coleman), a younger woman whose husband, James (Eddie Marsan), is violently abusive. They first meet when Joseph bursts into the shop, only to hide himself behind a rail of coats, rigid with anger and repressed violence following an outburst at the local pub.

Hannah’s reaction informs the nature of their developing friendship, as she talks to him calmly – recognizing his vulnerability – and eventually offering to pray for him. The film follows this pairing and their apparent oppositions (divided along gender, class and religious lines), their wary appreciation of each other’s emotional and physical fragility as they become increasingly supportive and important to one another’s lives, as other people’s violence forces them both to strike out.

The performances, particularly Coleman, Marsan and Mullan, are raw and affecting, but never too big for the general quietness of the film. The narrative requires them to the emotional centre, which is certainly achieved, and not without considerable ambiguity. These are not loveable characters. And while that might go without saying for the abusive husband, or Joseph’s uncommunicative and angry lashing out (dog lovers will find him especially difficult to feel emotionally engaged with), Hannah is not presented as straightforwardly sympathetic either.

In such an unremittingly downbeat film, their fleshing out of these characters provides a crucial point of connection, giving them complexity and a fully-rounded presence, providing an all important magnetic field for the details of the plot. Indeed, this magnetism is something that Considine’s own performances so often provides – Tyrannosaur feels very much like a film he would appear in, close to the tone of Shane Meadows’ films (Considine’s friend, several of whose films he has appeared in), though without a great deal of their humour.

At the same time, I was left feeling a little unsure of what to do with the events of the film – for all the complexities of performance, the events of the film don’t sit easily (and nor should they) and while characters change, it’s hard to see whether that progression is the point of the film (in which case it suggests a ‘learning through misfortune’ or ‘highlighting social problems’ film – which it doesn’t really feel like) or whether the violence and emotional pain is it’s main purpose (which again doesn’t quite fit the bill).

Part of it’s power is to present villains as characters, to undermine the stylization (and safety) of a generic context, but this also leaves an uncomfortable gap in place of understanding why we watch, a troubling feeling which doesn’t necessarily feel at the root of the film’s purpose.

Movie Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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However Martin is living a lie and that lie is about to catch up with him. Having lost his job some time ago he has been desperately trying to keep up the same lifestyle slowly getting himself deeper and deeper into debt and now that debt must be paid.

When one night the threatening and uncompromising Pecco turns up at Martin’s door demanding money, it seems his lies will be revealed as he has nothing to offer as payment. But Pecco has an offer for Martin, an offer he can’t refuse. And so begins a night of discovery and destruction as Martin does all he can to stop his glass house coming crashing down round him.

Comparable to Falling Down or Fight Club, The Glass Man follows one man on a journey to the edge and beyond dealing along the way with ideas of masculinity and gender stereotypes all brought about by the pressures and strains of modern living.

Written and directed by actor Cristian Solimeno, who also takes a role as Martin’s friend who is now a famous actor, the film blends genre’s part psychological horror part gangster thriller part domestic drama and part jet black comedy all parts working well together to form a fantastic film.

The Glass Man himself is played brilliantly by Andy Nyman, better known for writing, directing and staring in the smash hit horror show Ghost Stories. He has played bit parts in movies such as Severance and Black Death but here Nyman proves his worth ten times over as a leading man.

An emotionally demanding and draining role, Nyman plays Martin perfectly moving from a weasley wimp to an unhinged everyman never letting him slip into a pitiful parody.

As the title suggests The Glass Man is not only a crack away from shattering but also a see through loser, unrecognised by the world and un-helped by those around him and Nyman captures this completely and convincingly.

James Cosmo is also very good as Pecco, the man propelling Martin into another dark foreboding world against his will. And Scream queen Neve Campbell adopts a convincing English accent as Martin’s wife the love of his life who he will do anything to keep and protect.

At times hilarious, at times heartbreaking The Glass Man remains riveting all the way through. Taught with tension from start to finish and moving more towards horror the further along the film gets, you will be captivated ’til the credits role.

The Glass Man is a great film with an amazing central performance, which speaks straight to the souls of all of us – trying our hardest not to crack under the strain of the times we live in.

Movie Rating: ★★★½☆ 

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Inspired by the environment, the freaked out crewmates stories of unexplained events and the tons of true life tales revolving around the haunted hotel he wrote The Innkeepers returning sometime later to film the whole thing in the Yankee Pedlar itself and creating a brilliant old school ghost story which blurs fact and fiction and is guaranteed to spook you as much as the place spooked West.

The Innkeepers of the title are Claire and Luke played by Sara Paxton and Pat Healy the desk clerks left in charge of the Yankee Pedlar Inn on its last weekend before being closed down.

Both bored beyond belief the pair are also convinced that the supernatural is alive within the walls of the hotel and with only one night left they set out to get proof however the hotel has its own evil agenda.

Building slowly and quietly The Innkeepers is the perfect antidote to the flash bang gore fest films that dominate or screens these days. Keeping things hidden Ti West spends time creating atmosphere, which heightens the fear to the point where it boils over bringing about some truly terrifying moments.

The story is brilliant made all the better by the excellent performances especially from the two leads Paxton and Healy who play a pair of unconventional characters that are extremely believable.

Paxton’s quirky enthusiasm counterbalances Healy’s nerdy grumpiness and the actors play off each other perfectly crafting a friendship between two people who have worked together so long they are quietly comfortable and fiercely loyal to each other no matter what.

Also worth mentioning is Top Gun’s Kelly McGillis who pops up as a psychic who helps the pair contact the other side however the real star of the film is the 119-year-old hotel lovingly filmed by West’s camera its outdated décor and eerie corridors coming alive figuratively and literally as another character with a story all of its own that it is desperate to tell to the characters trying to hear.

With tons of tension and some great jumps The Innkeepers is a supernatural horror, which takes its time, developing the scares and the story resulting in some wonderfully realistic characters all of which is filmed in a very real haunted hotel.

Now that’s done I’m off to book my summer holiday at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, anyone fancy coming with me?

Movie Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Trailer:

The film pits a merry crew of grotesque raspy-voiced fishermen who get their jollies from hunting the ultimate prey – virile young adults on sleazy sex cruises. It also stars Jason Mewes of ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ fame who adds his typical brand of comic relief to proceedings.

Immediately the film evokes, in me at least, memories of the original ‘Wrong Turn’. It usurps the elements and merely forces them to set sail. These watermen are tantamount to deformed backwood retards harvesting humans much like One-Eye, Saw-Tooth and Three Finger did.

Other than this, the film unapologetically douses itself in tawdry sex appeal. It knows what the fans want, so it offers naked hard bodies wherever it can. It’s slasher back to its fundamentals and it’s typical of a genre that has regressed in modern times in a patent attempt to re-establish the credibility it once had.

However, for a budget just above one million dollars, director/writer Matt Lockhart’s film still manages to safely rival big budget Spring Break type horror howlers like ‘Shark Night 3D’ and ‘Piranha’ for style and ingenuity. It’s enough to make you wonder whether most of their finances are being squandered on Mojitos and Tequila Slammers whilst on location.

The remainder of the film’s inadequacies are compensated by the star of the show – Jason Mewes. Once again, he is back to his preadolescent hijinks as rich playboy, Trailor. If he’s not spying on the girls undressing through vents, he’s damn near teabagging his laptop webcam in a scene best left to the imagination. It’s all overwhelmingly sophomoric but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Coming from another actor we’d want to heave but Mewes has mastered this shtick spanning decades now. I liked him.

But if you think he’d be the one to grate on you, wait till you get a load of the remaining cast. If looks were talent they’d be Golden Globe nominees but a great set of tits does not a good movie make. I found myself shouting at the screen “KILL THEM ALL!” by the hour mark just so I didn’t have to bear witness to their airheaded delivery of dialogue any longer. In my opinion, these characters looked and sounded best when gutted and lifeless. Bad as actors yet, I suppose, to be expected in the context of tacky torture porn.

Ultimately, this film satisfies all the genre’s conventions; bloody kills, substandard acting and tasteless titillation. Let’s face it – these days, once you’ve seen one slasher, you’ve seen them all so don’t expect innovation, expect recreation.

Movie Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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I found the preview to be very entertaining and put it on my mental list of ‘films to look forward to. I was eager to see the end product.
Finally it arrived, and after I shut up the screaming woman I kidnapped in the woods the night before, I hit play on the DVD player.

The government in their eternal wisdom, following a pandemic of the zombie kind, have decided to sublet zombies to be used for the paintball-like experience Zomball. There are no paintball bullets involved and rather than shooting the zombies with a gun and basically blowing their brains out (they guys at Zomball are going to want to re-use them aren’t they?), the guns fire what appear to be streams a la Ghostbusters. As a participant it’s important that you recharge the guns as otherwise the power drains and you can end up as the zombie’s main course.

Dean is on his stag night, although you wouldn’t believe he was actually allowed out considering the constant ear bashing he gets from his bride-to-be Elaine. She insists he carries on with preparing with the big day when he should be having fun, getting him to pick up the button holes and chocolate fountain.
It already looks like he is under the thumb before bridezilla has got him down the aisle and stuck that ring on his finger (more like handcuffs, it would seem).

Dean is whisked away in a limo with his future father-in-law in tow, to a location neither has been made aware of. His school friends have taken him to a run down military base (with a stripper – obviously) for what they believe to be the ultimate stag party experience. They are going to play Zomball. Yes, that’s right – paintball with zombies as the targets!
The friends are told by one of the military personnel that they are to see Mr.Big, who is in fact a dwarf (or ‘little Person’, depending on what is politically correct at the time of reading this review). Hilarious. He bellows “Come with me!” to the guys and they follow him into an air hangar, where they meet their host Mr. Ree (Get it?) for the evening. Mr Ree explains the one golden rule of Zomball – Never humiliate a zombie. Eh? Puzzled by this statement, I continued to watch SNOTD…

What follows is 81 minutes of fun, with twists and turns aplenty.

Just your typical stag night in Scunthorpe...

I’ve never laughed so much watching a film. It’s hilarious. And the characters are quite loveable, even the roguish ones.
What’s good about the characters is that they stand out as your archetypal stags. If you’ve ever been on a stag night, I’m sure you will identify with all of them.
Although some of the acting at times is a bit over the top, it can be taken as intentional as the case are poking fun at their characters. They make quite obvious how much fun they are having making the film.
On a £150,000 budget the film looks far bigger than it actually is and the effects are pretty good. I’ve watched far too many low budget zombie movies where the effects are cheap and transparent – even down to the zombies devouring innards (which should always look real). But in Stag Night of the Dead subtle use of camerawork has ensured this is not the case here. Great work.

Don't cross the streams!

Stag Night Of The Dead is a great zomcom, which I would highly recommend. It would be ideal to watch with some mates after a trip to the pub on a Friday night. Just get some friends round with some cans and chill out.
I am so looking forward to Hen Night Of The Dead and will be happy if it’s even half as good as this film.

Movie Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Trailer: