An indie thriller so dark and dangerously involving that the subtitles are completely unobtrusive. An inoffensive middle-class family set off to their secluded lakeside holiday home for a restful retreat. However the arrival of Peter and Paul puts paid to that as the pair embark on a truly chilling campaign of terror, intermittently turning to camera to consult the viewer as to what should happen next, cleverly implicating their audience in the unfolding horror. Superbly unsettling.
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HALLOWEEN (1978)
Certification18 Our Rating
Spurning many imitations, this original and shocking study in horror is real edge-of-the-seat stuff. Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital to wreak havoc amongst middle-America's sexually active adolescents. A true classic of the 'slasher' genre. Don't watch it alone!
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HEATHERS (1990)
Certification18 Our Rating
Veronica is a dissatisfied member of the in-crowd at high school until she meets JD, a cool newcomer to town, and they decide to play a practical joke on the 'queen bee', unaware she's about to become complicit in a series of murders. An offbeat, highly original and very black teen comedy. Brilliant, one to watch.
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HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1992)
Certification18 Our Rating
A grim and harrowing account of the daily life of a serial killer. If you can stomach the violence, it is well worth watching. The main criticism is that things are seen only from one point of view, which can be limiting. Now available uncut.
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KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949)
CertificationU Our Rating
The best film in the history of comic British cinema. A black tale of sex, adultery, murder and social class told with low key irony. Alec Guinness plays all the leading roles, and the delightfully witty and sardonic script is ideal for him. A landmark of British film.
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M' (1931)
Certificationpg Our Rating
Lang's first sound film, and perhaps his most imaginative. The plot concerns the police search for a Berlin child-molester. The underworld is forced to look amongst its own for the perpetrator. Lang draws fascinating parallels between police and criminals in this radical masterpiece.
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MAN BITES DOG (1992)
Certification18 Our Rating
Witty, sickening, fast and above all, controversial. Benoit is a killer, but he does it with style and a smile. Filmed as a documentary, with the crew following Ben on his spree this is at times some of the cleverest spoof material ever filmed. Remarkable and original, but not to everyone's taste.
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MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003)
Certification15 Our Rating
Once again the Koreans show us how to make a top-notch thriller. In the mid-eighties and early nineties a series of brutal sex murders took place in Korea's Gyeonggi Province. Two local cops and a special detective from Seoul are charged with hunting down the killer, but with few clues and even fewer witnesses all they have to show for their hard work is mounting frustration and rancour. Set against the political backdrop of a government more concerned with suppression than investigation, Memori
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MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947)
CertificationPG Our Rating
This blistering little black comedy was well ahead of its time when released in 1947. Originally, Orson Welles had wanted Chaplin to star in his drama about a French mass murderer, but Chaplin was hesitant to act for another director and used the idea himself. He plays a dapper gent named Henri Verdoux (who assumes a number of identities), a civilised monster who marries wealthy women, then murders them. A dark Chaplin gem.
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PEEPING TOM (1959)
Certification18 Our Rating
Critically maligned on its release, this tale of a twisted lens-man who lures unsuspecting female victims to their grisly death is an interesting study in the voyeuristic implications of cinema. The killer is an eternal victim whose crimes are cries of rage against his father and stepmother and, at the same time, pathetic rehearsals for his own inevitable death. A Freudian script of notable maturity teases limitless implications from this premise, while maintaining a healthy sense of humour.
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