Shepherd – An atmospheric, Yet Unoriginal Horror – Film Review

Posted on October 26, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Russell Owen

Writer: Russell Owen

Starring: Tom Hughes, Kate Dickie, Greta Scacchi, Gaia Weiss, and Jamie Marie Leary

Rating: ★★★

Shepherd is a psychological horror that deals with grief and the way the past haunts us. Eric (Tom Hughes) is struggling with the loss of his wife and unborn child, he’s skipping work, his house is a mess and apart from his dog, Baxter, there isn’t anyone there for him. Even his mother turns him away when he goes to see her. To get away from everything he takes a job as a shepherd on a remote island, thinking the isolation will give him a fresh start. Instead, all his problems follow him and not everything on the island is what it seems.

Director and writer Russell Owen does a fantastic job at building atmosphere in the film. Straight away from the opening moments the film feels slightly unhinged, the loud sounds of Baxter lapping up food while Eric reads the paper is unsettling. When Eric arrives on the island, the house he is staying in is literally falling apart, the wood is old and rotting, there’s mould and grime everywhere to be seen, even the taps don’t work. The world around Eric is decaying and it creates a strange and unnerving tone that the film uses to build the horror on top of.

The score is fantastic, shrieking and grating to make everything that much more unnerving. It builds up an atmosphere of dread and you’re never quite sure what’s about to happen. The whole film, especially the ending, messes with your mind. There are a lot of dream sequences and by the end you’re not entirely sure what is happening and what’s in Eric’s mind.

There is an overreliance on scary things happening and then Eric waking up, which feels a little cheap. There are also a few moments where Eric is moving very slowly to check something, with loud music trying to create tension. There’s a draw in the opening scene that he sees a baby’s hand reach out from, he then moves very slowly to check and it’s clear nothing’s there, but the pacing is so slow. It adds no tension and is almost a parody of other horrors that do the same thing.

Tom Hughes gives a sombre performance, with minimal dialogue. Most of the film is him by himself, so apart from shouting for Baxter, it’s all about how he reacts to the world around him. You can see the grief in his eyes and that there’s something he’s not telling anyone. The fisher who drops Eric off calls him from time to time and asks him to confess. Once he tells her everything, he will be free. The island is a manifestation showing how he is imprisoned in his own guilt and grief.

The biggest issue with the film is that it’s eerily like The Lighthouse. The isolation on the island, the strange use of birds, there’s even a lighthouse on the island that Eric climbs towards the end of film. It feels like a rip-off, and it’s not as good. The Lighthouse plays with your mind and creates a genuinely unique sense of dread and horror. Shepherd follows in its footsteps but doesn’t reach the same heights. There’s no seagull abuse in Shepherd, but there is some sheep abuse.

Shepherd may be unoriginal, but Russell Owen still creates a tense and disturbing atmosphere. Despite its flaws, there is still a lot to enjoy and a genuine sense of dread that builds up throughout the runtime.  

Shepherd will be released in UK/EIRE cinemas on 26th November

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Alejandro’s Lie by Bob Van Laerhoven – Book Review

Posted on October 26, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

It’s been ten years since the Junta have held a control over Terreno. Alejandro Juron has just been released from the infamous prison ‘The Last Supper’. Before the dictatorship took control, Alejandro was the guitarist for Victor Pérez, a famous and popular folk singer/poet. The world has changed a lot in the years since Alejandro was in prison and it seems like the Junta’s control over the people of Terreno is starting to slip. Alejandro gets mixed up with a small group of rebels and has to decide whether to leave the country or join the resistance.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s not like anything I’ve ever read before, in the way that it feels so real. The characters are full of depth and complicated with their flaws on show. I was fully invested by the end of reading chapter one and couldn’t wait to see where the story would go. By the time I was reaching the end, I genuinely didn’t want it to be over. It’s rare that happens for me, that I’m so invested I just want to find out what happens next, even after the final page.

Alejandro is tortured by his past, the time he spent in prison and even from before then. His story is told slowly throughout the book, slowly unravelling itself so you get a great understanding of who he is and why he is making the choices he does. A lot of the characters have secrets in their past that aren’t revealed straight away and will have you gripped while you slowly learn about them and uncover the story.

The book itself seems to fly by. Whenever I picked it up, I would read a few pages, and before I realised I would have read 50 pages or more. It’s so easy to read and get into the flow of. The story is fascinating and dark. It’s full of shocking moments and at points does get very brutal. It’s never exploitative or feels too difficult to read, but there are some dark moments.

This is the first book I’ve read from Bob Van Laerhoven, but it won’t be the last. I couldn’t recommend this enough. It’s a dark story, and it captures you from start to finish. The characters feel real, which I think is the best thing a book can do.

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What I’m Watching this Halloween

Posted on October 25, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has gone so far. It’s absolutely flown by and here we are again almost at the end of the year. The days are shorter, the nights are colder. This week I’m going to be finishing up the Halloween series. I have H20 and Resurrection left. Looking forward to them.

This week is also the release of Antlers after what feels like an eternity. Hopefully it won’t be long before all the films we were looking forward to before Covid get release dates. The trailer for Antlers looks so good and I have tickets booked for Friday after work, should be a good way to start Halloween weekend.

Last Night in Soho is also out this week. I really enjoyed it at London Film Festival, so will be seeing it again, hoping it’s just as good. Not sure when though. After watching Scream a couple of weeks back, I’m also going to make some time for Scream 2-4 over the next week or so. Haven’t seen them in years, and they’re some of my favourites.

With books, I’ve finally finished Alejandro’s Lie, with a review coming tomorrow morning. It took me a long time to finish it, not because I wasn’t enjoying it, but because life got in the way. Work, internet issues, it all added up and whenever I had free time I didn’t feel like reading. Tomorrow morning I’m going to start reading The Whistling by Rebecca Netley. I’ve had it ready to go, for ages. Hoping it will be good. I’m really going to try and get some books read over the next few weeks, I have quite a few built up and it’s a little overwhelming. I’ll get through them all at some point.

So that’s what I’m planning on doing this week, what about you? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading and until next time,

Ashley

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Prisoners – Film Review

Posted on October 25, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writer: Aaron Guzikowski

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano

Rating: ★★★★

Prisoners asks the question how far would you go to save your child? It shows the extremes that someone can take without ever making you feel like they are a villain. Denis Villeneuve is a masterful director, who can tackle difficult subjects without ever making them feel sensationalised or exploitative. Prisoners could have easily turned into an action revenge thriller, but instead it’s a powerful and emotional story that will haunt you long after the closing credits.

While two families celebrate thanksgiving together, they suffer a great tragedy. The young daughter from both families is kidnapped and the police have very little evidence to go on. Their main suspect, Alex Jones (Paul Dano) has the IQ of a ten-year-old, so he couldn’t possibly have hidden the girls. After the suspect is released Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), the father of anna (Erin Gerasimovich), one of the two girls, takes matters into his own hands. At the same time Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) has made a promise to Anna’s mother Grace (Maria Bello) that he will find her daughter and bring her home.

This is one hell of a dark and sombre film. It’s a slow-burn mystery that takes it’s time revealing all the clues, and there’s not one point during the two and a half hour run time where it feel tedious. It’s incredibly tense and will keep you guessing right up to the end about what is happening. There are so many twists and turns throughout that keeps it engaging and you’ll be on the edge of your seat wanting to find out what happens next.

Hugh Jackman gives his best performance to date as the grieving father who wants nothing more than to save his daughter. After Alex is freed from the police, Keller kidnaps him, keeping him in an old house. His plan is to hurt Alex until he tells him wear his daughter is, or she might die. The violence is brutal, but most of it happens off screen, the film doesn’t glorify the violence, with the most shocking moment being Alex’s face after a beating that you don’t really see. His screams when he is left under scolding water are enough to chill you. Jackman’s face as he listens to the screaming is filled with a conflicted remorse. He knows that there’s a possibility that he doesn’t have the right man, but in his mind, he must do something to try and save his daughter. It’s a horrific moment in the film.

Gyllenhaal is also fantastic in the film. Detective Loki is a renowned detective, who hasn’t left a case unsolved. He’s an overachiever who gets to invested in the case, struggling with the little leads he has. His performance is full of subtlety, from the way he stands, chewing cocktail sticks to the repetitive blinking when he’s on the edge of snapping in the police interrogation scene. Both are simply fantastic, and their powerful performances are like an emotional gut punch.

Sadly, the mothers of the two children aren’t given the same screen time or presence in the story. Anna’s mother, Grace, spends most of the film in a state of denial and drugged up, lying in bed. Nancy (Viola Davis), the mother of Eliza is a much stronger character who lets Keller go down the dark path to save their children, but her role is very small. It would have been interesting to explore the mothers more in the story. Keller is out late most nights, torturing Alex, and the strain that puts on Grace and their son is hinted at but not truly explored. 

Without giving anything away, the ending does feel a little out of place for the film. Everything is tied up too neatly and for a film that is so bleak and sombre the ending feels too complete. There are moments when it truly feels like the narrative is about to get even darker, but something always pulls it back. An ending with more ambiguity would have been a lot more fitting for the film.

Prisoners is an emotional and powerful story about loss and anger. It has some flaws, but the story still grabs you from the first moment and doesn’t let you go until the final moments. It’s one of the best thrillers in recent years, filled with stunning performances and a story that for the most part isn’t afraid to explore the truly disturbing things that humans are capable of.

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Money Has Four Legs – Film Review

Posted on October 24, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Maung Sun

Writer: Ma Aeint and Maung Sun

Starring: Okkar, Khin Khin Hsu, and Ko Thu  

Rating: ★★★½

Money Has Four Legs takes its name from the idea that humans are always chasing money but can’t catch it as we only have two legs while money has four. It’s something that director Maung Sun’s dad used to say when drunk and is recreated in a scene in the film. The film is an exploration into the censorship of film in Myanmar as well as the corruption in the banking systems.

The film centres on Wai Bhone (Okkar) and his family going through their daily struggles. Wai is a film director, who has previous made some independent action films, and is in the process of making his first studio film, clashing with the producer about the story and content of the film. When his brother in law and actor in the film, Zaw Myint (Ko Thu), has an accident on set it results in Wai being sacked. Together they have to find a way to make money and amid the news of a bank going bankrupt, despite still having a hoards of cash inside, they plan to rob the bank.

Money Has Four Legs is a black comedy that deals with a lot of heavy themes without ever getting too serious or dark. One of the first scenes is Wai having his script looked over by the producer, receiving notes that it needs to have a happier ending, that there needs to be less fighting and the police need to be promoted more in the story. It’s full of references to censorship and clashes between money and art. Wai doesn’t care how many people sees his film, he just wants to make the film he wants to make. While it’s pointed out to him that only films that make money are successful.

By staying light and not going to much into the themes, the film doesn’t have an emotional gut punch moment or powerful message. It still makes jabs at the banking system with the bank robbery and unbelievable amounts of wealth that the bank has kept secret while declaring bankrupt. One of the more powerful moments is Wai talking to his wife Seazir (Khin Khin Hsu) about what they are going to do now the bank isn’t there, who will get their money back. Seazir just replies that no one cares about them, not even the government so no one will be helping them. It’s the moment that Wai decides to rob the bank, an idea that was thrown about earlier almost as a joke.

When the bank robbery takes place, with them in masks and tackling the manager and assistant by themselves, they only take one bag worth of money, leaving the rest to be taken by the protestors outside who are trying to get in the entire time. There’s some nice irony in the scene that they would have been better off just joining the protest and taking the money that way.

Something the film does really well is show the clash divisions. Wai’s apartment building is filled with mould, cracked walls and looks run down in general. While he also goes to a lavish house at one point, that looks the complete opposite. Wai’s car is falling apart, while the producer’s is shiny and new. It shows the wealth division very clearly.

Money Has Four Legs is an entertaining crime comedy. It stays away from trying to be too emotional or having a strong message with the themes it explores, while still commenting on them. It’s a really good film and is worth seeking out, once it gets a wider release.

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