THE VOICES – Never a great idea to follow the advice of pets, especially when they include a really dark cat. The guy with the pet problem is Deadpool, who is more likeable here than the voices in his head. True to form, the ‘horror movie depiction of madness’ experience leaves him with a scummy flat littered with body parts, making ‘The Voices’ something like a light-hearted ‘Maniac’, only twice as bleak. Sharp, cute and nasty in all the right places. From Marjane Satrapi, director of ‘Persopolis’, with good turns by Reynolds, Gemma Arterton and Anna Kendrick.
THE GAME OF DEATH – Canadian indie featuring some irritating young people who like to f*ck, take drugs and play board games. This one they’re not so keen on maybe as participation is mandatory and involves slaying others to stay alive. Very good, especially if you’re into manatees; the frequent instances of ‘edgy style’ include TV David Attenborough-style subaquatic excursions, weird forays into blocky, eighties style animation and long, arty shots of blood spreading through swimming pool waters. All of that’s disposable or not depending on taste, but you can’t say it doesn’t push the gore and nastiness, with exploding heads and a philosophy lesson involving mass mayhem in a palliative care facility! Yikes.
LAST SHIFT – From the director of the really quite nasty ‘Dread’ (and some less nasty other stuff). A rookie cop does a solo gig on the last night of a soon-to-shut police precinct; sinister forces ensure that the loose toilet habits of a passing tramp are the least of her worries. I saw it once, ages ago, but couldn’t remember much; think I fell asleep. No aspersions cast, it’s a good, solid B pic with some nice atmosphere and imagery. It does stretch credulity in places (which would never be problem for me with something much trashier, but ‘Last Shift’ does rely on the niceties of characterisation, narrative, psychology and all that cinematic whatnot) and its cultic backstory is slightly ho-hum, but it’s nothing if not a decent watch. I don’t really get why he remade it ten years later though.
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