Category Archives: Review in Brief
Review in Brief: The Ugly Stepsister (2025)
A pitch-black, gnarly, body-horror heavy retelling of the Brothers Grimm version of the Cinderella fairytale from Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt. The terminally shy Elvira (a mesmerising Lea Myren) competes with her beautiful new stepsister Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) and … Continue reading
Review in Brief: I’m Still Here (2024)
This is such a quietly unsettling portrayal of state cruelty. During Brazil’s military dictatorship, the family of former congressman Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) are watched, intimidated and interrogated by the regime following the disappearing of Rubens, leaving his wife Eunice … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
Is this the best of the ridiculously consistent Final Destination franchise? Maybe. The sixth instalment, from Zach Zipovsky and Adam B Stein might be slightly over-long, but is certainly the most elaborate of the series. Horrifying visions of a narrowly-averted … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Monkey (2025)
90 minutes is about right for a comedy-horror adaptation of Stephen King. A cursed toy latches itself on to traumatised twin brothers Hal and Bill (Theo James/Christian Convery) and causes the random and gruesome deaths of many unlucky folks who … Continue reading
Review in Brief: 28 Years Later (2025)
28 YEARS LATER is not a safe sequel, in fact it’s far bolder, punchier and unexpectedly emotional than you might expect. It’s also by turns uglier and more achingly beautiful than every other example in its over-stuffed sub genre. Almost … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Black Bag (2025)
God bless 90 minute popcorn movies. After years of not talking shop at home, a married spy couple get drawn into the search for a mole in their service and George (Michael Fassbender) comes up with a list of suspects … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Heretic (2024)
What a tense, twisted treat HERETIC is. Mormon missionaries Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East) are invited into the home of the affable Mr Reed (Hugh Grant) for a friendly theological discussion and get much more than they bargained … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Wicked (2024)
Did the long-awaited big screen version of the iconic musical WICKED need to be a two-part epic? Possibly not, but this first part does make you intrigued about how everything will be wrapped up at the end of 2025. Years … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Brutalist (2024)
There are many films out there about obsessive artists and the ups and downs of their personal and professional careers, but few as compelling and ambitious as THE BRUTALIST. Holocaust survivor and brilliant architect László Tóth (Adrian Brody) emigrates to … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Megalopolis (2024)
MEGALOPOLIS was always going to be flawed, but after three decades of waiting it’s frankly exasperating just how basic and ill-conceived Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project has turned out to be. In a stale and surface-level satirical conceit, Coppola asks, … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 