James RutherfordJan 21, 2020‘What We Do in the Shadows’: An Uproarious, Pitch-Perfect Vampire Mockumentary from New Zealand“What We Do in the Shadows” (2015) is a profoundly amusing pseudo-documentary about a coven of vampires residing in Wellington, New...
James RutherfordDec 13, 2019‘Valhalla Rising’: A Blistering and Darkly Hypnotic Viking Epic from Denmark“Valhalla Rising” (2010) is a ferocious Danish viking epic set in the year 1096 AD and starring Mads Mikkelsen as One-Eye, a savage deaf...
James RutherfordNov 27, 2019'The Host': A Uniquely Transgressive and Darkly Comical South Korean Monster Movie"The Host" ("Gwoemul") is a uniquely transgressive South Korean monster movie from 2007, about a large amphibious sea creature that rises...
James RutherfordSep 25, 2019'A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night': A Sleek and Transfixing Urban Vampire Tale from Iran“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014) is a wry and winsome horror film from Iran about a lonesome female vampire (Sheila Vand) who...
James RutherfordAug 29, 2019‘Black Swan’: An Astonishing Psychological Thriller About a Ballerina on the Very Edge of Sanity“Black Swan” (2010) is a breathtaking psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers, a professional dancer in a New York...
James RutherfordAug 27, 2019'Mulholland Drive': David Lynch's Landmark Neo-Noir Psychological Thriller"Mulholland Drive" (2001) is an enthralling neo-noir thriller from the inimitable David Lynch ("Twin Peaks", "Lost Highway") that opens...
James RutherfordAug 25, 2019'The Grey': A Gripping and Darkly Existential Treatise on Endurance and Survival“The Grey” (2011) is a gripping and foreboding thriller about a group of six oil workers who survive a devastating plane crash in the...
James RutherfordAug 16, 2019‘Pan's Labyrinth’: A Spellbinding Fantasy About a Young Spanish Girl's Darkly Magical Adventures“Pan's Labyrinth” (“El Laberinto del Fauno”) is a Spanish-language fantasy film from 2006, set in 1944 amidst the darkest days of...
James RutherfordAug 12, 2019'Mandy': A Darkly Hallucinatory and Wonderfully Unhinged Fantasy Revenge-Thriller“Mandy” (2018) is a fierce and extravagant fantasy-horror-thriller set in 1983 and starring Nicholas Cage as Red Miller, a logger who...
James RutherfordFeb 7, 2019'Under the Skin': A Monument of Sublime Avant-Garde Science Fiction"Under the Skin" (2013) is a striking and disquieting science fiction thriller from director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast, Birth) that...