film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Joel Fisher

  • Apocalypse ’45: Review

    Apocalypse ’45: Review

    On December 7th 1941, Japan attacked US Navy base, Pearl Harbor that triggered the Pacific War between the US and Japan which ended with the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th 1945 which is known throughout the world as VJ Day.

    Using footage through World War Two from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the bombing and aftermath of the effects of the Hiroshima bomb, Apocalypse ’45 tells the story through images that have been digitally enhanced and colourised and the voices of some of the American soldiers themselves who are still alive to tell the tale.

    Apocalypse ’45 guides the audience through the narrative of the second world war and using the first hand experiences of the American soldiers (some of Japanese descent themselves) to recall the atrocities that they witnessed and can never forget 75 years later.

    Hearing the voices of the men that served and their different opinions on what they had to endure is an enlightening and heart-breaking thing to watch. Because although there are times where they talk about their experiences so frankly, every so often the emotions behind their words comes flooding out.

    Some talk about the regret they felt at the time for having to do the things that they were ordered to do, whilst others talk about looking back and the things that haunt them still to this day. A truly sobering account that many of us can’t even imagine having to go through.

    The amount of footage that Apocalypse ’45 has is truly astounding and the way it has painstakingly restored and been able to be put into order to tell a narrative is truly impressive. Also, the colours of the footage are so vivid, bright and realistic that the audience may soon forget that the likelihood or this footage being shot in colour in the first place was practically zero.

    Apocalypse ’45 is a timely documentary that reminds us of the horrific repercussions of war and although what happened in Hiroshima put an end to World War Two, the question is still raised as to the ethical value of ending something so dramatically.

  • Interview: Two Heads Creek Writer And Star Jordan Waller

    Interview: Two Heads Creek Writer And Star Jordan Waller

    Jordan Waller has hit the ground running when it comes to making his name on stage and screen (big and small). Probably most famous for playing Lord Alfred Paget in ITV’s Victoria, most fans may not know that Waller had also had huge success in his one man show at 2019’s Edinburgh Festival where the focus was what some people may consider an unconventional upbringing.

    Now Waller has shed his period drama performances (for now at least) and is looking to his future, showing off his comedy writing and his tastes for horror in Two Heads Creek. I caught up with Jordan Waller where we talked about horror, cultural differences and Brexit and how they overlap.

    How did you come up with the idea for Two Heads Creek?

    Jordan Waller – It was the day of the Brexit Referendum result, the culmination of an absurd, horrific, bizarre year of nonsense. I woke up to David Dimbleby croaking the result on the BBC and just thought – that poor, tired, ugly man. He looks like he’s starring in a horror movie.

    Two Heads Creek could have been set anywhere, so besides working with an Australian director, why set it there? Was that always the intention?

    I originally planned to set it in Norfolk – the home of inbreeding. But fortune, in every sense of the word, changed the path of production and years later, we found ourselves sweating in the outback of Australia for some godforsaken reason. 

    You and Kathryn Wilder have great chemistry in the film, had you worked together before?

    Kathryn is a brilliant actor. I met her at a party after having seen her in a Kenneth Branagh production of Romeo and Juliet where her comic timing totally stole the show. We’d never worked together before but we got on, I think, because we’re both ginger. The chemistry is all down to that deep understanding. But having worked with her once, I hope never to work with her again because she’s a kleptomaniac and a hard drinker. 

    Do you have a favourite horror movie?

    Silence of the lambs. I watched it when I was twelve, illegally. It’s no wonder I’m disturbed enough to write what I have.

    Do you think horror movies are better with lots of blood or a slow burn intensity?

    There’s room for both – but I think I’m with Tarantino on the blood front. We want to know what’s going on in the inside of a character – I may have taken it too literally. 

    There are quite a few stereotypes about Australians in Two Heads Creek, are there any stereotypes you like or dislike about the English?

    Stereotypes are great weapons for oppressors – anything else is punching down, which is a bit 70s for me. The white English are game for all manner of mockery. So, any stereotype knocking our bad teeth, snobbishness, shopkeeping-mentality, loud-mouthed, brash, parochial, patriarchal, queue-loathing, weather-complaining, systemically racist, pig-fucking, Boris Johnson voting, bad salad qualities is – very welcome. Because at least we’re not French. 

    Acting in a movie you wrote yourself must be quite a challenge, do you prefer acting or writing?

    I see them as very different things, and I couldn’t say whether I prefer one or the other. One I do in my pants; the other, I only sometimes do in my pants.

    Have the events of this year (pandemic, protests etc) had a big effect on you? Do you think it will change how you work in the future?

    It’s been horrific. It’s changed the world; hopefully, it’ll be for the better in the long run. For now, I’m just keen to get on and get back to work. 

    You’ve worked on many period pieces (Victoria, The Darkest Hour, Love & Friendship), is there any period of history that interests you most?

    I’d love to do something set in the future.

    Is there anything you can talk about that you’re working on next?

    I’ve got three projects in the pipeline: two about trains, one about cars and another about lesbians. 

  • Slaxx: Review

    Slaxx: Review

    Libby McClean (Romane Denis) is about to start a new job in a fashionable clothes store. She’s nervous but optimistic and willing to do a hard day’s work to please her overworked and pressurized manager, Craig (Brett Donahue).

    It’s always hard starting a new job where you don’t know anybody, so Libby tries to make a connection with her reluctant co-worker, Shruti (Sehar Bhojani), but they get off on the wrong foot and the store is busily preparing for a visit from fashion vlogger, Peyton Jules (Erica Anderson) anyway.

    Also, the news of a brand-new line of jeans that will fit any shape gets the staff excited. However, when Libby’s co-workers start disappearing, it’s up to her, Shruti and Craig to get to the bottom of what’s causing the jeans to kill. Hardly what Libby imagined she’d be doing on her first day of work.

    Slaxx is a horror-comedy co-written and directed by Elza Kephart. Taking social commentary inspiration from Dawn of The Dead, Slaxx takes a more modern approach as it explores the full range of issues surrounding the fashion industry. Everything from consumer hunger, vapid trendsetters and even the darker side of how clothes get made that are so often swept under the carpet.

    Kephart manages to take a unique concept and manages to balance the comedy and horror expertly, so after the initial deaths of inconsequential characters, Kephart ramps up the tension. By the end, the audience will not only be thinking about the movie’s message but will never put on a pair of jeans in the same way again.

    The cast all work well together and Erica Anderson does a scene-stealing performance as a vacuous fashionista, so whilst there are some deaths the audience will enjoy because of the morally vacant characters, they will still root for Libby and her colleagues.

    As the ‘inanimate object horror’ subgenre goes, Slaxx is a well-fitting body of work that will give horror fans plenty of blood, laughs and maybe something more thoughtful than they may have been expecting. Slaxx is a fashion-conscious fable worth seeking out 

  • Away: Review

    Away: Review

    Away is a silent Latvian animation written, directed, animated and scored by Gints Zilbalodis. It tells the story of a boy who wakes up on an island with nothing but a bird for company, a motorcycle as a means of escape and a large, towering monster who looms over him watching his every move. The boy sees no other option but to try and fix his motorcycle and get as far away from the monster as he possibly can. Although obstacles along the way ensure that his journey will not be a simple one.

    Beautifully animated with a wonderful score, Away is a charming animation that takes its audience away to a fantasy world with humungous monsters that constantly pursue the island’s inhabitants. For those who are fans of video games, Away may also seem rather familiar as it evokes a visual style of games such as Rime and a similar thematic style to Shadow of The Colossus.

    However, although at times Away does manage to create great visual spectacle, in terms of story there isn’t really enough there to make it feel like a profound piece of work as the boy struggles to escape.

    Filled with metaphors, Away is not so subtle as it shows the obstacles that the boy overcomes in order to escape the monster. This leads to times where watching the boy struggling up a treacherous mountain and watching a turtle fall on his back, struggling to get upright is a little too straightforward.

    Although these metaphors will resonate more universally with an international audience, it does feel that perhaps Away could have spent a little more time adding a bit more variety, rather than just following the boy as he travels across the island and reminding the audience of his incredible struggle.

    Also, Away’s chapters will again remind audiences of a video game, with each section having the boy met with an obstacle or showing an incredible set piece which further enforces the idea that perhaps Away would have been better in this medium.

    An incredible accomplishment in animation, storytelling, music and sound design, Away is beautiful to watch, but with a bit more development would be a more fulfilling experience.

  • Random Acts Of Violence: The BRWC Review

    Random Acts Of Violence: The BRWC Review

    Todd (Jesse Williams) and Ezra (Jay Baruchel) are a couple of comic book writers who created the successful and yet controversial, Slasherman comic book series which was inspired by a real-life serial killer. Todd’s wife, Kathy (Jordanna Brewster) is also inspired by her husband’s work, although she intends to write a book about the victims of Slasherman to reveal their stories and to discuss the use of real-life tragedies as entertainment where the real stories affect real people every single day.

    The conflict between Todd and Kathy’s work is leading to a long overdue confrontation, but after Todd receives a strange phone call over the air whilst being dragged across the coals by a radio presenter, Todd starts to realise that his work may have inspired a serial killer to mimic his best work.

    Random Acts of Violence is the feature debut of director Jay Baruchel who co-wrote the screenplay, based on the comic book of the same name written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and is coming to Shudder.

    What could be described as a postmodern horror movie taken from a postmodern comic, Random Acts of Violence is not your typical slasher movie. Random Acts of Violence not only talks about the validity of horror as entertainment (particular true crime horror), but it also talks about the responsibility of authors when creating material which could then be interpreted in a way that the author never intended.

    However, while all these small discussions are going on in a movie about comic book writers that’s based on a comic about comic book writers writing a comic that could be in a horror movie (with me so far?) it all seems to be delivering mixed messages.

    Whereas the comic book could give its readers some time to pause for thought about what the deeper messages of writing all means, the movie doesn’t have the luxury of doing it for the audience.

    So, by the final act Random Acts of Violence seems to be delivering to its audience what it knows horror fans will want and not enough time for them to breathe and really think about its wider implications.