Author: Joel Fisher

Cliff (Scoot McNairy) is a travelling salesman and it’s not too easy doing what he does. His main source of income is selling defibrillators, and considering they’re a relatively new invention, they’re not that easy to sell. After all, as one of his clients says, Cliff’s trying to sell an electronic device to people who would normally use their hands to do the same thing.

Then one night, Cliff finds himself in a seedy strip club so that he can take his mind off his work and his mounting debts and that’s where he meets Ricky (Kit Harrington), an old colleague that he hasn’t seen in a while.

Ricky tells Cliff about the new line of work that he’s found himself in and he believes that he can help Cliff out. So long as Cliff feels comfortable with dealing in drugs.

Blood for Dust is a crime drama directed by Rod Blackhurst and co-written by David Ebeltoft. The kind of story which audiences may have seen before, the story may be saved by the stunning cinematography and the performances of its well-known cast.

As the story moves along, things go inevitably wrong and Cliff is forced to hide out with Ricky until they can get things together. This leads to the two actors playing off of each other in an interaction which is mainly driven by their characters which helps to flesh them out. Both men having started out the same, but taking very different routes gives director Blackhurst an opportunity to show that they may just be two sides of the same coin.

However, it’s clear unlikely partnerships such as this never go smoothly and although again the finale may not shock its intended audience, it may still give them a sense of satisfaction.

McNairy and Harrington work well together on screen, with the former playing an every day Joe and the latter opting for something more steeped in his character’s experiences. Blood and Dust may do nothing new in terms of story, but it is bound to find an audience looking for a gritty crime drama which delivers.

Belle (Andrea Snædal) lives with her father (Gudmunder Thorvaldsson) who is very ill. Looking for a cure, she hears of a mythical red rose which is said to put an end to death. She searches until she finally finds it in a dark cave, but the person who owns it will only grant Belle her wish if she stays with him in exchange. So, Belle and The Beast (Ingi Hrafn Hilmarsson) get to know each other and over time she starts to see the goodness inside him.

Belle is a retelling of the tale of Beauty and The Beast, given a more grounded approach by writer/director Max Gold. Set in Iceland many years ago, Belle gives the movie’s aesthetic an old world feel which compliments its fairytale origins.

The title character of the movie is also nothing like the adaptations that have come before. This is no Disney story and Belle is quite happy with her provincial life, thank you very much. However, in retelling such a familiar story and attempting to give it a few twists, it feels like director Gold has missed the point entirely.

Although the prologue does set up the story as we have always imagined it, it seems that budgetary constraints may have forced the filmmakers to tell the story from a different angle. This means that Belle becomes accustomed to The Beast’s ways quite easily and even tries to test out his limits.

The moral of the story is also meant to be that you should always judge somebody by their character and not by how they appear. However, in Belle, The Beast is portrayed without the makeup and imposing figure of an animal. This means that Hilmarsson’s portrayal makes him more of a bad boy that Belle simply wants to tame.

The pacing is also very slow, something of which would be more pleasant if director Gold took more advantage of Iceland’s natural beauty. Instead, a lot of that time is spent in fields, houses and caves. Whereas the cinematography is still beautiful, it feels like a missed opportunity.

Those looking for a faithful adaptation that reminds them of the wonders of Disney will be disappointed. However, it seems that those looking for something more subversive may be put off by Belle not really adding anything to Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve’s original fable.

Sometime in the 1800s, Talako (Montana Cypress) and a woman are having a passionate affair. However, when her husband, Redbeard (Chris Darsow), a notorious pirate finds out he goes on a murderous rampage and Talako is killed. Stricken with grief, Redbeard’s wife hangs herself and the two spirits move on into another realm. However, Talako’s spirit is unable to ascend and it’s said that his ghost still haunts the place where him and his love used to meet.

In the modern day, Lara (Ariadna González) lives with her adopted family after her troubled childhood, tries to do the best to put her past behind her. Thankfully though, she has grown into a stable young woman with plenty of friends. Upon hearing about a haunted house near to them, they all decide to see what happens if they stay the weekend. However once Talako starts playing tricks, Lara starts to realise what led her there.

The Abode is a supernatural horror story directed by Claudia La Bianca and co-written by Andre Alves and Nick Smith. Something of a throwback to another time where horror movies were full of vengeful spirits with dubious ethnicity, The Abode does its best to try and turn those tropes on its head. Although there are still some problems along the way.

The prologue for The Abode starts out very differently, with the production managing to capture what audiences expect from pirate movies. However, the story soon moves on to the present and they’re introduced to Lara.

There’s plenty to say about her too and this is where the movie faces a pacing problem. Giving so much backstory to its protagonist takes time and putting that together with setting up the premise of the movie also takes too long.

Also, the movie doesn’t seem to know what to do with Talako once the group get there. Meaning that their experiences mostly consist of waiting for something to happen.

The film does eventually find its footing, but the script could have been much tighter and still tell a compelling story. The finale may be satisfying to horror fans, but makes little sense in the story and the final scene only seems to be included to shock its audience. A noble effort, but something that needed a few more drafts to get right.

Angel (Lisa Fanto) is a teenager with some serious problems. The way that her family has responded to her coming out has led to a decline in her mental health and this has also meant she has started to self-harm and think about suicide.

She still has friends though, people that she can relate to and have a good time and one night she goes out with Dario (Iris Mcerlean) and Blair (Em Bleby). Unfortunately, somebody else is out that night and Blair gets killed, leaving Angel and Dario to console each other.

Rumours start to circulate however, and talk of a serial killer who appeared around Halloween several years ago start to circle. So, with very little choice and nowhere else to turn, Angel and Dario try to unmask the killer.

Bad Girl Boogey is a serial killer horror directed by Alice Maio Mackay and co-written by Benjamin Pahl Robinson. Following her feature directorial debut, So Vam, Mackay again focuses on the queer community in Australia, bringing up some strong issues surrounding sexuality and other people’s attitudes towards it.

Something that doesn’t shy away from its darker side, Bad Girl Boogey focuses on the pain that Angel is going through as she’s made to feel terrible for her sexual orientation. This makes the film something deeper than audiences may expect, especially considering the lighter tone of director Mackey’s previous work.

What works is the strong bond between the two friends. Fanto and Mcerlean have a good chemistry and the audience may feel for their close bond. However, among all the moments which talk frankly about how bigotry can affect their lives, the matter of the plot is a little less complex.

Meaning that the film does feel a little more stretched out than it should be, something which may become evident with a 15-minute prologue and a few scenes of exposition. However, where other slashers may focus on the killings, almost glorifying the violence, Bad Girl Boogey clearly does not. This gives a different tone to the entire film and one which ends giving its audience some well thought out characterisation.

Cassie (Jessie Jalee) and John (Nashawn Kearse) get married in Las Vegas and John is more than happy to tell his mother, Bernie (Drue Horne). Unfortunately, Bernie has never liked Cassie and the news only heightens her feelings towards her.

Soon, Bernie and John’s father, John Sr. (Clifton Powell) start hatching a plan on how to get rid of her and with enough convincing, John Jr. starts to believe it. Cassie only has Damion (Alfred E. Rutherford) to turn to though and considering John’s starting to think that he’s the father of their daughter, Cassie isn’t making it look too good. With her world feeling like it’s crumbling around her, Cassie has had enough and decides it’s time for revenge.

The In-Law Gang is a comedy directed by J. Jesses Smith and written by Jessie Jalee, inspired by her own experiences. A plot which has the potential to be a fun, comedy of errors movie, unfortunately ends up being a little too close to the bone to be funny.

The issues of infidelity could be something which if done right could be hilarious. It’s just unfortunate that Jalee’s script is a little too focussed on setting up the betrayal and spends too little time on the pay off.

It does paint a vivid picture of what exactly Cassie endured with her in-laws, but the insistence on realism makes the movie feel like a family drama rather than an adult comedy. While this may make the audience sympathise with her, the weight of the story leaves no room for laughs.

This is even more compounded when the audience finds out what Cassie does for revenge and considering this is inspired by real events, it does get a little bit worrying about the state of its writer’s mind. The performances are good and although it is a rather amateurish production, the audience gets to know Cassie and can feel for her situation and the pressure she’s under.

The problem is that by the end, the audience may have all but given up on her as her behaviour crosses a line. Add to that a rather lazy ending which excuses all of her actions and it feels more like catharsis for Jalee than anything enjoyable for the audience.