Author: Joel Fisher

Kate (Beth Dover) is the survivor of a violent attack and it’s done irreparable damage to her mental health. Thinking that the best thing for her to do is to get away from it all, Kate applies for a position at a watchtower, overlooking a local forest in case of any fires.

Although not entirely alone, she still has contact with her co-workers, Earl (Ato Essandoh) and Dan (Dallas Roberts). She also meets a couple of locals, eccentric widower Reggie (Dylan Baker) and a friendly woman called Bertha (Becky Ann Baker) who both help her in their ways to regain her independence and her confidence. However, being alone for so long after a traumatic experience still plays on Kate’s mind.

Outpost is a psychological horror written and directed by Joe Lo Truglio, better known for Brooklyn Nine-Nine and now making his directorial debut. Something that starts out as a thriller, it turns out that Kate’s break from her life may not be the best idea, making the audience start to wonder whether she should be up there alone.

The movie also likes to take its time and to settle into the mind of the audience to what they’re going to see. The idea of a lone woman in a horror movie does certainly conjure up certain ideas, the threat of something unknown about to lash out is something often seen in horror. What Outpost does though is looks at the psychological effects of trauma and the anxiety that surrounds that.

Saying this though, Outpost isn’t exactly a character study and pays homage to The Shining in different ways to ensure its audience of its horror inspiration. The problem is that those looking for something deeper and more analytical may be disappointed.

That’s because Outpost wants to make the audience think that it’s a horror movie about a trauma survivor who learns to stand on her own two feet, where this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Instead, the final act takes a sharp turn into genre horror and what is possibly a commentary on how victims feel after a violent attack, ends up giving a surface level finale which ticks off the boxes for blood and gore.

Vanaja (Radha Ramachandra) and Mahabala Shetty (Prabhakar Kunder) are very happy upon hearing that their grandson, Sumanth (Abhilash Shetty) is coming for a visit. They want everything to be perfect and despite modern conveniences like mobile phones, motorbikes and satellite dishes, they’re still very much rooted in the traditions of India.

Sumanth comes to them with a warm welcome and gets involved in the process of making his favourite dish. However, when the chickens go missing for the curry, then a series of events lead grandfather and grandson to hunt them down.

Koli Taal (otherwise known as The Chicken Curry) is a feelgood comedy written and directed by Abhilash Shetty in his feature debut. The kind of film that an audience may not expect from India, Koli Taal instead talks about the differences between the modern and the traditional and the natural blending of the two.

A subtle comedy, Koli Taal takes its time to tell its story, which may be a reflection on the way that Vanaja and Mahabala live their lives. Though those expecting the kind of Bollywood movie filled with glamour, energetic song and dance routines and even the occasional physics breaking stunt may be disappointed.

However, for those with patience and the capacity to think outside the box, Koli Taal offers something that feels more real and authentic to perhaps director Shetty’s own experiences. Saying that though there are certain things about it that may put the audience off. For example, as mentioned before the pacing is rather slow and considering film is barely ninety minutes long, it may take a while for the audience to settle in.

Although this does make for a refreshing change from an Indian film industry which is known for such a quick pace and a lively attitude to most of what they have to offer. At the end though, Koli Taal is meant to make audiences smile and perhaps to remind some of where they have come from.

The audience may even see a little of their own family life, no matter where they originate from and the themes of old and young make the film feel universal.

The gods are still among us it seems and they’re always looking down to see what we are doing. Athena (Ciarra Carter) and Hermes (Dane Oliver) are taking a special interest in the world and something which especially intrigues them is when they meet Mina (Rachel Thundat).

Appearing to be mortal, Athena and Hermes just can’t fathom her existence as it becomes clear that she can see them and can seemingly cross between worlds. The only thing they can do is to interrogate her and with the help of Apollo (Victoria Antonelli), find out who or what Mina really is.

Exceptional Beings is a philosophical drama about what it means to be a god and how precious human existence can be. Using a mixture of high concept and thoughtful dialogue, directors Njedeh Anthony and Christian Kazadi try to give the audience a little spark of drama along their intricate musings.

However, it seems that the mixture of the two isn’t all that successful. Giving an audience the idea of a story where the Greek gods walk the Earth may be appealing and the low budget may give off some quietly impressive effects from time to time. The problem is that Anthony’s script seems to want to have its cake and eat it as well and the dialogue may put off and confuse wider audiences.

Not to mention the times where the audience is expected to follow the story, which can be a challenge. Leaving the movie feeling a little disjointed, Exceptional Beings takes the audience through a couple of scenarios before seeming to settle down on the plot. However, this seems short lived as it can’t seem to help itself by going off in another direction.

For example, a scene between two humans starts off in an ordinary way before escalating past the point of credibility and is barely mentioned until the final moments of the movie. This makes Exceptional Beings feel like an idea that perhaps needed some more work so figure out what was needed and what wasn’t.

In the end the audience may wonder what it was all about, but there may be something there for fans of Greek mythology and heavy dialogue.

Jovi (Victoria Strange) and Lou (Trevor Van Uden) are a couple with a lot of responsibility in their hands. They are beings who look over the human race and as they play their games, the fate of the human race is decided.

Thinking they should change things up a little, they challenge each other to change a man’s life and to test him over whether he would do what is right, or commit murder in order to save his wife. So, Lou goes down and becomes the devil on his shoulder while Jovi does what she can to make things right.

Jovi & Lou is a supernatural morality tale written and directed by Terry Spears. Although somewhat of an analogy of God vs the Devil, Jovi & Lou takes something of an agnostic approach to the old-fashioned tale of good vs Evil. However, it does so with a bit of an edge to entice an adult audience.

Unfortunately, it seems that what the filmmakers think of as raunchy and offensive often feels like it’s afraid to go too far. With characters like drug taking preachers and kerb crawling sex offenders, its nothing that the audience wouldn’t have seen before and often with far more shocking content.

Then there’s the morality tale itself and it seems that the filmmakers don’t really know what to make of that either. With the would-be murderer not really taking time to feel remorse or even question the ethics of his actions, neither will the audience. Also, the people he ends up killing are so two dimensional that the question of whether he’s doing the right thing or not may not be all that complicated for the audience.

A low budget movie which is trying to do something different, Jovi & Lou wants to be something memorable, but ends up feeling like an episode of Family Guy that keeps pulling its punches.

Something with a tighter script and a clearer motive for its lead characters may have worked better. Otherwise, Jovi & Lou ends up feeling like a movie which doesn’t know what side to take.

Carl (Jenson Atwood) is a journalist looking for some answers when he finally finds Vernon (Ernest Harden Jr.). Interested in finding out more about Vernon’s life, Carl starts to ask Vernon a lot of questions, but it soon turns out that Carl has an ulterior motive.

That’s because Vernon knew Carl as he was growing up and subjected him to all kinds of abuse. Now Carl wants to know to why he was treated that way to try and come to terms with living with himself.

Velvet Jesus is a drama directed by Anthony Bawn and Spencer Collins and written by Charles McWells. The story of a man looking for retribution against a man who made his life a living hell is played out with every detail explored in deep and often disturbing ways.

Played out as a two hander with Atwood and Harden Jr. for most of the run of the movie in a single location, it makes Velvet Jesus feel more theatrical. Besides some great cinematography, this may make some audience members wish for something a bit more cinematic whereas it could draw others in.

There’s also a somewhat relatable story to Carl’s treatment of Vernon and although we may have all had somebody in our childhood that we’d like to confront, it feels like Carl’s actions go to the extreme. A kind of behaviour which most people wouldn’t ever carry out, but it helps the audience to wonder whether Carl’s recollections are real.

Both actors play their parts very well and it certainly speaks to Harden Jr.’s experiences as an actor that he would take on such a difficult role. However, Velvet Jesus seems like a play put together to showcase the actor’s ranges with something so hard hitting with very little light.

Although a valiant effort in order to deal with many different kinds of abuse, it may leave the audience feeling drained by the end. There are many people all over the world who have had experiences like Carl’s, but it feels like portraying it this way only serves to help the filmmakers and doesn’t feel genuine enough.