Author: Joel Fisher

Tzod (Lucy Lawless), the fierce priestess of the great jungle swamp called Bastal has an unenviable task set ahead of her. Her task is to rid the world of the guardian of the last light of the gods who was ruled over her land for all eternity.

Believing to have found a way to get to that guardian, Tzod puts her trust in Lord Pyrantin (Patton Oswalt), but before it’s too late she is betrayed and sent to the underworld. It is there that she meets the guardian (Richard E. Grant).

Being trapped in his realm, Tzod has little else to do other than exchange stories of the world and listen to his tales of swords and sorcery until she figures out her next move. Luckily, they have time but the looming presence of evil seeps out of every story they tell.

The Spine of Night is an animated feature exclusive to Shudder which features a few famous names which may draw audiences in. Lawless is of course no stranger to the realms of fantasy and Grant lends the gravitas of his voice to the animation which makes anything his character says sound impressive. Oswalt, the most experienced voice actor also gives an impressive performance, but those familiar with his more family friendly work may be slightly distracted.

However, there is the issue of using these actors because there’s a certain expectation to include them as much as possible. Fans may be disappointed though as their involvement is merely to frame the events of the movie.

Fans of rotoscoped animated movies such as Heavy Metal and Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of The Rings may delight in the revival of the animation technique. Although, it’s not for everyone and some may balk at the style if they are not as familiar.

It also seems that the aim of the movie is not only to revive the animation style, but to evoke a time in the Seventies and Eighties when these kinds of films were made. So, if you like your animation with boobs and buckets of blood all done in an uncanny valley then The Spine of Night may bring back good memories. Otherwise, it may be lost on you entirely.

Ken Barber (Geno Walker) is a divorced dad who’s trying to make ends meet by starting a YouTube channel, giving advice to other divorced dads on how to cope. He’s still on good terms with his ex-wife, Kelsey (Kate Arrington), but the cracks are starting to show as Ken would rather spend time in his apartment than try to get out and get a job.

His best friend, Terry (Felonious Munk) is supportive and is constantly coming up with new ideas to get his friend more viewers. Noticing something strange in one of Ken’s video’s, Terry comes up with the idea to capitalise on the ghost related YouTube videos by investigating the strange occurrence further. However, things get worse and Ken starts to believe that his apartment is really haunted.

Night’s End is a supernatural horror movie directed by Jennifer Reeder. Clearly shot during lockdown, it shows Ken confined to his apartment whilst making video calls to his friends and family as the supernatural encounters increase. However, it seems that the script or at least the idea for the movie was meant to be made in a more usual environment, as doing things the way they did gives the movie a certain comedic quality.

As Ken gets more and more nervous about his ghostly visitor, he decides to contact Colin Albertson (Lawrence Grimm), an expert on the paranormal and that’s where the film takes an altogether different turn.

Meaning that despite the fact that each and every cast member (and there’s quite a lot) are confined to their rooms, they have to react as if they were all together.

Grimm’s performance matched with the less than adequate special effects make it even more comedic as the events heighten. So, those expecting a straightforward locked in horror movie may be disappointed, or delighted if they decide to just go along with it.

Night’s End is a potentially good idea that was just done at the wrong time under the wrong circumstances. It will be seen as a film of its time if it’s ever remembered and besides a surprise cameo from Michael Shannon, Night’s End will not give an audience anything to think about.

Dave ‘Davie’ Mclean (Conor Berry) had ambitions of becoming one of the greatest Scottish football players of all time. His home town of Dundee had two footballs clubs after all, so at least he’d have someone to play against. However, an injury put that idea to rest and whilst his broken leg was healing, he started to think about what to do next.

His best friends, Scot (Sean Connor) and John (Grant Robert Keelan) were typical of men their age and while women, whisky and song were all they could think about, it was the music that led them to greater ambitions. After such a devastating change it seemed like Davie had nowhere to go, but now it looks like things were picking up, especially after he met the beautiful Shona (Tara Lee).

Schemers is a biopic of music promotor, Dave Mclean which he wrote and directed himself. Taking the memories from his early days where he could barely get the foot in the door, Schemers recalls that story as if it were yesterday. However, those who may be unaware of its origins in fact may be wondering what made Dave Mclean so special.

Starting off in a fashion that is quintessentially Scottish, Mclean’s story evokes Gregory’s Girl and Trainspotting, without the dark humour of the latter of course. Instead, Mclean frames his story as a feelgood tale of rags to riches, although Mclean may be more interested in his story than anybody else.

Unbeknownst to most audiences, Mclean was part of the movement that brought grunge to the UK with bands like Nirvana, Green Day and The Smashing Pumpkins all becoming as popular here as they were in the States. Mclean even went into band management, picking up a little band called Placebo and bringing them to international fame. However, Mclean doesn’t seem to be interested in that and instead thinks an audience would be more interested in how he got started.

Having the luxury of writing himself into the film, Davie is a charming and funny character and when the script allows it, Berry gives a performance which happily compliments its subject. However, when the romantic comedy aspect of the film seems to fizzle out, so does the charm.

It seems that despite being a biopic and being able to do what he likes, Mclean has missed the point and whereas he could have fleshed out the minor characters, he seems more interested in what he had done himself.

We have opportunities to go anywhere in the world if we choose to do so. In recent years our travelling has become limited, but every day it seems that these avenues of adventure are opening back up again as we tentatively step back into the world to remind us of what it offers. There are price rates that suit all kinds of budgets as well, so providing what you want, where you want to go and how much you’re willing to pay, then the world is your oyster.

However, there are things we have to take into account when we travel. Things such as climate change and our carbon footprints that have an effect on how the world changes around us. Also, the places we go may be places of great beauty and nature, undisturbed by human life for centuries, until they become a tourist hotspot.

The Last Tourist is a documentary about the tourism trade and the effects that it has on many aspects of life. Things such as environment, animal cruelty, the diminishing traditions of local cultures and the rise of more harmful traditions are all openly and honestly explained with their links to tourism. The Last Tourist tells its audience exactly where tourism started to go wrong and how we as a society do things that affect the world without even realising it.

Some of the areas that the documentary talks about are as simple as how you choose to get around the world. Starting with things like cruise liners and safaris, The Last Tourist shows in no uncertain terms exactly what things are done to get the most money out of us.

The Last Tourist is also a very thorough documentary and shows us things we may not have considered. Things such as places where hopeful and bright-eyed teenagers look to make a difference in the world, but are only there to reinforce a stereotype whilst hoping for change. The Last Tourist may even open the eyes of some viewers who have had such experiences, making them realise what they’re doing wrong.

Things aren’t all bad though as The Last Tourist also talks about how we can still travel the world and help others. By being a responsible tourist and putting in the research before we just fly to whatever country and book into a five-star hotel. The documentary shows how we could have a really unique and special experience if only we were willing to put the work in.

The world is still opening up and there are more opportunities for places to go and things to do. However, The Last Tourist may be something to watch before you pack your bags and head for the sun.

Deidre (Lucy Martin), Heather (Sophie Vavasseur) and Charlotte (Chelsea Edge) are going away for the weekend to witness a spectacular and once in a lifetime meteor shower. Deidre and Charlotte are influencers, tall and blonde and they barely wear anything whilst Charlotte is less interested in their social media world.

Then the night comes and the meteor shower lights up the sky, making is so bright that the women start to wonder whether something is wrong. Suddenly something hits the pool, seemingly coming from the sky and they realise that there’s something living that has come into their temporary home.

Charlotte takes pity on it and starts to nurse it back to health, but Deidre and Heather want nothing to do with it, desperately hoping they can call someone to take it away. However, after an encounter where Deidre makes a closer encounter with their alien visitor, things start changing.

The Seed is a sci-fi horror from writer/director Sam Walker that is exclusively on Shudder which takes the vacuous world of a couple of Instagram influencers and their friend. Something which could have had a lot of material to draw upon.

However, it seems unclear on which side Walker falls upon. Because as much as his script shows the part time models being obsessed with their phones and their public images, the camera doesn’t mind lingering over them either.

Charlotte doesn’t really come across as anything more fleshed out either, her sole character trait is that she’s not like her friends and that’s it. There’s no bond between them and nothing that tells the audience why Charlotte would be friends with people so obviously different from herself.

There isn’t even any commentary on the alien’s control over the women’s bodies. It could have been a comment on how certain people are so obsessed with themselves that they ignore the wider world around them. It could have even been a commentary on how women use their bodies and how society sees them as either sex objects or mothers, but it doesn’t go that deep. Instead, audiences will spend a good amount of time waiting for the horror to kick in and when it does, it all feels rather shallow.