Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 18%
| The Fourth Kind (2009) | "
Osunsanmi's tricksy formal device simply reinforces our disbelief and invites ridicule." — Time Out Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 45%
| Jennifer's Body (2009) | "
By tapping in to the same vein of ‘hormonal horror’ as the excellent ‘Ginger Snaps’, this offers a witty, subversive look at the darker side of teen friendship." — Time Out Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 42%
| Colin (2009) | "
This overlong, non-frightening debut features ugly digital images that are either over-saturated or absurdly badly lit, and its attempts at leavening humour all fall flat." — Time Out Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 69%
| Coffin Rock (2009) | "
Rupert Glasson’s persuasive psychological thriller offers an interesting variation on the sociopathic ‘stalker’ plot." — Time Out Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 81%
| Triangle (2009) | "
Melissa George’s fearless, credible performance grounds the madness in a moving emotional reality, even as her sanity is lost at sea." — Time Out Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 84%
| Pontypool (2009) | "
This cerebral horror movie plays Scrabble with the genre’s cinematic lingo." — Time Out Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 84%
| Pontypool (2009) | "
Talky and claustrophobic, Pontypool is a mash-up of Orson Welles' notorious The War of the Worlds radio broadcast and George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, with a tone and cast that's reminiscent of John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13." — Filmstar Magazine Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 27%
| Pandorum (2009) | "
Alvart achieves a strong sense of scale, but characters and ideas are lost amid a mess of fight scenes that, oddly, look like outtakes from ‘The Descent’." — Time Out Posted Oct 4, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 0%
| Jack Said (2009) | "
If writer Paul Tanter’s voiceover and dialogue had been delivered with any conviction, it might have distracted us from the dull visuals, over-complicated flash-back/flash-forward structure and TV soap opera-style acting." — Time Out Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 76%
| The Firm (2009) | "
Love’s second movie about hooligans marks a quantum leap forward from the messy, senseless violence of ‘The Football Factory’." — Time Out Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 76%
| The Firm (2009) | "
Love seems happier with his affectionate re-creation of the early '80s than with exploring the contradictions at the heart of this subculture." — Filmstar Magazine Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 6%
| Whiteout (2009) | "
John Frizzel’s over-worked soundtrack keeps telling us how exciting everything is, but it feels as if we’re frozen in time. Not so much a white-out as wipe-out." — Time Out Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 4%
| Miss March (2009) | "
A crude, crass, virtually laugh-free sex comedy." — Time Out Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 58%
| A Perfect Getaway (2009) | "
David Twohy’s taut, palm-sweating thriller has two things going for it: it keeps you guessing and it doesn’t insult your intelligence." — Time Out Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 55%
| Orphan (2009) | "
This wickedly entertaining, if slightly over-stretched, variation on the familiar ‘evil child’ scenario displays an unusually complex grasp of twisted psychology." — Time Out Posted Aug 7, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 8%
| Red Mist (2008) | "
‘Shrooms’ director Paddy Breathnach still hasn’t the foggiest idea of how to make a horror." — Time Out Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 41%
| The Last House on the Left (2009) | "
Dennis Iliadis’s remake retains its ferocious power and provocative themes, and thanks to a focused script that unfolds in real time, it ratchets up the suspense and sucks us into a remorseless cycle of violence and revenge." — Time Out Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 43%
| Doghouse (2009) | "
The magic ingredient here is Dan Schaffer’s sly script, which constantly undercuts the film’s inherently sexist premise." — Time Out Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 70%
| Summer Scars (2008) | "
An inexperienced cast don’t always make the most of a slippery, unsettling script by Al Wilson, but Amy Harvey’s nuanced portrayal of tomboy Leanne – all braces and bolshie attitude up front, yet shy and vulnerable underneath – is a stand-out." — Time Out Posted Jun 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 92%
| Drag Me To Hell (2009) | "
A gross-out fright movie." — Time Out Posted May 29, 2009 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 75%
| Tormented (2009) | "
Solid storytelling, attractive cast and modish updates are let down by a lack of scares and jokes. IMHO not gr8, don’t xpkt to LOL." — Time Out Posted May 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 32%
| The Uninvited (2009) | "
As in the original, the film slyly manipulates the audience’s perspective, and a brilliantly filmed climactic ‘reveal’ marks this British duo as a pair to watch." — Time Out Posted Apr 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 33%
| Knowing (2009) | "
Mixing Spielbergian child-like wonder, disaster movie spectacle and the cod-religious silliness of M Night Shyamalan’s ‘Signs’. The premise is compelling, but the execution is over-cooked." — Time Out Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 12%
| The Unborn (2009) | "
David S Goyer’s non-kosher riff on ‘The Exorcist’ is stillborn," — Time Out Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 61%
| Franklyn (2009) | "
‘Franklyn’ has conceptual boldness and visual imagination that set it apart from the pack." — Time Out Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 25%
| Friday the 13th (2009) | "
This is dull, unimaginative stuff." — Time Out Posted Feb 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 26%
| Punisher: War Zone (2008) | "
‘Oh God, now I’ve got brains spattered all over me,’ exclaims The Punisher’s slippery inside man, Detective Soap. You may feel the same at the end of this messy, sadistic reboot of the Marvel comic-book series." — Time Out Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 32%
| Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) | "
The digital video images are blurry, the fight scenes messy, the editing jerky, and the derivative plot absurdly overwrought." — Time Out Posted Jan 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 55%
| My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009) | "
This is why 3D was invented." — Time Out Posted Jan 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 73%
| Stuck (2007) | "
Gordon has directed drama, such as Mamet’s ‘Edmond’, but also visceral horror movies like ‘Re-Animator’. Elements of both are evident in this taut psychological thriller." — Time Out Posted Jan 9, 2009 |
Fresh 4/6
| Fresh 77%
| The Children (2008) | "
Shankland’s approach is oblique rather than graphic, but these icy chills will send shivers down your spine." — Time Out Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 59%
| Quarantine (2008) | "
An American remake of the Spanish horror movie ‘[Rec]’ that adopts the same basic recipe, but removes any hint of flavour or texture, reducing cutting-edge Catalan cuisine to bland, bite-sized McNuggets." — Time Out Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 18%
| Max Payne (2008) | "
John Moore directs the hell out of the action, while Jonathan Sela’s glistening photography captures the snow and rain that fall on these bloody New York streets. But you’d have to be on crack not to guess the ‘surprise’ finale." — Time Out Posted Nov 14, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 0%
| Scar () | "
To make a 3-D ‘torture porn’ movie is at best opportunist; to make one with flat, boring torture scenes is unforgivable." — Time Out Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 70%
| The Midnight Meat Train (2008) | "
The film hurtles towards the final ‘revelation moment’ like runaway train. If only it had stopped to take on board some of Barker’s heavy mythical dread." — Time Out Posted Oct 30, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 15%
| Saw V (2008) | "
Even the most die-hard of Saw fans won’t credit how tedious, lame and pointless this fourth sequel manages to be." — Time Out Posted Oct 27, 2008 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 15%
| Mirrors (2008) | "
This is without question the dumbest horror movie of recent years. There is simply no way to piece together its fractured shards." — Time Out Posted Oct 10, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Rotten 51%
| City of Ember (2008) | "
This seriously entertaining film celebrates the idea that, despite their elders’ complacency, the young will find the strength to imagine a better future for themselves." — Time Out Posted Oct 10, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 57%
| Taken (2009) | "
Director Pierre Morel’s directing style is ruthlessly efficient, but leaves no time to ponder the plot holes or the borderline racist portrayal of vicious Albanian gangsters and sleazy Arab businessmen." — Time Out Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 43%
| Death Race (2008) | "
It’s brainless fun, but while Anderson’s brilliant staging of the flesh-ripping stunts surpasses Bartel’s cheap thrills, this update lacks the sardonic wit and satirical bite of the Corman-produced version." — Time Out Posted Sep 25, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Fresh 83%
| Eden Lake (2008) | "
The film’s one major fault is that Reilly’s character repeatedly acts in ways that serve the plot, but which run contrary to rational human behaviour. By contrast, the shattering downbeat ending is well earned and genuinely shocking." — Time Out Posted Sep 12, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Fresh 87%
| Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) | "
A thinking person's 'creature feature,' Hellboy II is also a heartfelt plea for bio- and cultural diversity." — Time Out Sydney Posted Aug 31, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 44%
| The Strangers (2008) | "
This suspense film by first-time writer-director Bryan Bertino initially squeezes some surprisingly effective scares out of familiar elements. Sadly, the scenario quickly becomes attenuated and unbelievable." — Time Out Posted Aug 29, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 7%
| Babylon A.D. (2008) | "
Unfortunately, a ‘Matrix’-style shoot-out offers a glib, violent solution to what is otherwise an intriguing emotional conflict." — Time Out Posted Aug 29, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Fresh 87%
| Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) | "
Guillermo del Toro’s Fabergé egg of a fairytale is not so much a sequel as a fusion of the fabulist imagination of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ with the witty, irreverent comic-book action of his own ‘Hellboy’." — Time Out Posted Aug 22, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 32%
| The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) | "
Lazy plotting, so-so performances and squandered ideas lead to only one diagnosis: there is no compelling reason to keep this moribund formula on a life-support machine." — Time Out Posted Jul 31, 2008 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 9%
| Prom Night (2008) | "
By far the worst ‘slasher movie’ remake to date, replaying all the clichés, but delivering none of the guilty pleasures." — Time Out Posted Jun 5, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 22%
| The Eye (2008) | "
One can’t turn a blind eye to such conspicuous failings." — Time Out Posted Apr 25, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 14%
| Botched (2007) | "
Stupid, slipshod stuff." — Time Out Posted Apr 18, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Fresh 95%
| [Rec] (2007) | "
A brilliantly staged early scare signals that the safety rails are off and, despite an unexpected, last-minute swerve into the supernatural realm, the edge-of-the-seat tension is sustained to the very last second." — Time Out Posted Apr 11, 2008 |
IGN RSS Feeds