MONSTER ISLAND (ORANG IKAN) (full review at Screen Realm)

During WWII a Japanese prisoner transport is torpedoed at sea. Two convicts, one Japanese (Dean Fujioka), the other British (Callum Woodhouse), are washed ashore on a deserted island. As the two adversaries are suddenly equalised by circumstance and nature, they immediately embrace conflict and, eventually, mutual understanding, in a manner not too dissimilar to the start of Kong Skull Island, or countless episodes of Star Trek.

Read the full review at Screen Realm:

https://screenrealm.com/monster-island-movie-review-shudder-horror-film-orang-ikan/

IMDB: Monster Island (Orang Ikan)

Elysium (full article at The Guardian Australia)

When director Neill Blomkamp followed up his acclaimed debut feature, District 9, with the cyberpunk dystopia Elysium in 2013, it was met with a resoundingly mediocre reception. It’s a movie that even Blomkamp has disavowed. “I fucked it up,” he said bluntly in a 2015 interview. But I think he’s too hard on himself: a decade on, Elysium might be worthy of reappraisal.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jun/10/even-elysiums-director-thinks-his-film-is-a-mess-but-a-decade-on-it-deserves-a-second-chance

IMDB: Elysium

BRING HER BACK (full review at Screen Realm)

Bring Her Back is the second film from Talk to Me directors Danny and Michael Philippou and is another original and visceral excursion into supernatural horror. Bring Her Back is a slow burn, tinged with a thoughtful sadness that ultimately unravels into chaos.

Following the death of their father, Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong) are put into foster care and sent to live with Laura (Sally Hawkins) and her other foster child Olly (Jonah Wren Phillips). Laura is grieving the loss of her own daughter, and the emotional scars remain raw. She immediately takes Piper under her wing and into her heart.

Read the full review at Screen Realm:

https://screenrealm.com/bring-her-back-movie-review-philippou-brothers-horror-2025/

IMDB: Bring Her Back

ARENA (full article at The Guardian Australia)

There are two questions you need to ask before deciding to watch the 1989 sci-fi action film Arena. One: did you enjoy Rocky? And two: what if Rocky fought a giant space armadillo? Because Arena is for those of us who saw Sylvester Stallone’s tale of a pugilist underdog and liked it well enough – but felt it needed more monsters.

Two people who definitely thought this were the director, Peter Manoogian, and the B-movie impresario Charles Band, whose Empire International Pictures made a raft of other terrific horror and sci-fi throughout the 80s including Re-Animator, From Beyond and the underrated Trancers.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/may/21/arena-if-you-liked-rocky-youll-love-rocky-with-monsters

IMDB: Arena

SUPER (full article at The Guardian Australia)

With James Gunn directing the new Superman flick, perhaps now is a good time to revisit Super, his dark take on the crime-fighting genre. Released in 2010 – four years before Gunn made Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel – Super is gritty, weird and considerably less wholesome.

Frank (Rainn Wilson) is a diner chef who, by his own estimation, has very little going for him except his marriage to Sarah (Liv Tyler). So
when Sarah, a recovering addict, relapses and leaves him for local drug kingpin Jacques (Kevin Bacon), Frank’s life completely falls apart.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/feb/12/super-is-this-the-anti-marvel-comic-book-film

IMDB: Super

FRESH (full article at The Guardian Australia)

With Sebastian Stan attracting awards buzz for The Apprentice and A Different Man, it feels like an appropriate time to revisit Fresh, which for my money is one of the most warped and interesting horror comedies of recent years. However, this is a movie that’s hard to discuss without giving something crucial away, so before reading any further – and if you’ll pardon the pun – you may first prefer to go and experience it fresh.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/11/boy-eats-girl-horror-comedy-fresh-really-is-worth-a-second-helping

IMDB: Fresh

PIRANHA 3D (full article at The Guardian Australia)

Piranha (AKA Piranha 3D) has to be one of the trashiest, sleaziest and unashamedly fun creature features of the last 20 years. It is lewd, bloody, proudly lowbrow and long overdue some appreciation.

Lake Victoria is prepping for spring break, the annual influx of boisterous young people who hit the water to drink, party and cause a general nuisance. Local sheriff Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) and Deputy Fallon (Ving Rhames) are run ragged by the huge crowds, but Forester has to escort a team of seismologists, led by Adam Scott, to a remote part of the lake.

Meanwhile, Forester’s son Jake (Steven R McQueen) is shirking his babysitter responsibilities in favour of an incredibly fortunate, fantasy summer job: location scouting for seedy, gonzo pornographer Derrick (Jerry O’Connell). Jake befriends models Danni (Kelly Brook) and Crystal (Riley Steele), and invites his best friend Kelly (Jessica Szohr) along for a spot of day drinking.

This is when those seismologists discover that an earthquake has opened up an ancient, hidden lake, and within it a brood of unevolved, hungry piranhas who do not need an invitation to make fish food out of the townsfolk.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/sep/03/piranha-3d-where-to-watch-australia-netflix-stan

IMDB: Piranha 3D