Can Evrenol’s Baskin is an expanded version of his acclaimed 2013 short film of the same name. Baskin is a surreal, grisly horror movie, taking a simple premise and doing a hell of a lot with it. Evrenol has delivered an accomplished debut feature, and a cracking horror movie. 
Paul Verhoeven is responsible for some of the finest science fiction movies of the last thirty years, and although he conquered Hollywood in the 90s, it’s easy to forget that he is also the man responsible for Basic Instinct and Showgirls. As the credits open on Elle and the wannabe Bernard Hermann soundtrack screeches all over it, those memories come flooding back.
Generally speaking, it’s safe to say the words ‘unfilmable novel’ should not be taken as a challenge. But who better to take it up, than one of the most compelling and interesting filmmakers to emerge in recent years, Ben Wheatley. Wheatley’s debut, the gritty crime drama Down Terrace, put him on the map. He duly followed it up with a stunning tale of occult horror in Kill List – arguably the greatest horror movie of the last ten years. Sightseers combined the darkest of black comedy with English eccentricities, and for his fourth movie he gave us the divisive and surreal A Field in England. With High-Rise, Wheatley gets his teeth stuck in to J.G. Ballard’s classic dystopian novel. Grindhouse Ben Wheatley has morphed into Arthouse Ben Wheatley.
Having only been on release for a mere two weeks, Netflix’s latest binge watch sensation, Stranger Things, is already gaining an inordinate amount of column inches and social media traction. Part thriller, part science fiction, part nostalgia trip, its stylish blend of retro aesthetic and Spielbergian adventure is connecting with a lot of people. But does Stranger Things live up to the hype? You bet it does.