THE ABC'S OF DEATH 2 [2014]

Without changing the formula of the original film, The ABCs Of Death 2 manages to surpass it's predecessor.
26 new genre directors from all over the world are brought to the table to assault the viewer with 26 new deaths and it is a twisted delight. Each segment mixes it up a bit, some live action, some classically animated, some silent, others done with stop-motion but all of them guaranteed to question your judgement of good taste.  Some are devilishly hilarious, others downright disturbing, many of them quite frightening but all are bat-shit fucking crazy, unfortunately only a small handful of them are genuinely brilliant, making for little replay value.

3 action figures out of 5

HAUNTER [2013]

Abigail Breslin does a wonderful job at carrying the film in director Vincenzo Natali's super creepy ghost story Haunter.  
It starts off as your basic tired haunted house story but soon as the first layer of plot is added it just keeps building and building into something far more weirder and creepier than you'd ever expect.  It's beautifully photographed and lit with haunting precision that screams of cold intimacy.  Unfortunately the plot gets so thick with brilliant ideas, the final 20 minutes can't live up to everything it's built itself up to be and collapses something fierce.  Fortunately it's something I've come to expect from Natali films so it didn't hurt the experience too much.

4 meat loaf dinners out of 5

Cube (1997)

Cube drops you into the middle of a story with no clue how or why you’re there, and then drags you along for the ride whether you want to go or not; if you love film, you’ll want to go.
It’s essentially a kind of existential theatre with characters designed for a very specific purpose; there are no third wheels. The claustrophobic atmosphere is effectively uncomfortable but isn't overwhelming.
It was shot in just 21 days on a handheld camera; there’s no steadicam but you’d never know! The more you learn about the production the more amazing it gets. It shows what you can do with one room (14 x 14 feet), creative lighting and a story worth telling. Good job, Canada, more films like this, please.

4 complex equations out of 5

Cypher (2002)

A clever but never convoluted sci-fi thriller about corporate espionage that throws in some Philip K. Dick style plot twists on the themes of individuality and identity. Visually it mimics the corporate world of cold greys and silvers that Hollywood seems to think works and, I believe, it does so in an ironic way. It plays around with the medium while simultaneously playing to its strengths.
Director Natali also toys with the traditional enigmatic femme fatale idea, making Lucy Liu more untrustworthy than usual, or is she? The protagonist doesn't know and neither do we, because in a Hitchcockian way we get drip-fed information at the same time as him.

3 chess pieces out of 5

Splice (2009)

Two geneticists splice some human and animal DNA together to help further the cause of medicine and their own egos. When the moral shit threatens to hit the fan they take matters into their own hands.
The film was shot in 42 days on a less than perfect budget but still looks fantastic. The story is good for the first hour. There are some nice parallels that I can’t mention because of spoiler, but it’s a shame that the last 20 minutes don't keep that momentum. It ceases to be social commentary and turns to shock crap. The middle is the strongest part and makes it worth watching at least once.

3 grey areas out of 5