Laura Mulvey argues that within a film text, the male characters are said to control the look while the female characters connote the ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’. Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist and her article ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ (1975) outlines her concept of how feminism presents itself in Classical Hollywood film. Mulvey begins…
Film
Film Review: Girls Against Boys (2012)
Bad Girls Don’t Cry. They Get Even. Girls Against Boys is unlike any other revenge drama. It touches upon some elements of horror and delivers a few twists which is what makes it stand out from other films that carry a similar premise. It stars Danielle Panabaker as Shae who has a lot of bad experience…
Film Review: The Herd (2014)
The first feminist vegan horror film. The Herd (2014) was first introduced to me at Celluloid Screams, Sheffield’s horror film festival, in October of last year. During this time I was working as part of the festival team and didn’t get a chance to see it. However, I did see the effect it had on people…
Film Review: Crimson Peak (2015)
“Ghosts are real, that much I know. I’ve seen them all my life…“ Guillermo del Toro is no stranger to dark fantasy with his impressive filmography including films such as The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Blade II (2002) and Hellboy (2004). His latest effort, Crimson Peak (2015), is no exception and is a remarkable gothic horror that tells a ghost story that isn’t…
‘My Bloody Valentine’ (1981) in Relation to Vera Dika’s “The Stalker Film” Essay
The stalker or slasher film is a phenomenon that began in the late 1970s with John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978), reaching nationwide markets during 1978 – 1981. Halloween inspired many stalker films which all share a set group of cinematic and narrative elements, put in place by Carpenter. Many directors copied its style in the hope of replicating its success….
10 Female Coming-of-Age Films from the Early 2000s
Also featured in Ramona Magazine. Coming-of-age films are a genuine treasure to cinema. And so is John Hughes, who brought us the 80s classics, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. Unrelated to Hughes, there’s also the incredible Heathers, Clueless, and Mean Girls—my favourite unofficial trilogy of films from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. But what about the…
Film Review: Suspiria (1977)
“Bad luck isn’t brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds.” A surrealist work of art with an incredible set design, cinematography and a violent, disturbing soundtrack. Italian director Dario Argento created the horror masterpiece that is Suspiria in 1977. This film has achieved cult status with its bizarre and unsettling tones, making it a feature that…
Film Review: Freeheld (2015)
“The only thing I care about is justice for the woman I love.“ Freeheld is a film that is based on true events which has demanded attention since it announced its lead stars Julianne Moore and Elliot Page. It tells the story of Laurel Hester, a police officer in Ocean County, New Jersey, who is eventually…
Film Review: Timer (2009)
“If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?” Timer (2009), stylised as TiMER, is the feature length film debut, both written and directed, by Jac Schaeffer that carries an interesting premise. A company produces an all-new type of matchmaking device named “the timer” which…
Top 10 Films of 2015
Here are my top 10 favourite films from 2015. Some films are from 2014, but had a UK release date of early 2015. I still haven’t seen American Ultra, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road, Straight Outta Compton, The Martian, Everest, and Carol, which are on my watchlist. 10. The Sisterhood of…