STACK #156 Oct 2017

DVD&BD REVIEWS

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Don't go in the woods. IT COMES AT NIGHT

Suburban mayhem. HOUNDS OF LOVE

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Release Date: 04/10/17

Format:

Release Date: 04/10/17

Following the outbreak of a killer disease, Joel Edgerton has holed up in a cabin in the woods with his wife and teenaged son. When an intruder breaks in one night, they offer the man and his family sanctuary after determining there's no risk of infection. But will this act of altruism result in safety in numbers or put everybody's lives at risk? This minimalist survival thriller is a slow burn chamber piece that drops the viewer into a pressure cooker situation of escalating distrust and paranoia. Evoking

From the opening scene of a car cruising slowly past a girls' netball game like a predator circling its prey, you know you're in for a disturbing ride. This gritty Aussie thriller, set in a Perth suburb during a hot summer in 1987, follows the abduction and captivity of a teenager (Ashleigh Cummings) by a serial killer couple (Stephen Curry and Emma Booth), who find their own twisted relationship tested by their latest victim. Despite the grim subject matter, Hounds of Love doesn't linger on the more unpleasant moments – the focus is on the psychological

chills through inventive editing, sound design and flickering lantern light – every nocturnal creak and bump has the potency of a good jump scare – It Comes at Night delivers a domestic breakdown full of ambigious horrors in the creepy tradition of The Witch . SH

dynamic of its antagonists. The cast are uniformly excellent, particularly Curry, who makes the startling transition from comedy to creepy appear effortless. And first time writer-director Ben Young announces himself as a local talent who's surely destined for the big time. SH (see page 32)

MY COUSIN RACHEL

THE BEGUILED

A FAMILY MAN

UNA

Release Date: 11/10/17 Format:

Release Date: 25/10/17 Format:

Release Date: 18/10/17 Format:

Release Date: 25/10/17 Format:

A naive young Englishman (Sam Claflin) falls under the spell of a black widow (Rachel Weisz) he suspects had a hand in his guardian's death. Previously filmed in 1952, this new adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's 19th century gothic romance has all the elements for an evening of melodrama and mystery – a candlelit manor on the Cornish coast, an unsigned will, and a rural estate up for grabs. Weisz is suitably austere as the shrewdly manipulative Rachel, and former Hunger Games hero Claflin makes for a dashing Mr. Darcy type in the kind of role Hugh Grant was playing 20 years ago. It's like Jane Austen in a dark mood. SH

Sofia Coppola’s seductive new thriller is based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan, which was previously adapted by Don Siegel for the 1971 Clint Eastwood film. The story involves a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) who is given shelter in a Confederate girls’ boarding school and becomes a source of fascination for the sexually repressed residents, including Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst. Rendered in the soft focus, dreamy visuals that are her trademark, Coppola's version brings a female perspective to this Southern gothic tale that crackles with tension, danger and desire. AC

In mentoring an underling, corporate headhunter Gerard Butler references Oliver Stone's Wall Street . This is a man who fervently believes that winning the American Dream is a game of take no prisoners. When Willem Dafoe announces his retirement, the fight for the control of the firm looms as Butler's biggest battle yet, that is, until his son is diagnosed with leukemia. This story of a driven career man who discovers what's really important may be premised by its title, but it's no less compelling a journey, especially with a strong cast and Butler channeling King Leonidas in a tailored suit. AC

This searing adaptation of David Harrower's stage play 'Blackbird' examines the repercussions of a past crime for which there may be no hope of redemption. After fifteen years of enduring emotional and psychological wounds, Una (Rooney Mara) courageously confronts the man who inflicted them, Ray (Ben Mendelsohn), who was arrested and imprisoned for his crime. But the experience is anything but cathartic, and an uneasy power play ensues between the two. Una is an actors' showcase and Mara and Mendelsohn are excellent, rising to the challenge presented by difficult and confronting subject matter. AC

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OCTOBER 2017

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