Men: Alex Garland Takes a Shot at the Patriarchy
Can’t live with them, can’t live without them?
Between March 2021 and March 2022, 198 women were killed in the UK. Ninety-five percent of the suspects charged were male. In his latest film, Alex Garland explores the horror of misogyny, in a quintessentially English setting. Jessie Buckley plays Harper, a woman who sees the gruesome aftermath of her husband’s suicide after she suggests they divorce. Escaping to a manor house in the countryside, she experiences a sort of purgatory where all of the residents are men and their abusive behaviour escalates from unsettling to threatening and finally, violent.
Lamb: The True Meaning of the Biblical Folk Tale
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Gospel of JohnSince A24‘s Lamb was released, there has been endless speculation about the true meaning behind this startling film.
Set in Iceland, the screenplay was co-written by Valdimar Jóhannsson and SJON, who is known for creating folk tales embedded with deeper meaning. While its Scandinavian provenance might point to origins in pagan folklore, Lamb’s subtext is much more closely aligned with a well known story from Christianity, the Nativity of Jesus.
Are We the Bad Guys? Alex Garland Takes Eco Horror In a New Direction with Annihilation
Those of a certain age might remember Alex Garland from The Beach and 28 Days Later. Since then he’s been on a sci-fi/horror hot streak with Ex Machina, Annihilation and his most recent film ‘Men’.
Despite the star power of Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac and Tessa Thompson, Annihilation was a commercial flop, flying under the radar with a limited release in cinemas. It’s now a cult favourite, with fans attesting that it follows in the footsteps of some of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, with echoes of 2001, Blade Runner, Alien and Under the Skin.
Saint Maud: A damning indictment of societal collapse
Saint Maud poster by Jack Hughes Saint Maud from debut director Rose Glass might be advertised as another jump-scare horror film, but in reality it’s a complex allegory and at its core, a damning indictment of our society. (Warning – spoilers ahead!)
Maud (whose real name is Katie) is a young woman who started her a career as a palliative care nurse at St Afra’s hospital. We later find out she lived a promiscuous lifestyle during this time, using sex as a temporary outlet for her stressful job and loneliness. After a traumatic incident, which it’s inferred is the result of overwork and lack of support, she loses her job and starts working for a rich private client (Amanda) who is dying from cancer.
Midsommar – The Truth Behind the Twisted Fairy Tale
In many European countries, the Summer Solstice has traditionally been linked to pagan fertility rites and the anticipation of a fruitful harvest. In Sweden, one of the many beliefs linked to this time was that if a girl picks seven different flowers on the midsummer night and puts them underneath her pillow, she will dream of her future husband.