Maggie Lovitt

Down Low is an ambitious journey through sex work, repressed sexuality, accidental murder, the fragility of life, and an oddly tender exploration of the age-old question: can you still be a good person if you do bad things?

With Phyllis Nagy at the helm, Call Jane had all the potential in the world to be something revolutionary, but it ultimately chose to take the path of least resistance. It leans into a very glossy feel-good “girl power” energy, ensuring that its audience never once feels true discomfort when discussing uncomfortable truths.

The script might have glaring flaws and painfully ambiguous morals, but The Creator is a truly remarkable piece of original science fiction storytelling. Even when it borrows from ideas established in films that preceded it, Edwards manages to make it feel fresh and new. The Creator is a beautifully crafted, albeit imperfect, science-fiction thriller that tries to unravel what it means to be a good human in a bad world.

For horror fans who prefer a more subtle and nuanced brand of horror that verges on the very outskirts of psychological horror, the lo-fi grunginess of Falling Stars will certainly appeal to them, though the outcome may leave them with more questions than answers.

Fackham Hall holds its own as the first of its kind — and carves out a brand-new niche in the satire landscape.

Where the script falls short, Norton and Dunne pick up the slack and carry these characters through to the finish line.

Juliet & Romeo isn’t necessarily a good film, but it is a very fun film, and there are far too few films that seem content in simply entertaining for the sake of entertainment.

While The Last Front struggles with its stylistic choices and lack of substance, it is still an entirely watchable and almost enjoyable war drama.

For a lower-budget actioner, Murder Company is absolutely worth its eighty-six-minute runtime.

For all its visual polish and strong performances, Faces of Death remains caught between commentary and replication. It wants to critique our obsession with violence, but it can’t quite resist indulging in it, too. The result is a film that feels acutely aware of the cultural moment it inhabits, yet strangely hesitant to push beyond it.

All The Old Knives attempts to convince its audiences that it is a tawdry game of chess, but in reality, it’s a game of checkers. Pine and Newton are its saving grace, with their performances elevating it just above the waters of drowning in its own self-importance.

Rather than embracing the more nuanced themes, the film shies away from deeper introspection.

It becomes apparent that the story is trying to do too much, with far too little time to do any of it well.

As it stands, Vampires of the Velvet Lounge is exactly what it seems to be: a messy, mildly entertaining vampire movie that works best when you’re only half watching it.