An ordinary, if effective horror picture, is predictable fare with two big ticks to its benefit: a penchant for creep-out scares involving its looming spectre; and a committed, sympathetic performance from Macdonald.

Despite an above average cast and interesting use of the Catholic angle, this film just isn't quite scary enough for hardcore horror fans.

This is made with skill and thought, but this kind of character piece needs to wield a microscope, not peer down reversed binoculars: otherwise why bother? You will, however, find yourself Googling canal boat holidays.

Regardless of the skittish structure and illegible subtitles, this is a valuable reflection on an incalculably influential career, which serves as a timely reminder about the pitfalls of artistic tyranny.

Despite lashings of bright red gore and the obvious enthusiasm of its gibbering hordes, Redcon-1 is a hard slog. Nearly two hours of grunts vs zombies feels punitive.

Less Tales Of The Unexpected, more Tales Of The Unconvincing, this uneven comedy horror fails to handle its ambitious structure, or deliver on its promising premise.

The Occupant is a slow burn of a thriller that never catches fire. Looking to skewer the pursuit of perfection during late capitalism, it misses both its satiric targets and a sense of kitsch fun.

A forgettable fantasy cheapie whose gruff earnestness feels hollow thanks to the unforgiveable thinness of its story and the weakness of its grip on its source material. Oh, and a note to whoever came up with the title: neither Arthur nor Merlin are knights of Camelot.

Although its intentional twist on age gaps, sex and gendered dynamics is provocative, Nocturnal can’t quite hold the interest for its whole running time — in spite of a brilliant performance from Cosmo Jarvis.

A kind of Italian Fitzcarraldo, Rose Island persuasively argues that dreamers can move mountains. It offers little in the way of surprises, but it’s hard not to be won over by its small-scale delights.

He Dreams Of Giants never grips like Lost In La Mancha but it is an entertaining look at Gilliam’s damned-fool idealistic crusade, and an interesting portrait of a filmmaker whose eyes are way bigger than his budget.

A few storytelling decisions don’t ring true, but the winning performances and loving celebration of Black British culture help conjure up just enough holiday cheer to make this worth watching.

Filmed over 13 days in Tuscany and based on genuine Balkan Route testimony, this is an innovative, immersive insight into the migration crisis that also reveals much about human depravity.

A simultaneous celebration and subversion of popular surfing culture, Girls Can’t Surf makes for a dynamic cinematic experience, celebrating the real badasses and unsung heroes of the sport: women.

The sharp economic filmmaking of this meta-textual satirical mystery is ultimately weighed down by its cleverness.

A so-so animated adventure that can’t ever find a compelling story to tell despite a few catchy songs and some colourful design. Maybe some dead things should stay buried.

As twee as its title, Harold Fry probably won’t win over anyone immediately turned off by its premise. Broadbent and Wilton are as reliable as ever, but this tear-jerker mostly feels removed from real human emotion. It might inspire you to go for a nice walk, though.

This overambitious, flawed feature debut is simply trying to do too much. It lurches erratically between genres and themes, resulting in a muddled story whose reach exceeds its grasp.

A meandering, unfunny, mostly flat effort, Hidden Strike is a disappointing waste of two immensely likeable stars. Head straight to the super-fun outtakes.

The set-up is not as elegant as that of the first film, so this feels more forced and the humour more familiar. Still, the performances are winning and the setting appropriately seasonal, so it might do for the holidays.

The 4.5 hour-plus runtime might put some off, but that massive canvas only allows for the deepest of deep dives into a monumental achievement in cinematic science-fiction. Another glorious day in the corps!

Despite some shaky moments, Chuck Chuck Baby is an endearing tale of self-acceptance, wearing its heart fully on its sleeve thanks to the affecting central romance and joyous transformation of its protagonist.

Sky Peals builds tension effectively, but stops short of meaningfully engaging with its chosen (and very worthwhile) themes. Still, if it’s a creepy-mood piece you’re after, this fits the bill.

More unsubtly crowd-pleasing, Burnley-based ebullience, which gets by on its unimpeachably virtuous message — and a gloriously garrulous performance from the always-reliable Rory Kinnear.

Timeless, generational music combines with thrilling showmanship and insightful creative musings as Zimmer (& friends) bring his act to the big screen with winning results. Almost no bum notes detected.

A number of decent performances and a gritty realistic view of London makes this little sci-fi spin-off still worth a look.

Gurinder Chadha’s Dickens do-over is a typically original perspective on a canonical classic, if let down by its stretched production values and unlikable songs. But it aims only to be a crowd-pleaser, and may yet become one. 

An unashamed exploitation movie with teeth, this has all the dinosaur devilry and gung-ho soldiering you could want. There’s even a sweet Tyrannosaur love story in the mix.