The BFI London Film Festival is widely regarded as the UK’s premier film festival. Each year it introduces audiences to award contenders, acclaimed arthouse works, shorts from emerging filmmakers, and standout mainstream releases. The 2020 edition was notably more accessible than previous years, expanding screenings beyond central London to several major UK cities and, for … Read more

On the Rocks (2020) Director: Sofia Coppola Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola Starring: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans, Jessica Henwick, Jenny Slate Sofia Coppola first drew attention with her debut feature, The Virgin Suicides (1999), and secured a distinct filmmaking voice with Lost in Translation (2003). That film brought Coppola wide critical recognition and an Academy … Read more

Get Out (2017) Director: Jordan Peele Screenwriter: Jordan Peele Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener, Lakeith Stanfield, Caleb Landry Jones, Lil Rel Howery, Betty Gabriel, Marcus Henderson Jordan Peele’s feature debut, Get Out, arrived in 2017 as a landmark blend of psychological thriller and social commentary. The film follows photographer Chris Washington … Read more

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) Director: Jason Woliner Screenwriters: Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Swimer Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova Review: Satire, Shock and Sharp Political Commentary Fourteen years after Sacha Baron Cohen’s original Borat introduced the world to a deliberately outrageous fictional journalist … Read more

Many memorable and influential horror films came out during the 2000s. At the turn of the century audiences had grown familiar with slashers and haunted-house stories, so filmmakers pushed boundaries by blending genres, experimenting with new camera techniques and special effects, and developing darker, more intimate tones. The decade delivered gritty cinema verité–inspired found-footage works, … Read more

Rebecca (2020) Director: Ben Wheatley Screenwriters: Joe Shrapnel, Jane Goldman, Anna Waterhouse Starring: Lily James, Armie Hammer, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Goodman-Hill, Keeley Hawes, Sam Riley, Ann Dowd The tale of Rebecca, adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel, is a study in atmosphere, memory and the corrosive weight of a vanished presence. Ben Wheatley’s … Read more

Michael Haneke’s Funny Games: A Horror That Confronts Its Own Audience Do films exist without spectators? If no one is present to witness the images projected on the screen, why are they recorded at all? Is a horror movie successful if no one in the theater lets out a single scream? These questions sit at … Read more

Saint Maud (2019/20)Director: Rose GlassScreenwriter: Rose GlassStarring: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Knight, Lily Frazer, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom, Marcus Hutton In recent years the indie horror scene has shifted away from cheap jump scares and toward quiet, atmospheric dread. Films such as The Witch, It Follows and Hereditary helped steer the genre toward psychological … Read more

Horror remains one of cinema’s most influential genres. From German Expressionism in the 1920s through to the provocative work of modern A24 and Blumhouse productions, horror has repeatedly reshaped film language—introducing camera techniques, set design standards, makeup and visual effects innovations, and timeless monster archetypes. Despite over a century of boundary-pushing filmmaking, the Academy Awards … Read more

This article was written exclusively for The Film Magazine by Jack Cameron. New Order (2020) Director: Michel Franco Writer: Michel Franco Starring: Naian González Norvind, Diego Boneta, Mónica Del Carmen, Darío Yazbek New Order begins with a disorienting montage of images: people in panic, violent outbursts, and bodies littering urban streets. The sequence is deliberately … Read more