Author: Peter Gray

The type of filmmaker who’s able to create stories so bombastically silly that they are somewhat brilliant, Quentin Dupieux once again expresses straight-faced frivolity in Incredible But True, a tightly-paced (a lean 74 minutes) twilight-zoned comedy that, somehow, is one of his more level-headed features in spite of its ludicrous plot. Said ludicrous plot revolves…

In June of 2018 when thirteen members of a Thai boys’ soccer team were trapped underground in a cave that flooded out through early monsoon rains, it didn’t take long for the story rights to be snapped up by various studio heads, all looking for their own take on an initially tragic then, thankfully, happily…

With its mix of deadpan satire and high concept sci-fi – comparisons to Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2015 dystopian black comedy The Lobster feel imminent – Dual may be an off-putting experiment to many who can’t readily accept Riley Stearns‘ mentality.  It certainly helps that the film is headlined by the wonderful Karen Gillan though, delivering two…

An agonising drama if ever there was one, Mass details the type of conversation that instantly makes you feel sickeningly uncomfortable.  And then to watch it unfold in a suffocating location for 110 minutes is a test of endurance that audiences may be unprepared for. The tragedy at the centre of the conversation is one…

Thanks to Universal Pictures we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see Jordan Peele‘s latest horror opus Nope, starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun. After random objects falling from the sky result in the death of their father, ranch-owning siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood attempt to capture video evidence of an…

Having cut his teeth as a stunt performer for stars such as Jean Claude Van Damme and Brad Pitt over the years, David Leitch knew what it took to perfect the action stakes when he took on the role as genre director. Following a co-directing stint on the first John Wick film, before graduating to…

The Hitman Vs. Assassin subsect of the action genre is one that rarely deviates from its rather tried and true formula; aside from a hefty injection of cash and a star-studded cast, something as recent as Netflix’s throwaway actioner The Gray Man is proof that the genre, even in 2022, seems comfortable resting on its…

One of the most recognisable presences within film, Robert Patrick has been dominating the screen with his oft-villainous and authoritative roles for nearly four decades now. Best known for his turn as T-2 in the groundbreaking Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as well as such films as Cop Land, Charlies Angels: Full Throttle, Walk the Line,…

Though What Josiah Saw may include rather expected tropes of the haunted gothic subsect of the horror genre, Vincent Grashaw‘s self-contained chiller continually subverts our expectations with a brutal eeriness that’s likely to divide its audience between those who are enveloped by its slow burn mentality and those who prefer their horrors far less subtle….

Quickly earning the title of “new generation scream queen” is something that Brianne Tju seems to be wholeheartedly embracing, and her continued foray into the darker subsects of the genre are only further cementing her status. Having slashed and screamed her way through the streaming series’ of both Scream and I Know What You Did…

Part concert film and part road movie celebrating the life and music of multi-award winning and much loved Australian country music artist Lee Kernaghan, Boy From The Bush is a unique and personal insight into one of the country’s most celebrated artists. Ahead of the film’s local release, Peter Gray spoke with its director, Kriv…

Having directed the landmark 2010 shark thriller The Reef and the similarly themed Blackwater and Blackwater: Abyss, Andrew Traucki is no stranger when it comes to navigating the murky waters of the creature feature. However, for the upcoming sequel The Reef: Stalked, the acclaimed director wanted to do more than just retread similar water, instead…

It would seem in Hollywood, the nicer you are, the more evil you’re able to play.  So, it would make sense that Ethan Hawke, continually referred to as one of the industry’s nicest guys, would excel so at portraying the embodiment of terror. Reuniting with his Sinister director Scott Derrickson, Hawke’s portrayal of child abductor…

Are you ready to answer the call? Arriving in Australian cinemas this week (you can read our review here), The Black Phone is the latest horror outing from acclaimed genre director Scott Derrickson, a supernaturally inclined chiller about a sadistic child killer (dubbed “The Grabber”) whose latest victim turns the tables on him when the…

Where the Crawdads Sing seemed like the type of film primed for success before it was even released.  Delia Owens‘ 2018 novel was one of those reads that became the prose to intake during its first run (boosted by Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine bookclub pick), leading it to be crowned the best-selling fiction title of…

As cinephiles eagerly await the official schedule on August 23rd, the 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival has announced its first slew of premiere titles for its first in-person celebration following two years of pandemic-disrupted programming. 11 days of international and Canadian cinema, special events featuring some of the biggest names in film, and TIFF’s…

Thanks to Universal Pictures, we have 5 double in-season passes (Admit 2) to see the chilling new horror film The Black Phone, starring Ethan Hawke and directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Doctor Strange). The phone is dead. And it’s ringing.  Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand…

For the past decade-or-so, Welsh actor/writer/director Craig Roberts has made sure that his career could never be pigeonholed.  The darker aspects of comedy have often been his exploration as a filmmaker, having penned and directed the acclaimed duo of 2015’s Just Jim and 2019’s Eternal Beauty, whilst as an actor he’s just as likely to…

A writer and performer whose resume boasts such acclaimed works as The Mighty Boosh, Horrible Histories, and both Paddington films, Simon Farnaby and the comedy genre practically go hand-in-hand. For his latest big screen outing, the English creative is adapting his own work, bringing his musings on infamous golfer Maurice Flitcroft to life with The…

Whilst not always the most prevalent sport to celebrate cinematically, golf has had its share of theatrical engagement over the decades; more often than not linked heavily to the comedy genre, too. Caddyshack (1980), Happy Gilmore (1996) and Tin Cup (1996) have arguably courted the most humorous notice, whilst The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)…

Once Taika Waititi reinvented the Marvel wheel with 2017’s wild Thor: Ragnarok, it made sense that the studio big-wigs would bestow further free licensing in the character’s shift towards a more humorous mentality. And whilst that’s all well and good – we certainly don’t want the character regressing in any manner – Thor: Love and…

Korean cinema has always been a hub of unmatched quality.  Whilst those that have enjoyed the fruits of labour over the decades aren’t remotely surprised at such a statement – and have been waiting for the world to catch up through viewings of I Saw the Devil and Oldboy – the recent successes of the…

George Clooney and Julia Roberts have reunited for the good of the romantic comedy.  In Ticket to Paradise, the Ocean’s Eleven pair play a duo of bitter exes who attempt to put their differences aside for the sake of their daughter, intending to derail her impeding nuptials to stop her from making the love-blinding mistake…

Scott Derrickson has always found a way to blend his horror sensibilities with a certain sense of emotion.  The Exorcism of Emily Rose incorporated the mentality of a legal drama to explore its themes of demonic possession; Deliver Us From Evil unearthed an other worldly entity amongst the trappings of a police-centred thriller; and Sinister…

Following its successful launch in Canberra earlier this year, the groundbreaking National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) Australians & Hollywood exhibition will remain on show throughout 2023. The blockbuster exhibition, which celebrates Australia’s contemporary cinematic, acting and filmmaking success, opened in January and now its extended run will give Canberra and national audiences an expanded…

Watching the anti-heroine of Alice Seabright‘s thrilling series Chloe, Becky Green (Erin Doherty, an absolute star-making turn), as she scrolls through the social media lifestyle of the titular Chloe (Poppy Gilbert), a flame-haired femme with a seemingly enviable and lavish existence, the loneliness and self-loathing is palpable. It’s a feeling we’ve probably all experienced, noting…

Even though 2010’s Despicable Me was centred around Steve Carell‘s Eastern European reformed super-villain Gru, it was his hoard of indecipherable henchmen – his Minions – that stole the film from under his considerably rendered nose. They were funny without really trying to be, so it made perfect sense that subsequent films (Despicable Me birthed…

When you walk into a room to interview Catherine Martin, a production and costume designer with no less than four Academy Awards to her name (fun fact, she’s the most awarded Australian in Oscar history), you know you’ve chosen the correct shirt when it kicks off an enthusiastic conversation about its origins; to set the…

To say the excitement in the air was palpable when walking the hotel halls during the Australian press junket of Elvis would be describing it mildly.  As director Baz Luhrmann enthusiastically boasted about the late nights had in the lead-up to the film’s premiere, and Tom Hanks so endearingly noting the hotel as “groovy” as…

Arriving in Australian cinemas this week (you can read our review here) hot off its history-making reception at the Cannes Film Festival, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis brings the life of the king of rock ‘n’ roll to the big screen in predictably lavish fashion. Talking with our own Peter Gray at the Australian premiere, the film’s…