What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st August 2025

The 82nd annual Venice International Film Festival will be held this year from 27th August to 6th September at Venice Lido in Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the 'Big Five' International film festivals worldwide, which include the Big Three European Film Festivals (Venice, Cannes and Berlin), alongside the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada and the Sundance Film Festival in the USA. Founded in August 1932 the festival is part of the Venice Biennale, one of the world's oldest exhibitions of art, created by the Venice City Council on 19 April 1893. The range of work at the Venice Biennale now covers Italian and international art, architecture, dance, music, theatre, and cinema. During the festival, Venice hosts many events and parties, interviews and meetings with filmmakers and Actors every night, venues open all night, and parties are held in beautiful casino palaces and gardens.

This year the festival will open with the World Premiere screening of the drama film of a love story 'La grazia' from Italy, and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, and is in official competition for the Golden Lion. The festival closes with the Sci-Fi crime thriller 'Dog 51' from France and is Co-Written and Directed by Cedric Jimenez. 

American filmmaker Alexander Payne will serve as Jury President for the main competition for the Golden Lion, of which there are twenty-one films in contention. Among those films are the following :-

* 'Bugonia' - from Ireland, South Korea and the USA and this Sci-Fi black comedy is Co-Produced and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and stars Jesse Plemmons, Emma Stone and Alicia Silverstone and focuses on two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. World Premiere.

* 'Father Mother Sister Brother' from the USA, Ireland, France, Italy and Japan this comedy drama is Written and Directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Waits. Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents. World Premiere.

* 'Frankenstein' - from the USA and this Gothic Sci-Fi film is Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Charles Dance, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Ineson and Burn Gorman. A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation. World Premiere.

* 'A House of Dynamite' - from the USA and this political thriller is Co-Produced and Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriele Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Moses Ingram, Anthony Ramos, Greta Lee and Jason Clarke. A group of White House officials scramble to deal with an incoming missile attack on the USA. World Premiere.

* 'Jay Kelly' - from the UK and the USA this coming of age comedy drama is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Noah Baumbach and stars George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Stacy Keach, Riley Keough, Emily Mortimer, Patrick Wilson, Jim Broadbent, Lenny Henry, Greta Gerwig, Isla Fisher and Alba Rohrwacher. The film follows a friendship between a famous actor and his manager as they travel through Europe and reflect on their life choices, relationships, and legacies. World Premiere.

* 'No Other Choice' - from South Korea and this black comedy thriller film is Co-Written, Produced and Directed by Park Chan-wook. It follows a man who engages in a desperate hunt for new employment after being fired from a position he has held for 25 years. World Premiere.

* 'The Smashing Machine' - from the USA, Canada and Japan and this biographical sports drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Benny Safdie and stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader. The film tells the story of mixed-martial arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr. World Premiere.

* 'The Stranger' - from France and this drama film is Written for the screen and Directed by Francois Ozon and stars Benjamin Voisin. Set in 1930's Algeria, an apathetic Frenchman shows total indifference to life. His emotional detachment leads to a murder, followed by a trial that scrutinises both the crime and his character. World Premiere.

* 'The Testament of Ann Lee' - from the UK and this historical drama musical film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Mona Fastvold and starring Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott, Stacy Martin and Matthew Beard. Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, and proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers, depicts her establishment of a utopian society and the Shakers' worship through song and dance. Based on real events. World Premiere.

* 'The Wizard of the Kremlin' - from France, the UK and the USA and this political thriller is Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Olivier Assayas and stars Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Zach Galifianakis, Tom Sturridge and Jeffrey Wright. It follows the fictional character of Vadim Baranov during the final years of the Soviet Union and the turbulent start of the Russian Federation, while a young Vladimir Putin rises into power. World Premiere.

For the full run down of all feature films in the Official Competition for the Golden Lion, plus all the details of the other films in competition, those out of competition and the other film strands being showcased, together with a whole lot of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2025

Turning to this weeks seven hottest new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to your home, we launch with a black comedy neo-Western film about the political and social turmoil caused by the contested mayoral election fought between the Sheriff and the Mayor of this small town in New Mexico. Then we turn to a story about a secretive 'fixer' who brokers payoffs on behalf of corrupt corporations, and a potential client who may need his protection. Next up we have an Australian action horror offering set at the height of the Vietnam War in which a recon unit is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon, but they soon discover they are not alone, and must face the most terrifying creatures to ever walk the Earth. This is followed up with an American action comedy film in which only one man has the particular set of skills - to lead Police Squad and save the world. Following on we have a film based on a true story about a Polish woman conscripted to serve as housekeeper to a Nazi officer in Warsaw after it fell to the Nazis, and how she helped shelter a dozen Jews. Next we turn to an Australian drama comedy about a struggling Hollywood actress who returns home to Kangaroo Island, confronting the love triangle that tore her family apart; before closing out the week with an American dark comedy in which a female private investigator probes a number of strange deaths linked it seems to a religious cult. 

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'EDDINGTON' (Rated M15+) - this American neo-Western black comedy film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ari Aster whose prior feature film making credits are his 2018 debut with 'Hereditary', then 'Midsomer' in 2019 and 'Beau is Afraid' in 2023. This film had its World Premiere showcasing at the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May this year and was released in the US in mid-July. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and has so far grossed US$12M worldwide against a budget of US$25M.

In May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayoral candidate Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) who is running for re-election, sparks a powder keg as neighbour is pitted against neighbour in Eddington, New Mexico. Also starring Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O'Connell and Michael Ward.

'RELAY' (Rated M) - is an American thriller film Co-Produced and Directed by David Mackenzie who made his Directorial debut in 2002 with 'The Last Great Wilderness' which he would follow up with other titles including 'Young Adam' in 2003, 'Hallam Foe' in 2007, 'Perfect Sense' in 2011, 'Starred Up' in 2013, 'Hell or High Water' in 2016 and 'Outlaw King' in 2018. Here, a world class 'fixer' Tom (Riz Ahmed) specialises in brokering lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten their ruin. He keeps his identity a secret through meticulous planning and always follows an exacting set of rules. But when a message arrives one day from potential client Sarah Grant (Lily James), needing his protection just to stay alive, the rules quickly start to change. Also starring Sam Worthington and Victor Garber. The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September last year and is released here in Australia and the US this week, having garnered generally positive critical feedback.

'PRIMITIVE WAR' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian wartime action horror film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Luke Sparke who made his feature film Directing debut with 'Red Billabong' in 2016 and would follow this up with 'Occupation' in 2018, 'Occupation : Rainfall' in 2020, 'Devil Beneath' in 2023, 'Bring Him to Me' also in 2023 and 'Scurry' in 2024. Here then, set in 1968 Vietnam, a recon unit known as Vulture Squad is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. They soon discover they are not alone, and instead of enemy soldiers they face prehistoric dinosaurs. Starring Tricia Helfer, Ryan Kwanten, Jeremy Piven, Ana Thu Nguyen and Nick Wechsler.

'THE NAKED GUN' (Rated M) - is an American action comedy film Co-Written and Directed by Akiva Schaffer whose previous feature film Directorial credits include his debut in 2007 with 'Hot Rod', then 'The Watch' in 2012, 'Popstar : Never Stop Never Stopping' in 2016 and 'Chip 'n Dale : Rescue Rangers' in 2022. This film serves as a legacy sequel to 1994's 'Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult' and is the fourth instalment in 'The Naked Gun' franchise, with those first three films in the series grossing a combined US$477M at the global Box Office. Here, following in the footsteps of his bumbling father, Detective Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) must solve a murder case to prevent the police department from shutting down. Also starring Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand and Danny Huston. The film was released Stateside on 1st August, has so far grossed US$74M off the back of a US$42M production budget and has generated positive critical acclaim.

'IRENA'S VOW' (Rated MA15+) - this Canadian and Polish Co-Production is Directed by Louise Archambault, whose prior feature film making credits take in her 2005 debut with 'Familia', then 'Gabrielle' in 2013, 'And the Birds Rained Down' and 'Thanks for Everything' both in 2019 and 'One Summer' in 2023. The screenplay for this film was written by Dan Gordon who also wrote the Broadway play of the same name. Here, Irena Gut Opdyke (Sophie Nelisse), a Polish nurse helps shelter and protect a dozen Jewish people during the Holocaust by hiding them in the cellar of the home where she was employed as a housekeeper by Nazi German officer Eduard Rugemer (Dougray Scott). The film premiered in the Centrepiece programme in September 2023 at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was released in Canada in mid-April 2024. It has so far grossed US$1.2M at the Box Office and has garnered generally positive critical reviews.

'KANGAROO ISLAND' (Rated M) - is an Australian drama comedy film Co-Produced and Directed by Timothy David in his feature film debut. Estranged daughter Lou (Rebecca Breeds), an actress whose career has not taken off in Hollywood, returns to her hometown on Kangaroo Island, upon request by her father (Erik Thomson). Lou and her sister Freya (Adelaide Clemens), who is religious, have a complicated past relationship. They try to repair their differences and make peace for the sake of their father, but another family secret is revealed. The films name derives from Kangaroo Island in South Australia, where it was filmed. It saw its World Premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival in early November last year, and has generated largely positive critical reviews.

'HONEY DON'T!' (Rated MA15+) - this American neo-noir dark comedy detective film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ethan Coen, one half of the highly acclaimed, multi-award winning Coen Brothers combo that he shares with his brother Joel. The pair made their Directorial debut with 1984's 'Blood Simple' and would follow this up with other notable titles including 'Raising Arizona' in 1987, 'Miller's Crossing' in 1990, 'Barton Fink' in 1991, 'Fargo' in 1996, 'The Big Lebowski' in 1998, 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' in 2000, 'No Country For Old Men' in 2007, 'Burn After Reading' in 2008, 'True Grit' in 2010 and 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' in 2018. His first solo feature film came in 2024 with 'Drive-Away Dolls', and this film is intended to be the second in a three parter. Here, in Bakersfield, California, female small town private detective Honey O'Donahue (Margaret Qualley) investigates a woman's death and tangles with a religious cult, led by the Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans). Also starring Aubrey Plaza and Charlie Day, the film is released this week too in the USA having seen its World Premiere screening at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May. 

With seven new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online- 

BEAU IS AFRAID : Wednesday 26th April 2023.

I saw the R18+ rated 'BEAU IS AFRAID' this week, and this American black comedy horror film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ari Aster whose previous feature film making credits are 'Hereditary' with Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne in 2018 and 'Midsommar' in 2019 with Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor. This film saw its World Premier screening in New York on 1st April, before it limited release to selected IMAX screens in LA and New York on 14th April, and before its wider release worldwide from last week. It costs US$35M to produce, has so far grossed US$4.3M and has garnered generally favourable reviews.

Beau Wasserman (Joaquin Phoenix) is the son of a famous and wealthy businesswoman, Mona (Patti LuPone). He grew up without a father, who his mother always maintained died during an orgasm on their wedding night and the first time they made love (which was also when Beau was conceived), a hereditary medical condition that effected his grandfather and great-grandfather too and which she claims was also passed down to Beau. As a teenager on a cruise trip with his mother, Beau (Armen Nahapetian) meets and falls in love with a gregarious out-spoken girl named Elaine Bray (Julia Antonelli). The two kiss and promise to remain virgins until they meet again as adults. 

Fast forward and now as an adult, Beau is paranoia ridden extremely anxious and living alone in a graffiti strewn down market apartment in a crime-ridden city where muggers, murderers, prostitutes and all manner of miscreants roam the streets 24/7. His therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) prescribes an experimental drug for his anxiety and warns him to only take it with water. He has booked a flight to see his mother for the anniversary of his father's death, but sleeps through his early morning alarm after a neighbour keeps him awake half the night with their loud music, which thumps through the paper thin walls. After hastily packing, and exiting his apartment, he needs to go back inside momentarily only to discover minutes later that his keys and luggage have been stolen from his front door. Beau calls his mother to explain the situation and seek her advise as to the best solution, but she dismisses him.

Beau takes his medication, but panics when he discovers there's a water outage in the whole block. He anxiously runs across the street to a convenience store to buy a bottle of water evading a group of deranged homeless people who break into his apartment and lock him out. The next morning, having slept on construction scaffolding outside his apartment, he wakes to find his apartment has been turned upside down and trashed. He tries to call his mother, only to have it answered by a UPS driver who tells him that she was seemingly decapitated in an accident at home when a chandelier fell on to her crushing her skull into tiny fragments. In a state of shock, he takes a bath now that the water has been reconnected, only to discover an intruder hanging from the ceiling directly above the bath tub. The intruder falls and lands on top of Beau and after a violent scuffle in the tub, Beau is able to break free and runs naked out of his apartment and onto the streets, where he is hit by a passing truck, following an altercation with a Policeman during which he was held at gunpoint.

Beau comes round two days later in the home of a married couple, Grace (Amy Ryan) and Roger (Nathan Lane), a well regarded surgeon, who hit Beau with their truck. In their care is also an unstable veteran named Jeeves (Denis Menochet), who was their son's army comrade before he was killed in action. The couple have a highly strung and easily led teenage daughter named Toni (Kylie Rogers) who instantly despises Beau for moving into her bedroom and upsetting the balance she has in her life. Beau calls Mona's attorney, Dr. Cohen (Richard Kind) who chastises him and informs Beau that despite the Jewish custom to lay the body to rest as soon as possible, her last wish was not to be buried until he is present, and he had better get himself home immediately wearing a suit and with a eulogy planned. 

Beau repeatedly asks to book the next available flight back home, but Roger promises to drive Beau the six hours it will take to get to his mother's estate, but insists he rest at least one more day until he is healed a little more. Throughout Beau's stay in their home, Grace subtly hints to him that he is being watched and secretly tells him to switch to Channel 78 on the TV and warns Beau not to 'incriminate' himself. Channel 78 plays back the footage captured by concealed CCTV cameras around the property. On the day that Roger is to drive Beau home, Toni takes him to her brother's old room and attempts to force him to paint the walls in different colours. When he refuses, she ruthlessly berates Beau before drinking a can of paint, committing suicide. Grace walks in on Beau standing over Toni's body and violently blames him for her death. As Beau flees into the woods, Grace sends Jeeves after him.  

Running for his dear life, Beau gets knocked out when he runs headlong into a low hanging tree branch. Coming round and lost in the woods, he comes upon a traveling theatre troupe who call themselves 'The Orphans of the Forest'. He is invited to their dress rehearsal and becomes entranced by the play, imagining himself as the protagonist, who spends his entire life looking for his family after they’re separated by a great flood, only to be reunited with his three sons who step down from the stage to greet him. A man then approaches the aged Beau and informs him that he knew his father and that he is alive. The troupe is ambushed by Jeeves, where he slaughters several actors in the process, and now back in the present, Beau flees deeper into the woods dodging automatic machine gun fire.

Beau stumbles out of the woods and hitches a lift to his mother's home, only to find that he had just missed his mother's funeral, but that there is a video presentation playing inside the house. He falls asleep on a sofa and wakes up later that evening to the sound of a woman mooching around the house, having arrived late for the service. He realises that the woman is Elaine (Parker Posey) and they reconnect. They make their way to Mona's bedroom and have sex. Beau is terrified that he's going to die as soon as he ejaculates, but is ecstatic when he lives. However, Elaine is not so lucky as she has died mid-climax, her body seemingly frozen stiff. Mona then appears from the shadows and commands two house servants remove and dispose of the corpse, while revealing that she was not only still alive, and kicking, but watching the whole time. She derides Beau and reveals that his therapist works for her, sharing their sessions with her for years. He demands to know the truth about his father, and she takes him to the attic, where Beau learns that he not only has a secret twin brother who is chained up in a corner, but his father is actually a giant penis-shaped monster. At that moment, Jeeves breaks through a window in the attic and is killed by the monster. Beau escapes the scene down the access ladder and is dragged by his therapist into a lounge area where his mother further humiliates him. In a rare fit of rage, Beau grabs his mother by the throat and attempts to strangle her, before coming to his senses and releases his grip. Mona however, falls backwards and face first into a glass table where she lay motionless.

In a state of shock, Beau leaves the house and finds a motorboat on a nearby beach, taking it out into the sea. After entering a cave and emerging out the other end, the boat's motor begins to stall and he finds himself in a crowded arena, where he's put on trial by a still-alive Mona and Dr. Cohen on a podium acting as prosecutors. They show footage of numerous instances of Beau slighting his mother on a giant video screen while a cheap defence lawyer tries to push the case for Beau, but he is soon murdered by one of Mona's henchmen. Beau tries to fend for himself, but discovers that his feet are now glued to the boat. He attempts to appeal to his mother, but when she does not respond, he finally accepts his fate. The boat's motor explodes, capsizing it and drowning Beau.

Here Ari Aster's Beau has anxiety issues, paranoia issues and Mummy issues who seeks a therapist and a constant diet of pills to keep those issues at bay. Until one day and through no real fault of his own, Beau's world collapses in around him and its hard to distinguish what is real and what is not, as various potentially deadly encounters land directly in his path. A very dark comedy this film certainly is, but what's it's not is a horror film, and more of a psychodrama with a handful of thrills thrown in for good measure. Joaquin Phoenix appears in almost every scene which he handles with aplomb and never seems in doubt of the angst ridden direction that Ari Aster throws at him. The genre bending film won't be for everyone - but those who are satisfied by it are likely to elevate it to cult status in years to come, and even if it doesn't perform so well at the Box Office it will leave the viewer much to discuss and debate once the end credits have rolled. For me, I came out of the theatre feeling a little non-plussed by the experience and drained by the almost three hour run time, but also thinking that perhaps a second viewing is in order. 

'Beau Is Afraid' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 20th April 2023.

The Belmont World Films 21st International Film Series is currently in full swing having launched on Monday 27th March and running though until Monday 15th May. Belmont is a town in Massachusetts, USA and is a western suburb of Boston and forms part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. Belmont World Film, is a nonprofit corporation which creates cultural exchanges and understanding through the screening of the world’s top films followed by discussions led by expert speakers. Founded in 2001 Belmont World Film began with the premise that foreign-language film is not only a vehicle for hearing another language in action, but it can also foster an emotional understanding of other cultures. Since the series began in Spring 2002 films have been shown from such familiar European countries as the UK, France, Germany, Scotland, Italy, Belgium and Finland, as well as less familiar countries, such as Bhutan, Bulgaria, Romania, Cuba, Bolivia, Iraq, Mongolia, Iceland, Singapore and Luxembourg. Other speakers have included UN envoys, international filmmakers, academic experts on international relations, languages and humanities, journalists, film stars and documentary film subjects.

This years theme is 'Complicated Identities' and features eight of the world's top films, immediately followed by discussions with filmmakers, film subjects or expert speakers. The films are screened each Monday evening throughout the duration of the series, are are as detailed below :-

* Monday 27th March : the Opening film was 'A MAN' from Japan and Directed by Kei Ishakawa. When a lawyer’s former client asks him to investigate a woman’s late husband’s past, he begins to discover that her husband had been living a double life.

* Monday 3rd April : 'LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG' from Ukraine and Directed by Antonio Lukich. When identical twin brothers — who couldn’t be more different —hear that their long-absent father is sick in Luxembourg, they set out on a journey to see him one last time. Will the man they find be the bad-ass father they remember?

* Monday 10th April : 'THE WORST ONES' from France and Directed by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret. Four teenagers from a working-class neighbourhood in the north of France are selected to act in a feature film. The film within a film walks a remarkably fine line between fact and fiction, allowing the young performers to give star-making turns as 'themselves' while considering the ways in which ostensibly well-meaning documentary and fiction films can exploit non-performers in the name of authenticity. This film won the Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

* Monday 17th April : 'BURNING DAYS' from Turkey and Directed by Emin Alper. A young prosecutor is newly posted in the remote provincial town in Anatolia, Turkey, which is marred by corruption, nepotism, and other shady power dynamics ahead of a local election for the mayoral seat. This town also suffers from a severe water shortage and giant sinkholes caused by the excessive use of groundwater for agricultural purposes, which the local officials refuse to address.

* Monday 24th April : 'FAREWELL MR. HAFFMANN' from France and Belgium and Directed by Fred Cavaye. After the Nazi occupation of Paris, a talented jeweller, Joseph Haffmann, arranges for his family to flee the city and offers one of his employees the chance to take over his store until the conflict subsides. The agreement turns into a Faustian bargain, one that will forever change everyone involved.

* Monday 1st May : 'CHILE '76' from Chile and Argentina and Directed by Manuela Martelli. In 1976, a bourgeois housewife heads to her beach house on the coast of Chile to supervise its renovation, only to be interrupted by a request from the priest at the church where she does charity work, to take care of a young revolutionary — a man he is secretly giving asylum to — who has just been hurt. The woman steps into unexplored territories, away from the quiet life she is used to living.

* Monday 8th May : 'THE BEASTS' from Spain and France and Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. A French couple move to a small village in Galicia in order to practice ecologically responsible agriculture and to restore abandoned houses to facilitate the town’s re-population. Everything should be idyllic but for their opposition to a wind turbine project that creates a serious conflict with their neighbours.

* Monday 15th May : the Closing Film is 'PEACEFUL' from France and Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot. Here, an overbearing mother to her son Benjamin, a 'failed actor' turned acting teacher, who’s given a terminal cancer diagnosis. He seeks advice from Dr. Edde, who plays guitar and leads his staff members in singalongs.

For further information about the 21st Belmont World Film Series you can go to the official website at : https://belmontworldfilm.org/international-film-series/

Turning the attention back to this weeks five new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, with launch with a dark comedy horror drama film which, following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic, Kafka like journey back home. Next up we have a drama film about a young woman whose life falls apart after her involvement in a fatal accident in which two people died. This is followed by a twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most evil version of family imaginable. Then we turn to a drama based on a true story of a national spiritual awakening in the early 1970's and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California; before closing out the week with a biographical documentary exploring the intertwined fates of trees and humans in this poetic portrait of this Australian environmentalist and political activist, and the Forest.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'BEAU IS AFRAID' (Rated R18+) - is an American black comedy horror film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ari Aster whose previous feature film making credits are 'Hereditary' with Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne in 2018 and 'Midsommar' in 2019 with Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor. The film saw its World Premier screening in New York on 1st April, before it limited release to selected IMAX screens in LA and New York on 14th April, and before its wider release worldwide from this week. It costs US$35M to produce and has so far grossed US$321K.

Here then, Beau Wassermann (Joaquin Phoenix), a mild-mannered, extremely anxious, paranoia-ridden but pleasant enough looking man who has a fraught relationship with his overbearing mother Mona (Patti LuPone) and never knew his father, makes the journey home when his mother dies to attend her funeral. However, along the way he must confront his greatest fears involving some wild supernatural threats. Also starring Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, Parker Posey, Richard Kind, Hayley Squires and Michael Gandolfini.

'A GOOD PERSON' (Rated MA15+) - this American drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Zach Braff whose prior feature film making credits are his debut in 2004 with 'Garden State', then 'Wish I Was Here' in 2014 and 'Going in Style' in 2017. Allison (Florence Pugh) is a young woman with a wonderful fiance, a blossoming career, and supportive family and friends. However, her world crumbles in the blink of an eye when she survives an unimaginable tragedy, emerging from recovery with an opioid addiction and unresolved grief. In the following years, she forms an unlikely friendship with her would-be father-in-law Daniel (Morgan Freeman) whose daughters life was taken in that earlier tragedy. As grief-stricken Daniel navigates raising his teenage granddaughter and Allison seeks redemption, they discover that friendship, forgiveness, and hope can flourish in unlikely places. Also starring Celeste O'Connor, Molly Shannon and Zoe Lister-Jones. The film was released Stateside on 24th March, has so far grossed US$2.4M and has garnered mixed or average reviews. 

'EVIL DEAD RISE' (Rated R18+) - is an American supernatural horror film that is Written and Directed by Lee Cronin in only his second feature film outing following 2019 'The Hole in the Ground'. This film is the fifth instalment in the 'Evil Dead' franchise following 'The Evil Dead' in 1981, 'Evil Dead II' in 1987, 'Army of Darkness' in 1992, all having been Directed by Sam Raimi, and then 'Evil Dead' in 2013 Directed by Fede Alvarez. Those first four films grossed worldwide US$156M off the back of combined production budgets of US$32M. Here then, and following a long journey on the road, Beth (Lily Sullivan) visits her estranged older sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), who is struggling to raise three children alone in a small Los Angeles apartment. However, their reunion is interrupted when they find a strange book hidden in the depths of Ellie's building, which unleashes bloodthirsty demonic creatures. The film saw its World Premier showcasing at SXSW on 15th March, is released in the US this week too and has generated largely favourable reviews.

'JESUS REVOLUTION' (Rated M) - this American Christian drama film is Co-Written by Jon Erwin and Directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle, and is based on the book of the same name by Greg Laurie and Ellen Santilli Vaughn. Jon Erwin, together with his brother Andrew, known as the Erwin Brothers, are American Christian film Directors, Screenwriters and film Producers known for such films as 'Woodlawn', 'October Baby', 'Moms' Night Out' and 'I Can Only Imagine'. Inspired by a true movement, the film tells the story of a young Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) being raised by his struggling mother, Charlene (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) in the 1970's. Laurie and a sea of young people descend on sunny Southern California to redefine truth through all means of liberation. Inadvertently, Laurie meets Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a charismatic hippie-street-preacher, and Pastor Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer) who have thrown open the doors of Smith's languishing church to a stream of wandering youth. What unfolds becomes the greatest spiritual awakening in American history. Rock and roll, newfound love, and a twist of faith lead to a Jesus Revolution that turns one counterculture movement into a revival that changes the world. The film was released in the US on the 24th February, cost US$15M to produce, has so far grossed US$52M having received mixed or average reviews along the way. 

'THE GIANTS' (Rated M) - is an Australian biographical documentary film Written and Directed by Rachel Antony and Laurence Billiet, that is a long overdue biopic of Australian environmentalist Bob Brown, a National Living Treasure, the first openly gay member of parliament in Australia and leader of the world’s first Green party. It’s also about the life of Trees, which scientists are only starting to understand. The film goes from Bob story to the trees’ story - revealing just how closely intertwined they are. Brown’s fifty year trailblazing life helps narrate the exhilarating rise of the environmental movement in Australia from the successful Franklin River campaign in 1983 to today's fight for the Tarkine rainforest in northwest Tasmania. The film is a poetic exploration of his motivations and his actions that began, like Greta Thunberg, with a few lone acts of protest; and of his spiritual connection to nature that continues to sustain him. 

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 8th August 2019.

A couple of weeks ago I posted an overview of the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) now in full swing and running from Thursday 1st August through until Sunday 18th August. Melbourne is a significant city in the history of film with 1906's 'The Story of the Kelly Gang' being the world's first full-length feature film and filmed in the city. Established in 1952, the MIFF is one of the oldest film festivals in the world and has become the most notable screen event in Australia. An iconic Melbourne event, the festival takes place annually in various theatres within the Melbourne CBD, presenting an acclaimed screening program including films from local and international filmmakers, alongside industry events.

I featured an overview of Australian Films, International Films and Headliners in that earlier post, so this time I'll turn attention to two of the other strands featured during the festival.

Animation :
Offering filmmakers a freedom unavailable in live action, Animation brings us some of the most inventive and extraordinary films. As a way to explore troubling histories, equally troublesome contemporary realities, flights of fancy and heartfelt coming-of-age tales that could only be told through this medium, these films bring to life wildly imaginative stories.

* 'Bunuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles' : from Holland and Spain and Directed by Salvador Simo.

* 'Cats' : from China and Directed by Gary Wang.

* 'Children of the Sea' : from Japan and Directed by Ayumu Watanabe.

* 'Funan' : from Cambodia, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, and Directed by Denis Do.

* 'I Lost My Body' : from France and Directed by Jeremy Clapin and winner of the Cannes Critics Week Grand Prix.

* 'Okko's Inn' : from Japan, and Directed by Kitaro Kosaka.

* 'The Swallows of Kabul' : from France and Directed by Elea Gobbe-Mevellec and Zabou Breitman.

* 'Violence Voyager' : from Japan and Directed by Ujicha.

Night Shift :

This is the home of things that go bump in the dark, weird, eerie, outlandish and hilarious cinematic spaces. It offers die-hard genre lovers with a taste for the provocative and unusual all the aliens, sci-fi puppet violence, possessed clothing, surreal suburbs and Indigenous horror they can handle. From creepy psychological thrillers and stoner comedy to misunderstood masterpieces and uncanny horror fables. Included in this strand are : 

* 'Berberian Sound Studio' ; from the UK and Directed by Peter Strickland and starring Toby Jones.

* 'Come to Daddy' : from the USA, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand, and Directed by Ant Timpson and starring Elijah Wood.

* 'Dark Place' : from Australia and Directed by five up & coming Indigenous film makers Bjorn Stewart, Kodie Bedford, Liam Phillips, Perun Bonser and Rob Braslin with a horror anthology made up of 'Killer Native', 'Scout', 'Foe', 'The Shore' and 'Vale Light' respectively.

* 'In Fabric' : from the UK, and Directed by Peter Strickland and starring Gwendloine Christie.
* 'The Dead Don't Die' : from the USA and Directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits, Rosie Perez, Selena Gomez, Chloe Sevigny, Carol Kane and Caleb Landry Jones.

* 'Deerskin' : from France and Directed by Quentin Dupieux and starring Adele Haenel and Jean Dujardin.

* 'Extra Ordinary' : from Belgium and Ireland and Directed by Enda Loughman and Mike Ahern and starring Will Forte, Maeve Higgins and Claudia O'Doherty. 

* 'Koko-Di Koko-Da' : from Denmark and Sweden and Directed by Johannes Nyholm and starring Leif Edlund and Peter Belli.

* 'The Lodge' : from the USA and UK, and Directed by Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz and starring Alicia Silverstone, Richard Armitage and Riley Keough.

* 'Memory - The Origins of 'Alien'' : from the USA and Directed by Alexandre O Phillipe.

* 'Something Else' : from the USA and Directed by Christian Stella and Jeremy Gardner and starring Brea Grant and Jeremy Gardner.

You can get more details of these films and others featured in these strands, together with all the news and views of the Melbourne International Film Festival at the official website, at : https://www.miff.com.au/

This week we have five latest release cinematic offerings coming to an Odeon near you. Kicking off then, we have a horror film set amongst the backdrop of a folk festival in rural Sweden that occurs just once every ninety years, and for small group of American and English ring-ins this seemingly harmless summertime festival soon turns their world upside down and inside out. We then have an Aussie dramedy set on Sydney's Northern Beaches that could be described as 'Home and Away' for Seniors as a group of long term friends celebrate a birthday with an old secret and harboured resentments coming to the fore to mire the festivities. Next up is an American dramedy about an almost has-been late night TV host who is saved from the axe by a young Indian decent woman with a skill for writing and a sharp wit. We then turn to a Vietnam War film featuring an infamous battle that occurred in August 1966 between the Australian forces and the local Viet Cong for which both sides claimed victory; and we close out the week with a true story of a white lion in Africa rescued by  a young teenage English girl and guided through the African Savannah to find a safe haven for her special four legged friend.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

'MIDSOMMAR' (Rated R18+) - this folk horror film is Directed and Written by Ari Aster of 'Hereditary' fame - his highly praised feature length supernatural psychological horror Directorial debut starring Toni Collette, Ann Dowd and Gabriele Byrne which grossed US$80M off the back of a US$10M production budget. This film was made for US$9M, was released in the US and the UK in early July, has so far grossed US$32M and has been widely praised by Critics.

With their relationship in trouble, a young American couple - Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) and Christian Hughes (Jack Reynor) travel to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival that occurs but once every ninety years where a seemingly rural country paradise transforms into a sinister, dread-soaked nightmare as the locals reveal their terrifying agenda. Also starring Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper and Vilhelm Blomgren.

'PALM BEACH' (Rated M) - Directed and Co-Written by Australian Actress, film and television Director and Screenwriter Rachel Ward this Australian drama comedy offering stars an ensemble cast set amidst the back drop of Palm Beach on Sydney's Northern Beaches. To mark his 73rd birthday, Frank (Bryan Brown and real life husband of Rachel Ward) and Charlotte (Greta Scacchi) decide to throw a three-day party to celebrate at their luxurious house in Palm Beach, welcoming their nearest and dearest friends. Frank, Leo (Sam Neill) and Billy (Richard E. Grant) were once involved in a band together called 'The Pacific Sideburns' who had one hit record back in 1977 but little beyond that. Rounding out the guest list are Billy's partner, beautiful actress Eva (Heather Mitchell); Bridget (Jacqueline McKenzie), who feels that husband Leo is increasingly distant; and the hosts' children Dan and Ella - with new sheepfarmer beau Doug (Charlie Vickers and Matilda Brown and Aaron Jeffrey respectively). The party starts well as to be expected, with mouth-watering food and flowing champagne aplenty but it doesn't take long for new and old resentments to surface and, more seriously, the threat of an old secret potentially coming to light. The film had its Premier screening at the recent Sydney Film Festival.

'LATE NIGHT' (Rated M) - Canadian Director, Producer and Screenwriter Nisha Ganatra here Directs this American drama comedy offering that is Written, Co-Produced and stars Mindy Kaling in the joint lead role together with Emma Thompson. The film saw its Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in late January, went on release in the US in early June, has so far grossed US$17M off the back of a mere US$4M production budget and has garnered largely positive press so far. And so legendary late-night talk show host and comedienne Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is told by the network President Caroline Morton (Amy Ryan) to fix up her show and grow her steadily declining ratings otherwise face the chop. Katherine's world is however, turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) on the basis that she is an Indian-American while the rest of her writing crew are made up mostly of older white men. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpected hilarious consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline. Also starring John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Denis O'Hare and Max Casella.

'DANGER CLOSE : THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian Vietnam War film is Directed by Kriv Stenders whose previous film making credits include 'Red Dog', 'Kill Me Three Times', 'Red Dog : True Blue', 'Australia Day' and the made for TV movie remake of 'Wake in Fright' most recently. Made for US$35M the film charts the story of of the Battle of Long Tan on 18th August 1966 which took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tan, in South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between the Viet Cong and People's Army of Viet Cong units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force, with both sides claiming victory in the aftermath. The operation ended on 21st August. The film stars Travis Fimmel as Major Harry Smith who was the Commanding Officer during the battle, Luke Bracey, Richard Roxburgh, Matt Doran and Stephen Peacocke.

'MIA AND THE WHITE LION' (Rated PG) - this French produced family adventure film is Directed and Co-Produced by Gilles de Maistre and was released in its native France in late December last year, in the US in mid-April and now its get a theatrical run in Australia this week. The film has so far made US$36M at the Box Office and has generated mixed or average Reviews. Mia Owen's (Daniah De Villiers) life gets turned upside down when her family decides to leave London to manage a lion farm in South Africa. When a beautiful white lion named Charlie is born, the 10-year-old finds happiness once again as she develops a special bond with the growing cub. When Mia uncovers a secret that puts Charlie, now aged three, in danger, she sets out on an incredible journey across the wild South African Savannah in search of a sanctuary for her beloved friend. Also starring Melanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood and Ryan MacLennan as the rest of the Owen family.

With five new release movies this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HEREDITARY : Monday 11th June 2018.

'HEREDITARY' which I saw this week is a much publicised American supernatural horror film Written and Directed by first timer Ari Aster and it has been touted as the most scary film of 2018, and for some time before that too. The film Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January and went on release in Australia and the US just last week, and the UK this week. The film has garnered generally widespread acclaim by the Critics of this world, but less favourably so by audiences. The film cost just US$10M to make, and in its opening weekend took close to US$14M, and has so far racked up US$22M. The film is Produced and distributed by A24 - the crew behind such notable horrors at 'The Witch', 'Green Room' and 'It Comes At Night'.

The story unwinds in a slow burn terrifying emotional rollercoaster of a ride when Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family passes away. We are first introduced to the Graham family in a very cleverly realised opening tracking shot of an elaborate miniature house under 'construction' inside a home studio. As the camera pans in on a bedroom inside the small yet very lifelike house and gets closer, we see a figure curled up inside a bed, asleep. Into the room walks Steve Graham (Gabriel Byrne) to wake up his son Peter (Alex Wolff), carrying a newly pressed suit that he is to wear today to the funeral, of his grandmother Ellen.

At the funeral, as Steve, Peter and younger sister Charlie (Milly Shapiro) sit in the pews, mother Annie (Toni Collette) delivers the eulogy. Annie has little good to say about her recently deceased mother, explaining that the pair had a fraught and at times tense relationship over the years that ebbed and flowed, that she was also a very secretive person with only a very close circle of friends, and had her own private rituals. After the service, the family of four return home - a large older style house that stands alone in its own grounds.

Annie is a miniature artist who builds tiny houses, buildings and furnishes them with ornate and intricately detailed items of everyday furniture and appliances and of course, custom made people. She is currently working on a special project for an exhibition, on which the deadline is approaching. A few days have passed and Steve receives a phone call from the funeral home saying that Ellen's grave has been desecrated. He chooses not to report this news to Annie, for fear that this will upset her further.

During that first week, Annie tells Steve that she is going out to catch a movie. Instead she rocks up to a support group for those that have suffered a recent heartbreaking death in the family or of someone close. She sits reluctantly largely unwilling to take part, but when asked, as a newcomer to the group, to share her experience, Annie opens up. Now that she's been invited to speak to the assembled group of about a dozen others she speaks of the history of mental illness on her side of the family, how her depressive father starved himself to death, how her schizophrenic brother accused her mother of trying to put people inside his body and eventually committed suicide, and how Ellen herself suffered from multiple personality disorder.

Later, Peter announces that he is going to a friends party and asks to use his Mum's car. On the condition that he doesn't drink, she agrees, asking at the same time if he intends taking his sister along too. He agrees, although is none too pleased at the prospect of dragging his little sister along, but does so. At the party, Peter disappears to partake in a bong with his friends, leaving Charlie to fend for herself in a room full of complete strangers. She eats a slice of chocolate birthday cake cut with a knife that had beforehand been used to chop up nuts.

Within minutes Charlie begins the early onset of anaphylactic shock which steadily worsens. Peter lifts Charlie into the back of the car and races off to the hospital. Gasping for air, Charlie opens the window and leans her head out, just as Peter swerves abruptly to avoid the carcass of a dead animal lying in the road directly in front of him. Peter loses control of the car momentarily and veers close to a telephone pole, on the side that Charlie is hanging out of. She is decapitated. Peter is stunned and sits motionless in the car after bringing it to halt. He knows exactly what has happened but daren't turn around to see.

He comes to his senses and drives home, enters the house quietly and goes to bed without telling his parents, who discover Charlie's body and severed head by the road side the next morning. Annie breaks down uncontrollably over Charlie's death, wailing in her mourning from which not even Steve can console her, and now having to attend the second family funerals within days of each other.

Peter begins seeing visions of Charlie around the house - real or imagined we don't know, but to him they are very real, and very creepy. Annie returns to the support group, but this time does not enter electing to sit outside in her car pondering. As she exits the car park she is waved down by Joan (Ann Dowd) another member of the support group who lost her son and her grandson in a drowning accident six months earlier. Annie is invited to connect with Joan whenever she feels it necessary to aid her recovery. This she does and visits Joan at her apartment where she reveals that she used to sleepwalk, and on one such occasion with almost dire consequences for herself and Peter. Joan confides that she has learned to communicate with her deceased eight year old grandson by means of a seance. After convincing a very sceptical Annie to participate, Joan demonstrates how the connection is real. Having been totally creeped out by her seance experience, Annie exits stage left rather sharply.

However, a day or so later, Annie wakes Steve and Peter and orders them both downstairs, and to ask no questions but to trust her. She convinces them both to conduct their own seance and to connect with Charlie although both her husband and her son are extremely reluctant. Annie lights a candle, and asks them to join hands. Peter especially is freaked out by the request. Annie places an upturned glass on the table which after a connection is established moves itself across the table. The candle then erupts like a Bunsen burner turned up to full, and a glass cabinet is smashed. Annie goes into a trance like state seemingly possessed by the spirit of Charlie, until Steve wakes her by throwing a glass of water over her.

After this episode Annie believes that Charlie's spirit has become malevolent. She throws Charlie's sketchbook into the open fire, only for the flame to jump across to Annie's sleeve and take hold, until she retrieves the smoking book from the fire and stamps out the flames so extinguishing the fire on her arm at the same time. Annie later rifles through her mother’s keepsakes and comes across a photo album that linked Joan to Ellen, and a book in which her mother had highlighted a section referencing the demon Paimon, a 'King of Hell' whose preference is to inhabit the bodies of vulnerable males. It transpires that Ellen and Joan's mother were members of a coven that worshipped Paimon, of which Joan is now a member.

Following this realisation, Annie ventures up into the attic and pulling down the step ladder is confronted with a swarm of flies and a godawful stench. Searching around in the dimly lit attic space with pesky flies all around her, she comes across a blackened headless corpse lying in a corner, that she suspects to be that of her mother Ellen, but can't be sure. Simultaneously, at school Peter is taking part in an English lesson and with his mind elsewhere he is hallucinating. His arm shoots up in the air involuntarily, his eyes bloodshot and his face contorts. Then he slams his face down so hard on his desk, and repeats sending him back reeling with his nose badly broken and blood pouring. He has no idea what just happened, except that he had no control. He screams out in panic.

Steve collects the unconscious Peter from school and drives him home and puts him to bed to rest and recover from his unexplained but deeply distressing ordeal. Annie ushers Steve to the attic to view the corpse and for him to burn Charlie's sketchbook stating that it is the only way to rid them of their daughters spirit. She insists that he burn it, knowing that she cannot from her previous attempt. Steve initially refuses, believing that his wife has lost her mind and further that it was she who desecrated the grave and moved Ellen’s corpse herself. Annie, out of frustration with her husband, throws the sketchbook into the fire herself, only for the flames to jump to Steve instantly engulfing him in fire.

Peter wakes up sensing that something is not quite right. The house is dark and quiet. He gingerly creeps downstairs closing doors as he goes. He finds his father's charred lifeless body, and is then chased by a now-possessed Annie into the attic where he bolts the door closed behind him. Annie clinging upside down on the ceiling frantically and repeatedly bangs her head against the attic door. Inside the attic, Peter is confronted by followers of Ellen all looking on silently with their aged, naked ashen bodies. Behind him Annie appears, levitated up near the ceiling rafters, cutting off her own head with a wire saw. Peter, horrified by the scene before him jumps out the window to escape and is knocked unconscious upon landing in the garden shrubbery below. 

A light pulsates and descends towards Peter's unconscious body. He comes around and spies his mothers levitating headless body as it moves towards and up in to the family treehouse. There he finds Charlie's head sitting on top of a makeshift statue of the demon god Paimon. Joan, the figures seen in the attic, and the headless corpses of Annie and Ellen now all bow down in front of Peter, as he is announced as Paimon. 

I would have to say, that for me, 'Hereditary' was not nearly the scarefest I was given to believe having read other Reviews. However, don't let that detract from the storyline, or the look and feel of this ultimately macabre modern day emotional rollercoaster horror offering. The five principle cast members are all terrific - Milly Shapiro (in her feature film debut) as the clucking disturbed dead panned thirteen year old daughter, Alex Wolff as the pot smoking sad eyed simply existing older teenage son, Gabriel Byrne as the stoic just wants a simple happy life husband, Ann Dowd as the do gooder hiding a malevolent secret and then there's Toni Collette who as the wife and centrepiece gives the performance of her career as the mother battling grief on two substantive levels while trying to keep things together under the influence of emotional turmoil, psychological trauma and something dark and sinister that threatens the whole family unit. This plays out more as a family drama during its first two thirds with the horror coming in the form of real emotional upheaval exploited by great lighting, sound effects and camera angles that accentuate every scene. Only the last third of the film starts to become more horrific in the traditional sense as the true meaning of what the family has 'inherited' becomes real. This film is believable, realistic and grounded in a reality that modern day horror genre bending films are increasingly taking advantage of, but all that said, it didn't keep me awake that night, I didn't look under the bed and it didn't keep me thinking long after the credits rolled, unlike 'Paranormal Activity', 'Wolf Creek' and 'Get Out' did. Certainly worth the price of your ticket though.

This film warrants four claps of the clapperboard, from a potential five. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-