STACK September 2017 Issue 155

84 / 101

uro-horror isn’t afraid to tackle taboos with unflinching
usto, and writer-director Julia Ducournau’s stylish
rthouse cannibal film is an appetising feast of coming-
f-age themes and Cronenbergian body horror. A
eserved first-year veterinary student (Garance Marillier)
ndergoes a frightening transformation following a
azing ritual that involves animal blood (Carrie-style) and
onsuming a raw rabbit kidney. It’s the latter that proves
roblematic – she’s a strict vegetarian and a taste of
forbidden flesh soon develops into a hunger for human
meat. Despite its grisly subject and several squirm-inducing set pieces,
Raw is not an overly gruesome film by French standards. The shock
tactics are mere condiments to a haunting rites-of-passage story that’s
as much about fitting in and family ties as it is about cannibalism. SH
What are you hungry for?
RAW
This is ostensibly an ice hockey
movie, that is also a sequel. Rest
assured you don't have to know
anything about ice hockey, or the
original, to derive pleasure from
the mayhem masquerading as
Canada's favourite sport. Seann
William Scott is the hard man of
his team but one too many hits,
plus a bub on the way, means
he has to put his career in deep
freeze. When he sees the heart
and soul of his team torn out by
a rival, Scott is compelled to skill
up with former arch nemesis
Liev Schreiber, to have one
shot at redemption. If you're
after a goofball comedy with
plenty of punches to go with the
punchlines, you won't be skating
on thin ice here. AC
GOON: LAST OF
THE ENFORCERS
Release Date:
13/09/17
Format:
This homegrown creature
feature comes courtesy of Matt
Drummond, a visual FX specialist
who cut his teeth on award-
winning prehistoric docos, where
megafauna come to life. Here,
Drummond showcases his chops
by placing a cute little dino in the
fictional suburb of Brightwood, a
quaint town with all the trappings
of Spielberg's America (but in
reality Lithgow, NSW). The 'saur
grew from some slimey stuff
and its unlikely carers are two
youngsters (Jordan Dulieu and
Annabel Wolfe) who seek to hide
their prehistoric pet from older
authority figures who might seek
to do it harm. Family viewing
in the tradition of E.T., Pete's
Dragon and The Iron Giant. AC
MY PET DINOSAUR
elease Date:
6/09/17
ormat:
Release Date: 20/09/17 Format:
ter a police officer (Aaron Poole) rescues an injured
an from the side of a country road, he finds himself
pped in a hospital of horrors where the resident
ctor has opened a gateway to a hellish dimension,
tients are turning into tentacled monsters, and a
ister cult prevents anyone from leaving... alive.
mbining the cosmic dread of H.P. Lovecraft with
e slimy transformations of The Thing, this ambitious
nadian horror flick arrives with a lot of positive buzz
tached, and mostly delivers the goods. Featuring
practical creature and gore effects (directors Jeremy Gillespie and
Steven Kostanski are also makeup FX artists), striking visuals, and a big
nod to Lucio Fulci, fans of '80s horror like Hellraiser and From Beyond
will really appreciate The Void 's old school approach. SH
There is a Hell. This is worse.
THE VOID
"I never left my family, I left
myself". Such is the premise
of this Bryan Cranston vehicle,
where again, with extraordinary
verve, he plays an everyman who
makes an extraordinary turn. In
this case, after a tough day, a
psychological compulsion drives
him to hole up in his attic where
he watches wife Jennifer Garner
and his twin daughters react
to his extended disappearance.
It's not just abdication of family
duties, Cranston goes full feral,
living off dumpsters all the while
observing the deep impact of his
behaviour. Is he loathsome of
himself, his family or humanity?
It's a compelling mystery and a
powerful drama, driven by strong
performances all round. AC
WAKEFIELD
Release Date:
06/09/17
Format:
Release Date: 30/08/17
On the eve of World War I there
were two million Armenians in
the crumbling Ottoman Empire,
and by 1922 less than a quarter
remained. The genocide of the
Armenian people is something
that, to this day, many remain
blissfully ignorant of – the
Turkish government has still
not taken responsibility. The
Promise sets out to change
that, bringing this shameful
chapter in the country’s history
to light and sweetening the
bitter tale with a love triangle
involving Christian Bale’s
American journalist, Charlotte
Le Bon’s beautiful tutor Ana,
and Oscar Isaac’s Armenian
medical student. As heavy as it
sounds, but important. AC
THE PROMISE
Release Date:
20/09/17
Format:
Format:
032 SEPTEMBER 2017
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