STACK #151 May 2017

DVD&BD FEATURE

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British cult cinema has a long and distinguished history, with icons like Ken Russell andTerry Gilliam at the forefront and directors like Norman J.Warren and PeteWalker ruling the B-movie roost.Talking to BenWheatley earlier this month (see page 14) got me to thinking about other contemporary British filmmakers that put their own unique stamp on different genres. Movie buffs who grew up on an esoteric and eclectic diet of film and videotape usually make the best filmmakers (eg. Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro) because they make the movies they want to see, flavour them with stylistic homages to the directors they love, and singularly twist mainstream conventions to conform to their own oddball visions. THE NEW GENERATION OF BRITISH CULT DIRECTORS

Introducing fantastic filmmakers and movie madness that may have slipped under your radar. Words: Scott Hocking

Peter Strickland is another Brit who loves the strange and offbeat, especially the more niche regions of the cult movie spectrum. Berberian Sound Studio (2012), his love letter to Italian filmmakers like Dario Argento and Mario Bava, is a tour de force of suggestion and that drags a meek British sound mixer (Toby Jones) out of his comfort zone and into a vortex of David Lynchian weirdness and giallo movie mayhem. Strickland followed this up with another

Edgar Wright is a prime example. His ‘Three Flavours Cornetto’ trilogy – Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013) – is overflowing with filmic references to everything and everyone from George A. Romero, Lethal Weapon and Hammer Horror. And in Hot Fuzz you’ll spot a line-up of

tribute to fringe Euro-cult in the haunting The Duke of Burgundy (2014), which masterfully references the psychedelic/lesbian erotica of auteurs like Jess Franco and Jean Rollin – albeit without any nudity or lurid sex scenes! Fans of Borgen and Westworld will want to check this out for the icy performance by Sidse Babett Knudson, as the lepidopterist whose sadomasochistic relationship with her lover is not all that it appears to be.

actors memorable for their roles in some of Wright’s favourite movies – The Omen ’s Billie Whitelaw, The Wicker Man ’s Edward Woodward, and Raiders of the Lost Ark ’s Paul Freeman. Indeed, Wright’s latest film, Baby Driver (due in cinemas August 10), is indebted to seventies’ thrillers like Straight Time and Walter Hill’s The Driver – can’t wait to check this one out.

Joe Cornish may not have the resume of his peers, but his sole film as director to date is an absolute belter. Cornish co-scripted Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (with Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright) before writing and directing Attack the Block (2011), a cheeky sci-fi comedy that unleashes a horde of shaggy extraterrestrial beasts on a

Neil Marshall

is another notable player in the Brit cult landscape, even if he mostly directs episodes of Game of Thrones and Black Sails these days. Marshall’s low

South London housing estate (a setting usually reserved for heavy dramas by Ken Loach and Mike Leigh). All that stands between the invaders and the residents is a gang of delinquent youths, led by a pre-Star Wars John Boyega. With its snappy aliens, snappier dialogue, and a tailor-made guest spot for Nick Frost (as the building’s resident drug dealer), Attack the Block is a five-star hoot. Look out, too, for Broadchurch ’s Jodie Whittaker and Fortitude ’s Luke Treadaway amongst the cast.

budget werewolf movie Dog Soldiers (2002) made horror fans sit up and take notice, but it was his follow-up

feature The Descent (2005) that cemented his credentials as a dependable genre filmmaker. He also directed the underrated historical actioner Centurion (2010), which delivered more than its Gladiator knock-off title would suggest – pitting Michael Fassbender’s Roman soldier against Olga Kurylenko’s feral Pict huntress. Marshall has also helmed the Roger

Despite the cult following for Attack the Block , Cornish has yet to step behind the camera again, although he was in the running to helm Star Trek Beyond and Kong: Skull Island . Note to Hollywood: Give this guy another gig, pronto!

Cormanesque future shocker Doomsday (2008), as well as the carnivorous jack-o'-lantern segment of 2015 horror anthology Tales of Halloween .

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MAY 2017

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[Note: Titles in bold are available from JB Hi-Fi at the time of writing.]