Image from the movie "Bacurau"

Bacurau

The population of a small Brazillian village has to deal with a group of armed mercenaries in Bacurau. Teresa (Bárbara Colen) returns home to Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, to mourn the death of her grandmother and the town matriarch Carmelita. In the days following the funeral, the members of the village…

Poster for the movie "The Hunt"

The Hunt

Twelve strangers awaken in an isolated area to find that they are being hunted for sport in The Hunt. A group of people awaken to find themselves bound in an open field. It isn’t long until shots begin firing and some of the group recognize their situation as the infamous “Manor-gate,” where “Liberal elites” kidnap and…

Come to Daddy

Come to Daddy

A young man has an awkward reunion with his estranged father in Come to Daddy. Norval (Elijah Wood) travels to the middle of nowhere to reunite with his long-estranged father (Stephen McHattie), from whom he has received a letter asking for help. However, things quickly fall off the rails between Norval and his father, the…

Hail Satan?

Hail Satan?

Disclaimer: This is an objective review of the 2019 documentary, directed by Penny Lane. Personally, Sean Kelly does not support or endorse Satanism or The Satanic Temple. The Satanic Temple campaigns for the recognition of religious plurality in the United States in Hail Satan?. Following in the footsteps of Anton Szandor LaVey’s original Church of…

Buddy

Buddy

The relationship between six guide dogs on their owners are explored in Buddy. Even though guide dogs are a necessary need of their owners, the connection that develops between the two are often deeper than any other relationship in their lives. Filmmaker Heddy Honigmann follows six guide dogs and what what they mean to their…

Human Nature

Human Nature

The people and science behind the “CRISPR Revolution” are explored in Human Nature. Since the 1970s, scientists have been experimenting with gene therapy. However, since this is a random process, the results of such experiments could not be controlled. However, with the discovery of CRISPR, it has become increasingly possible to manipulate human DNA to…

Luz

Luz

A taxi driver is pursued by a demon in Luz. One night, Luz Carrara (Luana Velis) stumbles into a police station, in fear of a demon that is pursuing her. Elsewhere, the mysterious Nora (Julia Riedler) seduces Dr. Rossini (Jan Bluthardt) and talks about her history with Luz. Later, Dr. Rossini comes to the police station to help…

Chained for Life

Chained for Life

An actress working on a horror film develops a connection with her deformed co-star in Chained for Life. Mabel (Jess Weixler) is the lead in a horror film directed by a pretentious German director (Charlie Korsmo), which has a number of deformed individuals in the cast, particularly Mabel’s main co-star Rosenthal (Adam Pearson). At first Mabel struggles to…

Blockers

Blockers

Three parents try to disrupt their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity on prom night in Blockers. Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitchell (John Cena), and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) are three friends, whose daughters Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon) are heading off to their senior prom. However, Julie leaves her laptop open…

Deliver Us

Deliver Us

This review was originally published, under its original title Libera Nos, as part of my coverage of Hot Docs 2017 The daily routines of a Sicilian exorcist is observed in Deliver Us. Over the past number of years, the requests to the Catholic Church for the rite of exorcism has been on the rise, to the…