Possessor review - death by virtual reality

★★★★ POSSESSOR Startling vision of corporate assassination from director Brandon Cronenberg

Startling vision of corporate assassination from director Brandon Cronenberg

Many have struggled to bring a new slant to the horror genre, but writer-director Brandon Cronenberg has managed it with Possessor, his second full-length feature.

Leap of Faith review – Alexandre O. Philippe examines ‘The Exorcist’

★★★★ LEAP OF FAITH Feature-length interview with 'Exorcist' director William Friedkin

The director tackles the Oscar-winner in feature-length interview with William Friedkin

Films are about the mystery of fate or the mystery of faith,” proclaims director William Friedkin in Alexandre O. Philippe’s latest documentary, Leap of Faith. At 84 years old, Friedkin proves himself to be a master of storytelling, not only behind the camera but in front of it, spiritedly discussing the genesis of his horror masterpiece with Philippe.

DVD/Blu-ray: Dementia

★★★★ DVD/BLU-RAY: DEMENTIA A short, sharp, sick Hollywood horror noir

A short, sharp, sick Hollywood horror noir

The cheaply made experimental exploitation indie Dementia (1955) is one of those footnotes in movie history that makes cultists salivate.

Relic review – a deadly disappearing act

★★★★ RELIC A family of women reaps the wrath of dementia

A family of women reaps the wrath of dementia

The bleak power of the Australian horror movie Relic, Natalie Erika James’s feature debut, derives from its masterful use of a simple metaphor.

Cordelia review – Antonia Campbell-Hughes and Johnny Flynn star in an off-kilter tale of trauma

★★★ CORDELIA Antonia Campbell-Hughes & Johnny Flynn in an off-kilter trauma tale

Psychological drama about a traumatised woman and her weird neighbourhood

There's something deeply uncanny about Adrian Shergold's Cordelia. When the film's poster was released on social media, many mistook it for a kinky period drama with the power dynamics reversed. It definitely isn't a costume drama, but there's some kink.

Blu-ray: Eraserhead

★★★★ BLU-RAY: ERASERHEAD David Lynch's first feature film is a surrealist nightmare

David Lynch's first feature film is a surrealist nightmare

Shot across a period of five years, David Lynch’s creepy debut feature Eraserhead (1977) follows the story of Henry Spencer, played by Jack Nance, an employee at a print factory in a quiet, unnamed town. Henry arrives home one evening to a missed telephone call from a woman named Mary (Charlotte Stewart), inviting him to dinner at her parents’ house. Once he arrives, Mary’s mother breaks the news that her daughter has given birth to a baby, and Henry is the father.

Saint Maud review - creepy and strangely topical psychological horror

★★★★ SAINT MAUD Creepy and strangely topical psychological horror

Morfydd Clark is the troubled nurse with dangerously novel ideas about palliative care

It only takes a few seconds of Saint Maud – dripping blood, a dead body contorted on a gurney, a young woman’s deranged face staring at an insect on the ceiling, an industrial clamour more likely to score the gates of hell than the pearly ones – to make us realise that the film’s title is a tad ironic. 

The Best Films Out Now

THE BEST FILMS OUT NOW theartsdesk recommends the top movies of the moment

theartsdesk recommends the top movies of the moment

There are films to meet every taste in theartsdesk's guide to the best movies currently on release. In our considered opinion, any of the titles below is well worth your attention.

Enola Holmes ★★★★ Millie Bobby Brown gives the patriarchy what-for in a new Sherlock-related franchise

John Lanchester: Reality, and Other Stories review - campfire spooks for the digital age

★★★★ JOHN LANCHESTER: REALITY, AND OTHER STORIES Campfire spooks for the digital age

The hazy line between “reality” and whatever else is out there

What do you do when your phone rings, but you know the person ringing isn’t alive? In many ways, the cleverly named Reality, and Other Stories is a collection of ghost tales. But they are updated for the present day. John Lanchester meets his reader at the point at which the spectral intersects with the digital, all the while dissecting the seemingly simple notion of reality and its contents.