Climax (2018)
Genre: Horror
Director: Gaspar Noé
Starring: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub, Giselle Palmer, Kiddy Smile
Duration: 95 minutes
Class: 18
KRS Releasing Ltd

Argentinian film-maker Gaspar Noe (I Stand Alone, Irréversible, Enter the Void) presents a musical horror film revolving around a troupe of French dancers.

These dancers gather in a remote and empty school building to rehearse on a cold and wintry night. Following an unforgettable opening performance, the troupe begins an all-night celebration that turns nightmarish as the dancers discover they have been pounding cups of sangria laced with potent LSD.

The director tracks their journey from jubilation to chaos and full-fledged anarchy amid crushes, rivalries and violence amid a collective psychedelic meltdown.

The film, which stars Sofia Boutella (Atomic Blonde, The Mummy) and professional dancers, received very good reviews.  Helen O’Hara of Empire wrote: “This is often upsetting (though never to the levels of Irréversible) but as energetic and handsome as its cast. At times you’ll be watching in horror, but you’ll never look away.”

Owen Gleiberman of Variety was not as impressed. He wrote: “Climax works, at least when it’s willing to be a human drama. But then it sinks in that you’re watching Fame directed by the Marquis de Sade with a steadicam.”

The critics’s consensus on Rotten Tomatoes was, however, very positive: “Challenging and rewarding in equal measure, Climax captures writer-director Gaspar Noé working near his technically brilliant and visually distinctive peak.”

Ratings
IMDB: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Empire: 4 stars

Jamie Lee Curtis faces the subject of her nightmares one final time in Halloween.

Halloween (2018)
Genre: Adventure, family
Director: David Gordon Green
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Haluk Bilginer
Duration: 106 minutes
Class: 18
KRS Releasing Ltd

Jamie Lee Curtis resumes her role as Laurie Strode in the 11th instalment of the Halloween franchise, which is also a direct sequel of the 1978 film.

Strode is the sole survivor of Michael Myers’s (Nick Castle) 1978 killing spree and this film, set 40 years after the original one, follows Strode as she prepares to face Myers in a final confrontation when he returns to Haddonfield, Illinois.

The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, received  mostly positive reviews, with many critics saying that it is the best Halloween sequel. They also praised Curtis’s performance.

Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post rejoiced. He wrote: “Finally, Hollywood has made a good Halloween sequel. It took them only 40 years.”

Chris Evangelista of Empire commented: “While it doesn’t capture the magic of the original, this Halloween brings much-needed closure to a troubled franchise, with Curtis excellent and Michael Myers pleasingly terrifying again.

And Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine said: Mostly it's the troubled times we live in that allows this energising, elemental horror film to touch a raw nerve for #MeToo”

The slasher movie also fared well at the box office. Made on a $10 million budget, it grossed $91.8 million worldwide since its release in the US on October 21.

Ratings
IMDB: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
Empire: 3 stars

Gerard Butler is on a mission to prevent another world war in Traffic Hunter.

Hunter Killer (2018)
Genre: Action thriller
Director: Donovan Marsh
Starring: Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Michael Nyqvist, Common, Toby Stephens
Duration: 121 minutes
Class: 12
KRS Releasing Ltd

Based on a 2012 novel titled Firing Point by Don Keith and George Wallace, the action thriller is a cat-and-mouse game of intrigue set in the cold war.

Submarine captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) is on the hunt for a US submarine in distress in the Arctic Ocean, when he discovers a secret Russian coup is in the offing.

He thus assembles an elite group of Navy Seals to rescue the kidnapped Russian president and sneak through enemy waters to stop another world war.

Although critics generally liked Butler, they panned Donovan Marsh’s movie.

“Toning down his usual act in a manner that suggests he’s finally read his reviews, Butler gives it handfuls of dramatic ballast, but this vessel has been badly compromised: any interest seeps out by the frame,” wrote Mike McCahill of The Guardian.

Kevin Maher of The Times (UK) said: “It’s initially good for a giggle, but boredom eventually triumphs.”

And David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote: “Even among Gerard Butler vehicles, this one sinks right to the bottom.”

Ratings
IMDB: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 36%
Empire: 3 stars