Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010)
Sep 21, 2010Animation/Talking Owls
Zack Snyder makes an exquisite motion-capture animated film for adults about talking owls. This has a story that comes with a sweeping mythic arc
Angus Sampson
Insidious (2010)
Apr 16, 2011Haunting/Astral Projection
On a pure plot level, this is largely a generic haunted house story but director James Wan creates an eerie atmosphere and manages to undeniably jangle the audience's nerves on a number of occasions
100 Bloody Acres (2012)
Oct 24, 2023Australian Backwoods Brutality Comedy
An Australian Backwoods Brutality comedy, which amusingly inverts the genre’s clichés, not dissimilar to Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)
Sep 13, 2013Haunting/Possession
James Wan proves himself one of the finest directors in the horror genre with this sequel to his 2010 film. The plot is trimmed to deliver an effective scare show and Wan again produces a series of eerie and unworldly jumps
Insidious Chapter 3 (2015)
Jun 6, 2015Haunting/Possession
This doesn't have James Wan directing and is a far less interesting ghost story before doing a repeat venture into the beyond. On the plus side, incoming director Leigh Whannell does generate a fair degree of eerie tension
Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
Mar 31, 2018Paranormal Investigation
After two fairly good initial entries, the Insidious series began its downward slide. Here new director Adam Robitel's clumsy jumpshocks are a far cry from the eerie effects James Wan pulled off
Winchester (2018)
Apr 28, 2018Real-Life Haunted House
Winchester House with its eccentric designs and strange history is reputedly one of America's most haunted locales. From Australia's Spierig Brothers who made the likes of Daybreakers and Predestination, this attempts to tell its story but emerges as far less than it could have been
The Stand (2020-2021)
Mar 5, 2021Showdown Between the Forces of Good and Evil After the Collapse of Civilisation/Stephen King Adaptation
The Stand is in my opinion Stephen King’s greatest book. The question is whether this new mini-series version will improve on the laughably failed 1994 version
Insidious: The Red Door (2023)
Aug 12, 2023Haunting/Astral Projection
The fifth film in the Insidious series. This time Patrick Wilson returns to the franchise and takes the director’s chair, showing he has been taking some lessons from James Wan
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Jul 6, 2024Post-Holocaust Action
45 years on, George Miller returns with a fifth entry in his Mad Max saga, a prequel to Fury Road. As to be expected from Miller, this an exhilarating action piece and makes a welcome return to his post-apocalyptic junkyard world