The Well (1997)
Mar 2, 2011Body in the Well/Psychological Horror
An incredibly spooky film about two woman on an Australian outback farm that believe they are haunted by a dead body in the well
Miranda Otto
In the Winter Dark (1999)
Jan 19, 2008Mysterious Creatures in the Australian Outback
A film about mysterious happenings on a farm in the Australian Outback that creates an intensely haunted mood concerning something that might be lurking out there
What Lies Beneath (2000)
Jul 23, 2000Ghost Story
Robert Zemeckis takes on the ghost story with uncommon effectiveness. While this is average on a story level, Zemeckis's directorial approach pushes it to the unnervingly spooky, with the last fifteen minutes being one of the most suspense-filled sequences in recent memory
Doctor Sleep (2002)
Dec 12, 2004Hypnotist vs Occult Killer
Here Nick Willing makes an initially promising film but this becomes a disjointed muddle involving hypnotism, serial killers and occult conspiracy. Not to be confused with the Stephen King adapted film
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Dec 24, 2002Epic Fantasy Adventure
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings saga truly gains its feet here, expanding out onto an epic scale where he has fused special effects and story into a singular vision
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Dec 23, 2003Epic Fantasy Adventure
The weakest of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. This is the most variant from the source material and the one where Jackson allows his tendency to visual effects bloat to take over
War of the Worlds (2005)
Jul 2, 2005Alien Invasion/H.G. Wells Adaptation
Steven Spielberg remakes the classic H.G. Wells alien invasion story, liberally rewriting it for the post-9/11 world. Not Spielberg's best film but a more than solid work on most grounds
I Frankenstein (2014)
Jan 25, 2014Frankenstein Monster's Modern-Day War with Demons
An empty-headed work that seems entirely premised around the provision of CGI effects spectacle and actively resists engagement on any other level. A spectacularly ridiculous film in almost every way
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Sep 24, 2017Sinister Doll
Audiences and critics alike hated the first Annabelle – I went into this prequel with little enthusiasm but ended up pleasantly surprised. All it takes is a change of director to David F. Sandberg who provides a series of genuinely eerie jumps
Zoe (2018)
May 5, 2019Android Relationship Film
Films about androids and artificial intelligence have taken off in the 2010s. This comes produced by Ridley Scott who made Blade Runner, the defining classic on the theme; on the other hand, it ends up in the hands of a director who specialises in relationship dramas
The Silence (2019)
Jun 21, 2019Creatures That Attack Anything That Makes a Sound
This was dismissed as a copy of a A Quiet Place and had an almost identical plot about survivors sheltering from creatures that attack the smallest sound. In actuality, this was based on a book that predates A Quiet Place
Talk to Me (2022)
Sep 22, 2023Occult Artefact
An Australian film has been getting some great word of mouth, a teen horror that stands it head and shoulders above its contemporaries
The Portable Door (2023)
Jul 1, 2023Apprentice in a Magical Company
A story about an apprentice at a mysterious company that deals with magic, this could well serve as a fix for those wanting something more of the Harry Potter franchise
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
Jan 3, 2025Epic Fantasy/Anime
A spinoff prequel to the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films that takes the option that several other film/videogame franchises have of Going Anime