Franklyn (2008)
Apr 27, 2010Interwoven Stories/Religious Dystopia
A fascinating series of interwoven stories, one of which is set in a religion-dominated dystopian future. An intriguing puzzle that arrives at a surprise left field ending
Sam Riley
13 (2010)
Jan 12, 2011Russian Roulette Gambling
The English-language remake of the Georgian 13 Tzameti about underground Russian Roulette gambling. This has an impressive cast line-up but lacks the stark tension of the original
Byzantium (2012)
Nov 4, 2013Vampire Film
Neil Jordan makes a vampire film that stands at marked contrast to Twilight and Jordan's earlier Interview with the Vampire. Jordan stamps the class of a mature filmmaker on what might have been a lesser work in another's hands
Maleficent (2014)
May 31, 2014Live-Action Prequel to Disney's Sleeping Beauty
Another in the early 2010s fad for fairytales rewritten as dark adult fantasy films – in this case, a version of Disney's Sleeping Beauty told from the viewpoint of the witch
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
Feb 7, 2016Jane Austen Retold with Zombies
Based on the book that led a publishing phenomenon in which literary classics are mashed up with monsters, this has the difficult balancing act – that of making Jane Austen's Regency romance sit alongside zombies – nevertheless manages to play both with an impeccably straight-face
SS-GB (2017)
Jan 14, 2018Alternate History/England Under Nazi Rule
The alternate history has never fared well on film but this British mini-series is an excellent variant on the Nazis Win World War II scenario. As opposed to the similar but tedious The Man in the High Castle series, this is marvellously understated and written with superb tension
Maleficent, Mistress of Evil (2019)
Jan 11, 2020Sleeping Beauty Continuation
Nobody much liked Maleficent but did make a reasonable amount of money, hence a sequel. The surprise is that in the hands of Norwegian director Joachim Rønning, it is far better than one expected
Bulk (2025)
May 2, 2026Multiverse Film
Ben Wheatley has gained a cult following in recent years with films like Kill List and High Rise. Here he sets out to make a deliberately low-tech multiverse film that becomes a real head-scratcher