Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

Many viewers will be turned off by Birdeater's coked up visual hysterics, which is a shame as this is a car crash that reveals its true horrors when the storytelling slows down to observe its casualties. Review

Montpetit, who recently caught our attention with her turn in Charlotte LeBon's coming of age drama Falcon Lake, is excellent once again here, nailing the anxiety of a vegan vampire. Review

What kept me gripped throughout Things Will Be Different was the human relationship that provides it with as much heart as food for thought. Review

The best way I can describe it is oxymoronically, as grounded absurdism. It's often mystifying, but always gripping, and it's one of the most distinctive pieces of work to emerge from American indie cinema in recent years. Review

Compared to the average modern creature feature, Sting is a welcome return to the reverence shown for such films in the Amblin era. Review

In Sarr's resilient Seydou, Io Capitano certainly puts a face to a statistic. It's hard to think of anyone coming away from a viewing of Garrone's film without some empathy or at least grudging respect for the thousands like Sarr who risk all for a better life on a daily basis. Review

The Trouble with Jessica never fully leans into the darkness of its theme. There are some truly macabre moments but the film never allows itself to get into the weeds regarding the tragedy that sparks its comic premise... Review

Hamaguchi allows shots to go on for longer than is traditionally expected, only to abruptly cut just as composer Eiko Ishibashi's score is beginning to swell, a canny way to evoke the disruption the community is set to face. Review

The criminal subplot is so tightly rendered that the movie functions just as much as a suspense thriller as a comedy. Review

The Origin of Evil never quite elevates itself to the level of a classic Claude Chabrol thriller however, as Marnier fails to to structure his film in a way that generates the necessary tension and suspense. Review

With its focus on words and grounded storytelling over powerful images and supernatural subplots, Immaculate is a decidedly Protestant take on Catholic horror. Review

The Sweet East comes loaded with American indie cinema cred. Review

Imogen Poots is fantastic in the role of Rose. Equally excellent is Dermot Crowley as Donal... Review

Unlike Swayze and Kelly Lynch, who smouldered on screen together, there's a notable absence of chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Melchior, as though the actors are all too aware of the inevitable online age gap discourse. Review

It's Campbell's performance that keeps things grounded even when the surreal shit begins to hit the absurdist fan. The British actress has quickly established herself as a reliable staple of genre cinema and possesses the sort of convincing vulnerability that makes her the ideal horror heroine. Review

Harden and Chichikova make for an endearing odd couple, and the improvisational nature of the film allows for some great natural comedy as they mutually react to encountering cultural differences in real time. Review

The trouble with Malta is that its storytelling is as meandering and unfocussed as its protagonist, so it's easy to drift out of its narrative and forget what exactly it is we're supposed to be invested in. Review

The closing minutes have a genuine emotional heft, but it's scant reward for the rambling inanity we've had to endure to get to that point. Review

Late Night with the Devil pulls you into its meticulously recreated world from the off and keeps you gripped up to a point. Review

While their characters are paper-thin, Qualley and Viswanathan do make for a charming screen couple, which only makes it all the more frustrating that they're lumbered with such shoddy material. Review

Blanc's debut may trip over itself in its desperation to make a depressing but not entirely untruthful point, but it's largely a gripping affair. Review

It doesn't work as a children's fantasy, and Imaginary is no more successful as a horror movie. Review

Mom struggles to offer anything new to the horror genre. It's too reliant on clichés borrowed from the sort of Asian horror movies that were popular at the turn of the century. Review

I'm willing to believe anything for the running time of a movie if the filmmaker can make it convincing - but Thornton's theatrics never penetrated my layer of skepticism. Review