Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

A mildly satisfying curio for anyone with an interest in this period of American history. Review

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom falls very much into the category of "filmed play" rather than screen adaptation, too reliant on monologuing in its character development, too rigid with the source material to improvise on its theme. Still, when you have actors as powerful as Boseman and Davis on hand, that's not so bad. Review

With its widescreen picture and the telling lack of texture provided by modern digital video, it all comes across as an anachronistic skit, as though classic Hollywood is being parodied on a comedy sketch show. Review

It's testament to the effectiveness of both Mielants' storytelling and Janssens' sympathetic central performance that the novelty setting quickly becomes rudimentary... Review

Any positives of Blind are merely superficial. Review

It's a shame that Eun-kyoung can't exploit his premise as he opens his movie with a couple of effective sequence but ultimately he gets bogged down in a plot that fails to sufficiently grab our attention, and many viewers will likely check out early. Review

In this era of mechanical jump scares and CG, Kindred is a rare performance driven horror movie, and what performances! Review

Blood Vessel boasts enough elements to satisfy more forgiving horror fans, particularly those of us willing to accept some old school silliness. It is however possible for a horror movie to be both silly and scary, so it's a shame Blood Vessel never quite does enough to send any shivers down our spine. Review

About Endlessness might some day be uploaded by SETI as a document of the human race for any prospective alien visitors who stumble across our signal, as for better or worse, all of human life is captured in Andersson's work. Review

The Wolf of Snow Hollow is refreshing because it's happy to outwardly present us with a scenario we've seen multiple times before, but hooks us in with a unique protagonist. Review

His House works best as a straightforward refugee drama, not so much as a horror movie. Review

Sang-ho is working with a much bigger canvas here, but he's lost the creativity required by the confined setting of Peninsula's predecessor. Review

Had Adams and Poser found a way to resolve the film while maintaining the sombre tone they had struck so well for most of its running time, The Deeper You Dig would be a deeply satisfying and inspiring piece of economical genre filmmaking. But there's plenty here to demonstrate that the Adams family is a filmmaking collective to keep an eye on. Review

But it's an honest examination of how families cope with impending loss, one that astutely avoids proselytising or a lecturing tone. It's all the more comforting for it. Review

Remove any hint of a thriller (because it really isn't one) and Summer of 85 would likely be a more satisfying coming-of-age drama. Review

In Hitchcock's film, Rebecca is a spectral presence we feel throughout the rooms of Manderley. In Wheatley's, she's simply someone people occasionally speak about. Review

Is Franco making an important statement here or is he simply out to shock? I suspect only Mexican audiences will be able to provide a clear answer to that question, but either way he's delivered a film that's undeniably gripping in spells. Review

While it exploits very modern fears, ultimately Possessor functions best as a love letter to paranoid cinema of the past. Review

Don't Look Back has the bones of a decent horror movie. It suffers from Reddick's inexperience behind the camera, with some film school freshman mistakes on display like eyelines failing to match, but he does throw in the occasional clever flourish... Review

Rose: A Love Story is immaculately assembled, with not a beat out of step in its visual storytelling, not to mention sound design that helps us experience Sam's paranoia regarding every snapping twig in the woods outside his home. Review

Vinterberg's film is a warm, feelgood document of the life we once enjoyed, even if we felt guilty about relying on alcohol to fully embrace it. Review

Climaxing with not one but two disturbing codas, Bad Tales might easily be accused of simply aiming for cheap shocks. Yet while misanthropy is often the lazy fallback of superficial European filmmakers with little to really say, the D'Innocenzos appear to be commenting on an Italy that's increasingly losing grasp of its joie de vivre as it attempts to compete with its more stoic Northern neighbours. Review

The Mortuary Collection has the feel of a pilot for a '90s cable show that failed be picked up by a network. Review

Present in almost every frame of The Intruder, Rivas is required to do as much heavy lifting here as Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion or Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby, and she proves up to the task. Review