Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

With its slowburn, ambiguous storytelling, focus on trauma and icy aesthetic, A Banquet is ready made to be designated the latest example of elevated horror. Review

To some degree, Belfast gets by on its undeniable charm and the strength of its performances. Review

The slowburn atmosphere too often comes off as misjudged pacing for a story that could have easily been told as a 30 minute segment of an anthology show. Review

The first half of the movie, a sort of Truffles of Sierra Madre, leans knowingly into its genre tropes to create a sufficiently tense atmosphere. It's when the movie becomes a Revenant-esque survival thriller in the second half that the movie loses its energy. Review

While his film boasts a simple genre premise, Dayao seems to have higher, artier aspirations. It takes almost half the movie for the main plotline to kick in, and before that we're left watching its characters have a series of obtuse interactions that don’t seem to add a whole lot to the overall story. Review

A tedious series of soap opera level revelations about family histories and blandly staged stalk and slash sequences. Review

Despite its lengthy running time and the addition of several pointless new scenes, del Toro's Nightmare Alley feels like it's missing a few scenes necessary to detail Stan's moral disintegration... Review

Imagine if Pulp Fiction had been written by Todd Solondz and you'll have some idea of what's in store here. Review

Potente's film is partly salvaged by the strength of her cast. Even if the script is too superficial to convince us we're watching real people, McLaughlin, Franciosi and Bates do their darnedest to keep us engaged. Review

While a little too enamoured of the sub-genre, Appleton and Escott's film is certainly worth a watch for horror fans thanks to the insights provided by the featured filmmakers. Review

Had The 355 embraced its sillier aspects it could have been a fun romp, but it's misguided in believing it can compete with its bigger budgeted rivals in the spy movie game. Review

Dozens of movies have revolved around the premise of a protagonist landing in trouble after finding a bag of money and deciding to keep it for themselves. The celebrated Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi gives us a novel twist on this notion with A Hero. Review

In both its storytelling technique, its disturbing images and irritating protagonist, from which there is no escape, Masking Threshold is as uncomfortable as a "movie" gets. Review

Titane proves that Ducournau is certainly confident behind the wheel. I just wish she had taken us on a more interesting journey this time. Review

Coming in at 90 minutes, Stage Fright doesn't waste a second of screen time. Everything is set up within the first 15 minutes, including crucially the geography of its confined setting, and then the bloodshed begins. Review

But for all his technical virtuosity, it's for his work with his two debuting performers that Anderson should be most applauded. Review

Fuhrmann loses herself in this role as much as Alex loses herself in rowing. She's been around for well over a decade now, but has struggled to find good roles after her breakout in 2009's Orphan. Review

If it was its intimacy and relatively low stakes that made that first Holland outing work, No Way Home makes the mistake of the Joel Schumacher Batman movies, filling the screen with so many characters that none of them get a chance to make any real impact. Review

Colman is thrilling here, embodying a character that will likely make a lot of women finally feel seen. Review

At over two hours, Benedetta can feel unwieldy in parts, but just when we might find ourselves beginning to drift away like a sleepy kid in church, Verhoeven throws another bit of madness on the screen to jolt us upright. Review

Along with the foreboding sense of doom, there's much in the way of black comedy, particularly when Petur naturally questions the life he finds his brother and sister-in-law living. Review

Reece is a prolific indie director who has been churning out low budget movies in recent times. Agnes is his most high profile release to date, and it will likely propel him to command bigger projects than he's so far been accustomed to. Review

The Power of the Dog is refreshing in that it gives us a brutally honest examination of how many gay men would have behaved in the early 20th century, transferring their shame and confusion into cruelty, attacking anyone they identify with in the hopes such a display of performative masculinity will cover their own tracks. Review

Pearce is bailed out to some degree by two things - the central performance of Ahmed, who does his best to humanise a wafer-thin character, and the landscape of the American South West, shot here with the fascination of a director making their first movie on American soil. Review