Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

Ultimately it's the lack of scares that prevent Nightmare from living up to its name. There's too much exposition, too much time spent explaining backstories and not enough spent on constructing tense set-pieces. Review

For a movie about stocks and shares, Dumb Money is more thrilling than it has any right to be. Review

Duffield makes great use of editing, camera movement, blocking and framing to pull off some nerve-wracking set-pieces. Review

Plenty of filmmakers have managed to pull off the trick of combining arthouse with grindhouse, including Cassavettes' own parents, but perhaps the trick is to have an equal appreciation for both forms. Review

Despite its title, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster perhaps isn't angry enough, but it provides enough jolts to spark new life into a classic tale. Review

For the most part, Hellraiser is a gritty, kitchen sink thriller with a very British aesthetic. Review

The Wicker Man is a movie that benefitted greatly from both chance and improvisation. Review

El Conde is the first misstep in Larraín's prolific career, but a movie made by a filmmaker of his talent is always going to have at least one redeeming feature. Here it's the gorgeous vespertine cinematography of Edward Lachman, who utilises the same lenses employed by Gregg Toland in his collaborations with Orson Welles. Review

In a scene reminiscent of Ken Loach at his best, the villagers gather at a local hall to trash out the issue of the immigrants. Review

McCormack delivers a striking star-making turn that sees him turn on the charm while also coming off as a little creepy. Review

I doubt too many will be clamouring for a followup, as despite its theme, this first entry is far from elevated horror. Review

Yuval Adler and Luke Paradise's film owes much to the likes of Collateral and The Hitcher, but it lacks the style of the former and the suspense of the latter. It's really only held together by Cage's crazy glue. Review

With delicious ambiguity, Song occasionally teases a more traditional romance lurking under her film's mature surface. Review

It shouldn't feel revolutionary that a movie dare to portray a disabled person as layered and difficult to read, yet this is how it feels to watch Park act as a curious blend of antagonist and saviour. Review

Viewers who work with such vessels and form attachments may disagree, but the subplot does occasionally threaten to sink what is otherwise a melancholy thriller about a generation of men struggling to find a place for themselves in a post-war Britain. Review

The showy direction Fuqua opted for in the previous two instalments felt jarring when set against Washington's calm portrayal of an aging and gentlemanly killer. He appears to have matured as a director in the intervening years, and his studied approach here is more befitting a series centred on a man who can't move as quickly as his adversaries but is always two steps ahead. Review

An unconvincing coda suggests a sequel, but while I'm not sure there's anywhere left to take this particular property, I'm certainly looking forward to more from Monsieur Bodin. Review

With anything resembling a narrative almost entirely absent, it's difficult to view Anchorage as anything other than a calling card for the two actors at its core. Review

While Martin is a layered portrayal of a put-upon husband, Agathe is reduced to little more than a one-note victim, a shame given how she's portrayed by one of the most exciting actresses to rise in European cinema in recent years. Review

This is a film that has been clearly devised at the script stage, making it a rare indie horror that wins us over with its storytelling as much as its scares and suspense. I look forward to seeing where the trail takes Elcar. Review

Petzold's timely environmental commentary echoes Leon's self-consumption. Leon can't see the forest for the trees until the trees are ablaze. Review

Gallner and Roden are both excellent, particularly the latter in how smoothly she transitions between Anya and Tracy. Considering the central premise, Mother, May I? never quite manages to creep us out as effectively as that striking setup might suggest. Review

T.I.M. functions as an engaging tech thriller but it lacks the satirical edge of M3GAN. Review

Though set in 2003, primarily to accommodate its video store setting, the period setting slyly critiques the era we find ourselves living in today. Review