One of the reasons I revere Alfred Hitchcock as much as I do is because, despite being arguably the finest filmmaker to ever work in the English language, he wasn’t afraid to take a few risks on occasion. Some of these turned out splendidly, many of his films being subversive and influential entries that would…

Where does one start with The Silent Partner? There have been quite a few trusted voices that have drawn my attention to this film, an independent Canadian psychological thriller from the late 1970s, which (despite boasting some major actors in the central roles) seemed like a relatively minor work, and never found its way into…

If there was ever a film that’s title reflected the most deranged sense of false marketing, it would be Strangers on a Train, since only approximately ten minutes of this film are spent on a train, and the two titular characters introduce themselves almost immediately, removing all sense of them being strangers. Luckily, this is…

There aren’t many filmmakers whose work regularly, and often without fail, leave the viewer absolutely speechless. Ken Russell is one such filmmaker – throughout his prolific career that found him working on both sides of the Atlantic, the director managed to showcase a perverse set of talents that could bewilder even the most deranged artists….

The term “Hitchcockian” is thrown around a lot nowadays (or at least since the great master departed this mortal coil and left behind an unimpeachable legacy). Essentially, any work that has a sense of foreboding dread and extreme suspense, as well as potentially a wicked sense of humour and an abundance of peculiar twists and…

There’s a pivotal scene in Bad Influence where the main characters are engaging in a violent crime spree, while the song “Downtown” by Lloyd Cole plays over their antics, which grow increasingly more dangerous the more they become inebriated by both substances and the sheer power afforded to them in that moment. The song contains…

Any cursory summary of the career of Jim Thompson will doubtlessly mention how he was a writer who transformed pulp fiction into art. His particular brand of hardboiled, Southern-fried crime fiction has captivated audiences for generations, with the off-kilter humour, graphic violence and twisted narratives making them far more complex than other supposedly cheaply-produced works…

One of my personal favourite pieces of casting trivia is that, during the process of deciding on someone to star as the titular Mary Poppins, Walt Disney actively pursued Bette Davis for the role, banking on her status as one of the most beloved and recognizable faces from the Golden Age of Hollywood that was…

There are some films that have all the potential to be great – whether featuring an excellent cast, a strong script (especially one adapted from a writer known for being one of the most important of their generation) and gorgeous landscapes are all usually components of very good films. Yet, some films can squander these…

There is something about wolves that are so profoundly fascinating, and which has inspired artists for centuries. It’s difficult to find works of literature or mythology that don’t feature lupine characters in some way, with their enigmatic manner of prowling in packs, or their distinctive howls to the night sky making them almost mystical creatures….