Attack on Finland

Action

Available on VOD: 12 januari 2023

Director: Aku Louhimies

Cast: Jasper Pääkkönen (BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods, Dark Tower), Nanna Blondell (Black Widow), Sverrir Gudnason (The Girl in the Spider's Web, Borg McEnroe), Cathy Belton (Philomena)

Finland’s Independence Day celebration on December 6 is crudely interrupted by an attack to the Presidential Residence. A set of distinguished guests are taken as hostages. Security service officer Max Tanner is set as the negotiator of the hostage crisis. Tanner must make bold and even painful decisions to figure out who is behind the attack. After all, there are not only human lives to protect - but the future of Europe as a whole.

• Eyeforfilm.co.uk: Fans of action and espionage will find a good deal to enjoy. With the shadow of Russian aggression looming over Finland at the time of release, it has topicality on its side.
• Jbspins.com: The action itself is well-staged and often pretty intense. Enthusiastically recommended.
• Jamesweggreview.org: The action is fast-paced, coupled with spot-on editing.
• Thatshelf.com: a solid action-thriller. Sometimes, that is all you need.
• Voicesfromthebalcony.com: Louhimies does a good job of building up the suspense and keeping Attack on Finland tight. The European perspective and the Finnish locations also make a nice change of pace.

Terrifier 2

Horror

Available on VOD: 19 januari 2023

Director: Damien Leone

Cast: Lauren LaVera (Iron Fist), David Howard Thornton, Kailey Hyman (A Man Called Ottto), Elliott Fullam

One year after the now infamous Miles County Massacre,serial killer Art the Clown returns to wreak havoc on abereaved family.Guided by a demonic apparition, Art targetsa teenage girl and her younger brother. As the lines betweennightmare and reality intersect and the body count rises,the siblings discover a dark family secret which may lead totheir salvation and put an end to Art's reign of terror.

• AD: Vergeleken met de sadistische seriemoordenaar Art de Clown uit de Terrifier-films, is de geschminkte griezel uit Stephen King’s It een onschuldige Sesamstraatbewoner. Lees de hele review én een interview met de regisseur hier.
• Het Parool: Grensoverschrijdende enverboden gruwel die de absolute antithese is van beschaving. Lees de hele review hier.
• De Volkskrant: Het los te bekijken, superieure vervolg op Terrifier. Steunend op de even akelige als komische expressiviteit van clown-vertolker David Howard Thornton, verheft regisseur Damien Leone de slachtpartijen tot kunstwerken van een haast droomachtige wanstaltigheid. 4/5 sterren! Lees de hele review hier.
• NRC.nl: Sinds de martelporno-rage in de jaren nul zag je zoveel bloedvergieten nog maar zelden in de bioscoop. Monster van dienst is Art the Clown, een bovennatuurlijke, sadistische horrorclown met een smaakvol zwart-witkostuum en dito gebit die zijn slachtoffers tot gehakt rult. Hoewel verbaal minder begaafd dan clown Pennywise uit It, herinnert zijn modus operandi aan hem en Freddy Krueger. Gescalpeerd, geamputeerd, zonder ogen en in repen gesneden blijven de slachtoffers wriemelen en gillen. Lees de hele review hier.
• Nachtvlinders.nl: Terrifier 2 is een fantastische slasher. Lees de hele review hier.
• Stephen King: Grossin’ you out old-school.
• Cinemagazine.nl: Kotsende bioscoopbezoekers, flauwvallende mensen en een discussie over de grenzen van fatsoen. Yep, Terrifier 2 heeft een hoop losgemaakt! De slachtpartijen zijn creatief en snoeihard. Zuur, afgerukte huid en bijtplekken: dit is geen kinderachtige film. Geweldig spel van de schurk en een mooi ingevulde rol van LaVera. Lees de hele review hier.
• Filmthreat.com: We haven’t had a movie this dangerous in the theaters in a long time, and its presence is both important and historical in the history of extreme cinema. This movie will bite your face off.
• IGN.com: Rips, tears, hacks, shreds, butchers, disembowels, decapitates, devours, pulverizes, tenderizes, slices, dices, skewers — I'm missing plenty — and knock-em-out-dead eviscerates the current competition.
• Bloodgutsuk.com: a milestone in horror and proves that there's plenty more to give and that Art the Clown is the most terrifying icon the genre has to offer.
• Backseatmafia.com: Terrifier 2 is bloody and brutal. It takes no prisoners and spares no victims. It’s also brilliant.
• Kibsreviews.blogspot.com: As grimy, gnarly video nasties go, Terrifier 2 is the stuff. It has no more substance than it needs. It’s very successful at what it wants to be.
• Elementsofmadness.com: It is so rare for a sequel to, dare I say it, be superior to the original movie, but Damien Leone manages to pull that off. There is so much to enjoy and indulge in as this sequel fires on all cylinders.
• Joshatthemovies.com: Bigger, nastier, and more fun, each creative death sequence goes preposterously over-the-top. There were times when I could barely believe what I was seeing.
• Liveforfilm.com: Damien Leone’s Art the Clown epic is a splatter slasher full of absolutely insane levels of butchery realised with incredible practical effects. Over the top, out of control and off the rails, Terrifier 2 is totally wild!

The Ritual Killer

Thriller

Available on VOD: 10 maart 2023

Director: George Gallo

Cast: Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight Rises, Se7en), Cole Hauser (Olympus Has Fallen, Yellowstone), Peter Stormare (Fargo, John Wick Chapter 2)

Detective Boyd, unable to process the death of his daughter, embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.

Stowaway

Action, Thriller

Available on VOD: 8 juni 2023

Director: Declan Whitebloom

Cast: Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black, John Wick 2), Frank Grillo (Avengers Endgame, Boss Level), Patrick Schwarzenegger (Zijn vader)

A troubled young woman inherits a yacht from her estranged father but it turns out to be a ruse for his ex-business partners to kidnap her and steal her new yacht in search of a hidden fortune.

• Thereviewgeek.com: Enjoyably if you’re looking for a movie to watch with your mates on a Friday night.
• DVD-Fever.co.uk: Fun to watch.
• Jbspins.com: Frank Grillo always elevates everything he appears in.Screenrant.com: Ruby Rose is convincing as a young woman trying to escape her confinement on the yacht. Just like the majority of her life, many hurdles have been stacked against her, but she finds a way to use her street smarts to escape a dangerous situation.
• Viewsonfilm.com: Stowaway bleeds atmospherics as it fashions itself as a nippy, compact thriller.

The End of Sex

Comedy, Romantic Comedy

Available on VOD: 6 juli 2023

Director: Sean Garrity

Cast: Jonas Chernick (The Border, Degrassi, An Awkward Sexual Adventure), Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek, Mother!)

A married couple is making increasingly wild attempts to recapture the magic of their now-routine marriage. Husband Josh and his wife Emma have an empty house for one week. With their daughters off at a winter-break sleepaway camp, they attempt to recapture the magic of their now-comfortable marriage with increasingly wild developments, kicking off with a less-than-satisfactory marital romp and a run-in with a couple they know who are separating.

• Digitaljournal.com: Funny because it feels so true. Does an excellent job of embracing and showcasing the humour of their situation. Chernick and Hampshire deliver excellent performances, nailing the chemistry essential to the narrative's success, as well as exhibiting spot-on comedic timing.
• Screenzealots.com: Finds humor in clumsy sexual encounters and increasingly uncomfortable situations. Impeccably cast, with believeable actors playing equally credible characters.
• Skonmovies.com: Harmless fun about a couple trying to spice up their marriage.
• Shockya.com: Fun and provides a humorous look at the way that marriage, and any relationship, can change over time.
• Solzyatthemovies.com: This is the sort of film where the comedy just writes itself, especially with the situations that they find themselves in. A proven winner for any distributor acquiring the film out of Toronto (!)
• Thatshelf.com: Chernick and Hampshire display great chemistry throughout. Their performances allow the characters to feel like relatable people rather than caricatures. A sharp and refreshing comedy, The End of Sex is a perfect date night flick.

War of the Worlds - The Attack

Action, SF

Available on VOD: 3 augustus 2023

Director: Junaid Syed

Cast: Sam Gittins, Vincent Regan (300, Snow White and the Huntsman, Lockout), Lara Lemon, Alhaji Fofana (See How They Run)

Three astronomy students - Herbert (Sam Gittens), Ogilvy (Alhaji Fofana) and Hannah (Lara Lemon) - go searching for a meteorite that has crashed near their college campus.  But they soon discover that it is the start of an alien invasion as three-legged fighting machines emerge from the spacecraft to begin the takeover. With the help of a soldier, Ben (Leo Staar), the group is forced to navigate through the city where they find themselves at the epicenter of the invasion. Uncovering the invaders’ plan, it is now up to them to save mankind.