thriller

Review: Renny Harlin’s DEEP WATER – A Gloriously Entertaining Shark Thriller

There used to be a time when films just came out. Yes, they would have reviews that were good, bad or indifferent, but they would play simply as entertainment. Today there’s so much noise – maybe it’s devised by marketing teams as a way to [...]

April 28, 2026

Podcast Episode 94: Director RJ Collins & Star Shelley Henning Talk HUNTING SEASON With Mel Gibson

RJ Collins’ Mel Gibson starrer, Hunting Season is something of surprise. Yes, it gives you want you want from a Mel Gibson thriller, but it’s also a film that features some excellent and finely tuned performances. Gibson, as you would expect [...]

December 4, 2025

Compulsion stars Zach McGowan and Charlotte Kirk

Podcast Episode 86: COMPULSION Stars Charlotte Kirk & Zach McGown

Returning guest, Charlotte Kirk and Zach McGowan, the stars of Neil Marshall‘s new erotic thriller, Compulsion join this episode of the Movies In Focus podcast. Co-starring Anna-Maria Sieklucka, Compulsion delivers a throwback punch, homaging [...]

October 2, 2025

Podcast Episode 85: Neil Marshall & Anna-Maria Sieklucka On COMPULSION

Neil Marshall’s Compulsion is not only a homage to the blood-soaked Italian giallo, but also a throwback to the kind of erotic thrillers that Hollywood churned out in the 1980s and 1990s – think Dario Argento meets Brian De Palma, Starring [...]

September 30, 2025

Four men standing in masks with a fiery torch.

Review: Help Yourself & Seek Out Erik Bloomquist’s SELF-HELP

I’ve been following Erik Bloomquist’s career for a few years now. He’s an intriguing filmmaker, taking genre movies and adding his own special twist to them, filtering them through an arthouse sensibility. Films like Long Lost and Ten Minutes [...]

August 15, 2025

Podcast Episode 64: Director Neil Marshall & Star Charlotte Kirk Discuss DUCHESS

Dog Soldiers, The Descent and Doomsday filmmaker Neil Marshall joins the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about his new gangster film, Duchess alongside its star, co-writer and producer Charlotte Kirk. The pair previously collaborated on the [...]

August 9, 2024

Mark Pellington's Arlington Road starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis

Notebook Reviews: ARLINGTON ROAD

Mark Pellington – 1999. Arlington Road is a first-rate conspiracy thriller from director Mark Pellington. This suburban tale of terror has a great cast – Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis – all doing great [...]

July 26, 2024

Uncovering Curiosities: Brett A. Hart’s BONE DRY

Brett A. Hart’s 2007 thriller Bone Dry is an exceptionally tense desert-based chase film in the tradition of Duel, The Hitcher and Breakdown. It’s a punchy directorial debut from Hart, a mystery/thriller which manages to deliver [...]

January 15, 2022

Uncovering Curiosities: Douglas Schulze’s THE DARK BELOW

Director Douglas Schulze’s The Dark Below is an original and bold, a piece that plays around with narrative conventions and preconceived notions of the thriller genre. Schulze combines edge-of-seat thrills with experimental filmmaking techniques [...]

December 4, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Nicolas Roeg’s DON’T LOOK NOW

The great Nicolas Roeg‘s 1973 release, Don’t Look Now is an expertly crafted horror/thriller. A now iconic piece of cinema, Roeg’s film not only delivers on eerie atmosphere, but it also has serious dramatic and emotional heft. It [...]

November 4, 2021

Ethan Hawke Stars In ZEROES AND ONES & THE BLACK PHONE

Ethan Hawke is one of the most interesting actors working today. He’s able to balance curious art house movies like Abel Ferrara‘s Zeroes And Ones alongside more commercial fare such as Scott Derrickson‘s latest horror film, The [...]

October 14, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Dave Franco’s THE RENTAL

Actor Dave Franco makes a strong directorial debut with The Rental. The concept of the film might not be wholly original, but Franco litters the film with enough well played characterisation and tense moments to make it well worth your time. [...]

September 17, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Ant Timpson’s COME TO DADDY

Genre producer Ant Timpson makes a strong directorial debut with the oddball 2019 comedy-thriller, Come To Daddy. Elijah Wood stars as Norval, a young musician attempting to reconnect with his estranged father. He arrives at his dad’s [...]

September 16, 2021

Review: THE SHATTERING Is A Psychological Thriller With A Strong Script & Impressive Performances

Confined, precise and well staged, The Shattering marks the first feature film from writer-director Daria Nazarova. With just three cast members and one location, this psychological thriller manages to feel much broader in scope than it actually is. [...]

September 14, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Christian Sparkes’ HAMMER

Writer-director Christian Sparkes’ 2020 film, Hammer is an intriguing dramatic thriller which works well despite its limited scope. The film is anchored by a wonderfully rich performance by the great Will Patton, a long-standing supporting actor [...]

September 13, 2021