bodyhorror

For reasons too complex to delve into here, horror as a genre has proved an adaptable vehicle for marginalised groups to explore the tensions between mainstream society and its discontents. So there has been a wave of female-centric horror films made by women, a renaissance in horror focusing on race thanks to Jordan Peele and others, and all kinds of scary films addressing ethnic identity by directors far and wide.Swallowed, a very low-budget sci-fi/body horror with an out-and-proud gay angle, may prompt viewers to…

A fog of menace descends on this hauntingly photographed, oppressive and driftingly directionless movie from Lucile Hadzihalilovic. It has the intensively curated atmosphere of body-horror noir – if not the conventional plot structure – and some way into the running time you might find yourself awakened from its reverie of formless anxiety by a sudden, horrifying stab of violence. It’s a flourish of brutality whose meaning and motivation are never entirely revealed (there is no question of calling the cops in this…