Indie Movies
Independent movie reviews from film festivals, theaterical releases, video-on-demand, home video and streaming.
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Simon Killer
In Simon Killer, director Antonio Campos plays provocateur, giving us a protagonist who becomes so unlikable, so repulsive, you’re sure to leave the theater full of hatred and contempt for him. Campos’ film is thoroughly distressing, an exercise in...
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Modest Reception
Modest Reception is a foreign indie film by Mani Haghighi that is both a dark comedy and a psychological exploration of the human soul. The film travels on the wild joy ride of two people that hand out millions...
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Timecrimes
It does not take long to notice that even the smallest of details in Nacho Vigalondo’s Timecrimes are not without purpose. As with most time-travel films, if you were to break everything down you are bound to find plot...
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Paradise: Love
Ulrich Seidl packs a punch full of irony in Paradise: Love where neither paradise nor love is anywhere to be found. On display instead is a voyeuristic view of a shy woman in search of love who goes wild...
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Antiviral
Antiviral is a high-concept sci-fi film debut from Brandon Cronenberg, son of legendary director David Cronenberg. It is not completely far-fetched to imagine a future celebrity obsessed society where fans receive a virus that their idol has in order...
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Import/Export
Ulrich Seidl has a knack for making his audience uncomfortable and Import/Export is certainly no different. If any amusement is found in the film, it generally comes at someone else’s expense. The theme of Import/Export is an unwavering look...
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Benny Loves Killing
It can be stated right from the start that this film is technically adept, masterfully shot and uses blindingly beautiful colour; Benny Loves Killing is one hell of a picturesque indie film. There have been some very powerful phrases...
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Spring Breakers
When the news came out that Harmony Korine, director of Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy and Trash Humpers, was making a movie about spring break involving James Franco and Disney starlets, the reactions ranged from shock to boundless excitement. Korine’s sudden...
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Profile of a Killer
After writing credits for blockbuster titles such as Beyond Borders and The Island, Caspian Tredwell-Owen extends his talents beyond just writing and into directing with his debut of the indie crime thriller, Profile of a Killer. Even if the...
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Upstream Color
For all intents and purposes, Shane Carruth has completely disappeared off the filmmaking radar ever since his mind blowing indie sci-fi debut of Primer eight years ago. The only place his name has appeared since then was in the...
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Sightseers
First premiering at the sidebar event held during Cannes Film Festival called the Director’s Fortnight, Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers is a film that works best when it takes you by surprise, therefore knowing little as possible and avoiding trailers would...
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Somebody Up There Likes Me
Perhaps the point of the film is to have no point, but it feels like more of a cop out than any real revelation.
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Come Out and Play
Come Out and Play is a vicious and methodical new horror film by a mysterious new film director who only goes by the name of Makinov. This film is an update of Who Can Kill a Child?, the 1976...
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Attenberg
Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenberg does not shy away from showing absurd situations in unorthodox environments, something that has become a staple in the last few years of Greek cinema. Attenberg is a film that explores mankind’s primal desires (sex)...
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Declaration of War
Declaration of War is about the nightmare that every parent with a sick newborn fears, that something is not quite right with their child. This French film by Valérie Donzelli, who also shares a lead role, is ultimately about...
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Someone I Used to Know
After several years, three childhood friends meet on a summer night at a Los Angeles night club to reminisce and have a nostalgic chat over drinks. Danny has become a wealthy pervert, Luke is now a heartthrob movie star,...
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28 Hotel Rooms
From first time filmmaker Matt Ross comes an indie romance drama that is both incredibly subtle and very captivating. 28 Hotel Rooms is a simple story about a relationship that starts off as a no-strings-attached ordeal but unsurprisingly develops...
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For Ellen
So Young Kim has placed a young child at the heart of the story for her second consecutive film. In her previous film (Treeless Mountain) two young South Korean sisters who were abandoned by their mother, in For Ellen...
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The Silence
There hasn’t been a movie recently that has beaten me down more emotionally than Baran bo Odar’s new film, The Silence. It’s like a bomb counting down to an explosion that never happens. But it’s not about the explosion,...
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Paradise: Hope (Berlinale)
A highly anticipated screening I attended here at Berlinale was Ulrich Seidl’s third installment of his Paradise trilogy, Paradise: Hope. I have only seen one other film in the Paradise trilogy, which was Paradise: Love, but this did not...
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Robot & Frank
Robot & Frank is a sentimental buddy-movie between two unlikely people; well, technically just one as the other is a robot as the title suggests. It is a simple story that aims to entertain and satisfy the audience rather...
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I Am a Ghost
Most horror films today seem to put less of an emphasis on form, which makes I Am a Ghost such a breath of fresh air. The opening 15 minutes, which brings to mind the work of Chantal Akerman...
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As High As The Sky
As High As The Sky felt like it was a personal sentimental film from writer and director Nikki Braendlin. Lead by an all-female cast, As High As The Sky is about the relationship of two estranged sisters who share...
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Wild Girl Waltz
I wasn’t sure what to make of Wild Girl Waltz to begin with; I was hesitant to say I liked it but at the same time I didn’t want to dismiss this indie comedy directed by Mark Lewis. Therefore...
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The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (SF IndieFest)
A decade in-the-making, The Ghastly Love of Johnny X is a retro-tinted window into the mind of director Paul Bunnell, mashing together influences from sci-fi B-movie flicks like Flash Gordon and musicals like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and...
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Lore
When a movie takes place directly before, during, or after World War II in Germany, there is little doubt the overall feel of the film is going to be dour. Lore is indeed that, but it also offers a...
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The Story of Luke (SF IndieFest)
After the great success of the eminently popular Juno and Little Miss Sunshine, there was a deluge of similarly suburban, witty comedies that followed. These indie dramedies, while often good, haven’t stimulated me in a long time. They tend...
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Ghosts with Shit Jobs (SF IndieFest)
Directors Chris McCawley, Jim Morrison, Jim Munroe, and Tate Young’s take on the dehumanization and sterilization of North Americans is inventive, but Ghosts with Shit Jobs often falls flat in its attempts at any significant humor or drama. While...
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The Diary of Preston Plummer
The Diary of Preston Plummer feels like a very personal film for writer and director Sean Ackerman; essentially about two young souls that fall in love and discover they each have their own painful family histories. This indie film...
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The Naked Zinester
Awesome, just – awesome. This short documentary, The Naked Zinester, explores the life and work of Aaron Tsuru and from Jon Nix’s directorial style we get to go up close and very personal with the man behind the camera....