Films: March 28 - April 3

The Girl With All The Gifts (2016) / Tamara Drewe (2010) / Persona (1966) / Bertie And Elizabeth (2002) / The 5th Wave (2016) / Riding The Bullet (2004) / Warlock (1991) 

The Girl With All The Gifts (2016) An efficiently spun zombie apocalypse tale, centering on a second generation young girl who could be savior or destroyer of the human species. The cast is strong, the nature consumed future world persuasive, the flesh rippers unrelenting. Absorbing rather than thrilling.

Tamara Drewe (2010) Slight and undemanding, Gemma Arterton's budding writer returns to her sleepy childhood village and throws lovers into turmoil over the course of a year. With its characters living in a curious bubble, humour bubbles on the surface, while emotion never quite breaks through.

Persona (1966) On the surface, an uncomfortable, edgy character study as conflicted nurse Bibi Andersson looks after actress Liv Ullman whose breakdown has made her mute. Beneath the surface, provoking ideas swirl. Powerfully designed, it borders on horror. Not for the faint hearted.

Bertie And Elizabeth (2002) An intelligent script spins a generous view of romance and the accidental reign of George VI. Succinct storytelling, unfussy visuals and a commendable cast maintain involvement and empathy, with a smart mix of  personal, political and social history.

The 5th Wave (2016) Teen survivors fight off continuing alien attacks in a decimated world where adults turn out to be part of the infiltration. Production and cast are attractive, yet the narrative has no impetus and feels like an extended setup for part two. Glum and humourless.

Riding The Bullet (2004) Scattershot, 70s set Steven King adaptation as a dark minded college student hitchhikes home to his hospitalized mother and faces increasingly sinister rides. Apart from a few shocks and isolated, eerie moments, the lack of cohesion and empathy defeats involvement.

Warlock (1991) Bonkers genre mashup as Julian Sands' warlock and Richard E Grant's witchfinder time travel to 80s LA, with Lori Singer's ditzy waitress caught in their apocalyptical fight. Without quite the conviction to embrace the potential, still entertainingly paced with hammy leads and humor.

Cult-Tastic: Monster Mash

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) / Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) / Night Of The Cobra Woman (1972) / Humanoids From The Deep (1980) / Demon of Paradise (1986) / The Nest (1988) / Dinosaur Island (1994) / Dinoshark (2009) / Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010)

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) Cheerfully brief and cheap (though $70,000 was an increased budget for Roger Corman at the time), as radiation contaminated crustaceans turn into giant killers with human voices. Unpretentious fun and action-packed, the title ensured success.

Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) Made on a whim in Puerto Rico, a black comedy / monster movie, with languid narrative spinning the tale of duplicitous villains trying to outdo each other and the risible creature that kills them all. The fun with which it was made is evident.

Night Of The Cobra Woman (1972) A nurse is bitten by a snake and must consume men's blood over the years to maintain her youth. Unfortunately, the film making is as rough and incoherent as the plot, with strange, jagged edits and empty sound mix. Actors look lost. Made in Slitherama.

Humanoids From The Deep (1980) An effective blend of primal monster horror and social comment, genetically altered salmon transform into monsters determined to rape women and cause bloody mayhem. Though glimpses of humor are rare it features progressively gory shock endings.

Demon of Paradise (1986) Born of the necessity to fulfil the New World distribution pipeline, a retread of the earlier Up From The Depths as a mythical monster in a colorful rubber suit is awakened by human stupidity. Our sympathy remains with him. Both films are equally lacking.

The Nest (1988) Undemanding creature horror with a keen sense of structure, mixing equal amount humor and shocks, as a coastal community deals with gene spliced, flesh eating roaches. An amiable cast deals admirably with hundreds of creepy insects and bloody, body transformations.

Dinosaur Island (1994) US soldiers crash land on an island inhabited solely by women and prehistoric beasts. Apparently made as an experiment to test the viability of a new dinosaur effect, there is little to enjoy amid the risible visuals and abundant nudity. Lacking in budget and imagination.

Dinoshark (2009) A return to 1950s basics for Roger Corman, with sketchy VFX replacing homemade costumes as climate change causes a prehistoric fish to thaw out of ice and head to Mexico for human meals. Undernourished script and flat pacing doesn't help the actors.

Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010) Self-consciously ironic in recognizing the absurdity, an often stilted blend of comedy and thrills as bio-engineered creatures break out, munch on humans and fight each other. Stock characters are marooned in a tired story that needed to embrace the lunacy.