Cinema
The First Omen

A devilishly dark and disturbing prequel to Richard Donner's horror classic from 1976, The First Omen imagines a time long before little Damien and conjures up a suitably creepy tale, exploring the embryonic origins of Satan's fabled arrival on Earth.

And, what better way is there to delve into our deepest, darkest fears about the coming of the antichrist than to pack out a movie with cursed nuns, demented orphans and possessed priests? Director Arkasha Stevenson takes the quasi-religious undertones from the original movie and efficiently cranks the unholy mysticism to eleven, using every trick in the horror movie rule book to lure us in to a dark, musty confessional box before garrotting us with some rosary beads.

Set in Rome, we're introduced to Margaret, a young American woman who has travelled to Europe to begin her life dedicated to Christ, but soon becomes embroiled in a web of deceit when forces within the Church attempt to bring about the birth of Beelzebub and the rise of an empire of evil. Shot with a voyeuristic obsession with darkness and shadows, Stevenson uses rustic locations and elaborate chapel interiors to great effect, quietly building up the tension before dishing out some truly horrible gore and wince-inducing violence.

Nell Tiger Free plays the proverbial lamb to the slaughter to perfection, while the likes of Bill Nighy, Charles Dance and Ralph Ineson keep their performances just the right side of ham to be tolerable.

Keep your expectations in check, and The First Omen will deliver some effective chills and thrills with its creepy demonic vibe and olde worlde setting.

Monkey Man

Dev Patel has come a long, long way from Slumdog Millionaire.

Here’s a riotous, frenetic and frenzied action flick that comes across like mash up between the John Wick saga and Gareth Edward's bruising 'Raid' movies. Patel makes his directorial debut a truly memorable one with this tale of revenge, redemption and jaw-cracking shenanigans.

Patel plays Kid, a tortured soul who makes a living by fighting underground while hundreds of jeering punters drink and  gamble the night away. But Kid is no ordinary fighter, he's on a personal mission to track down the elitist rich set responsible for robbing him of his childhood and murdering his mother. He’s determined to claw and fight his way to the top in order to get the bad guys.

Directed with a stylish, urban verve that's cloaked in darkness and night-time neon, Patel infuses this story with pathos and pain. We emphasise with Kid and, as the layers of his backstory are gradually revealed, we become more invested. There's also a energy on display here that's clearly inspired by Bollywood and modern Asian cinema, and it's hard not to get carried away by the aggressive and pumped-up energy of it all.

If you're looking for a hard-hitting action flick with a solid story and stylish direction, then look no further.