Letterboxd: V/H/S/2 (2013); AFTER EARTH (2013)

★★★ (out of five)

The sequel to V/H/S (a sort of a 'found footage' anthology inspired by REC) is better than its predecessor, but only because the four tales cut to the chase much sooner and don't outstay their welcome. V/H/S/2 retains the conceptual problems (VHS being a dead format it's bizarre to imagine anyone still using, and who's editing these stories together?), but it would be churlish to condemn V/H/S/2 for these reasons. All you really need to know is: are these found footage vignettes scary and worth your time? The answer is yes, for the most part.

The framing narrative ("Tape 49", directed by Simon Barrett) is stronger than the first movie's, as two private investigators go looking for a missing college student and discover a stack of VHS tapes in his abandoned home. While one checks the house, the other plays the tapes...

"Phase I – Clinical Trials" from director Adam Wingard (promoted from framing narrative duty on V/H/S) is the least-plausible of the four stories. A patient (Wingard himself) is given a cutting-edge artificial eye that is also recording everything he sees, and discovers the ocular implant enables him to see ghosts. It's THE EYE in the found footage medium, and mostly provided a string of jump-scares when the patient keeps being spooked by ghosts that are haunting his house. Were these ghosts always there, but only now seem to intent on scaring the patient silly because he can see them? I have no idea, as Wingard only really seems interested in his jump-scares. It's the first-person shooter of ghost stories. (★★ out of five)

SHERLOCK series 3 premiering New Year's Day; THE WALKING DEAD's UK premiere shortened for 2014

The BBC have confirmed the third series of Sherlock will début on New Year's Day, exactly as the second series did back in 2012 (but does this mean it's airing on Wednesday evenings for the entirety of its three-week run?) American viewers will have to wait almost a month, as PBS won't broadcast it until 19 January 2014.

Fox UK have also announced their plans to reduce the gap between US and UK broadcast of The Walking Dead. Currently, British fans wait five days for a Friday night premiere, but Fox UK will begin showing episodes on Mondays (the day after their US début on AMC). I'm not sure what has encouraged this change, but I'm sure piracy has a lot to do with it. Or to protect the audience from spoilers? It'll be interesting to see if Fox UK see an upswing in ratings next year, now Brits only have 24-hours to wait—as Sky Atlantic treat Game of Thrones.

MISFITS, 5.6 – episode six

written by Howard Overman | directed by Lewis Arnold

A mixed hour this week, which is often the way with Misfits. The gang were tasked with entertaining a group of terminally ill youngsters at the community centre; with Finn (Nathan McMullen) uncovering a bald charlatan chasing sympathy shags, while a skin cancer patient called Lucas (Ade Oyefoso) succumbs to temptation and uses his super-power of stealing the 'life-force' from others—resulting in death and an attempted suicide.

The BBC announce 'The Time of The Doctor'; Matt Smith's DOCTOR WHO Christmas farewell

Matt Smith's final hour as The Doctor is less than a month away, with Doctor Who riding high after a 50th anniversary special that delighted the majority of fans and casual viewers alike. How can writer Steven Moffat possibly top 3D spectacylar "The Day of The Doctor"? In terms of scope and fan-pleasing, he probably won't – but let's hope the 50th special's focus on emotion and dilemma will continue. He may not be getting a two-parter swansong, but the Eleventh Doctor deserves a thrilling exit.

HOMELAND, 3.9 – 'One Last Time'

written by Barbara Hall | directed by Jeffrey Reiner

We're approaching the end of this third season, which has seen opinion split rather harshly, but I still maintain that Homeland's an entertaining drama that's only suffered because it chose to continue story elements that had a natural end long ago. That said, episodes have slowly started to spin some magic on me, and I must say I found "One Last Time" to be one of my favourite hours of the show this year. Is that saying much at this moment in time? That's up to you to decide, but this episode brought Saul's (Mandy Patinkin) masterplan out of the shadows and brought Brody (Damien Lewis) back into the crux of the story very effectively.

KNIFEMAN and GALYNTINE join AMC pilots; including WHITE CITY, LINE OF SIGHT, HALT & CATCH FIRE, and TURN

AMC lost the phenomenal Breaking Bad this year, and they're losing the prestigious Mad Men in 2015 (it would have been next year, had they not decided to split the final season), so they're on the hunt for new hits. The Walking Dead is a ratings juggernaut that beggars belief, so they're working on a spin-off nobody was demanding, but clearly they need to start thinking about their future. After all, nobody really cares about their Western drama Hell on Wheels (although It keeps being renewed in lieu of anything better to replace it with), and The Killing's has now been offloaded to Netflix for an improbable fourth season.

TV Picks: 25 November – 1 December 2013 (Charlie Brooker's How Videogames Changed the World, Legacy, Show Me the Telly, etc.)

Below are my picks of the week's most notable shows, premiering/returning to UK screens...

Trailer: SHERLOCK - series 3; DOCTOR WHO - 2013 Christmas Special

The BBC wisely chose to premiere the trailer for Sherlock's third series after last night's Doctor Who anniversary special, so I've embedded it above. There isn't much you can speculate on based on the footage here, but it does enough to get me excited for the show's return. No idea when that'll be exactly, but the smart money's on early-January.

50 Greatest Moments from DOCTOR WHO's 'The Day of The Doctor'

50 years after Doctor Who was first broadcast, almost to the moment, how fitting to begin this anniversary special with a reprise of 1963's opening titles.

MSN TV: BBC1's DOCTOR WHO - 'The Day of The Doctor'

Today over at MSN TV: I've reviewed one of the most eagerly-anticipated TV events of the year -- the DOCTOR WHO 50th anniversary 3D spectacular, "The Day of The Doctor". Matt Smith is united with his predecessor David Tennant, with John Hurt and Billie Piper along for the ride...

A television show celebrating a half-centenary is rare, but doubly so for a drama that began life as a Saturday night schedule filler in 1963. In fact, it's worth remembering Doctor Who is the first show to cross this particular milestone. Hype and expectations for this anniversary special were sky-high, but no matter what your opinion is of showrunner Steven Moffat, he has the imagination, capability, and beating fan-boy heart to ensure a rousing spectacle with zip, wit and humour. And despite criticism Moffat tends to favour plot gymnastics over heartfelt emotion, I was heartened to find The Day of The Doctor built on relatable issues of regret, loss, hope, heroism, teamwork, and redemption.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

MSN TV: BBC2's AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME

Today over at MSN TV: on the eve of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, I've reviewed last night's true life drama AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME, which recounted the events that led to the sci-fi drama's creation back in 1963...

For some Whovians, this Mark Gatiss-penned drama has been more eagerly awaited than 3D special The Day of The Doctor. It certainly proved an enlightening and entertaining peek into the modest origin of Doctor Who, airing just a few days before the 50th anniversary of the show's original transmission on 23 November 1963. I had my doubts sufficient entertainment could be gleaned from the creation of a BBC programme that, at the time, wasn't seen as anything special or destined for greatness. After all, it was created to fill a schedule gap between Grandstand and Jukebox Jury. Humble beginnings, indeed.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

MISFITS, 5.5 – episode five

written by Howard Overman | directed by Laurence Gough

I'm glad this is the final series of Misfits because episodes don't feel as essential as they once did, but at least episode five did something the show used to excel at: use super-powers to embellish something about the real world and actual people. This week's story was all about a shy girl called Leah (Scarlett Brookes) who's become a shut-in, but uses her ability to download her mind into other people's bodies over the internet. This enables Leah to interact with the world as an avatar, and charm Finn (Nathan McMullen) at a superpower support group meeting while in the body of her more attractive best-friend.

DOCTOR WHO's 50th: 'What About Everything' music video

This is a superb fan-made video by Babelcolour, expertly editing together clips from Doctor Who's 50 years to match the lyrics of Carbon Leaf's "What About Everything". It's nice to see a video of this nature that has a happy, upbeat, whimsical quality for a change.

Letterboxd: GRAVITY (2013), HITCHCOCK (2012) & NOW YOU SEE ME (2013)

★★★★ (out of five)

[WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER!] It's a huge technical achievement and the most impressive 3D experience since AVATAR (as space naturally lends itself to the extra depth the 3D medium allows), and it's a relief that GRAVITY's problems with a thin script and characterisations don't derail a tense and hugely entertaining 90-minutes of perilous spectacle and fine beauty.

Where GRAVITY excels is by representing space in a manner that eclipses previous attempts-- like APOLLO 13, where actors were filmed experiencing zero-G in a free-falling airplane nicknamed the "vomit comet". And that's undeniably impressive, considering APOLLO 13's effect is a genuine quirk of physics and GRAVITY relies on greenscreen and photo-real animations.

Beyond its technical achievements, Alfonso Cuarón's long-awaited follow-up to CHILDREN OF MEN expertly portrays the many dangers and psychological stresses of this most hostile environment—which, for all its incredible sights and silence, is somewhere almost indescribably alien where humans simply aren't designed to be. GRAVITY sells the weirdness and potential horror of living in space extremely well; a place where a domino-effect of bad luck could put your life in serious jeopardy, in an unimaginable way to anything on earth. Space is a place where you can be literally one hand grasp away from just drifting into the eternal void to die of oxygen starvation. A place where tiny fragments of debris travel faster than bullets, and could whiz straight through your head if you're not too careful.

FX grant Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN pilot a full season

Guillermo del Toro is known as a maestro of supernatural cinema thanks to Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy films, but now he's coming to the small-screen with an adaptation of the 2009 novel he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan called The Strain. It was also adapted into a 2011 comic-book. Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel) will serve as showrunner, with del Toro having directed the pilot and potentially returning for an occasional episode.

The show stars Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Kevin Durand (Legion) and Mia Maestro (Twilight), but John Hurt's (Alien, Hellboy) character in the pilot will apparently be recast. I'm unsure if this means Hurt's scenes will be re-shot with another actor, or if audiences will simply have to accept another face as Professor Abraham Setrakian come episode 2.

FX have ordered a 13-episode season of the show, which revolves around a virus that infects New York after a passenger jet touches down in JFK, turning people into hideous parasitic vampires.

The Strain débuts on FX in July 2014, and is intended to run for no more than three to five seasons.

Pilot: Fox's ALMOST HUMAN

What's it about? Almost Human is a sci-fi crime drama set in the imagined future of 2048, where crime's rampant and the police are partnered with combat-ready androids. One such LAPD detective, John Kennex, who notoriously hates robots, finds himself paired with an model capable of emotion called Dorian.

HOMELAND, 3.8 – 'A Red Wheelbarrow'

written by Alex Gansa & James Yoshimura | directed by Seith Mann

I'm not as down on Homeland as many critics seem to be this year, but I must admit it's becoming less attractive to write about every week. So for that reason, I'm going to be very brief about "A Red Wheelbarrow."

AMC are making a PREACHER pilot?

Preacher is a supernatural horror comic-book written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Steve Dillon. It concerns Texan preacher Jesse Custer, who finds himself possessed by a supernatural entity that endows him with the 'Word of God' (a power that allows Jesse to impose his will on anyone who hears his spoken word). The birth of this power results in the destruction of his church and death of his congregation, so Jesse goes on an insane road trip to find God (who mysteriously vacated Heaven at the exact same moment), joined by sharpshooting girlfriend Tulip O'Hare and an Irish junkie vampire called Cassidy. Along the way he's pursued by a quick-shooting cowboy angel called the Saint of Killers, a facially-disfigured rock star nicknamed 'Arseface', a secret organisation called The Grail who protect the bloodline of Christ, Jesse's redneck family that includes his Cajun grandmother, and many other diabolical ne'er-do-wells.

TV Picks: 18-24 November 2013 (An Adventure in Space & Time, A Young Doctor's Notebook, Doctor Who, Him & Her, Live at the Apollo, etc.)

Below are my picks of the week's most notable shows, premiering/returning to UK screens...

Video: BREAKING BAD, the alternate MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE ending

It's a common joke to theorise that Breaking Bad was actually a prequel to Malcolm in the Middle, as both starred Bryan Cranston as Walter/Hal and couldn't be more tonally different. So while the joke of this video isn't anything new to fans of either series, it's great to see Cranston reprising his old role and roping in screen wife Jane Kaczmarek to sell the idea...

Trailer: BBC2's AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME

The BBC have released a trailer for the bio-dram An Adventure in Space & Time, written by Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss (who first pitched this special to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary in 2003). It tells the story of Doctor Who's creation in 196, with David Bradley (Game of Thrones) playing William Hartnell; an actor in his fifties typecast as tough guys before he became the first quirky Time Lord of a world-conquering sci-fi drama.

The footage here looks fantastic in terms of evoking the early-'60s time period, and it's a treat to see classic Who monsters, sets and props brought back to life. I'm also delighted by how closely Bradley evokes Hartnell, in both look and feel. Now let's just hope the story behind Doctor Who's origins is worth this obvious effort.

An Adventure in Space & Time premieres 21 November 2013 on BBC2.

MISFITS 5.4 - episode four

written by Jon Brown (story by Jon Brown & Howard Overman) | directed by Lawrence Gough

We're halfway through Misfits' final series, so it was no surprise to find this episode wasn't anything special. I wouldn't term it filler, but it was a little uninvolving and started to drag surprisingly quickly. There were some fun nods to the series arc with another item of prognostic knitwear, and conceptual laughs from a gay man literally "in the closet" (teleporting to the nearest cupboard if anyone questions his sexuality) and Alex (Matt Stokoe) being asked to use his power-ending ability by shagging a tortoise Abby (Natasha O'Keeffe) believes is really a shape-shifter, but otherwise I wasn't mightily impressed this week.

Video: DOCTOR WHO - 'The Night of The Doctor' prequel

The BBC have given us prequel 'webisodes' of Doctor Who for awhile now, but they're usually just light appetisers only hardcore fans lap up. The kind of thing that feels extraneous and largely inconsequential. "The Night of The Doctor" is a little different, so click above before you read more...

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 4.22 – 'Restless' & ANGEL, 1.22 - 'To Shanshu in LA'

Principal Snyder: I walked by your guidance counsellor's office one time. A bunch of you were sitting there, waiting to be shepherded. I remember it smelled like dead flowers, like decay. Then it hit me. The hope of our nation's future is a bunch of mulch.
Xander: You know, I never got the chance to tell you how glad I was you were eaten by a snake.

The penultimate "Primeval" was the apodictic series 4 finale, so "RESTLESS" was more an offbeat denouement with loose connections to its climactic events—as the spirit of the First Slayer, angered her power was evoked to help modern Slayer Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) defeat Adam, targeted the Scooby Gang in their dreams as a punishment. Jeez, you'd think a Slayer would be happy to have helped defeat a metal megalomaniac (from beyond the grave, no less), but whatever. She really wasn't happy.

HOMELAND, 3.7 – 'Gerontion'

written by Chip Johannessen | directed by Carl Franklin

Well, this third season has yet to explode, given we're seven episodes into events. There have been some significant developments along the way, sure, but The Twist caused more opposition from viewers than the writers likely anticipated. But I'm enjoying seeing Saul's (Mandy Patinkin) masterplan unfold with Carrie's (Claire Danes) dogged help, to turn Javadi (Shaun Toub) into an asset within the Iranian government; and aspects of Homeland continue to nicely explore things 24 did but from a semi-realistic angle. In "Gerontion", we see the repercussions of a top-secret CIA operation going awry on home turf, which brings a homicide investigation too close for comfort—with Quinn (Rupert Friend) now the prime suspect in Javadi's murder of his ex-wife. Jack Bauer used to avoid similar "civilian issues" all the time, so it's fun whenever Homeland addresses them.

MSN TV: ITV's DOWNTON ABBEY - series 4 finale

Today over at MSN: I've reviewed the series 4 finale of DOWNTON ABBEY (so beware of major spoilers!), where some of the year's storylines were resolved, and others nudged into the Christmas special's agenda...

Downton Abbey overcame a misguided second series with a general return to form last year, culminating in the shock death of Matthew Crawley (actor Dan Stevens decided he wanted out, forcing an eleventh hour EastEnders-style dose of Christmas misery when he crashed his car). The real test of series four was seeing if the show could overcome the loss of Stevens - whose character was the dapper heir to the Crawley family fortune and one-half of the show's key romantic coupling. The answer is a resounding yes, although the potential suitors for widowed Mary haven't left much of an impression, making Lady Mary look a little marginalised, despite the fact she was on equal footing with her father in terms of managing the family estate. As finales go, I expected better - particularly as it was an extended episode, and Julian Fellowes tends to write better with doubled screen-time. Downton was as cosy as one expects for a Sunday evening on ITV, but I'm beginning to find it rather frustrating how this show fumbles good ideas. Or rushes them for no good reason.

Continue reading at MSN TV...

TV Picks: 11-17 November 2013 (Borgen, Children in Need, Hebburn, I'm A Celebrity..., Paul O'Grady Show, Science of Doctor Who, etc.)

Below are my week's picks of the most notable shows returning/premiering on UK screens...

Trailer #2: DOCTOR WHO – 'The Day of The Doctor' extended version

In a surprise move, the BBC released a different Doctor Who trailer on Saturday evening—but it's not clear if this was because the intended one leaked overseas, forcing them to release it online earlier in the day. Or if this second one was always going to air on television, just not on the Sunday as expected. Whatever happened, there's a new trailer!

I don't think this one's quite as exciting as the first one, weirdly, although it does show far more of Matt Smith and David Tennant clowning around together. It feels like we're in for an entertaining double-act, with the rivalry played for laughs. Love that 'comparing the size of their sonic screwdrivers' scene, with the obvious phallic subtext. Tennant wins, right? His is a grower, not a shower.

Doctor Who's "The Day of The Doctor" is still going to be premiering around the world 23 November 2013. Nothing's changed. You can keep breathing.

Trailer: DOCTOR WHO – 'The Day of The Doctor' 50th anniversary special

Ahead of its televised debut tonight on BBC1 just before Atlantis, the official trailer for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special, "The Day of The Doctor", has debuted online. Click above (as if you haven't already) to get a taste of what's in store!

Looks impressive, eh? Kind of like they've spent 5x the usual budget for a 75-minute pseudo-movie (which will indeed be shown in selected cinemas next Saturday). John Hurt looks great, there are clearly some epic battle sequences and special effects to be gawped at, the Zygons are present, Daleks, Gallifrey, and the glimpse of a fez'd Matt Smith and David Tennant together made me smile. I also appreciate how this trailer doesn't spoil the joy of seeing their two Doctors interacting, too, which was a worry. I want the actual episode to be where I feel the fun of that.

"The Day of The Doctor" debuts around the world, simultaneously in some territories, on 23 November 2013 at 7.50pm. (GMT)

THE X-FILES, 1.4 - 'Conduit' - alien abduction

★★☆☆

Mulder and Scully investigate the abduction of a young girl, which Mulder believes has an extra-terrestrial explanation because her mother witnessed a UFO in the 1960s...

As a follow-up to the excellent "Squeeze", I think CONDUIT was an odd choice, given it's the third alien/abduction story in four-weeks. I understand aliens are the backbone of the X-Files mythology and a cornerstone of Mulder's (David Duchovny) personal belief system, but I would have thought the show would be playing more cards this early in its history. If you'd missed "Squeeze" back in '93, chances are you'd be thinking this show's just doing weekly variations on the same idea.

MISFITS, 5.3 – episode three

written by Howard Overman | directed by William McGregor

I really enjoyed this third episode, perhaps more than I've enjoyed a Misfits since series 3. Viewers get different things out of this fantasy drama (some love its coarse humour, others the gonzo superpowers), but I respond best whenever it's simply doing the unexpected. And despite being three years past its peak, Misfits still has a unique style of delivery that's unlike anything else around.

Netflix launching four Marvel TV shows: DAREDEVIL, IRON FIST, JESSICA JONES and LUKE CAGE

Marvel dipped their toe into broadcast television with ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, which hasn't exactly set the world alight but pulls in around 7m viewers most weeks. A TV show for Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is still on the cards, following the success of the short movie attached to Iron Man 3, but Marvel are now pressing ahead with four 13-episode live-action shows to debut exclusively on Netflix: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 4.21 – 'Primeval' & ANGEL, 1.21 - 'Blind Date'

Buffy: This... is not your business. It's mine. You, the Initiative, the boys at the Pentagon—you're all in way over your heads. Messing with primeval forces you have absolutely no comprehension of!
McNamara: And you do?
Buffy: I'm the Slayer. You're playing on my turf.

The penultimate episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fourth season played exactly like a finale, which has me intrigued about what the actual finale will bring. Is this where True Blood got the idea of ending the majority of a year's storylines early? "PRIMEVAL" made be grin a lot, with some unexpected moments and fun action sequences (well, for this show), and it managed to bring everything to a satisfying conclusion. The only reasons I can't score it higher is because it didn't move me emotionally, and the manner in way in which Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) managed to defeat cyborg Adam (George Hertzberg) felt silly. It may have worked with foreshadowing of a powerful spell to bestow Buffy with the amassed power of her Slayer lineage, via the spirits of her friends. Or whatever the hell happened.

FX grant AMERICAN HORROR STORY a fourth season

FX have renewed American Horror Story for a fourth season, based on the popularity of its current third season 'Coven', which is averaging 7.74m viewers.

John Langraf, CEO of FX Networks & FX Productions:

"Put simply, Ryan Murphy is a master television producer. Time and time again he reinvents the form. What he, co-creator Brad Falchuk and their producers Dante Di Loreto, Tim Minear, Jennifer Salt, James Wong, Brad Buecker, Jessica Sharzer, Douglas Petrie, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Alexis Martin Woodall and the entire production team and cast responsible for the American Horror Story franchise have done is nothing short of extraordinary. Every year, they create a riveting and brilliant new miniseries. AHS: Coven is the best yet, and I have no doubt that the next instalment will be even better."

Trailer: Syfy's HELIX

The first trailer for Syfy's Helix has debuted, which you can watch embedded above. I'm only really interested in this because it's the brainchild of Ronald D. Moore, who blew most people away with the phenomenal Battlestar Galactica remake. It's been four years since that show ended, amazingly, so another RDM project has been a long time coming. This trailer looks okay, but there's nothing about it that really excites me. I think I've seen too many viral outbreak/contagion movies, and I'm not sure what bringing that concept to a weekly TV series will achieve. Even in an Arctic setting that evokes The Thing.

HOMELAND, 3.6 – 'Still Positive'

written by Alexander Cary | directed by Lesli Linka Glatter

I think I'm ready to put the twist-related issues of season 3 aside now, because "Still Positive" was a really good episode—even if the show feels increasing like 24 after a valium. We can debate whether or not Homeland should have continued past season 1, or killed Brody two finales ago, or if it should really be tackling new angles every year with less season-to-season serialisation, but the fact of the matter is I still find Homeland an enjoyable series. It isn't perfect and it feels past its peak, but it's definitely still worth watching.

TV Picks: 4-10 November 2013 (2 Broke Girls, Bouncers, Fresh Meat, Indian Doctor, Pressure Pad, Yonderland, etc.)

Below are my picks of the most notable shows returning/premiering on UK screens this week...

THE X-FILES, 1.3 - 'Squeeze' - stretching belief

★★★★

Scully assists a colleague with an unexplained murder in an office with no discernible point of entry, leading Mulder to theorise the culprit is a genetic mutant...

SQUEEZE was the first X-Files I ever saw, and also the show's first 'monster-of-the-week' episode unconnected to its ongoing alien conspiracy drama. In essence, this was the hour that signalled to viewers this new show had range—which was perfectly timed, considering the first two instalments dealt with alien abduction and UFOs. The writers behind "Squeeze", Glen Morgan and James Wong, would also become key figures of The X-Files family; going on to create popular recurring characters, while writing many classic tales. There are some who also believe Morgan and Wong are the true architects of The X-Files' success, because they followed Chris Carter's lead but breathed life into it.

Letterboxd: WORLD WAR Z (2013); MAGICIANS (2007); THIR13EN GHOSTS (2001)

★★★ (out of five)

I don't have a problem with fast-moving zombies. The DAWN OF THE DEAD remake wasn't ruined by evolving George Romero's undead into sprinting flesh-eaters, and 28 DAYS LATER positively thrived on this tweak. WORLD WAR Z is a big-budget thriller that wants its audience to feel heart-pounding panic during its succession of set-pieces, and having zombies that appear like swarms of writhing bodies more than justifies their use.

Anticipated as one of 2013's summer flops, WORLD WAR Z proved everyone wrong by becoming a hit (on a $190m budget it grossed $540m) and drew largely favourable reviews. I hate labelling something a success because it simply wasn't as terrible as everyone expected (based on spiralling costs, a rewritten final act, a delayed release, and a derided trailer), because it's a back-handed compliment, but suffice to say WWZ was perfectly entertaining with a few impressive action sequences up its sleeve.

Based on the celebrated novel by Max Brooks (son of Mel), WWZ has almost nothing in common with its source material beyond the memorable title. Essentially, an outbreak of "zombies" (kudos for using the z-word, which isn't the norm these days) brings the world to its knees in mere days, and only former-UN employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) can save the day. He does this by circumnavigating the globe to try and come up with a plan to end the zombie uprising, taking him from Philadelphia to South Korea, Israel and, um, Wales.

Letterboxd: HALLOWEEN III - SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982); SPAWN (1997); THE KEEP (1983)

Timed for Halloween, below is an 'unholy trinity' of horror and supernatural film reviews...

★★ (out of five)

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH is essentially a middling instalment of a 1980s horror anthology (starring Tom Atkins from CREEPSHOW), unwisely stretched to feature length, and most damagingly branded as a sequel to HALLOWEEN.

It wasn't unreasonable for audiences to assume this film would have something to do with masked psycho Michael Myers (especially as John Carpenter remained involved as producer and co-composer), but HALLOWEEN III is entirely divorced from the murders at Haddonfield, Illinois.

If you watch this expecting a sequel to HALLOWEEN, you're going to be sorely disappointed and possibly extremely angry. The franchise's later sequels and remakes would return to the story of Michael Myers, burned by the fact HALLOWEEN III didn't manage to evolve the franchise into a brand that simply told scary stories every Halloween, which just makes this film even more of a black sheep in retrospect.

MSN TV: Sky Living's DRACULA

Today over at MSN: my original DRACULA review has been re-purposed, in time for the show's UK debut on Sky Living for Halloween.

Dracula's a tricky property to adapt well because the story and characters are so established, it's hard to do something radical without straying from what people love about the original. I'm not entirely sold on this idea of Dracula as an American inventor plotting to bankrupt energy magnates affiliated with a secret society that entombed him for centuries. But it is a different angle. It gives Dracula a job and position in society, and the show possibly benefits from operating on the level of a cut-throat business drama when the fangs are hidden.

Continue reading at MSN TV...