Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

This is Last House on the Left and I Spit on Your Grave, but without the villains' comeuppance. It's a reminder that in real life victims don’t get to take revenge, only society can do that for them. Review

Reinsve is a winning presence, attractive enough to be a movie star but relatable enough to have realistic insecurities. Review

She flits from bubbly and enthused to scared and lonely to outright psychotic in convincing fashion. The movie doesn't condone the violent rampage she undertakes, but her victims are drawn so broadly as bitchy mean girls that it's impossible not to have fun seeing them dispatched in the sort of violent fashion we've come to expect from the no holds barred world of Ozploitation. Review

But rather than a horror movie that serves as an allegory, Raquel 1:1 plays like an allegory desperate to convince us it’s a horror movie. Review

At the point where Emergency realises it doesn't have the satirical chops to continue in a comic vein, it should have doubled down on the thriller stakes. Review

It's Jarvis's performance that truly keeps It Is In Us All afloat though. His physicality tells us a lot about his character's background without having to indulge in expository speeches. Review

This leads to a movie that lacks a satisfying narrative thrust. We're left to admire the scenery, the lush cinematography of Hélène Louvart and the quality of the performances, but there's just not enough to invest in here. Review

What's laudable about the film is how Ozon never asks us to take a side, and only those whose view on the matter is clouded by religious or philosophical beliefs will likely adopt one. Review

For a relatively low-budget Irish production it's surprisingly slick. Don’t be surprised if the likes of Blumhouse come calling for Muldowney. Review

Chitu is very good, but there's not a whole lot to her character. She's defined by those around her, with Grigore making it all too clear why she needs to leave, but that need to escape seems to be the only thing fuelling her character. Review

Eschewing any biting satire, Woszczynska struggles to fill her movie's silence with meaning. Silent Land has a very simple message, that even the most sociopathic and entitled among us may struggle with guilt, but she never explores that notion in a particularly interesting way. Review

Watching Olga battling the bars late at night in an empty gymnasium is as thrilling as the finale of any boxing movie, thanks to the combination of Budiashkina's physicality, Grappe's direction and Pedro's editing. All three combine to use a body in motion to express the frustration of young people growing up in an uncertain Eastern Europe. Review

Prior to that disappointing final act, Bass does enough to suggest that if she can hook up with a writer with a determined singular voice (as opposed to an entire football team of scripters), she could be a new talent to watch on the international horror scene. Review

It's all very slight and sunny, and the dramatic stakes are about as low as they get. But thanks to an effervescent performance from Demoustier, the film that bears her name is always watchable. Review

Shot with an objective distance, Mehdi Hoseinivand Aalipour’s debut feature Asteroid often feels like one of those stories, allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions as to whether it's an inspiring film or one critical of the society it plays out in. Review

Her action is adrenalin pumping, but never thrilling or exciting, rather horrifying and deeply grim. La Civil is an anti-war movie set in an unrecognized warzone. Review

As a calling card for its leading ladies, The Seed certainly gives Martin, Edge and Vavasseur plenty of opportunity to display their comedic chops, but once the laughs run out the movie becomes as dry as the desert where its action plays out. Review

Had Andini balanced her message more evenly with her film's comic elements, she may have reached a more mainstream audience that needs to learn of the pain of girls like Yuni. Review

Chris's story is a snoozefest within a snoozefest. Review

The Girl and the Spider may warrant a return visit; this is a narrative web that requires a considerable amount of disentangling. Review

True Things isn't saying anything new or revolutionary, but a lot of viewers of its protagonist's generation may find it uncomfortably representative of their lot in life. Review

It features one of the best child performances I've ever witnessed, and it's made by a director who seems possessed by the spirit of John Ford, who knows that how people look at each other is more important than what they say to each other. Review

It's a shame, as with her debut, Nocturnal, Biancheri made a gripping film that tackles the subject of identity and accepting where you come from. In comparison, her follow-up plays like a lecture delivered in the sort of monotone voice that puts students to sleep on a Monday morning. Review

Bogarde and Mills are badly miscast. They're both two old for the roles, and certainly too English. Surrounding them with actual Irish actors only makes them stand out all the more, and there are moments where we forget which side they're meant to be representing. Review