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Loop Track (2023) I'm ashamed with myself that I did not catch a screening of this. It's a brand new New Zealand Horror movie and I somehow didn't get around to seeing it big. I had assumed it would be a horror comedy and not just because the writer / director / star Tom Sainsbury is a very funny kiwi comedian. I assumed that because we tend to do horror comedy very well here in New Zealand. Loop Track surprised me by being a very straight forward Survival horror (and a little bit of a different subgenre that I wont divulge because it's a spoiler) that more or less takes itself completely seriously. It's really tense, well shot, written, directed and well, you should really just see it for yourself.

4 pairs of hiking socks out of 5.

Not at all horror but I can absolutely see why Terror-Fi festival included it. This is by far the silliest movie I have ever seen, and I mean that as a high compliment. I thought No One Will Save You would be the most wordless movie I would see this year, but I was wrong. There are about 3 actual words uttered in this one. Content warning - Hundreds of animals die in this one but every animal is either a person in a costume or a plushy puppet so you'll be alright. When you first start this very entertaining live action looney tunes movie you will wonder how they can sustain it for a full feature length run time but they absolutely manage it and it's always hilarious and entertaining.

The film festival screening I was at to see this movie had a little video shot by the Argentinian director just for New Zealand about how he loves Peter Jackson and Nz and how he'd love to make it down here. He was such a nice, personable fellow... then came one of the most bleak, brutal and unflinching movies I've seen in a long time. If you are used to being in safe hands that will cut away from certain things rather than show them Demian Rugna is not the director for you. There is also zero levity or fun in his movies yet you have fun anyway if you're the right kind of horror obsessed weirdo. Here's a content warning though - if you don't like when violence happens to kids or animals in movies, you should probably steer clear of this one... or just remember that it's only a movie.