Abi Lendrum

Debuting at Berlinale Film Festival 2018, Steven Soderbergh’s “Unsane” proves that you don’t need expensive equipment to shoot like a professional. Shot entirely on an iPhone in 4K, Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane serves as a compelling case study for the potential of smartphones in cinema. The film depicts Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy), a victim of stalking, who, attempting to start afresh, relocates to Pennsylvania where she finds herself involuntarily admitted into a mental health facility. She begins to question her sanity when she believes that one of the staff members is her stalker and her life is at risk.  Soderbergh’s creative choice in shooting Unsane on a smartphone is effective in evoking the sense of paranoia and voyeurism. In the opening sequences, the agility of such small cameras enables him to shoot Foy from a voyeuristic distance; made especially effective as she is often semi-obscured by foliage or other barriers, making the audience feel like her stalke...

Psychic Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye), along with her Ghostbusting buddies Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (Leigh Whannell), return to Elise’s childhood home to confront the ghosts of her past, and a terrifying demon with keys for fingers. Insidious: The Last Key is the latest entry in James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s acclaimed horror franchise. Unfortunately, like Chapter 3, without Wan’s directorial input the film suffers, both visually and narratively.  The influence of director Adam Robitel, the co-writer of the latest Paranormal Activity film, is clear; but only in the sense that The Last Key also relies heavily on the loud noise then jumpscare technique featured so often in modern mainstream horror. Unlike the original Insidious film, the scares are predictable and lacklustre, and it’s nowhere near as successful in building up tension. The franchise’s iconic and truly terrifying score (composed by Joseph Bishara, who also worked on Wan’s other films Annabelle and The Conjur...