This Is England
on DVD
(2006) Starring:Stephen Graham, Frank Harper, Joseph Gilgun Director:Shane Meadows Certificate:
July, 1983. School's out and 12 year-old Shaun (Turgoose) falls in with an amiable gang of skinheads and mods. Then National Front nut Combo (Graham) arrives on the scene, and being a little skinhead suddenly becomes far more than a fashion statement...
Man Bites Dog
on DVD
(1992) Starring:Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Benoit Poelvoorde Director:Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Benoit Poelvoorde Certificate:
A documentary crew is fascinated by the charismatic, unrepentant serial killer whose crimes they set out to objectively chronicle. But as the violence escalates, they become more and more complicit in his shocking actions. A disturbingly low-key satire of the connection between violence and the media.
Visitor Q
on DVD
(2001) Starring:Kenichi Endo, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe Director:Takashi Miike Certificate:
In Miike Takashi's outrageous, taboo-busting satire Vistor Q, shamed reporter Kiyoshi Yamazaki visits one of Japan's many comfort houses to make a documentary about sex and violence amongst the nation's youth and is surprised to encounter his nubile daughter there. Soon after he meets "Q", an ..read more »
Two really harrowing, very realistic scenes of brutality in this film which will stay with you long after the movie's finished.
Irreversible(2002) Starring:Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel Director:Gaspar Noe Certificate:
After what would normally be the end credits (which run backwards), IRREVERSIBLE begins with a heated hunt through a gay S&M club. It is a chaotic sequence shot from a wildly spiraling camera seamlessly edited together to appear as one single shot and culminating in one of the most violent murders ..read more »
Ichi The Killer
on DVD
(2001) Starring:Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto Director:Takashi Miike Certificate:
Prolific director Takashi Miike (AUDITION) keeps finding new ways to test the boundaries of on-screen violence. ICHI THE KILLER is a masterful piece of filmmaking, simultaneously funny and horrific, but it's only for viewers with strong stomachs. One character, Kakihara (Japanese indie film ..read more »
Starring a youthful Russel Crowe. Mental white supremist soundtrack by Skrewdriver.
Romper Stomper
on DVD
(1992) Starring:Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie Director:Geoffrey Wright Certificate:
In this brutal film, a gang of hard-luck Australian skinheads takes its frustrations out on Vietnamese immigrants. Hatred pulled the skinheads together, but the love of a woman pulls them apart just as the foreigners they have been terrorizing decide to fight back. Actor Russell Crowe shines in one ..read more »
Once Were Warriors
on DVD
(1995) Starring:Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell Director:Lee Tamahori Certificate:
ONCE WERE WARRIORS is a powerful film that focuses on a New Zealand family descended from Maori tribesmen. For Jake (Temuera Morrison) and Beth Heke (Rena Owen), life in their suburban ghetto is going from bad to worse. Jake's just lost his job, their delinquent teenage son Boogie has to appear in ..read more »
Maybe not as shocking now as when it was first released, but still not the sort of film to watch with your family after christmas lunch.
A Clockwork Orange
on DVD
(1971) Starring:Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates Director:Stanley Kubrick Certificate:
From its opening shot of Malcolm McDowell staring with evil intent directly into the camera (which pulls back to reveal him drinking a glass of milk), Stanley Kubrick's brilliant CLOCKWORK ORANGE announces itself as a completely new kind of viewing experience. Banned in Britain for decades, the ..read more »
Salo Or The 120 Days Of Sodom
on DVD
(1975) Starring:Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi Director:Pier Paolo Pasolini, Pier Paolo Pasolini Certificate:
Pasolini's final and most controversial film has been banned censored and reviled the world over since it's first release.
The film is based on the Marquis de Sade's novel '120 Days of Sodom', with the setting transposed to Mussolini's miniature Fascist Republic of Salo, Italy in 1944.
The ..read more »
Society
on DVD
(1989) Starring:Billy Warlock, Evan Richards, Ben Meyerson Director:Brian Yuzna Certificate:
From Brian Yuzna, producer of RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND comes this rather disturbing 1980s look at the horrors of the upper class. Young Billy (Billy Warlock) feels a certain strangeness enveloping him in his bourgeois suburban neighborhood. A little sleuthing reveals a secret society which ..read more »