WATCH: Paranormal Activity [2007]

Handheld horrors don't bode too well with me. There are, however, some fantastical gems that shine through in this densely-filled sub-genre. Some of my favourites have been, and not including the sequels of, REC and The Blair Witch Project. They captured the claustrophobic nature of a handheld viewpoint; that you ultimately cannot see what is going on in some instances and the cries of the characters onscreen can be agonising to bear when the terror is unseen. A lot of handheld films force a perspective on you, using unnatural movement that doesn't feel human.

Paranormal Activity excuses this completely as it uses a fixed-point perspective throughout most of the film. I admittedly scoffed upon seeing main character Micah (Micah Sloat) show us his camera in the mirror of his house. This isn't a mini-DV, this is a full size Sony HDR. But through little snippets of conversational dialogue with his fiance, Katie (Katie Featherston), we understand that he has very good reason for his purchase. A natural tech-head anyway, the young couple are plagued by a mysterious presence in their home so they hope to catch it all on camera.

WATCH: Evil Dead [2013]

My earliest horror film memory was of Nightmare On Elm Street when Tina was dragged up the walls, screaming. My second was of Pennywise the Clown pulling a little boy down a drain. Somewhere along the way was the memory of a girl being raped by branches in the woods. That was what I remembered from Evil Dead. A bit of background and some refreshing new views on this comedy-horror franchise; it certainly is difficult to view a remake of a film without having seen or having prior knowledge of the previous entries in the series. Back then, I thought Evil Dead was cheesy, outdated but certainly had a story to tell, buckets of fake blood and horrifying creatures of the night. All with a low-budget but cinematically unnerving to watch. Today, I still think Evil Dead is cheesy and certainly prefer the second installment in the series for its cleaned up appearance while still delivering a story, comedy-horror and memorable moments. The dead hand, laughing furniture, dancing dead girlfriend and chainsaw hand are keynotes in horror cinema history.

WATCH: Synedoche, New York [2008]

I am a real sucker for multi-layered films that encompass all areas of human emotion. Donnie Darko made me feel this way, Vanilla Sky is a culprit and so are many of John Hughes' rite-du-passage movies. Synecdoche, New York is a fantastical tale which covers the human map of emotion without faltering into repetition or bum-numbing shiftiness for the viewer. Familiar with only Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine and a very early viewing of Human Nature, I was excited to see Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut - and for this review, it is the third viewing. It's a visual masterpiece of life imitating life and the constant questions of our morals. It's a brave piece but one that does not feel out of place when viewed alongside Being John Malkovich. With that in mind, and several dozen more motifs and metaphors tacked on, this is a life-spanning adventure of achieving an unrealised lifetime goal, even if it is not yet known. It's also with this film that I noted Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of the most invigorating actors of all time.

WATCH: Oblivion [2013]

I've noticed I have a habit of referencing previous works or franchises that I feel a director's work reminds me of. I also have a habit of spotting subliminal (intentional or otherwise) symbology throughout these works. With that in mind, I'll try and be as obvious as possible. Oblivion is full of blue skies, glorious technology and tectonically sculptured greys and browns. It's also full of intentional nods to sci-fi favourites 2001: A Space Odyssey and Moon as well as current-gen console game Enslaved (can you tell I was lying about not referencing franchises?). There were particular shots throughout the final act that reminded me strongly of imagery such as the Starchild and HAL-9000.

WATCH: A Field In England [2013]

 I watched A Field In England with three friends. In the silence that dawned on us after the uninterrupted viewing on Film4, it eventually broke. "I feel like I should be on something," I uttered. They nodded in agreement. But then it wasn't paraphernalia I wanted to be high on, I was already high on the intense low-key visuals that Ben Wheatley and his team had just staggered us with. Shakerspearian-cum-Chaucerian dialogue littered with 'fuck' and 'cunt' expletives framed an intense mindwarp in 17th-Century England in the midst of a distant and echoing Civil War.

WATCH: Pacific Rim

Humourous title aside, Pacific Rim had me questionable at best before I had seen the damn thing. From hearing American audiences prefer the appeal of Grown-Ups 2 I felt a wee bit disheartened. Regardless, after seeing the extended trailer and falling in love with the set design in Hong Kong I came away the complete opposite. Fantastically content. ILM have done an amazing job bringing the hulking piloted mechs known as Jaegers to life. The beautiful thing here is they look functional. Cranks, gears and pistons operate some of the more experienced mechs while being retrofitted with sleek interiors akin to Minority Report. Jets rocket to life when maneuvering the hulking robstrosities in every pivot and turn. The difference with previous robot shows like Transformers is that this doesn't look a mess, even through the battering thunderstorms and crashing waves. I felt like I couldn't quite catch the punches landed between Autobot and Decepticon and, although this is mechs versus monsters, you catch every devastating blow thanks to the spectacular camera work.

PLAY: The Last Of Us

This review has spent a long time sitting in my head, festering and decaying, erstwhile being lit by a fading summer sun as specks of dust dance around in the invisible breeze. Immersion is the best angle a game can take and Naughty Dog's latest offering shovels it in leaps and bounds.

The Last Of Us tells us the story of Joel, a smuggler in the year 2033, living in a world run by martial law where civilians are housed in Quarantine Zones in the now ruined USA. Towering walls make up these QZ's littered with lookouts and checkpoints, marched through by soldiers securing the perimeter and ensuring residents are safe by any, including brutal, means necessary. Joel has experienced firsthand the emotional backlash this new crumbling world can deliver as shown in a harrowing prologue that you play.