Timur Bekmambetov

The main achievement of this gimmicky horror is that it manages to hit all of the essential scary movie beats as the story unfolds in real time on a computer screen. Essentially a combination of the found footage and teen slasher genres, the movie relies a bit too much on loud noises for its most frightening moments, but director Leval Gabriadze also builds a terrific sense of suspense as the plot escalates. And by presenting it on a normal laptop screen, the film both looks fresh and has an eerie timeliness.

That laptop belongs to Blaire (Shelley Hennig), a teen who's having a lusty chat on Skype with her boyfriend Mitch (Moses Storm) when they're joined by their lively friends Adam, Jess and Ken (Will Peltz, Renee Olstead and Jacob Wysocki), and later by Val (Courtney Halverson). But there's also a mysterious unknown caller online who begins to taunt them about the death of fellow student Laura (Heather Sossaman) exactly one year ago. Is Laura's ghost using social media to get even with the teens who used a viral YouTube clip to drive her to take her own life? Or is someone else hacking into their system, controlling their screens and playing a game that threatens to kill them off one by one?

All of this plays out on Blaire's computer screen as she clicks from window to window using iMessage, Google, Instagram and Facebook to fill in the story with video, news stories and images, plus a panicky visit to Chat Roulette to get some help (as if!). The screen flicks around, showing conversations within chats as Blaire's mouse-control gets increasing shaky. So even if the plot itself is essentially a rehash of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Paranormal Activity, it generates plenty of overwrought emotion and scary jolts along the way.

Continue reading: Unfriended Review

Young Abe Lincoln (Walker) is determined to get revenge against the sinister Barts (Czokas), who had something to do with his mother's death. But it turns out that Barts is immortal, so Abe's new friend Henry (Cooper) trains him in how to fight vampires. Meanwhile, Abe pursues a career in politics, marries Mary (Winstead) and discovers that the alpha vampire (Sewell) is using the Civil War as a cover for bloodsuckers to take over America. Along with his intrepid friends (Mackie and Simpson), Abe sets out to turn the tide at Gettysburg.

Continue reading: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Review

Sean (Hirsch) has accompanied his pal Ben (Minghella) to Moscow for a work pitch that immediately goes awry. Drowning their sorrows in a hip bar, they meet hot tourists Natalie and Anne (Thirlby and Taylor). But a citywide blackout signals the arrival of alien creatures that aren't much more than pulses of light and energy. And they're intent on obliterating humans. So these four young people start an odyssey of survival, meeting a variety of colourful characters along the way.

Continue reading: The Darkest Hour Review

Number 9 (Wood) is a brave little creature who wakes up into a decimated city where meets the inventive 2 (Landau), who's promptly captured by a scary monster. Soon 9 finds a community led by conservative leader 1 (Plummer) with his muscly/dim bodyguard 8 (Tatasciore) and obsessive sketch artist 6 (Glover).

It's the friendly 5 (Reilly) who accompanies 9 to rescue 2, and along the way they meet swashbuckling 7 (Connolly) and bookish twins 3 and 4. Together they need to figure out how to stop a voracious soul-sucking machine.

Continue reading: 9 Review