Paulina's Gore Corner - Martyrs and Gender      22nd September 2018

Paul Laugier’s French horror Martyrs (2008) was the subject of my analysis in the last instalment of Paulina’s Gore Corner. I felt, however, that in my analysis I have overlooked the central aspect of the film - its representation of gender, or more specifically, representation of femininity.


by Paulina

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Train to Busan: Masterful Social commentary   20th August 2018

With the recent announcement of a sequel in the works, we take a look at what made Train To Busan one of the greatest social commentaries of the 21st century. It balances high-grade, unadulterated action with sensitive, layered character work that personalises the unfolding drama through they eyes of a 10-year old girl who vies for the love of her father. These two sides of the coin belie a third: a searing social commentary that critiques the South Korean social hierarchy.
by Jack Buchanan

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Paulina's Gore Corner: Episode 5 - Martyrs            10th August 2018

Martyrs premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and was ominous for its first audiences to such a degree that incidents of viewers passing out and vomiting were widely reported. Indeed, the depiction of violence is truly sickening in Laugier’s film and undisputedly rivals the gore of slasher film such as Hostel (2005), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), House of 1000 Corpses (2003) or Saw (2004). But there’s something more about Martyrs that doesn’t allow the viewers to forget about it for days.
by Paulina

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Paulina's Gore Corner: Episode 4 - In My Skin         3rd August 2018

 In My Skin (2002), Marina de Van’s movement-defining psychological horror, is a perfect example of using transgression in order to represent the body, as the film situates it body in its centre. It calls for a freeing of the body from restrictions and boundaries set up by the mind, and to let it exist, to feel and perceive the world on its own.


by Paulina

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Paulina's Gore Corner: Episode 3 - New French Extremity  27th July 2018

As a devoted fan of horror films, I am constantly in search of new material which is able to offer a more compelling kind of thrill than soulless jump-scares. New French Extremity understandably became a movement that struck my attention. This article will provide a short introduction for further analysis of its signature films. Were you shocked and disgusted by The Human Centipede? Think of that taken to the extreme in a European style!
by Paulina

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Paulina's Gore Corner Episode 2 - Mother    20th July 2018

One of cinema’s most visionary auteurs wrote mother! in a malignant rush in his house in New York. The final result of his invention is a vivid fever dream, a cinematic nightmare. mother! leaves viewers confused, disturbed and broken. It is unsettling and uneasy; a multilayered film that requires time to process and genuine effort of the viewer to try to get into the mad creator’s mind in order to resolve the riddle of its true meaning.
by Paulina

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Paulina's Gore Corner: Episode 1 - Hereditary  13th July 2018

Ari Aster’s sublime Hereditary  created a sensation at the latest Sundance Film Festival and was described as the most terrifying cinematic experience since The Exorcist. If that wasn’t enough to make horror lovers thrilled to watch it, the hair-raising trailer went viral, giving the audience a foretaste of the psychological terror that is about to come. 


​by Paulina 

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The Single message of Jeff Nichols                        18th May 2018

Jeff Nichols is counted among the great contemporary American directors. His films were invariably similar until the release of Loving in 2016. As different as the film is from his past work, Nichols is working in exactly the same way as before, conveying the same message...



by Jack Buchanan

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Blade Runner 2049: Questions About Criticism 10th April 2018

Blade Runner 2049 is as dense as they come in regards to its semiotic imagery. Upon looking at that, some questions were asked, about the nature of criticism and how we look at movies that so desperately want to be looked at.


by Jack Buchanan

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In-Between Times: A Ghost Story                            15th February 2018

A Ghost Story is my favourite film of the past few years and maybe ever. It is the most simply beautiful little movie. It is heartbreakingly sad and profoundly touching. It is a film of quiet, sombre reflection punctuated by moments of loud, yearning connection between people. There are endless ways to talk about the film. Come and read our way.

by Jack Buchanan

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Loving Vincent: Is It Still Cinema?                             15th February 2018

"In short, I want to reach the point where people say of my work, that man feels deeply and that man feels subtly."  
This fragment of a letter that Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo in 1882 exquisitely illustrates the painter's drive to create in spite of all the obstacles he encountered in his short life. The quotes were also used at the end of a unique, new film called Loving Vincent and left me in tears after the screening.
by Paulina

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Loving Vincent: The Art Of Movement                   13th February 2018

Loving Vincent is the Oscar-nominated animation chronicling the journey of a postmaster's son trying to deliver Vincent Van Gogh’s final letter. It’s a film about the days and weeks leading up to Vincent’s suicide. It’s also a film about his art. At it’s heart too, the film has plenty to say about the nature of the movies as an art form.

by Jack Buchanan

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