Contributions from Adam Scovell | Little White Lies

Contributor Adam Scovell

Two people, a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a young woman with long dark hair, sitting at a table in what appears to be a kitchen or dining area.
In Praise Of

Why I love Kathy Burke’s performance in Nil by Mouth

by Adam Scovell

Her turn as a woman liv­ing under the thumb of an abu­sive hus­band is a mas­ter­class in empa­thy and heartbreak.
Two well-dressed people sitting in a car, a man and a woman, in a black and white film noir style image.
In Praise Of

Why I love Robert Mitchum’s performance in Cape Fear

by Adam Scovell

Six­ty years after its release, the act­ing great’s unnerv­ing per­for­mance as venge­ful con­vict Max Cady still packs a punch.
A woman with dark hair sits before a red curtain, illuminated by a warm light, wearing a pale blue top.

How witchploitation cinema cast its spell on the counter-culture

by Adam Scovell

In the 1960s and ​’70s, a spate of low-rent exploita­tion films tapped sor­cery and the occult for cheap, sleazy thrills.
Blonde woman with wide open eyes and an alarmed expression on her face.
Home Ents

The grisly, greasy-spoon horror of Robert Hartford-Davis

by Adam Scovell

Inspired by real-life killings, 1968’s Cor­rup­tion is one of the first – and most effec­tive – British hor­ror films of its kind.
A man paints a portrait of a serious-looking man on a canvas.
In Praise Of

The subversive sexual politics of Clint Eastwood’s Play Misty for Me

by Adam Scovell

Com­pared to oth­er films of the counter-cul­ture era, Eastwood’s direc­to­r­i­al debut looks at the dark­er side of Free Love.
Portrait of a man with a pensive expression, lying in a field amongst thorny branches.
Home Ents

In praise of Lucio Fulci’s violent, vengeful Spaghetti westerns

by Adam Scovell

The Ital­ian hor­ror maestro’s hand­ful of entries in the genre show­case his pen­chant for bloody retribution.
Two men, one in a brown tweed jacket and the other in a white jumper, seated outdoors in a wooded setting.
In Praise Of

Pulp, Police and Politics: The hard and fast world of Poliziotteschi

by Adam Scovell

Through­out the 1970s an excit­ing sub­genre dom­i­nat­ed Ital­ian cin­e­ma, com­bined action and crime to dizzy­ing effect.
Portrait of a woman with long, dark hair and serious expression, framed by the edge of a doorway.
In Praise Of

Why I Love Irène Jacob’s performance in The Double Life of Véronique

by Adam Scovell

Jacob’s pair of musi­cal char­ac­ters is one of the great feats of screen act­ing of the past 30 years.
Car driving through countryside; Stately mansion; Lakeside with gazebo; Stately home on grounds
On Location

On Location: The rural mansion from Night of the Demon

by Adam Scovell

Jacques Tourneur’s clas­sic take on MR James’ Goth­ic chiller makes use of a part­ly-fic­tion­al Eng­lish estate.
Two-storey modern house with grey exterior and black accents, surrounded by trees and a fountain in the foreground.
Beginnings

Beginnings: Peter Cushing’s Purley

by Adam Scovell

The British act­ing icon spent his for­ma­tive years the South Lon­don dis­trict, in a house built by his father.
Close-up black and white image of a man with an intense, dramatic expression, wearing a formal suit.
In Praise Of

How Tod Browning’s Dracula changed horror cinema forever

by Adam Scovell

The 1931 film put the Count firm­ly on the cul­tur­al map and moved the genre on from its silent origins.
Man walking on pavement outside brick building. Grassy field with trees. Paved walkway among bushes. Silhouette of buildings against evening sky.
On Location

On Location: The South London of Alan Clarke’s The Firm

by Adam Scovell

The British director’s con­tro­ver­sial foot­ball hooli­gan dra­ma makes great use of var­i­ous domes­tic locales.