Contributor Anton Bitel

A crowded gathering of people in colourful clothing, with hands raised and expressions of excitement or celebration.
Home Ents

How Penelope Spheeris captured the wild side of American youth culture

by Anton Bitel

In 1983’s Suburbia and 1985’s The Boys Next Door, the Reagan era is a place of lay-offs, layabouts and general decay.
Hands reaching out towards an individual lying on the floor, who appears distressed.
Home Ents

Discover this surreal Japanese erotic horror about artistic obsession

by Anton Bitel

Yasuzô Masumura’s macabre masterpiece Blind Beast paints an unnerving portrait of an artist and his muse.
Two people, a woman with short dark hair and a man with dishevelled hair, in a dark, shadowy setting.
Home Ents

Discover the eco-horror of this eerily prescient creature feature

by Anton Bitel

John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy sees Mother Nature exact revenge against a researcher couple in rural Maine.
Silhouette of a person against a vibrant sunset sky with clouds and reflected in a still pool.
Review

Luz: The Flower of Evil

by Anton Bitel

A backwater preacher pushes his small congregation to its limits in this quasi-mystical Colombian parable.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A woman with long blonde hair screaming in an intense, frightened expression.
Home Ents

Discover this cutting-edge, Gothic-inspired ’80s slasher

by Anton Bitel

Starring Linda Blair as a textbook final girl, Tom DeSimone’s 1981 Hell Night offers an effective blend of horrors old and new.
Two people standing in a desert building window, with vegetation and a barren landscape visible outside.
Home Ents

Is True Romance the ultimate male movie fantasy?

by Anton Bitel

With its movie nerd hero, doting blonde heroine and shocking violence, this early ’90s cult classic is peak Tarantino.
Woman with red hair sitting on a sofa, looking upset and curled up on herself.
Home Ents

Discover this postmodern, manga-inspired meditation on authorship

by Anton Bitel

Tezuka’s Barbara is a meta ode to the director’s late father, the ‘godfather’ of the Japanese graphic novel.
Woman in black face mask relaxing in a bathtub full of water and bubbles, surrounded by bath products and decorative wall hangings.
Review

The Filmmaker’s House

by Anton Bitel

Marc Isaacs’ docu-fiction hybrid has fun subverting the sit-com format, but feels glib and exploitative.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two faces in close embrace, one woman and one man, intimate and emotional moment.
Home Ents

How Basic Instinct turned the erotic thriller on its head

by Anton Bitel

Paul Verhoeven’s subversive 1992 film is a Hitchcockian thriller with the kink brought to the surface.
A bloodied, bandaged older man with a grave expression on his face.
Review

The Amusement Park

by Anton Bitel

George A Romero’s long-lost public service announcement captures the inherent horrors of old age.

5
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.