Sound and silence shake your nerves
The Little Things DVD
Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto starring in a throwback to the 1990s serial killer thriller? What’s not to love?
As it turns out, a few things as writerdirector John Lee Hancock’s (The Blind Side, Saving Mr Banks) script lets down his electrifying lead trio.
Not even their considerable star power can make up for the sedate pace and predictable developments that don’t so much pay tribute to the film’s genre influences as tread down the exact same path.
Washington stars as deputy sheriff Deke who is asked to join the hunt for a high-profile serial-killer by Malek’s Detective Baxter, with Leto’s Albert Sparma the prime suspect.
Fresh off redeeming his take on the Joker in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Leto gives another captivatingly creepy turn and the movie suffers when his intoxicating intensity isn’t on screen.
Washington could probably do
Horror Channel, Friday, 10.50pm
The first and best of the foundfootage franchise is an uncomfortable viewing experience.
More tense than full-on terrifying, it utilises many elements of classic horror; a simple set-up, great use of sound effects and silence, and tapping into our fears of the dark.
The scares start out minimal, with footsteps and creaking doors, before the threat posed by the entity gets cranked up.
When day turns to night, we know something bad is going down and this, along with the positioning of a camera focusing on an open doorway, leaves your nerves on edge and imagination running riot.