On the edge of your seats

From classic flicks to premieres, sit back and enjoy the films coming this week

THE BLACKENING (2022) *** (SKY CINEMA PREMIERE, SATURDAY, 10.45AM & 6.15PM) PREMIERE

Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and boyfriend Shawn (Jay Pharoah) invite a group of old school chums to a weekend of board games and revelry in a cabin in the woods. A power cut to the cabin sparks the search for a fuse box and the friends stumble upon a well-worn copy of blatantly racist board game, The Blackening. A menacing voice commands the group to collectively answer trivia questions about black culture. Each incorrect answer is punishable by death courtesy of a masked fiend wielding a crossbow. Prefaced by a pithy title card – “This film is based on true events… that never happened” – The Blackening isa comedy horror that enthusiastically pokes fun at racial stereotypes and slasher tropes.

GONE GIRL (2014) ***** (GREAT! MOVIES, SUNDAY, 9PM)

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) calls the police to his home. There are signs of a struggle and his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) is missing. Amy’s distraught parents (David Clennon, Lisa Banes) join Nick to front a high-profile media campaign to secure her safe return, but in the glare of the spotlight, fractures appear in the Dunnes’ marriage and the cops and public openly question Nick’s innocence. Gone Girl is a spiky satire, skilfully adapted by Gillian Flynn from her 2012 bestseller. Admittedly, you have to dig deep beneath the surface of David Fincher’s polished film to find the jet-black humour but it’s there, walking hand-in-hand with sadism and torture that propel the narrative towards its unconventional denouement at breakneck speed.

12 STRONG (2018) **** (FILM4, MONDAY, 9PM)

Captain Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) resigns his commission to spend more time with his family. Then their TV screen fills with shocking images of the smouldering twin towers of the World Trade Centre. Mitch petitions Lieutenant Colonel Bowers (Rob Riggle) to be reinstated so he can spearhead a retaliatory strike against Osama bin Laden’s network. Chief Warrant Officer Cal Spencer (Michael Shannon), Sergeants First Class Sam Diller (Michael Pena) and Ben Milo (Trevante Rhodes), and senior medic Bill Bennett (Kenny Sheard) volunteer to be part of the classified mission. Based on Doug Stanton’s non-fiction book Horse Soldiers, 12 Strong adds Hollywood sheen to the remarkable true story of a covert US Special Forces mission in northern Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962) ***** (BBC2, TUESDAY, 11.15PM)

‘Baby’ Jane Hudson was a successful child performer – until she stopped being cute and was eclipsed by her movie-star sister Blanche. However, Blanche’s career was cut tragically short when she was paralysed in a car accident, and for decades the siblings have lived in virtual isolation, with Jane sliding into alcoholism and deluded dreams of a comeback. When Blanche decides it’s time to make changes, old rivalries resurface in terrifying fashion. It may be campy (and play on the real-life feud between leading ladies Bette Davis and Joan Crawford), but this drama is also tense and at times genuinely unsettling. Much of the credit goes to Davis, who throws herself into the role of the deranged Jane, but Crawford holds her own in the less showy but equally important role of Blanche.

DEADPOOL 2 (2018) **** (FILM4, WEDNESDAY, 9PM)

Former Special Forces operative Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), receives a swift kick to the nether portions from Lady Luck as he continues to romance sex-club worker Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). Plunged into a fiery pit of despair, Wade is rescued by X-men buddies Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), who now has an electrified girlfriend (Shioli Kutsuna). The noble mutants enrol Deadpool as a trainee and for his first assignment, the wise-cracking rogue attempts to subdue a misunderstood teenager called Russell (Julian Dennison), who is being hunted by futuristic soldier Cable (Josh Brolin). Directed by “one of the guys who killed the dog in John Wick”, Deadpool 2 is a rollicking, gleefully irreverent and potty-mouthed sequel.

BLUE BAYOU (2021) **** (FILM4, THURSDAY, 9PM) PREMIERE.

Tattoo artist Antonio Leblanc (Justin Chon) was born in Korea, adopted at the age of three and taken to the Louisiana bayou. He was reckless in his youth but has turned his life around to provide for his wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander), who is pregnant with their first child, and Kathy’s daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske). The girl’s biological father, Ace (Mark O’brien), is a police officer, who feels aggrieved that Kathy is withholding access to his child. The custody battle reaches a flashpoint when Ace’s partner Denny (Emory Cohen) abuses his badge to arrest Antonio and place him in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has the power to deport Antonio. Blue Bayou isa labour of love for writer, director and star Chon, inspired by a real-life legal loophole.

THE IMITATION GAME (2014) ***** (BBC1, FRIDAY, 10.40PM)

Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) sits in a police interrogation room with Detective Nock (Rory Kinnear), facing a charge of indecency with a 19-year-old unemployed man. In flashback, Alan arrives at Bletchley Park where a group of the country’s keenest try to break the Enigma code. Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode), John Cairncross (Allen Leech) and Peter Hilton (Matthew Beard) work alongside Turing, but he ploughs his own furrow and raises eyebrows by recruiting Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) to the team. The Imitation Game is a handsomely crafted tribute to a prodigy, whose invaluable contribution to the war effort was besmirched by bigotry. Oscar-nominee Cumberbatch is mesmerising, trampling over the egos of fellow code breakers without any concern for their feelings.