Movie picks
saturday
Spell, Film4, 11.40pm Network premiere of this thrilling supernatural horror from director Mark Tonderai.
On the way to his abusive father’s funeral in rural Appalachia, welloff Marquis (Omari Hardwick) loses control of the plane carrying him and his family.
When he comes to, he finds himself alone, badly injured and trapped in the attic of a house deep in the woods.
His unsettling host turns out to be a hoodoo witch called Eloise (Loretta Devine), who promises to nurse him back to health using a figure she has crafted from his skin and blood.
Marquis rightfully suspects that something untoward is going on and later discovers that Eloise has a following. Then one night, while snooping around, he witnesses a congregation performing sacrificial rituals.
As he frantically searches for an escape, he begins to wonder — could he be Eloise’s next offering?
monday
Mid90s, Film4, 12.10pm
Jonah Hill writes and directs this coming-of-age comedy drama.
Sunny Suljic stars as Stevie, a 12-year-old boy who finds escape from his unhappy home life hanging out in a skate shop and getting into all kinds of scrapes with skater dudes.
Stevie spends his life at home getting beaten up by his older brother — a fact his mother either ignores or doesn’t even notice. Stevie doesn’t really think there’s much wrong in all this, it’s just routine. Of course, this doesn’t mean he’s happy about it and wouldn’t take an escape if he could.
Then one day he notices a group of older kids with skateboards. As Stevie is gradually accepted by the group, the question becomes: are the attitudes and outlook of this group an improvement for Stevie or is he just swapping one dysfunctional group — or family — for another?
Expect an impeccably selected, period-accurate soundtrack and a cast of largely uncredited actors to give a spontaneous and unpolished feel to the skater gang’s exploits.
WEDNESDAY
Hereditary, Film4, 9pm Network Premiere of this criticallyacclaimed psychological horror written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature directorial debut.
Toni Collette stars as Annie Graham, a troubled miniature artist who has recently lost her mother, Ellen.
Her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), son Peter (Alex Wolff) and daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) are all left reeling after the death of the stubborn matriarch.
As each family member navigates grief in their own way, they are hit with another tragedy.
Resentment, tension and guilt plague the household.
And when Annie desperately turns to witchcraft to contact the dead, paranormal activity is added to their woes.
By delving into her mother’s past, Annie learns of her generational ties to the occult. Her mother’s legacy is not only one of strict and strange parenting, but also one that promises to inflict relentless malevolent forces on her remaining family members.
Friday
Bullet Train, Sky Cinema & NOW
Action comedy film directed by David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt.
Ladybug (Pitt) is an unlucky assassin who’s determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs has gone off the rails.
Fate, however, may have other plans as his latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe — all with connected yet conflicting objectives — on the world’s fastest train.
The film features an ensemble supporting cast including Joey King, Aaron Taylorjohnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A. Martínez Ocasio and Sandra Bullock.