THIS WEEK’S BEST FILMS

Zane), who quickly begins to terrorise the pair. Dark and creepy, it’s a lesson in film-making and proof that you don’t need big bangs and constant night to make a film deeply disturbing.

WEDNESDAY

King of Thieves (2018) (C5, 10pm)

Career criminal Brian Reader (Michael Caine) is devastated by the death of his wife, and commiserates in the company of friends and associates, including technical wizard Basil (Charlie Cox). Basil claims to have insider knowledge about the security system and layout of the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd, which holds millions of pounds in cash and uncut diamonds in its subterranean vault. One of several dramatisations of the April 2015 Hatton Garden robbery, King of Thieves offers an expletive-laden version of events masterminded by screenwriter Joe Penhall.

The Purge (2013) (ITV4, 10.40pm)

James DeMonaco’s brutal thriller is set in the very near future, when US politicians have come up with a radical way of dealing with crime – for one night every year, citizens can vent any violent urges by taking up knives and guns to kill anyone they choose without legal reprisals, supposedly guaranteeing peace on the other 364 days. On the night of ‘the purge’, security salesman James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) returns home to his luxurious gated community and his wife Mary (Lena Headey) and children Zoey and Charlie. But the calm is shattered when teenager Charlie temporarily raises the shutters to allow a homeless man (Edwin Hodge) to escape from a heavily armed mob, an act of kindness that has terrifying consequences.

Twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken have been two of the most recognisable TV medics of the past few years. This documentary examines their view of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the third week of lockdown in the UK, Chris returns to work on the wards for the first time in a decade. As he treats patients on the infectious disease wards, Chris discovers how unpredictable the virus can be. In March 2020, Xand contracts Coronavirus, which leaves him sluggish and tired. He also develops an irregular heart beat, which he thinks is part of the aftermath of his infection. Xand accepts an invitation to visit Philia Lodge Care Home in Peterborough, where they want to show him what they’re up against.

THURSDAY

The Core (2003) (Film4, 6.20pm)

It’s the end of the world as we know it in this big-budget actioner starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank and a scene-stealing Stanley Tucci. For reasons unknown, the Earth’s inner core has stopped rotating, causing the gradual deterioration of the planet’s vital electromagnetic field. A team of scientists and NASA experts are hastily convened to figure out a solution to the dilemma, resulting in six of them volunteering to travel 3,000 miles below the

Kirsten Dunst, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire, a lavish blockbuster based on Anne Rice’s bestselling novel