The Doom Generation (1995)

I remember The Doom Generation (1995) was released into cinemas when I was a teenager, as a hip US indie – maybe a bit on the back of Pulp Fiction and the similarity of Rose McGowan’s Louise Brooks bob/overall look to Uma Thurman. I also recall Roger Ebert – whose reviews I read back then […]

Exotica (1994)

Atom Egoyan’s early work was a regular fixture on SBS Saturday Cult Movie night and him, alongside Hal Hartley, defined a certain indie cinema aesthetic pre-Tarantino. I remember Egoyan’s break-out arthouse hit Exotica (1994) being advertised as an erotic thriller, posters and video boxes using the imagery of Mia Kirshner’s character dancing in a school […]

Daddy Longlegs (2009)

While just as stressful as later films by the Safdie Brothers like Good Time and Uncut Gems, their first major indie feature, Daddy Longlegs (2009) is also gentler in a way. It focuses on a dad played by their future co-writer and editor Ronald Bronstein (also a director of the indie Frownland) and his performance […]

Go Go Tales (2007)

Abel Ferrara makes a comedy, Go Go Tales (2007), which is set in a go-go joint strip club, a project he’d always wanted to make, describing it as “Cheers meets The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie.” Much like Cassavettes’ film, Go Go Tales sees the strip club as a metaphor for filmmaking, for creative expression […]

The Driller Killer (1979)

Now I’m a horror fan but not necessarily a gore-hound, so generally The Driller Killer (1979) never really appealed to me. However, I am a fan of director Abel Ferrara and this was his first low budget narrative film, so I felt it was time as I’m trying to be a completist about his filmography. […]