Reel_Addict

The single location setting inside the titular cell makes for a captivating watch, despite it's low-budget constraints.

Set inside a cell in a Women's prison, it sees the arrival of new inmate, Barbara. The back story leading to her incarceration is slowly revealed to cellmate Evelyn as the two strike up an interesting bond.

This is a worthy watch for fans of indie low-budget horrors looking for something a bit different. There are some interesting twists and psychological drama to keep you guessing and entertained.

Sya is an interesting suspense drama that plays well considering it's limited budget. In an era of increasing franchises, remakes, reboots and prequels it's refreshing to see a film revisit the classic 70's era of storytelling. The film is a potent mix of slow burn suspense, femme fatales and various cinematic styles/influences. You can see the influence of Italian Giallo, DePalma and Hitchcock. The plot keeps you guessing as to how everything will unravel.

At first glance "This is Your Death" poses a horrific, unimaginable concept - a new reality tv show in which people commit suicide in front of a live studio audience in exchange for a financial settlement for their loved ones left behind.

However, history has given us such violence in the form of gladiators, public executions and online content depicting torture & murder to name a few. Mix this with the seemingly never ending influx of reality shows, serving up increasingly bigger, bolder concepts and shock & awe tactics, it worryingly doesn't seem entirely unbelievable for such a show to exist in our future.

The characters are fairly predictable - from the cold hearted, soulless TV executive concerned most about ratings and the bottom line, to the individuals struggling in their lives and looking for a way out that the new reality show provides.

Where this film differs is in its attempt to concentrate more on the heart of the people involved rather than simply go down the "gore fest" route. We follow the shows host in what begins with his dark moral compass seeing the show as a way to celebrate the value of life, before things inevitably spiral out of control leading towards its finale.

The film holds up a dark mirror to us the audience - as however you come into watching it, be it intrigue or as a gore hound, you become as implicit as the reality show audience itself, giving warrant for a demand in depicting such suffering of human life.

Overall it's an interesting morality play on our society's reaction to violence and darkness we see in the news/media everyday. Is this the next step in our (d)evolution?