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H. P Lovecraft wrote The Call of Cthulhu in 1926 and ever since then filmmakers have attempted to bring the tentacled, mind-bending monster, to life. Although some productions have broken into cultural relevance with mainstream financial and critical success (The Mist, The Cabin in the Woods, Color out of Space and The Void) most attempts have been abysmal failures. The recent resurgence of Quantum Physics as a creative framework of cinematic exploration (Ant Man: Quantumania, Everything Everywhere All At Once) also opened new, and previously unexplored, avenues for genre filmmakers to probe and examine.

Director and Co-Writer Larry Wade Carrell is the latest filmmaker to venture into a creative amalgamation of these metacognitive and theoretical realms with The Quantum Devil.

An international team of scientists are summoned to a remote location in eastern Europe in an effort to breach the quantum barrier and travel to another dimension. Their shady pasts are revealed, and the true nature of the experiment is beyond anything they could have predicted.

The scope of creating a Lovecraftian horror film is a staggering challenge due to the magnitude of the literary creature and the profoundly existential mythology created since H. P Lovecraft's original works. Filmmakers often struggle to do these aspects justice and fail miserably in the execution of intricate, yet universal, meta-physical concepts. Carrell's approach to the topic is fantastically ambitious as he not only explores the Cthulhu mythos, but also connects it with more modern films, including the science fiction elements of Minority Report and Inception, the claustrophobic paranoia of Escape Room and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, as well as hints of body-horror from Hellraiser and Dawn of the Dead. These elements blend together seamlessly enough to pay homage to the originals as well as justify the ambitions of the director.

The Quantum Devil does suffer significantly from a lack of likeable characters and an inordinate use of scientific jargon that feels rehearsed and unnaturally performed. The cast of scientists are truly unbelievable as serious Academics, with both female protagonists (Tamara Radovanovic and Ariadna Cabrol) either dressed as early 2000's ravers, prostitutes, or at best, Alice from the Resident Evil franchise. Their male counterparts, Tyler Tackett and Edward Apeagyei, are given more development and pathos, but ultimately, they too, are left floundering in a sea of chaotic dialogue and underdeveloped motivations. The standout performance of the film is undoubtably Neil Dickson (Inland Empire, Haunting of the Innocent) as the disgraced Physicist, Dr. Richard Cernovich, who calls the other scientists together to complete his quantum experiment. Dickson's intense, but fun performance is a much needed, professional, and devious delight.

The second half of The Quantum Devil leans heavily into the horror aspect of the Lovecraftian mythology, unfortunately, with SyFy channel quality CGI, but rectifies the flawed special effects with high-standard practical gore. The visualisation of Cthulhu is a stunning sight to behold, and the voice-acting cameo is a stroke of sublime genius.

Larry Wade Carrell is obviously a H. P Lovecraft fan and his attempt at creating something in the author's literary universe is commendable and brave. His affinity bleeds through The Quantum Devil's narrative, with easter-eggs and foreshadowing, playfully, sprinkled throughout the film, and although the lofty ambitions weren't fully realized, there is definitely some bloodstained fun to be had by all horror fans.

Horror filmmakers have attempted to replicate the phenomenal cultural success of The Exorcist since its release in 1973. Some have come close to achieving this accolade, including The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and the found-footage entry, The Last Exorcism (2010). The possession sub-genre has even spawned a few phenomenally financially successful franchises (Insidious, The Conjuring), but no single film has ever caught the imagination as fully as William Friedkin's masterpiece.

Julius Avery made a splash with his gratuitous, splat-gore zombie war-thriller Overlord in 2018. With The Pope's Exorcist, Avery is taking aim at more established, but controversial, topics of religious mythology and possession.

In 1987, the Pope (Franco Nero) sends his chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) to investigate a strange case of possession of a young boy. Amorth is joined by a younger priest, Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), and together they battle the demon and discover a centuries-long secret that could destroy the Vatican.

Avery's approach to The Pope's Exorcist is astute, following the highly lucrative template established by the financial juggernaut that is the Conjuring franchise. His focus on the "true" files of an actual Catholic Priest is reminiscent of the "based on true events" promised by protagonists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The fact that the Warrens have been proven to be fraudsters and hoaxers, notwithstanding. Avery also shrewdly aligned himself with two screenwriters who have created relatively successful possession/exorcism scripts, Michael Petroni, The Rite (2011) and Evan Spiliotopolous, The Unholy (2021). But without question, the biggest masterstroke of The Pope's Exorcist 's approach, is the choice of subject, Father Amorth himself. Amorth even caught the eye of William Friedkin, who filmed the clergyman for a documentary, The Devil and Father Amorth. The gregarious and enchanting man of the cloth would have had numerous tall tales to tell, once boasting to have successfully completing "100 000 exorcisms" and enjoyed the company of an obviously undoubting audience.

Russell Crowe portrays the holy man with an unvarnished charisma, a staple of the Australian actor, subverting the traditional view of religious fundamentalists and creating a very amiable human character. Crowe also playfully pulls off the often-misplaced humour and the interactions with fellow priest Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto) easily could have devolved into a simplistic buddy-cop trope, but the chemistry between the actors ground the performances. Amorth is a cynical, almost sceptical, character, while Esquibel is a more naïve, devoted follower of the Catholic status quo. The storyline plays out like a religious adventure a' la The Da Vinci Code, whilst Crowe exudes a James Bond-like bravado, which makes for a fun, fresh approach to the sub-genre. Crowe's abysmal attempt at an Italian accent, however, is truly shocking, but at least it is a slight improvement on his voice-work in Thor: Love and Thunder.

The cinematography by Khalid Mohtaseb is also noteworthy and commendable. The movement and positioning of the camera creates a claustrophobic, menacing, but mischievous mood, creating a feeling of seeing the events from the point of view of the clandestine demon. The atmosphere feels oppressive and bristling with threat.

The plot and story of The Pope's Exorcist does unfortunately become incredibly self-serving and predictable, with the gruff priest refusing to pass the torch to the younger man and the final twist of the Vatican's secret feeling disingenuous and even disrespectful to the memory of those who were actually affected by the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition.

Father Amorth once told The Sunday Telegraph- "You must always go to the doctor before you go to the exorcist..." I could not agree more. There is nothing too offensive about The Pope's Exorcist, but there is no reason to search any further than the classic The Exorcist, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023, for an exhilarating, shocking and petrifying exorcism film.

"It's not creepy, it's a tragedy." With these words, writer-director Charlotte Colbert unequivocally announces her intentions with her award-winning directorial debut, She Will. Colbert brings a uniquely feminine vision to the predominantly male centric horror industry, but has aligned herself astutely with a master of the genre, Dario Argento.

Argento's exploration of witches (Suspiria) and his origins in Giallo (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage) are clearly evident in She Will, but Colbert adds a modern, feminist edge to the film and pays homage to numerous other horror influences including John Carpenter and Wes Craven, both of whom have a career-long predilection for strong female leads.

An aging film star Veronica (Alice Krige) retreats to a Scottish countryside retreat with her nurse Desi (Kota Eberhardt) to recover from a double mastectomy. Veronica is confronted by her traumatic past and effected by mysterious forces after discovering the area's bloody history with female persecution and the burning of "witches".

The Witch-horror sub-genre has a checkered history with a limited rate of cinematic success, from the frivolous (Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic) to the misguided (The Lords of Salem, Season of the Witch), while truly visionary efforts like The Witch, Suspiria and The Blair Witch Project are astonishingly rare. She Will is an understated, but ambitious attempt by Charlotte Colbert to add herself to the short list of filmmakers who have created these standout productions. In collaborating with Argento, Colbert has given herself the best chance at creating something seminal and distinct, but Colbert's shrewd decision-making did not end there. The addition of composer Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, The Fountain) was another stroke of genius. Mansell's compositions are mesmerising and dream-like, adding a layer of intrigue to the film that leaves the viewer unnerved and breathless. The cinematography of Jamie Ramsey (Living, See How They Run) is equally noteworthy as he allows scenes to be filled with subtle movement and deeply vivid colours, whilst creating a vastness and isolation in each image which leaves the viewer almost completely untethered. Reality is creatively blurred with fog and kaleidoscopic fragments with the characters' awakenings stunningly visualised as they become aware of their own powers and new-found boundaries.

However, it is the addition of Alice Krige (Sleepwalkers, Silent Hill), who gives a career best performance and is the most magnificent highlight of the film. The often-underappreciated working-actor, brings defiant gravitas and unflinching realism to a character who has been stripped of her beauty and fame, which she previously used as a mask and defence against the men who have mistreated and abused her. She is laid bare and left with only the most basic essence of herself, and the belief that survival depends on her being "all teeth and claws". Krige embodies this character with a lived-in confidence and a powerful vulnerability as she accepts her trauma and is ultimately empowered by it.

Veronica (Krige) not only empowers herself, but extends the opportunity to the more submissive Desi (Kota Eberhardt). She hands the key to female sovereignty to the younger female and reminds her that apologies are not needed for independence and gender equality. This concession is hard fought and at the expense of Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Halloween), the abusive film director who catapulted Veronica to fame at the age of 13. Every interaction with male characters is a battle of attrition, which initially leaves the female characters marginalised and stifled, until they find their own power and wield it without mercy.

Colbert has crafted a majestic piece of cinematic art. The deliberate, meandering pacing might be an obstacle for some, but even this creative choice adds a contemporary, elevated dimension to a beautifully constructed film.