Girl Rebels - Graphic Novel Blog Tour

 

''From what age are we allowed to change the world?' Six girls, five empowering adventures. From climate activism to fighting for education and gun control, each story delves deep into the personal struggles and triumphs of remarkable individuals.

'The Girl Rebels graphic novel shares the extraordinary journeys of six young women who refused to be silenced in the face of adversity and have since become symbols of change. Through rich storytelling and stunning visuals, readers will be inspired by the unwavering spirit of Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Yusra Mardini, Emma ‘X’ Gonzalez and the Parkland Kids, and Melati and Isabel Wijsen. Each turn of the page will draw readers into the lives of these young girls, who never intended to become spokespeople or flag-bearers, but have now become inspiring icons and role models for thousands of young people all over the world.

'Carefully crafted by a talented team of international authors, the anthology presents a compelling exploration of youth activism and social change. The noblest battles of the modern world are brought to life by diverse and renowned illustrators, such as Bret Parson and Gijé. Girl Rebels is for fans of thrilling real-life stories and youth activism around the globe. Join these brave young women on their journey to change the world and discover the power of resilience, determination, and solidarity.'

I think that it's human nature to want to leave some mark on the world, to feel like your life meant something, even if only something small. It's the reason why people make art, why the seek fame, and for some, it's why they enter the world of politics. And whilst all of these paths are indeed ways to make a legacy for yourself, to be remembered for doing something, the people who make the biggest impact tend to be those who don't seek fame and fortune. It's the people who try to make the world a better place simply because it's a good thing to do who become the most inspiring. Girl Rebels takes a look at several young woman and girls who have done just that, who have stood up for decent ideals, who have put themselves in danger, to try to make the world around them a better place. 

As the title of the book says, this collection of short biographical comics focuses on girl, most still just children when their real story begins, who have done what most of us would see as the impossible. They've stood up to tyrants, have gone against political systems, have challenged people in power, and for that they've earned the title of rebels. There will be names here you know of, and others you don't, but each of them will end up being some of the most inspiring people you'll hear about; people we should all try and emulate a little bit more.

The first story centres on Malala Yousafzi, a young woman who was born in Pakistan, a country where girls and women are treated as second class citizens, where they're not given an education, where their role is simply to serve the men in their lives. Thanks to Malala's father, Ziauddin, being a teacher who believed in progressive morals and the freedom of women, taught his daughter to read and write in a system that said it was wrong. He opened a school for girls, and life was good for a while for Malala and her family. Until the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), an Islamist extremist group, began to enforce Sharia Law in Malala's homeland of Swat. Faced with open violence and threats for daring to be educated, Malala refused to back down, and even began to speak out against the TNSM in the media. And for this, Malala was shot in the head.

This would be where most stories would end, but Malala survived this attack, recovered in Britain, and went on to continue her fight for the rights of women and girls in Pakistan, and the world. Malala would meet with world leaders, speak on the international stage, and would become the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize (amongst other accolades) for her work in fighting for education equality. 

Malala is perhaps one of the most famous names in this collection, and her story of being gunned down by terrorists because of her beliefs and refusal to be broken, as well as her survival against all odds, made her an international name. Whilst I was aware of the key points of her story there were still a lot of details about her that I didn't know, and this book helped to fill in those gaps in my knowledge; but most importantly, it spent time showing the girl behind the story. The early parts of her chapter spend time showing her family life, of the happiness she had before the TNSM came into her life, and it helped to remind me that she's not just this amazing, inspiring figure, she's a real person.

The art on this section is provided by Vittoria 'Vic' Macioci, an Italian illustrator, who makes a heavy use of both red and blue throughout. The colours aren't just used randomly, however, as Macioci seems to be using them very carefully. For the most part most of the panels will be coloured in various shades of blue, with even the people being in these cold, muted tones. Except for Malala. She's always in red, and stands out on every panel. But she's not the only one. Every now and then there's more red. Her father is coloured red when he's teaching Malala to read, her mother is red on the occasions she's doing something like encouraging her daughter, or revealing she's also learning to read. The rest of the time the two of them are blue, blending in with everyone else. It seems that Macioci is using red as a sign of rebellion, of going against the norm. Malala is the embodiment of this, is always doing this, and her fire and passion shows through in her colouring, and the times others join her, their colours change too. It's a trick that people might not even pick up on, and I didn't at first, but the art seems to be reinforcing that Malala is different to the people around her, that she's something special, and that she can inspire others to be as well.

The second chapter is about Greta Thunberg, the most famous of the girls featured in this collection, and the one whose face graces the cover. Like Malala, Greta is another girl that I was aware of, and its her tireless action, and the way that western media outlets have painted her, that has brought her international fame. I've heard people in my life bring up Greta with derision, calling her 'weird', or 'annoying', people in the generation above me talking about her like she's a loud child who should stay in her lane. These are people whose opinions are mostly shaped by uncritically absorbing one right wing, billionaire own news source who wants to make anyone who threatens them the villain. This isn't that surprising, as there are many people who will take what's in a tabloid as gospel and believe what they're told. But for many, especially younger people, Greta is an iconic, fierce proponent for a better world for all of us. 

Greta's section begins long before her fight for the environment began, and shows us a very young girl who struggles to fit into the world around her. Greta has Aspergers syndrome, as well as obsessive compulsive disorder, both of which made her early life difficult. This especially came into affect when Greta, who was just eight at the time, learned about climate change in school and couldn't understand why no one cared that we were destroying our planet, and putting humanity's future at heavy risk. Thanks to the way that Greta saw the world, and her obsessive personality, she became focused on doing something to change this. Greta, at fifteen, staged a school walk-out, sitting outside the Swedish parliament to bring attention to her cause. Even though she began alone, others followed, and soon there were hundreds of others with her, as well as hundreds more in other countries.

Greta became a leader of the movement because of her actions and her passion, and her example inspired many other people to begin fighting for a better world. Over the coming years Greta would speak on the international stage, talking COP24, gave an impassioned speech at the UN, and working with Native American reservations, as well as meeting with multiple world leaders and famous figures. Greta might be young, and her even younger appearance has led to many people discounting her as 'just a child', but she has always risen to the occasion, bringing brutally honest speeches, well researched points, and an undeniable passion to everything she does. The world is on the brink, and to deny climate change and the ill effects that it's had on the planet would be so blatantly wrong that you're either living in complete denial, or have little sense. This is an issue that is affecting us all, that will affect the youngest the most, and is leading to human extinction. It cannot be ignored, and Greta Thunberg is not only making it her life's work, she's inspiring others to do the same; and with so much resting on this issue that doesn't just make her a rebel, it makes her one of the best of us all.

The art for Greta's section is by Jérôme Gillet, also known as Gijé, a 2D animator and artist from Lubumbashi. The colours for the chapter tend to be quite muted in tone, with pages filled with sepia tones, light blues and greys, the occasional splash of yellow or red peaking through to offer some warmth. It's a different kind of look to what most big two publisher comics offer, but for those that read more independent European comics it definitely evokes that kind of feel. The most impressive part of the art, however, is how well Gillet has managed to capture Greta's likeness. Even when it's tiny child Greta, younger than the public knew her, it's so clearly her. A lot of the expressions that we're used to seeing on Greta are here, and the drawings have much of the determination, humour, and quiet reflection that we've come to recognise in her. It's easily my favourite section artistically, and for me it was the most beautiful.

The third chapter tells the story of Yusra Mardini, a young woman that I'd not heard of before reading this book. Born in Syria, Yusra grew up in Damascus, where her father, an ex-swimmer for the Syrian national swimming team, trained Yusra and her sister to swim from a young age. Yusra developed a passion for swimming, and was inspired watching the 2004 Olympics, deciding that she wanted to compete on the international stage when she was older. In 2011, however, Syria descended into civil war, a conflict that put her family at risk; and Yusra was even almost killed when a rocket landed in the same pool she was training in, with her only surviving because it didn't detonate. 

Deciding that they weren't safe in Syria anymore, the Mardini family made a dangerous trek to Lebanon, then Turkey, where they arranged to be transported via boat to Greece. However, the dinghy, which was dangerously over capacity, was abandoned by their smuggler, and the twenty people on board were left in dangerous waters. With the motor broken, and the boat taking on water, Yusra and her sister jumped into the water and pulled the dinghy towards their destination for hours. Eventually reaching Lesbos, Yusra and her sister continued on through Greece, to Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, and Austria, until they reached their final destination, Germany. The two of them were eventually reunited with their parents and younger sister in Germany, and it was here that Yusra continued her swimming career.

With the help of a social worker, she met an Olympic swimming trainer, who saw her skill and potential. Yusra began to swim again, and after a short while she was asked to join the newly created Refugee Team in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Unsure about entering the games as a refugee, she eventually decided to do so after receiving a message from a young refugee boy from Syria who was inspired by her story. Thanks to this Yusra entered the games, and was one of the first Refugee athletes. Despite not taking the winners podium, Yusra and her story inspired people across the world, and she would use her new fame to speak on the behalf of refugees in some of the most important places, and would meet with world and religious leaders. She became the youngest ever UN Goodwill Ambassador, and would form the Yusra Mardini Foundation to support sports and education for refugee communities. Yusra helped to show the world that refugees are not only deserving of respect and support, but that if given the chance they can do amazing things. 

Jocelyn Joret brings Yusra's story to life, using fairly simple and bold artwork to do so. Joret's style is distinctly different to the other sections in the book, and has a more cartoonish look at times. The characters are often drawn with simple dots for eyes, with big, exaggerated expressions that are used the heighten the emotions people are expressing. Joret also uses blues and oranges that are used to make some stark contrasts.

There are a lot of things that can inspire people to try and do great things, but it's a heart breaking fact that it's often tragedy that leads to this. This is highlighted in shocking detail in the fourth chapter of Girl Rebels, Emma and the Parkland Kids. The story begins at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida on the morning of February 14th 2018. The first couple of pages shows the students arriving at school, being excited for the day, exchanging valentines, and enjoying the happiness of youth. And then the gunman arrives. We spend a few pages seeing the events of the now infamous shooting, and whilst the book doesn't show graphic images of people being killed it still manages to hammer home the brutality and horror of the event, and it makes for a hard read. 

But what makes this different from the 2,933 other school shootings since the US began recording them? It's because this time the kids didn't just let politicians and new pundits offer 'thoughts and prayers' and do nothing to change things. David Hogg, one of the students, was one of the first to speak out about the incident, and spoke various reporters that night, challenging people to actually do something to stop this from happening again. Other students joined Hogg, and whilst they were passionate about making a difference they needed organisation, and this came in the form of Emma (X) González. The teens created the Never Again Movement, and organised a rally that gained national attention and put Emma in the spotlight. 

Through Emma's impassioned speeches, the students use of social media, and the much needed change that was wanted by most every student in the US, the movement gained traction, and David Hogg was even able to stump Florida's senator during a live debate that showed the corruption within politics and their refusal to denounce money from gun lobbies. However, it was the action on the 24th March that made history. Eight hundred protests took place across America, and 800,000 people marched on Washington, more than double those who attended Trump's inauguration. Emma delivered a brutal, heartfelt speech that day that moved millions who watched it, and helped to begin a series of changes that would see 137 new gun laws passed in the US. Whilst it feels like little has changed, with 1,493 school shootings taking place in the last six years since Parkland (not including the others in 2018) the actions of the Never Again Movement and the children who led it have helped to show the world that America and its gun laws are broken, and that its children are paying for that with their lives.

The Parkland section is illustrated by Brett 'BlitzCadet' Parson, a US artist who has worked for big comic publishers in the past. His work felt somewhat familiar to me, and it wasn't until I read his credit that I realised why. Parson had worked on Tank Girl in the past, and when seeing his depiction of Emma González you can see a lot of that fierce, almost punk aesthetic in her that Tank Girl oozes. In some ways the story being told here feels like it should be one of the larger than life parody stories found in a book like that, of children having to campaign for the right to exist, to not have to fear being shot at any moment, in a country where guns have more rights than children. But it's not parody, it's somehow real life. The art fits that tone well, where it feels like it's larger than life and ridiculous, yet is very grounded in how it presents itself. The opening few pages, that show the shooting, are perhaps the most impactful in the book, pages that don't need dialogue to tell us what's happening, to describe the tragedy involved, because the art puts you in that moment with brutal honesty.

The final chapter tells the story of sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen, climate activists living in Indonesia. Born in Bali, the sisters grew up loving the beauty of their home, a beauty that was destroyed one day when they stumbled across a beach covered in rubbish and plastic waste from the ocean. The two of them attended a revolutionary school, one that was geared towards nature and living well with the natural environment. It was here that the two of them learned more about pollution and how waste has affected the natural world, particularly their home. It was these lessons about the environment, as well as the schools lessons on inspiring figures, that sparked a passion in the young sisters. Melati and Isabel decided that something needed to be done about the plastic waste ruining Bali.

Tackling all plastic waste wouldn't be an easy task for two children, so the focused on plastic bags, and formed Bye Bye Plastic Bags, a movement to ban plastic bags from Bali. The two of them organised beach clean-ups, the first ever flash mob in a Bali spiritual location, and spoke at the Global Issues Network to raise awareness. They targeted people at the airport to collect signatures for a petition to ban plastic bags, and created a scheme for local businesses that agreed to do so, labelling them as environmental businesses (as well as highlighting those that wouldn't do it). Despite their hard work they couldn't get an audience with the governor, not until the two of them went on a hunger strike to raise more attention to the cause. 

This meeting resulted in the governor agreeing to ban plastic bags in Bali, a decision that would push the sisters on to fight for even more change. The two of them would speak at COP24, the Economic Forum of Davos, and the UN. Over the years since Bye Bye Plastic Bags has gone on to form more than 50 teams around the world, they've mobilised more than 57,000 young people to take action, and removed more than 155 tons of plastic waste in Bali alone. Melati and Isabel have been named as two of the most inspirational young women in the world, and have gone on to inspire others, showing people across the globe that even a tiny change can spark something bigger, and that no positive action is too small to make a difference. 

Swiss illustrator Rebecca 'Ninig' Traynuig brings the Wijsen sisters story to life with beautiful art that feels reminiscent of watercolour art. Relying heavily on blue tones, Traynuig makes the young sisters stand out on the page thanks to them being the only figures with warmth to them, with browns and flesh tones used to make them and other people pop on the page. Traynuig's line work is fantastic, and captures a lot of emotion on her characters, and is able to portray the beauty of the environments well, and the final page of the story is a gorgeous double page splash that inspires hope, and shows two sisters love for each other and the world they've decided to fight for. 

Girl Rebels is one of those reads where you come away feeling changed by it. It's easy to be inspired by fiction, characters can be larger than life, the odds can be made fantastical, and it's easy to have good win out in the end; but when it comes to real life that's not always the case. The world is often a terrible, cruel, and uncaring place, filled with people who will turn on each other given half a chance and care for little outside themselves. But that's not everyone. 

There are good people out there, most people are. And there are those who don't just want to be good, but to do good, who are so filled with the drive to do more, to make things better for others that they have to stand up and do the extraordinary. It's inspiring to hear these kind of stories, but when it's children it becomes even more inspiring. And in a world where children are often infantilised and ignored, and girls especially, those who refuse to be put down or overlooked by the adults around them become beacons. These aren't just rebels, they're not just young leaders, impassioned speakers, or dedicated activists, the young people in this book are some of the best that humanity has to offer.

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Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear - Book Review

 

'The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children. But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story.

'Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir. Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.

'Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land. To save her sons and reclaim their birth right, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight. All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.'

Myth and legend has long been used to inspire new works, and even a lot of those legends are reinterpretations of other stories that have existed in the world. There are certain stories and character archetypes that have survived over the centuries because they've appealed to people on a deeper level, and these tend to be the ones that get adapted over and over again. There are hundreds of versions of Hercules, Thor, and other legendary heroes. Lauren J.A. Bear seems to take a different approach with her writing, however, instead focusing in on the lesser known characters, those who play a smaller part in another's story, and focuses on them instead. She did that with her debut novel, Medusa's Sisters, and is doing that once again with the spectacular Mother of Rome.

Most people will likely be familiar with the characters of Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers raised by a fierce wolf who would go on to found the city of Rome, creating one of the largest empires to ever exist. But that tends to be where the knowledge ends. Where did these two come from, and what led them to be raised by a wild animal? These are the questions that Bear is focusing on, giving the answers her now signature twist, transforming the story into something deeper and more surprising than ever before.

Rhea Silvia is the only daughter of King Numitor, a king troubled by much grief at the loss of his queen and their eldest son to illness years before. When his only other son is lost he falls into a pit of grief and despair; a despair that leaves to upheaval for the kingdom. Rhea is sent to join the order of the Vestal Virgins by her uncle, where she's expected to spend decades in service to the gods and celibacy. Unknown to anyone though, Rhea has been visited by the Roman god Mars, and the two of them have entered into a relationship. Before she takes her vows with the order she falls pregnant to the god, something that earns her a death sentence. With her sons lost out in the world and her dead, it's believed that that's where Rhea's story ends. However, at the moment of her death Rhea makes a deal with the goddess Cybele, and becomes the very wolf that will care for her sons and raise them to greatness.

One of the things that I have come to adore with Bear's writing is that women get put in the centre of things. It's not going to be surprising news to anyone that in a lot of these stories from the ancient world women don't get the best roles. Prizes to be won for men, victims to be brutalised, monsters to be vanquished. Women are obstacles or set-dressing to men's heroics. But Bear has twice now shone the light on the women of these myths, and has given them more agency, humanity, and wonder than any of these ancient storytellers have ever done.

Rhea is a character that goes through a lot of changes over the course of her narrative, and not just physically. She's a loving daughter who cares about her father and her role as a princess. She understands duty and knows that she will need to marry in order to strengthen the kingdom. Because of this, when we see her watching her father lose himself to drug and grief induced madness it's incredibly tragic, and seeing it through her eyes shows the very human impact of an event that's usually described in the broader terms, as something that befalls a kingdom. Rhea is used to humanise the people around her, and it's through her connections and love for them that this tale is made a little less fantastical and into something that most people will be able to connect with.

Bear also uses the Order of the Vestal Virgins in a similarly interesting way. Often this group is presented as something of a punishment, a life sentence where Rhea will be locked away without her own agency. And whilst the book doesn't try to paint it as something else, it does give it more depth than other tellings of the story. Rhea comes to respect the order and its members, she makes connections with them, and you can start to see it as less of a prison and more of a sisterhood; a sisterhood that will echo down through Rhea's story.

The most obviously impactful changes in her story are her motherhood, and her life after her death. As far as I'm aware most versions Rhea's story end with her death, and the folding of her narrative into the rest of the story, making her Lupa the she-wolf who cares for her sons, is something that is unique to Bear's telling. When I read the synopsis for the book and saw that change I thought that it made perfect sense to do that, and having now read the book I can't believe that this wasn't just the original myth. It works perfectly. It fits with the world of gods, magic, and the fantastical, but it also works on a thematic level; a mother whose love is so strong that she returns from death to care for her sons in a new form, of course that's what happened.

Much like with Medusa's Sisters, Mother of Rome will change the way that you look at this story, and will reframe what you know in such a way that it'll become the only version you have in your head. I've been unable to view Medusa as anything but a hugely tragic and mistreated figure since Bear's first book, and now I'm not going to be able to see the myth of Rhea or her sons again without this narrative being chiefly at the forefront of my mind. Bear is a master at reinterpreting these stories, at putting women at the centre of them, and making them feel varied, flawed, real, and strong beyond belief. If you're looking for a feminist take on these ancient tales this is the book for you.

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Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson by Jesse J. Holland (editor) - Book Review

 

'The new Captain America has a big shield to carry. Is he up to the task? In these short stories inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, Sam Wilson takes up the shield and proves his mettle.

'Sam Wilson has a heavy shield to lift as the new Captain America. Read an action-packed anthology about Sam Wilson. Inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, the stories will see Sam prove he is ready to carry the shield as he faces Skrulls, Sabretooth, Kingpin, and other infamous villains.

'A revolutionary anthology written by authors of African Heritage and inspired by the Marvel Comics universe. Slated to take part are several noted, award-winning authors including bestselling author Kyoko M., fantasy author L.L. McKinney, crime writer Gary Phillips, sci-fi author Sheree Renée Thomas, comics creator Alex Simmons, horror and mystery writer Nicole Givens Kurtz, and many more. Edited by Jesse J. Holland, distinguished visiting scholar in residence at the U. S. Library of Congress who edited the Marvel anthology Black Tales of Wakanda and wrote the novelization of the graphic novel Black Who Is the Black Panther?, which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for outstanding Literary Work.'

Captain America has been an icon for decades, a symbol of the better qualities of America, the belief in truth, justice, equality, and bravery. He's been an inspiration for millions across his multiple stories, even being willing to go against the American government in order to stand on the right side of history. He's the kind of person we should all aspire a little bit to be. But Captain America is more than one man, more than just Steve Rodgers, and a decade ago another man took up the shield and became Captain America. Unlike others, this wasn't a gimmick, it wasn't keeping the costume warm for Steve, it was what has so far been a permanent change. Sam Wilson, the hero known as the Falcon, became a new Captain America.

There was some controversy when this happened, due to the fact that Sam is Black. There were outcries of 'woke ideology' taking over Captain America (an absolute joke of a comment when you consider Cap has always been progressive), and these were the nicest of negative comments as some people used this as an excuse to be the worst kinds of bigots they could be. But despite this, Sam Wilson has stood tall as Captain America ever since. Even when Steve returned to the role Sam remain Captain America, giving us two Caps. And now Sam Wilson is wielding the shield on the big screen. Sam Wilson IS Captain America, even if it still feels like he's having to prove that fact a decade on to those that will never accept a Black man as the symbol of the United States. 

This is a theme that carries heavily across the stories collected in Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson. Eleven authors, all of whom are Black, bring together stories about Sam Wilson proving that he's worthy to hold the title of Captain America, dealing with those who say he could never be Cap, and learning more about what the mantle means to him and his own place in the world.

I'm a white British person, I don't know what it's like to be treated differently because of the colour of my skin, I've never experienced systemic racism the way that Black communities in the United States do, so my experience with this short story collection and what it will mean to those within that community. Sam Wilson being Captain America is a big thing, something important that generated a lot of reactions across the board. A lot of these reactions are explored in these stories, whether it's Sam being told he's 'not my Captain America' by racists who are desperate to use a slur, to allies who reassure him that he's more than earned the title and embodies what it is to be Cap, and even those within the Black community who feel that his change from Falcon is some kind of betrayal, as if he's 'selling out'.

I don't know if this was a theme that the authors were told to include, or whether it's even now, a decade on from him taking up the shield, something that's still so hotly debated; either way, these elements appear in most of the stories in the book, and create a thematic throughline that connects them. It also helps to humanise Sam in a lot of ways. With certain heroic figures it's easy to make them into icons, larger than life characters that feel removed from the rest of humanity. In Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson Sam very much feels like a normal person, one with fears, self doubt, and faults that we all have. He might be wearing the costume of Captain America, but he's still very much a person, and that sets him aside from Steve Rodgers in some ways, as we get to know the man behind the shield.

Whilst a lot of the stories here feel thematically connected they all manage to have their own distinct identities, approaching the character of Sam Wilson from different perspectives that not only keeps the book fresh and interesting, but shows hoe many facets the character has. The first story, 'Lost Cause' by Kyoko M. has Sam as more of a hero figure, flying in to help stop the villains and showcasing his larger than life attributes. This contrasts nicely with something like Gar Anthony Haywood's 'The Way Home', which sees Sam taking on a more personal case, talking to people, walking the streets of Harlem to help a kid that the authorities have simply ignored. We get to see Sam as Captain America, the symbol, but we also see him as a man who cares about people, who wants to help his former home.

Some of the stories focus less on Sam, and use him as a way to explore different ideas. One example of this would be 'Uniform' by Jesse J. Holland, in which Sam finds himself thrown backwards in time to World War Two, where he ends up spending some time with a regiment of Black soldiers. The story explores what it means to wear the uniform for these men, to proudly display the fact that they serve their country, are willing to lay down their lives for it when at home other Black men are being lynched for wearing it. It was an incredibly touching story, one that explores how difficult it must have been for these people to be in a situation like this, and whilst Sam is there, and gets to share his own unique thoughts on this as Captain America, he's more of a vehicle to have this discussion than the focus of it.

With the book being set in the world of the comics there's a lot of characters that readers will be familiar with who make appearances in these stories. These characters aren't just thrown in as cameo appearances (for the most part), and they tend to add something to Sam's journey. One story, 'Everyone's Hero' by Maurice Broaddus features Maria Hill, who begins the story somewhat adversarial, and you're unsure as to what she thinks of Sam as Cap, but by the end she's telling Sam 'the shield looks good on you', mirroring some of the themes of the story about whether Sam is worthy of being Cap and who's Captain America he is. 

John Walker, the US Agent, appears in a couple of the stories, and whilst he's used differently in each he works as a great foil for Sam. A man who took on the role of Captain America but gave it up to be his own hero, Walker offers a unique perspective on what Sam is going through, and his support of Sam being Captain America every step of the way won me over to the character instantly; there's one moment when he's literally choking out a soldier for muttering disrespect at Sam, and it's brilliant. Other characters like Steve Rodgers, Misty Knight, and Luke Cage are present in the book, though his more often used companion is his bird, Redwing. As someone who has read little about Redwing it was actually really interesting to see their relationship in these stories. 

Sam Wilson is an important character, one who has very much earned the right to be Captain America, yet who continues to be complained about by those who take one look at him and cannot accept a Black man representing their nation. Because of this he will continue to be one of the more important characters that Marvel have in their catalogue. Sam Wilson more than embodies what it means to be Captain America, and one could argue that his role isn't just earned but needed, now more than ever. This collection of stories showcases why he's such a good character, the kind of hate he gets, and why his presence is important. How you feel about Sam Wilson will affect what you take away from this book. If you're one of the people who will never accept a Black Captain America this book will likely do little to change your mind, but for the rest of us, those who understand and appreciate what this character means will find a lot of brilliant stories in this collection. 

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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman - Book Review

 

'Noah Fairchild has been losing his formerly polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the “Great Reawakening” is here, he assumes it’s related to one of the many conspiracy theories she believes in. But when his own phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the long drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles, a fridge full of spoiled food, and his parents locked in a terrifying trance-like state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it and get medical help. Then Noah’s mother brutally attacks him.

'But Noah isn’t the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart-–literally-–as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend watching particular channels, using certain apps, or visiting certain websites. In Noah’s Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn–-but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?'

There are occasions when a piece of media comes out and you can tell with absolute certainty that it was inspired by the world we're living in, where it's clear that the creator has something to say about the shape of the world and politics. Much great fiction has these elements in them, and Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is definitely one of these, but I also think that thanks to how the recent US presidential election ended this book is going to hit just a little harder, and potentially fuck people up just a bit more.

The basic plot of the book, without giving too much away, is that people who have been spending their time watching Fax News, and scrolling through right-wing social media sites, one day make a sudden turn. These conspiracy nuts angry bigots go from being the kind of people we're currently having to deal with into a crazed mass of killers. A switch is thrown and a politically aligned apocalypse hits the world and boy does this book feel even more relevant that it should have. It's clear that Clay McLeod Chapman was heavily inspired by events in America over the last decade, especially the Trump administration, but I suspect that this book was written as partly a 'imagine how bad things could have gotten' kind of narrative post-Trump. And then he got in again. As such, we're not getting to read this book post-Trump, we're reading it going into Trump 2.0, and a world that feels incredibly devoid of hope.

You can't say that McLeod Chapman knew this was coming, because most sane, rational people would have never imagined that we'd be going through this shit a second time, but it does feel a little bit like he created this book at just the right time for the narrative to really get under people's skin even more. I'm not even living in America, but I found reding this book so incredibly uncomfortable thanks to what's happening there that I can't help but wonder just how much harder this novel will hit American readers.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes tells the story of the Fairchild family, focusing on Noah. Noah's parents are right wingers, and his recent Thanksgiving visit ended badly thanks to his and his parents political views not aligning. This is a situation that a lot of people will be familiar with, of strained family gatherings as some relative or friend of the family comes out with something truly bigoted and disgusting and you're forced to bite your tongue for fear of causing some kind of fracture; especially as you know it'll get heated. Unfortunately for Noah, just holding your opinions in and thinking 'it's okay, the old bigots will be dead soon' no longer becomes an option as those on the right turn into raging maniacs.

I think that there's a lot of people out there who quite genuinely and correctly fear for their safety and the safety of those they love in the current political climate. We're living in a time where fascism is on the rise, where a convicted criminal and rapist has been given control of a world super power (for a second fucking time!), where 'free speech' has become so sacred that open hate speech and disinformation cannot be spoken out against, and where rights of minority groups are being eroded. It's right to be afraid of that, and if you are Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is going to prey on those fears. Suddenly it's not the nebulous 'they're coming for you' of political violence, but actual physical violence. It's the rage virus mixed with right wing media, and that's disturbing as hell.

The book doesn't just rely on these internal fears from the real world, as McLeod Chapman goes hard on the horror elements too. The Fax zombies are nasty, brutal people, and the book doesn't shy away from showing what they do to the non-infected. The book has physical violence, harm to animals, sexual assault, school violence, and other terrible things that are described in vivid, brutal fashion. Even without the political elements Wake Up and Open Your Eyes would be a hard read.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is not an easy book to get through. It's disturbing as hell, in part because of the world in which it's been released. I would recommend it as a frightening horror story, but I'd also do so with a warning; this is not going to be a fun read, it might get too much, it might be a little too close to comfort at times, so take a break if need be, don't try reading it all at once. There's one thing that makes this book not totally devoid of cheer or hope though, the fact that we're pretty confident that whilst these people may try and kill us in real life they at least won't do it as murderous rage zombies. We hope.

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Nosferatu - Film Review

 

There are some films where the history of the movie can be as interesting as the film itself; and 1922's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is definitely one of these. A silent German Expressionist movie that was an unofficial adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel Dracula, the film was almost lost to time when the Stoker estate used copyright law to have all copies of the movie rounded up and burnt. Luckily, a few scattered versions remained, and it passed on into film history as one of the most influential vampire films of all time. The idea that sunlight can kill vampires came from the original film, it shaped vampire myth that much! Over the years it has been remade, but it has always remained something of an oddity, a monster movie with an almost comical creature in the middle of it, and somewhat weighed down by it's dubious connection to the more famous Dracula. However, director Robert Eggers has managed to elevate Nosferatu, creating one of the more ambitious, and beautifully crafted vampire films ever made; and has elevated Count Orlok into a figure of fear. 

Following the plot of the original, Nosferatu centres on Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), a young woman who's been haunted by nightmarish visions and dark dreams her entire life; the opening scene of the film takes us into one of these dreams, and sets the tone for everything that comes after. Her newlywed husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), eager to find a way to better support his new wife and provide for her, takes on a long assignment from his boss, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney), which will require him to travel to Transylvania, where he will finalise the selling of an old manor. Leaving Ellen with family friends Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his wife Anna (Emma Corrin), Thomas sets out for a weeks long journey.

Finally arriving in Transylvania, he's met with fearful locals, tales of the supernatural, and urgings to not travel to the castle where he's to meet his client. As Thomas approaches the castle his mind enters an almost delirious state, with things taking on a more nightmarish and dreamlike quality. Before he knows it, he's inside the ancient castle, face to face with the terrifying Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård). Thomas soon realises that there's something truly evil about the Count, and is forced to fight for his life against the monster. Back home, Ellen's mind begins to deteriorate as her past mental health issues and depression returns. She becomes convinced that there's some dark force that's coming to her, one that spells doom for everyone. 

From the opening scene it's clear that Nosferatu is a film that's going to be an audio and visual treat. Opening to creepy, off-kilter music box notes and a dream sequence devoid of colour, a deep bluish grey taking over every frame, this is a movie filled with style. Yet thankfully it's not one that forgets that you need more than style to carry a movie. Every scene is carefully thought out, either being used to further build the characters, or moving the story forward in some important way. It's a film that feels like it's being very tight with what it puts on screen, giving you exactly what you need to feel invested in the narrative and those involved, and by the time the credits roll you'll be wondering how more than two hours could have passed in what felt like such a short time.

Eggers has been praised for the way that he presents his movies since he exploded onto the scene with The Witch, a film that captured the era it was set in more than most others; to the point where I remember seeing negative comments and reviews for the more period accurate language that was used in the movie. The Lighthouse was a film filled with visual flair, with it's black and white footage and use of heavy shadows and carefully thought out lighting, a lot of people who'd not seen the movie could identify it from an image because it became so well known for how it looked. Nosferatu feels like a great marriage of the two, crafting a wonderfully detailed and believable period setting that feels genuine but also manages to feel otherworldly thanks to the cinematography.

I want to take a moment to talk a little about the look of the film before delving into the other aspects. One of the chief things I took away from Nosferatu when I came out of the cinema, a point that I made to the people I was there with, was that the film makes you grateful for the invention of the lightbulb. The film has three types of scenes, those shot during the day, scenes set in darkness that feel desaturated and almost devoid of colour, and night scenes where the use of candles, lanterns, and other sources of fire creates a thick, almost oppressive orange haze. There are a lot of films and television shows that seem to either take a stylised approach to night scenes, or have become so dark in a bid to be 'realistic' that you can hardly make out anything ('The Long Night' episode of Game of Thrones being almost universally criticised for this). 

Nosferatu feels like it's own animal. Things feel realistic in the sense that it hammer home how oppressive the nights were back then, and how firelight was an awful way of seeing things. Yet the film also feels incredibly stylised, and Eggers seems to know how to use light and darkness to produce some of the best night scenes in a horror film I've ever seen. The darkness itself feels like a character in the movie, one that is able to shape the moments we're seeing, skewing our perception of them, and depending on how it's presented, whether that be cold and devoid of colour or bathed in a soft glow, lets the audience know whether we're safe or not (for the most part at least).

Eggers doesn't just play with the darkness, however, but also messes with the viewers perception of scenes thanks to some beautifully twisted transitions and cuts that give the film a dark nightmarish quality. For the most part Nosferatu is presented as a fairly normal film, one with a chain of events that makes sense and you're able to follow. With the introduction of Orlok, though, things begin to break down. It's when on the road to Orlok's castle, in a beautifully composed night scene that shows Thomas on a dark, moonlit road with snow gently fluttering down upon him, that the film goes into the surreal; in some ways taking some lessons from the German Expressionist movement that gave birth to the original. 

Logic begins to break down, a carriage that's about to run him down is suddenly still, awaiting his entry, facing a direction it couldn't have been. As the carriage approaches the castle the camera moves into the blackness of Thomas' coat before moving upwards to emerge from the shadows of the castle itself, giving us a birds-eye view of it. Inside the castle, Thomas shifts around the room, moving from one chair to another thanks to a camera move that seems to take him by surprise as much as it does the audience. There are times where the film doesn't quite make narrative sense, where logic falls by the wayside, and it's like living inside a dream. I have to commend Eggers for these moments, as they make the film one of the more distinct, creative movies of modern mainstream cinema.

The film isn't just stylish visuals though, as the film cannot rely on flair alone to win over audiences. The film's central cast are outstanding, and deliver some superb performances. Lily-Rose Depp is incredibly impressive, bringing a well of emotional range and physical acting to the role that marks her out as someone worthy of keeping note of. This is my first film with her in it, and so for me she was a completely unknown factor, and her role is such a vitally important one that it would make or break the movie. As it is, Depp is shockingly good, bringing something new to each scene she's in. Depp plays Ellen as a very sad character for much of the film, depressed that her husband has to leave her, a depression that only grows thanks to her nightmares and hallucinations. There are moments in the film where you're never quite sure what Ellen is going to do next, and some of her sudden turns from deeply sad to shaking with cold rage come so suddenly that it's shocking to take in. This, coupled with the way she plays the physical side of Ellen's ailment, intense shaking, twisting limbs, and rolling eyes, makes her almost as hard to look at as Orlok at times.

Nosferatu relies heavily on Ellen being performed well as, unlike the book that the story draws inspiration from, the female lead isn't just something for the men to covet. Yes, several of the men in the movie want to protect her, and she's the thing that the villain desires, but here Ellen is someone who is more of the hero. If you're familiar with the original you know that Ellen plays an incredibly important role in defeating Orlok (I won't say how), and that without her it's likely the villain would remain undefeated. Because of this, the film becomes something of a feminist story, with a central female figure who is largely ignored by the men around her, her warnings of a coming evil chalked up to hysteria, who's tied down and drugged rather than helped, but who ultimately is able to save the day when she's finally listened to and allowed agency. Compared to her Stoker counterpart it's shocking how much more this film gives its female lead.

Nicholas Hoult might not be given the hero role of the film, but is absolutely a character that the audience spends much of the film with, and through who we're introduced to a lot of the horror. His already mentioned journey to Orlok's castle gives Hoult a huge amount to play with, from a young man eager to make more of himself, to a man tired and worn down by his long journey, to someone living though a nightmare within Orlok's castle. As soon as Thomas enters the castle Hoult's entire demeanour changes, and he shows genuine terror in many of these moments. Hoult is barely holding himself together in some of these moments, tears running down his face, his body shaking. With a lot of horror films putting the female cast in the role of the most frightened, it's wonderful to see a film showing that anyone would be terrified in these situations. Thomas is often more frightened than Ellen in the movie, and it just makes his decision to stand against Orlok even more triumphant. He's a man who was very nearly broken completely, but now he's choosing to face those horrors again in order to save those he loves. It's a wonderful performance, and it's easy to see why Hoult is one of those actors that often gets brought up as an underrated gem.

Filling out the rest of the main cast is Ralph Ineson as Doctor Sievers, a physician who comes to help Ellen with her declining health, and Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a former teacher of Sievers who has become disgraced over the years thanks to his study of the occult. Alongside Aaron-Taylor Johnson and Emma Corrin, this group become a focus for much of the film, as Thomas recovers from his ordeal at the castle, and Ellen remains unwell and tied to the bed. They become the 'normal' part of the film, a group trying to get to the bottom of Ellen's illness as best they can. It's the introduction of Dafoe's character that begins to steer them towards the supernatural, a journey that takes much of the film for them as they write it off as superstitious nonsense. 

Ineson shines as the respectable doctor type, though thanks to the medical practices of the time comes across as sexist and backwards, yet the film makes it clear that's historical thinking and not necessarily a failing on his part as he tries to be a good man where he can. Johnson and Corrin get some decent scenes, but often their characters are playing catch-up to the others, expressing their incredulity at the events happening around them, and being a little slow at realising the horrors they're experiencing. Dafoe is a surprisingly quiet presence in the film. Dafoe is one of those actors who you're never sure what kind of performance he's going to give, one who can do quiet and calm, but who is also well known for being a bit over-the-top. It would have been easy to have his Van Helsing stand in go this direction, to be the man raving about the supernatural, but instead he tackles the role more as a man tired and worn down by the world.

The stand out, however, is Skarsgård as Orlok. Orlok's presence has been kept to a minimum in the build up to the film, with little more than a shadowy presence in the trailers and barely distinguishable shapes on posters. This has been one of the biggest strengths of the film for me, and going into the movie I was excited to see what he'd be like. The first few scenes he's in you don't even get a good look at him, yet he manages to become an instantly terrifying figure thanks to the sheer presence he has. Even when out of focus in the background, or draped in shadows, he looms over every moment, and your eyes are instantly drawn to him. The voice that Skarsgård employs for the count is booming, guttural, and plays into the sound design wonderfully. Even as the film continues and you see more of him you never really get a clear look at him, and it's just the actors physicality, the way he moves, the way he holds himself, and the way he talks, that brings Orlok to life like never before. 

The original Count Orlok has become something of a joke over the last century, with the wizened, diseased vampire with the rat-like teeth having become used as a gag in various media; but Skarsgård makes Orlok into one of the most frightening vampires that I've seen be put to film. This is an Orlok who makes your skin crawl, you plays with your mind, and who you feel would tear you apart before you could even raise your arms in defence. This performance coupled with his version of Pennywise makes Skarsgård one of the best monster actors we have, and may ever have had. I knew that this was him, but I couldn't see or hear him at all, he'd transformed himself so much here that it wasn't an actor playing Orlok, it was just Orlok to me. And because of that I'm going to find it hard to see another vampire top this.

Nosferatu is a beautiful, disturbing, terrifying movie. It's a film that has taken a story and character that people have largely looked down upon over the years and made it so surprisingly good that I may have to name this movie as my favourite adaptation of Dracula now. With the huge attention to detail and the clear thought that has been put into the framing of every shot this is a film that you can point to as more than just entertainment and clearly say 'this is what we mean when we say movies are art'. Eggers has an eye for both the beautiful and haunting, and brings that to play in equal measures here, creating a film that will worm its way under your skin and wow you at the same time. It's not perfect, as I don't think any film can be, and there are some things that I'd have liked to have seen the film focus more on or to have given us more of, but it's one of the most stunning films I've had the pleasure to see on the big screen.

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Oddity - Blu-ray Review

 

 Oddity opens with Dani (Carolyn Bracken) alone in an old converted stable house in the middle of the countryside. The rough, unfinished home conversion is stark, empty, and eerily beautiful. We watch Dani as she goes about her jobs, fixing the place up, before settling in to spend the night alone inside the old building, a small tent prepared in one of the rooms. Her husband, Ted (Gwilym Lee), is working nights in a nearby high security mental hospital, so Dani is alone as the darkness creeps in. Or is she? After heading out to her car she has a knock at the door, where she finds a former patient of her husband, Olin (Tadgh Murphy), begging to be let in, warning her that someone is in the house with her. 

After this the film jumps forward a year, where we learn that Dani was brutally murdered within the house, and that it's believed Olin committed the crime after being allowed inside. Her blind twin sister, Darcy (also played by Bracken) runs an occult antique shop, where she contains haunted and cursed items. She's visited by Ted, who brings her the gift of Olin's artificial eye, the former patient having been recently killed. Darcy believes that she can use her psychic gifts to learn something from the eye, something that Ted dismisses out of hand. However, when Darcy arrives on Ted's doorstep a few days later, with a mysterious crate, he and his new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton) are ill prepared for what will come next.

Labelled as a horror, Oddity certainly fits the bill thanks to its eery atmosphere and some truly chilling frights, but for me the film is much closer to a dark, supernatural thriller; one that works its way under your skin as you demand answers to the mystery of what happened to Dani. This question is at the heart of the movie, and is one that informs everything that we see. This mystery would be enough to sustain the film in itself, and there are thousands of stories about someone investigating the death of a loved one, but what makes Oddity feel different from a lot of these is the way that the supernatural manages to creep its way into every moment in the film.

The very first scenes of the movie feel like an urban legend, one of those stories that's designed to scare you around the campfire. Imagine you're alone in a big, dark house, and someone at the door is telling you that someone else got inside with you. Would you believe that? Could you take the risk of opening the door? The initial setup gets under your skin so beautifully that even though it's the most grounded and 'normal' part of the film it still feels like something that's so impossibly frightening that it could only exist in fiction, even if because it's a scenario that's so nightmarish. But from this moment on dread, unease, and the supernatural seeps into every moment.

From the first introduction of Darcy we see that she's deep into the world of the paranormal, with her tiny antique shop filled with items with dark stories and supposed curses attached to them. It's something that most people would dismiss out of hand, something so outlandish that it would have to be fake, but the film presents it in such an honest way that you believe it. Even without the paranormal having been brought up before this point you leave the scene convinced that ghost exist, and that we'll be seeing more of them.

It's once we return to the scene of Dani's murder that things really ratchet up, and we'll be spending much of the film in this one location. The stark grey walls and minimal colours in the scenes, matched with Darcy's pale clothing and light hair makes it feel like a lot of the life has been drained out of things. The atmosphere of the building itself feels wrong, dark and cold even in moments where it shouldn't be, and despite the beauty of the location you can't help but feel unease just in being there. The cinematography and choice of shots adds to this, as characters are often framed with darkened doorways behind them, pools of shadow where you keep finding your eyes drawn, waiting for something to emerge and frighten you.

Oddity uses atmosphere to sell the horror and unease of the story, are rarely if ever resorts to cheap jump scares of musical stings to make the audience jump. There are some moments that will make you yell out loud, frights that feel sudden that you can't help but be caught off guard, but they're done in such a way that they feel well earned, rather than tricks that are being used upon you.

A lot of praise should also be given to the cast, who do a superb job with the script. Bracken does double duty as both sisters, and is so good in each role that I didn't even realise she was both characters until another pointed out that Darcy looked exactly like Dani. Dani seems confident, full or energy and life in her scenes, whilst Darcy is quiet, withdrawn, and incredibly still. They physical differences in how Bracken plays the two is so good that I bought they were different people. Some of this comes down to Darcy's blindness, the fact that she has to move through a scene differently, that her movements seem more calculated and thought out and she takes on an almost ethereal quality at times.

Gwilym Lee's Ted is presented as a hard to read character, which is great for the mystery angle of the film. He could be seen as a man struggling with the grief of his wife having been killed, or he might be someone who simply doesn't care that she's dead. He's very reserved, almost detached in his scenes, and you're never quite sure whether you should trust him or not. The flip side to this is his new girlfriend, played wonderfully by Menton. Yana comes across as very unlikable to begin with, resenting that Darcy is in her home, and not wanting to be around her, but as the film goes on you start to see her differently, and she's perhaps closer to the audience surrogate than you'd first expect as a regular person dropped into an extraordinary series of events. It's interesting to see how your views of her change across the course of the film, and in the end I felt her to be one of the most relatable characters in the movie. 

Although there are some predictable moments in the film, frights that you can see coming a few minutes before they hit, the film is very much its own animal. Writer and director Damian McCarthy has crafted a story that feels twisting and complex, changing tone and going to some incredibly dark places without it losing its sense of self. It's a film that's unpredictable, yet once it's all said and done there's never a moment that felt wrong or out of place. McCarthy has taken the supernatural mystery genre and managed to craft something new and interesting from it, delivering a film that demands to be seen more than once. 

The blu-ray release offers those without a Shudder subscription a chance to watch Oddity, which I would say is reason enough to pick up a copy if it's your only way to watch the film. Sadly, there's not a huge amount on offer on the disc outside of the film. There's a three minute scene that shows the storyboards alongside the action, a four minute featurette that talks to some of the cast and crew, and a photo gallery that shows how the wooden mannequin was created. I would have loved more behind the scenes stuff, and something like a director commentary to really get deep into the film would have been great, as I feel Oddity is the kind of film that demands in depth analysis.

Oddity is a great movie, one that I can't help but think about after it's done. A brilliant example of how to create a compelling, engaging horror film almost completely set in one location with a limited cast, effects, and budget. This is the kind of movie that people who want to make films should be watching, as there's a lot that can be learned from this. 

Oddity is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital from 6th January 2025.

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The Damned - Film Review

 

Winter is a hard time of year, even now in the modern day there are still lives lost each year due to the cold, so imagining life in a snowed in Icelandic fishing outpost in the 19th century is in itself a frightening scenario, as death looms over the inhabitants each day. If The Damned, from first time director Thordur Palsson, were simply a story of this small group of people trying to survive a brutal winter it would be dramatic enough, but when dark and supernatural forces begins to close in on the fishing outpost it makes their previous attempts to survive seem idyllic in comparison. 

The Damned tells the story of Eva (Odessa Young), a young widow who is now the sole owner of a small fishing outpost on the Icelandic coast, a place she and her husband used to run together before his death of a series of jagged rocky spurs just off the coast the year before. Despite this loss Eva wishes to continue on the work, having no other family to go to or place to call home. Instead, the men who once worked with her husband have become something of a surrogate family to her. With winter in full swing times have been hard, and catches have been light, forcing them to ration their supplies to get through the snowy months.

When the fishermen are preparing to leave one morning, however, Eva spots a ship stuck against the same rocks that claimed her husbands life. The men watch as the ship sinks into the icy waters. Knowing that any survivors are doomed unless they help them, a difficult decision must be made. With barely enough supplies to get through winter more mouths to feed would certainly doom them all, so Eva makes the decision that they won't help any of the sailors. However, disturbing visions begin to plague the fishing outpost as the bodies of the sailors wash up on the beach. It seems that in their inaction Eva may have begun a series of events that has unleashed a terrible supernatural force upon them all; one that won't stop until it has had revenge.

The Damned is a film that oozes atmosphere, and is the thing that drew me to it initially. The setting is eerie and unsettling even without the addition of supernatural forces, and straddles the line between beautiful and frightening. And this is used to great effect throughout the film. Even during the day it feels like there's barely enough light, and instead of the crisp, bright white of snow that you imagine when you think of it, it's instead dirty, gloomy, as if the land itself is as tired and depressed as the people who are calling it home this long winter. Because of this even when the film ventures out into the wide open during the day it still manages to feel oppressive, and there's no relief from the tension that's built throughout.

There are several scenes that use the snowy setting wonderfully too, and really highlights how winter is a fantastic time in which to place a horror story. Whether it's figures barely glimpsed out in the blanket of fog and snow that swirls around the characters, or the dark shape that slowly creeps across the snow towards the camera, there are moments where you're left wondering what it is you're seeing in a way that really gets inside your head.

A lot of this is down to the nature of the supernatural presence in the film too. One of the characters, an old woman named Helga (Siobhan Finneran) informs the group that she believes a drauger is haunting their settlement, a creature that's part ghost, part undead. There are times when things in the film don't really make sense, when you're unsure if you're seeing a ghost or a real person, and others where you wonder if perhaps the old folk takes have gotten inside the troubled minds of a guilty conscience and is causing that person to see something that's not real. The film does give you some answers, clearing away any confusion and gives you a very concrete answer as to what's happening; and for me it actually weakens the movie somewhat. If the film had ended a minute or two earlier I think that it would have been much more satisfying, and the unanswered questions would have been thematically more fitting.

Despite the film having pretty sparse dialogue the film manages to make you care about the characters pretty quickly, and they're a likable and interesting bunch. A mixture of seasoned old fishermen and younger men looking to make it through the winter, the men that surround Eva feel more akin to a family than anything else. It's clear that they've known each other and worked together for many years, and there's never any moments where you worry about the men turning against Eva, or someone revealing a dark desire towards her. Instead, the tension comes from without, and as such we see how each of the characters reacts to it, and how it tests the bonds that they have.

The Damned also feels strangely pertinent to the modern times, despite being set in the 19th century. The woman in charge of a small community who has to justify her decisions and actions in a way that a man doesn't, the trials of surviving through hard times, and the way communities can become insular and selfish instead of helping others when faced with foreigners arriving on their shores all reflect very prominent discussions from today. It shows that whilst times change people are largely the same, and that we've not really progressed all that much. The result is a film that makes it easy to connect with, one that draws you in with the relatable characters and their familiar struggles before it takes a darker turn into the supernatural.

Thanks to the rich atmosphere and beautiful cinematography, some genuinely eerie music, and superb acting The Damned ends up being a really entertaining movie, one that I found myself wanting to spend more time with. Other than a final two minutes that I felt weakened it a little (a personal choice which others might have the exact opposite view of), I had a wonderful time with it, and can't wait to see what the director gives us next. A superb directorial debut that ends up being one of the better winter horrors.

The Damned will be released in UK cinemas on 10th January 2025.

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