FILM OF THE WEEK
THE NIGHT (Cert 15, 105 mins, Vertigo Releasing, Horror/Thriller/Romance, available from April 2 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services)
Starring: Shahab Hosseini, Niousha Noor, George Maguire, Michael Graham, Amir Ali Hosseini.
MIDDLE-class Iranian couple Babak (Shahab Hosseini) and Neda (Niousha Noor) leave a dinner party with their infant daughter Shabnam (Leah Oganyan) to drive the short distance home. Babak is mildly intoxicated after knocking back shots and distracted by his raging toothache.
A malfunctioning GPS leads to bickering in the car and a collision with an animal on the deserted streets of Los Angeles. "Don't drink if you can't handle it," snaps Neda.
Her husband begrudgingly heads to the nearest hotel and, just after midnight, Babak, Neda and slumbering Shabnam check into suite 414 of Hotel Normandie in Koreatown.
A creepy receptionist (George Maguire) bids them goodnight but as Babak closes his eyes, he is tormented by nightmarish visions including hearing the footsteps of a lost boy (Amir Ali Hosseini) running along the corridors, calling out for his mother.
Shot on location inside an architecturally striking hotel dating back to 1926, The Night is a satisfyingly tense horror thriller primarily in the Farsi language with subtitles.
A script co-written by director Kourosh Ahari and Milad Jarmooz milks drops of tension from Babak's delirious descent into madness, reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's ill-fated sojourn at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining.
Disorienting vignettes, including a visit from a police officer (Michael Graham), who dismisses the couple's incoherent ramblings – "You people need to find yourselves a ghost hunter!" – ratchet up suspense before Ahari goes for broke with a dizzying final flourish that stylishly appropriates familiar tropes.
Rating: 8/10
ALSO RELEASED
DREAMLAND (Cert 15, 101 mins, Paramount Home Entertainment, Thriller/Romance/Action, available from April 5 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from April 19 on DVD £15.99)
Starring: Finn Cole, Margot Robbie, Kerry Condon, Travis Fimmel, Garrett Hedlund, Stephen Dinh, Hans Christopher.
EUGENE Baker (Finn Cole) grows up in the sun-scorched dustbowl of Texas with his father John (Hans Christopher) and mother Olivia (Kerry Condon). The old man leaves when Eugene is five, sending one postcard from New Mexico after his angry, night-time exodus.
Eugene grows into an awkward teenager, who escapes the unforgiving weather conditions by immersing himself in detective magazines stolen from a local store with best friend Joe (Stephen Dinh).
During one of these sorties into town, the boys learn that bank robber and murderer Allison Wells (Margot Robbie) is at large in the state. There is a 10,000 dollar reward for her capture.
Soon after, Eugene stumbles upon the injured fugitive in the family's barn and responds to her pleas for help by nervously removing a bullet from her thigh.
Dreamland is an overly familiar tale of lust in the dust that owes some of its stylistic choices and hopeful romanticism to Terrence Malick's Oscar-winning 1978 drama Days Of Heaven.
Embers of desire ignite in the picture's languid second half, which is dominated by a prolonged shower sex scene that operates effectively as a demonstration video on water wastage.
The 101-minute running time feels markedly longer but when the narrative does shift into second gear, an inevitable resolution is hurried.
Two-time Oscar nominee Robbie discharges her undeniable star power, almost convincing us that she has feelings for Cole's infatuated youth when neither Nicolaas Zwart's script nor Miles Joris-Peyrafitte's direction back up her teary-eyed outpourings.
Rating: 8/10
BOX SETS AND SERIES
SNABBA CASH (6 episodes, streaming from April 7 exclusively on Netflix, Thriller/ Romance)
MORE than a decade after the release of Swedish film thriller Snabba Cash directed by Daniel Espinosa, translated as Easy Money for UK audiences, this Netflix drama based on Jens Lapidus's best-selling novels continues the story of strained loyalty and deception on the streets of Stockholm.
Single mother Leya Wahby (Evin Ahmad) is determined to make a success of her start-up and open doors to an entrepreneurial jet-set world she yearns to inhabit.
However, power walks hand in hand with corruption and Leya's hard-fought battle to the top of the business world bring her into close contact with gang enforcer Salim (Alexander Abdallah) and troubled teenager Tim (Ali Alarik).
Crime and punishment are bedfellows and great sacrifices must be made to accumulate status and wealth.
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS – THE LOST MISSIONS (Cert PG, 292 mins, Disney DVD/Lucasfilm, available now on Amazon Video/Disney+/iTunes and other download and streaming services, available from April 5 on DVD £18.99/Blu-ray £23.99, Animation/Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure)
THE death of a Jedi master lingers in the sixth series of the computer-animated adventure created by George Lucas set in a galaxy far, far away, which covers events between Episode II and Episode II of the films.
Darth Sidious (voiced by Tim Curry) commits the ultimate act of betrayal as tensions explode between the Republic and Separatists.
Master Yoda (Tom Kane) makes a startling discovery that could radically alter the balance of power and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) reflects on the relationship that means the most to him.
The three-disc DVD and two-disc Blu-ray sets include all 13 episodes plus The Clone Wars Declassified behind-the-scenes featurette.
MIDSOMER MURDERS – THE COMPLETE SERIES TWENTY ONE (Cert 12, 235 mins, ITV Studios Home Entertainment, available now on Amazon Video/iTunes/ITV Hub and other download and streaming services, available from April 5 on DVD £29.99, Drama/Thriller/Romance)
DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) are faced with four tricky cases in the picturesque county of Midsomer in the long-running crime drama, based on the books by Caroline Graham.
This series, dark passions course beneath glittering sequins at a dance competition, beekeepers are abuzz when one of them is fatally stung, and the rarefied world of miniature doll's houses is tainted by freshly spilt blood.
The two-disc DVD set includes the episodes The Point Of Balance, The Miniature Murders, The Sting Of Death and With Baited Breath.
THE WEDDING COACH (6 episodes, streaming from April 7 exclusively on Netflix, Documentary/Romance/Comedy)
AMERICAN stand-up Jamie Lee draws on personal experience, barely making it down the aisle of her own wedding, to host a six-part Netflix series which aims to help couples dissipate some of the stress associated with planning their nuptials.
Each episode, a different guest comedian joins Lee to dispel some of the myths of the bridal industry.
They offer helpful advice about focusing on what truly matters rather than distracting disputes involving bridesmaids and in-laws.
