Congratulations – you’ve reached the summit of the ANU Film Group’s Semester Two 2015 programme!

We’ll be back in early February 2016 for our mile-stone 50th anniversary year, so don’t get too ‘sedi-mental’ on us… but for now, join us in capping off our 49th year with a rock-solid film that is sure to peak your interest.

(OK, that’s enough mountain puns. On to the review…)

Everest is based on the tragic 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which long held the unfortunate distinction of being the deadliest day on the mountain, a record only broken by the Nepal earthquake earlier this year.

The film follows two separate expedition groups, one led by New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall (Clarke) and the other led by American adventurer Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal), as they attempt to reach the summit. The ascent pushes the two groups to their physical limits as they climb nearly 9000 metres above sea level with temperatures below -40°C, wind speeds over 320 km/h, and 60% less oxygen in the atmosphere. But that all begins to look like a walk in the park when a freak snowstorm turns their journey home into a deadly struggle for survival...

With spectacular cinematography shot on location in Nepal and a star-studded cast including Clarke, Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Emily Watson, Everest is a disaster thriller of the highest calibre.
So unless you’re actually scaling Everest this weekend, be sure to head down to Coombs to experience the next best thing – with a guaranteed hopefully far lower chance of death!

Those bemoaning the lack of decent horror movies of late, rejoice! Spanish auteur Guillermo del Toro returns to his roots with this Gothic haunted house story. Said to be his tribute to classic horror films like The Haunting and The Innocents, del Toro brings a twisted sense of delight to this otherwise fairly traditional ghost story.

Set in a crumbling mansion located in a largely rural and mountainous region of northern England, young aspiring author Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) marries hastily in the aftermath of a family tragedy but soon discovers that her charming new husband Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) is not as he seems (and neither is his house).

Let’s get this out of the way: this movie is pretty darn scary. But even if you’re a bit of a wuss like me it has lots to offer. Despite the frightful bits, this movie is a stunning visual feast. The Victorian-era costumes and gorgeous sets more than make up for the parts spent hiding behind the person sitting next to you.

The cast is also fantastic, with Hiddleston clearly relishing his role as the mysterious brooding husband and Jessica Chastain shining as always as his eerie sister. But Mia Wasikowska’s performance carries the film: Edith is a classic heroine; equally frightened of and yet drawn to her supernatural surroundings.

And of course, being a del Toro film, there are some very creatively designed apparitions. Whether the ghosts haunting Crimson Peak are as iconic as the Pale Man of Pan’s Labyrinth or the Kaiju of Pacific Rim – well, you’ll just have to see it to find out!