In Film We Trust

We're back on home shores and back to folk horror as we discuss Mark Jenkin's sophomoric feature film Enys Men. We also discuss his debut feature Bait that straddles the other worldly and British kitchen sink tradition.

It seems like only yesterday we were covering Peter Jackson’s delightfully twisted directorial debut Bad Taste, and we had so much fun doing it that our next trip to New Zealand was inevitable. This time we’re venturing back to 1977, the tail end of the cinematic New Wave moment that produced some of the industries most acclaimed directors. Over in NZ however, their cinema boom was just getting st...

We're heading back to 2010 to explore Richard Ayoade's directorial feature debut Submarine. A British comedy-drama that is both singular, yet manages to effectively riff on its influences, such as Billy Liar, Harold and Maude and films of the French New Wave.

57 episodes in our back catalogue and we’ve never covered a David Cronenberg film yet. I know, we’re just as surprised as you are! So this week we’re rectifying that injustice by taking a look at one of his lesser regarded movies, but perhaps his most personal. The Brood was borne out of difficult circumstances, namely a painful divorce and child custody battle, elements which Cronenberg explores...

In 1997 Satoshi Kon would make his directorial debut with the Hitchockian anime Perfect Blue. Mima, our protagonist, is an Idol singer, who attemps to break out into acting. Little does she know, she has caught the attention of a crazed fan - but who exactly is this fan? Kon's Perfect Blue deals with many themes that draw parrells to contemporary society and our collective fears - the nature o...

Way down in the streets of LA. There’s a fella called Rudy, things ain’t going his way. He works in a store so he can make a little money. He cracks a few jokes, but nobody think they’re funny. Ok, enough of that! Eddie Murphy has had many ups and downs throughout his career, but in 2019, after a brief hiatus, he returned to the big screen with the sensational Dolemite Is My Name. Written by the m...

Sam Peckinpah never shied away from controversy, whether it be The Wild Bunch, that garnered him the name 'Bloody Sam' or the English-set Straw Dogs. But in 1974 he would make what is arguably his most personal film, starring Peckinpah regular Warren Oates - Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia. Peckinpah would head to Mexico, work with a largely Mexican crew, while dealing with rampant alc...

While his name might not be as readily recalled as the likes of Mike Leigh or Ken Loach, Alan Clarke is an important figure in the cinematic world of social realism, and today we’re taking a deep dive into one of his most acclaimed, and controversial projects: Scum. Banned, censored and excoriated by the uptight establishment at the time and condemned by the patron saint of killjoys, Mary Whitehou...

Buckle-up gorehounds, superfreaks and trash aficionados - In Film We Trust is heading to the drive-in for a peak into the world of the Godfather of Gore Herschell Gordon Lewis and his 1964 splatter classic Two Thousand Maniacs. The nudie cutie? The Roughie? Splatter Cinema? Hicksploitation? Lewis has been there for it all and even wrote the whole Goddamn proverbial book on it.

John Carpenter’s filmography speaks for itself, and while he hasn’t always enjoyed box office success, his films have consistently pushed the envelope in terms of suspense, ground-breaking practical effects and sheer craftsmanship. In our first foray into the world of this cinematic giant, we’re checking out a movie that was, like many of his projects, tepidly received upon release, made no money,...

Adapted from Scott Heim's 1995 novel, cult director Gregg Araki managed to faithfully bring Heim's powerful and transgressive work of art to the big screen. After a 1990s filled with cult hits - Nowhere, The Doom Generation, Totally Fucked Up - Mysterious Skin brought Araki to the cusp of mainstream acceptance. But Araki, wasn't interested in any easy sentimentality to garner the indus...

This week, we’re taking you back to the 1960s. A time of free-loving, hedonism and profound social and cultural change. But 2 men who are in no way enjoying the perks of this legendary decade are our leads, Withnail & Marwood, commonly known as I. Living in poverty and squalor, struggling from one day to the next with the aid of booze and whatever drugs they can get their hands on, their aspir...

When thinking of comic book adaptations, you would be forgiven for thinking of Batman, Spiderman or anything Marvel or DC related, but, simmering within the underground Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff were teaming up to adapt Clowes' cynical classic Ghost World - a story of misfits navigating their own 'ghost world' . A takedown of all things conforming and safe, instead replaced with...

While John Woo might only be known to the broader audience as the man behind explosion-filled, bullet-ridden 90s American action films such as Face Off, Hard Target & Broken Arrow, his directing career actually began in his native Hong Kong more than 40 years ago. During a pivotal time in East Asian cinema, Woo was making big noise, literally and figuratively, with films like A Better Tomorrow...

We're diving deep into Abel Ferrara's polemic grindhouse classic, Ms .45. A film that tackles topics ranging from feminism to oppression on a larger scale. But as interesting a film as it is - and it is very interesting - equally fascinating is the lives of those attached to it, including the much mythologised Zoe Lund, star of Ms .45 and writer of Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant, and we at IFWT make sur...

New Zealand native Peter Jackson is a household name these days thanks to the unfathomably successful and popular Lord Of The Rings series. But before the Hobbits, before the Orcs, before the wizards, before the epic battles and before second breakfast, he would start his motion picture career in the suburbs of his nation’s capital, fighting off an alien invasion with a cache of guns, a chainsaw a...

Often dismissed as 'The Other Sergio' , Sergio Corbucci would carve a bloody path through the Old West. Better known for the Franco Nero starring Django, The Great Silence might actually be his magnum opus. This 'snow western' is a polemic work of political anger, that managed to capture the zeitgeist of the late 60s.   For this info-heavy episode, we trace the roots of Italian westerns, and...

For our second episode of 2023, we’re venturing out to the snowy plains of Minnesota, where 3 ordinary men come across a crashed plane containing a dead pilot and, more importantly, over $4 million in cash. Rather than bringing them happiness and financial security, it causes them to fear, distrust and suspect one another, and the harder they try to cling to their dreams of lifelong wealth, the mo...

After a longer than anticipated break, we are finally back with our first episode of 2023. It also brings us full circle, as we kicked off this podcast last year with Ben Wheatley's Kill List, and we find ourselves again within the world Wheatley carves, this time by way of A Field In England - a English civil war-set psychedelic horror with epic portions of fuckery thrown in, casting a shadow of...

The Christmas season is finally upon us! You’ve broken out your tree, adorned it with the finest decorations, written all your cards, bought all the presents and are now preparing for a happy, fun filled day with your nearest and dearest. Your friends at In Film We Trust, on the other hand, are gearing up to spend a bit of time with Father David in his dark, cold, lonely house. Aren’t we lucky!? T...

If you're regular listeners, you're probably aware of our appreciation of all things A24. So why not dive into a film (and filmmakers) that epitomises the spirit, and style, that A24 is known for.  2017's Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson and co-director Benny Safdie, in a gritty New York crime odyssey that touches on the surreal.  

What could you possibly do in 20 minutes? Drive to the next town? Do your weekly shopping? Fuel up your car? Check out a life changing clip from the In Film We Trust Youtube channel? How about scraping together enough money to save the love of your life who’s about to be wiped out by ruthless criminals? That’s the task that the feisty, red-haired protagonist has on her hands in Run Lola Run, a Ger...

It's Thanksgiving 1973. Watergate permeates the airwaves and the sexual revolution has made its way into the suburbs. The Hood family has devolved into ennui and their neighbors, The Carver's, aren't fairing much better. A film that relishes its ensemble - starring an A-list cast including Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and such rising stars as Christina Ricci, Tobey Macquire and Elija...

Think your time in high school was miserable? Then thank your lucky stars your name isn’t Dawn Weiner! Yes, this week we’re taking a look at Welcome To The Dollhouse, the breakout film from famed cinematic satirist Todd Solondz, released to critical acclaim and box office success in that most glorious of decades: The 90s. Dawn hates her teachers, her classmates, her pestering sister and unsympathe...

For its 10th anniversary, we're diving into Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed. A film that revolutionised the way we view films  - streaming. Starring a great ensemble cast of Mark Duplass, Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson and Karan Sonin, Safety Not Guaranteed takes a high-concept and grounds it in a relatable story firmly rooted to the ground.