While character and story often need to be balanced to create a successful film, certain movies prioritise one over the other to deliver a unique vision (for better or worse). Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama is an effective piece of character-first storytelling which conveys an unfamiliar situation in a highly familiar manner.

While Netflix’s original films sometimes struggle to be extraordinary, their ability to create solid, self-contained narratives has given the platform much success. Following this path, Apex is an entertaining 90-minute thriller with a simple story supported by good performances.

Mixing metaphor with emotions can often be a rich recipe within the kitchen of cinema. When prepared proficiently, a meal like this will successfully satiate a specific audience’s appetite. Written and directed by David Lowery, Mother Mary is a spellbinding psychological drama basted in a supernatural flavour. This blend of mesmerising music, enchanting visuals and superb acting results in a full-course of fantastic filmmaking.

2017’s A Ghost Story from writer/director David Lowery stands as a prime example of emotional cinematic storytelling at its finest. Able to convey a million feelings with each frame on screen, this film successfully explores a variety of human topics in an incredibly impactful way.

For horror to be effective, terrifying visuals are not enough. To be truly spine-chilling, sound is perhaps the most important element of all. Written and directed by Ian Tuason, Undertone is a horror film which thrives in sequences underpinned by audio. As a whole, this is a solid horror experience.