Tekken 7: PS4 Review

Tekken 7: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment

Kick punch, move, kick, punch.

The fighting genre is one that rarely falters from its usual execution, and as each new iteration of the games come out, it's all about how much flair they are executed with.

Case in point is Tekken 7, which doesn't stray from its usual MO in its latest release, but ensures the reason why you love the series is continued.

Its story mode focuses upon a reporter whose desire to investigate a corporate cover-up is fuelled by the death of his wife and daughter during the ascent of Jin Kazama. For fans, this story is coherent, relevant and deepening; but to those outside of the series, it has to be said that it leaves you non-plussed with its deeper meaning.

Cinematic cutaways are gorgeously enacted, but again work on different levels given how much affinity you have for the series. However, the over-the-top nature of the story may have you pressing buttons to simply get to the fights, which remain as complex and conversely, as simple as they ever have.

All that has to be done is to beat hordes of oncoming baddies. From its core cast of some 38 characters, all of whom are playable, it's clear depth is a real pro for Tekken 7 as it powers through its po-faced storyline.

But the fights themselves  are well executed and really do feel fresh, exhilirating and graphically impressive. With the AI learning quickly how you are playing, it is upto you to ensure that variety is employed in great measures, and there's certainly a learning scale that needs to be utilised very quickly. Customisation's present and pliable too, meaning characters feel like they're your own as you head through the levels.

All in all, while Tekken 7 may appeal more to fans of the genre and series, its cinematic edges and melodrama means there's a chance that non-fans can jump in. It takes time to garner rewards, but it's certainly worth ploughing some time into this beat-em-up; it's not strictly a KO, but it does win on technical points.

That's You! PS4 Review

That's You! PS4 Review

Platform: PS4

PlayStation has always been about the social gaming.

What with Buzz and SingStar, there's always been a degree of the Sony brand being about bringing people together and having an experience.

So it is with That's You!, the first of the PlayLink games launched with the idea of once again returning to a group ethos rather than a WiFi headset connection providing the fun and games.

That's You! manages to work in the way that it's immersive, simple to use and follows the quiz mechanics that worked so well for Buzz. After downloading the app via the usual places, six of you can chime in on the game and start answering questions about you, your mates and a few other things.

Cycling through ten locations, the game's MO is simply about seeing who knows the most about you and also who of the group knows you the best. It's a sort of Mr and Mrs quiz for the PlayStation generation. Made of tasks within the round, from selfies to simple drawing, the game's fun in a sort of disposable way - it's very much the kind of game you'd play with a family at Christmas when the board games have you rolling your eyes in tedium.

From selfies to silliness, the game works in that if you're willing to go in boots and all and with over 1000 questions to get through, the brevity of the rounds seems a bit at odds with how much there is to mine from. It's good that it's free with PlayStation Plus in July, as with all of these kind of social games, the more you're willing to put into it and the faddish nature of it mean that it does feel a little bit of a flighty title.

The integration between the app and the PS works fine, and there's little delay in it all being shown on the screen.

Ultimately, That's You! marginally updates the social gaming elements and is fun for a Friday night with the family;it's a casual appetiser for what could lie ahead with PlayLink - and it's to be hoped that PlayStation pushes the boundaries with this a little in future releases.

Dirt 4: PS4 Review

Dirt 4: PS4 Review

Developed by Codemasters
Platform: PS4

The rallying genre does pretty well on the console.

But it rarely strays from the format that's so obvious from beginning to end. Be it racing though dirt or building up skills on a practice track, it's a formula that's become solid and dependable yet never exceptional or unmissable.

Thankfully, Dirt 4, from spiritual home of racing Codemasters, manages to traverse a line between both, gifting both the usual dynamics with a degree of flair of execution.

Spanning five locations from Australia to the glamour of Wales, the game's simple MO is to deliver immersive driving which pays off with practice and a learning of general skills. Largely due to the Your Stage tool, which gives you control over the weather, time of day to name but two and which allows you to drive how you want to, thanks to custom tracks. And if you don't like it, you can change it - to infinity. It's a rally drivers' wet dream made real.

Along with multiplayer and online challenges which update daily, there's plenty to ensure that fans of the genre are satiated. And with personalisation that hits very extreme basics, there's more than enough to get you tinkering under the hood of the game.

But it's the execution of all of this which makes Dirt 4 so playable. With slick polished graphics and a control system that rewards daring, the game's desire to keep you engrossed is what helps the simulator rise above. Sure, it can be tough if you don't know the dynamics of within, but by taking the practice and actually learning, Dirt 4's mechanics pay off.

Ultimately, the thrill of the off-road race is there to explore - but it's in its smaller details that Dirt 4 rises above your usual rally simulators and becomes something to sink your teeth into.

Win a double pass to see BABY DRIVER

Win a double pass to see BABY DRIVER

A talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. 

When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. 

But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

From director Edgar Wright, and starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez and Jamie Foxx, Baby Driver hits cinemas July 20th

To win a double pass to BABY DRIVER  all you have to do is enter simply email your details to this  address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Include your name and address and title your email BABY DRIVER!

Competition closes July 20th

Good luck!

Minecraft season 2 trailer first look

Minecraft season 2 trailer first look

See the official trailer for episode one 'Hero in Residence' and catch a glimpse of what's in store in season two as a whole before the release of episode 1 on July 11th!

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., and STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 6th, 2017 -- Award-winning developer and publisher of digital entertainment Telltale Games and world-renowned game developer Mojang today shared the first official trailer for Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two. This trailer focuses on the upcoming first episode, Hero in Residence, which will be available for download starting July 11, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android-based devices. Players will be able to purchase the episode for PC from Telltale's online store starting at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on July 11. It will also become available through Steam and other digital storefronts later that same day. Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two continues Jesse's saga in a five-part, narrative-driven, episodic game series developed by Telltale in collaboration with Mojang and members of the Minecraft community. Though players' choices from the first season will carry over into season two, this new season will be accessible to both returning fans and newcomers alike. This second season will also include Telltale's unique multiplayer 'Crowd Play' feature, which allows friends and family to engage with the adventure together by helping to decide the direction of the story from any mobile device with an online connection. Now that Jesse and the gang have vanquished the Wither Storm, saved the world, and become totally super famous heroes, life has gotten a bit more...complicated. With more responsibilities and less time for adventure, old friendships have started to fade -- at least until Jesse's hand gets stuck in a creepy gauntlet that belongs to an ancient underwater temple. Together with old pals and new comrades alike, Jesse embarks on a brand new journey filled with tough choices, good times, and at least one temperamental llama. Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two will be a standalone product separate from both the core Minecraft game and season one of Minecraft: Story Mode. Season two will be available for download on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android-based devices. A retail version on disc will become available this fall. Episode one has been rated 'Everyone 10+' by the ESRB.

Patriots Day: DVD Review

Patriots Day: DVD Review

Teaming up for the third time proves to be a great deal of charm for director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg.

After the gung-ho jingoism of Lone Survivor and the major  OSH incident at Deepwater Horizon, this duo's tapped into a rich vein of blue collar Middle America that's worth continuing to mine.

Patriots Day, starring Mark Wahlberg

This time around, it's back to April 15 2013 and the Boston Marathon that they head for a largely successful drama that recreates events both pre and post the bombing that shocked the world.

Proving once again adept at pulling together the minutiae of life and the everyday characters (a newly married young couple, a cop who's been injured and wants fully back on the job, the Chinese immigrant making good on life in the USA et al) to build momentum going into the event, Berg brilliantly sets the scene for what's about to unfurl with a controlled eye and a sense of impending terror.

As he spins a wide web of people caught up in what's about to happen, he refines the thread to a single line to follow Mark Wahlberg's lumpy Boston cop Tommy Saunders, a composite of many different characters of the day. Confined to the finish line and desperate to get back properly to the job, Saunders finds his world thrown into disarray when the bombs planted by the Tsarnaev brothers explode.

When the FBI moves in, battle lines are drawn between the local PD, the powers that be wanting to capture the criminals and the confusion and chaos that unfolds.

As previously mentioned, Patriots Day's strength comes from Berg's connection of the disparate strands and the docudrama style in which it plays out. Focussing more on the manhunt after the explosion (which comes 30 minutes into the film and shocks with its ordinariness), this restrained film spools with a suspense that's at times claustrophobic in its ordinariness. Shaky-cam footage of the scene, ground level cameras and real-life footage blend perfectly together to capture the horrific aftermath of the event and the bravura of the spirit of camaraderie that went on display.

Wahlberg excellently pulls together the everyman role once again, even if Tommy's clashes with the FBI seem a little orchestrated as the paean to policing and community plays out. But it's an unshowy performance from Wahlberg, although his composite character does somehow have the knack of showing up at all the key moments in the 100 plus hours after the event (something which possibly should have been jettisoned to inject a degree of more realism into the already volatile and gripping proceedings).

It's perhaps fair to say that some of the other characters within don't feel fully fleshed out and despite Berg's perhaps best intentions the Tsarnaev brothers never feel anything less than one dimensional from their watching bomb-making videos to their behaviour post bombing.

However, Patriots Day comes unstuck from its earnest intentions and solid presentation of timelines with a horrendously over-milked post-event sequence that interviews the victims of the event. It's almost as if the propaganda machine needs to pump to really galvanise the anger and showcase the courage on show.

With no disrespect to those caught up in the horrific events of April 2013, it's a wild directorial misstep for both Berg and the film (and other films are adopting this approach more readily, a kind of Hollywood coda to ladle on the true story syrup) that up until the end had been extraordinary in its showing of ordinariness in the face of overwhelming odds. This is fast becoming Hollywood's go-to denouement and it's not welcome or needed in the true story stakes - the film should be enough to satiate the story-telling and this should be confined to a DVD extra at best.

All things being even, Patriots Day remains a strongly and unexpectedly compelling watch despite this ending; from aerial shots showing the chaos and pandemonium post-event to the eerie calm of a city in lock-down, Berg's crafted an intriguing tale that borders on some jingoism and self-aggrandisement in the face of adversity.

But then, for a film titled Patriots Day and focussing on ordinary Americans, civic healing and the manhunt as the worst terrorist event played out post 9/11, what would you expect? 

Long Way North: Film Review

Long Way North: Film Review

Animation on the big screen is always a joy to behold.
And in director Remi Chaye’s latest, young minds and enquiring eyes get exposed to a female heroine.

It’s the story of teenager Sasha, a young Russian aristocrat, who dreams of the fate of her grandfather, an explorer whose last journey ruined the reputation of the family and who never returned. But Sasha’s never given up on him and restoring the family honour.

It’s with this in mind that she sets out on a journey of exploration that would make even our very own Sir Ed blush.

Stylised and hand-drawn in the vein of Secret of Kells, Long Way North’s narrative shortcomings at its denouement give way to some deeper story telling and ideals within. The film’s about honour in many ways, hope and defying expectations.

There are some narrative contrivances and certainly the end of the film feels slightly rushed and leaves you wondering what’s next. But the animation’s relatively straight too – with the angular faces of the men contrasting with the rounder more welcoming female faces in the mix. It’s a welcome relief to see something that doesn’t rely on CGI to make the point. But it’s rarely better than the opening shot where the young Sasha farewells her grandfather, her blonde tresses marking her out on the dock and signalling here is a heroine who defines convention.

There are plenty of adventurous moments, and a friendship between Sasha and a wolf that many young minds will latch on to – but perhaps more importantly, their exposure to a heroine who’s not content to simply be the trophy at her first coming out ball and who defies the men on the docks to pursue her belief is ultimately more important.

In fashioning these minds, Chaye never loses sight of the execution of the film (perhaps the pacy 81 min run time contributes to some of the slight and lesser feelings experienced) – and while scenes on the icy tundra may leave you shivering as the snow storms blow around the characters, there’s always the warming glow the story will leave the younger generation with.

Talking the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival with Bill Gosden

Talking the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival with Bill Gosden

It's here for another year, the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival. Launching in Auckland on July 20th, with the Animation Now! Festival kicking off the week before, it's the perfect cinematic smorgasbord. As ever, director Bill Gosden was around for a chat about the 49th event.

So you're in your 49th year of the festival, how's it been pulling that together with the big birthday on the horizon?

We’ve been too busy making a milestone of 49 to think about 50.

Bill Gosden, NZIFF director - picture: Rebecca McMillan

And it seems with 5 decades ahead of you, there's been some big changes this year - particularly in Auckland, with the expansion of the festival tothe Waterfront, the expansion in Manukau and Westgate, and the addition of the Hollywood cinema, the extraction out of the Animation Now festival - these must all seem tremendously exciting touches?

The ASB Waterfront Theatre is the big one, a huge vote of confidence from the Auckland Theatre Company, and a fabulous new precinct for Auckland NZIFFers.

What's precipitated all this flurry of activity for the festival?

Irresistible opportunities offered by ATEED in the case of Manukau and Westgate, and by Matt Timpson at the rejuvenated Hollywood. Animation NOW!  is too good to be swamped by the rest of NZIFF and deserves to stand on its own six feet.

Turning to the films themselves, you mentioned at the launch that Killing of A Sacred Deer caused a bit of a last minute panic....

It was the film people repeatedly told us we had to show. Sadly, we’d been advised by the local rights holder that it would absolutely not be available anywhere after Cannes before the US Fall. We learned to live without it, only to have it offered the day after the Rubik’s Cube of the schedule had finally been solved. The temptation to say ‘forget it’ was only momentary.

As a perennial to the festival, it's always about experiences for a dyed-in-the-wool viewer, which films this year do you think will provide the ultimate Film Festival experience and why?

My Year With Helen

Opening Night: The Square

Local girls do good: My Year with Helen

One to tell the grandchildren: Top of the Lake: China Girl on the giant screen in one enthralling day, introduced by Jane Campion and Gerard Lee.

Discovery: your guess is as good as mine.

Sandra's been busy with some 21 selections from Cannes - which of the Cannes selection are you particularly excited for - in terms of a viewer and also in terms of audience reaction?

Above all, The Square, but pretty much everything.

Let’s not overlook Michael McDonnell’s pre-Cannes selections, amongst which Bad Genius is the one I am most eager to see.

I can't go on without mentioning the special event binge session that is Top of the Lake: China Girl at the ASB Waterfront Theatre - I've heard you describe it as electric viewing? Are there any tips for pacing? OR is this the perfect festival response to the binge culture we now live in?

Didn't film festivals invent binge culture?  No tips are required for “sitting through” six hours of dazzling filmmaking.

My Year With Helen, Waru, a new film from Jennifer Peedom, 6 Days, the return of Florian with Spookers, Kim Dotcom - the local films have captured quite the zeitgeist this year again haven't they?

They have deservedly commandeered some big spots on this year’s programme.

I'm also impressed how strong the shorts section is this year - was it hard whittling down the content?

The difficulty is in programming the good shorts that don’t make it into New Zealand’s Best or Nga Whanaunga. We need to be confident that the people who have come to see the feature will be receptive to the short. Hence, our programming coup of the year: preceding Kedi, a film about cats, with Stay, a brilliant short film starring a dog.

Which country do you feel has provided with some surprises for viewing this year - and what's impressed you about them?

Brazil: Both Araby and the more obviously appealing Gabriel and the Mountain are richly layered character pieces that evoke whole worlds of experience.

What are the themes that stand out to you this year?

1. The rights of children are everywhere abused, not least in Aotearoa
2. Romance, not Bromance
3. Dinner parties always end in tears.

My Life as a Zucchini

My Life as a Zucchini and Ethel and Ernest look like animated stand-outs this year; what is it about these two that raise themselves above the crowd?

Let’s not overlook the Animation NOW! programmes. I thought four of these programmes were stunning: Black & White, Living Masters, the International Showcase and the New Chinese Animation programmes are amongst the liveliest things I have seen on screen this year.

Which is the film that you will expect will get the best crowd reaction?

My Year with Helen.

The visiting roster of talent, from the likes of Jane Campion to Kate Adie all seem very esteemed this year - whose Q&A do you think will provide the most fascinating post-film fodder?

Ant Timpson, if you can find him after the Secret Screening.

Which film from Ant's Incredibly Strange do you want to see and why?

It must be possible to see Multiple Maniacs once too often, but after 30-years of a cherished bootleg VHS, I’m feeling ready for the deluxe Criterion experience.

Finally, there's way too many films to talk about, which ones would you urge people not to skim over and take a chance on?

Gabriel and the Mountain

For travel that expands the spirit:

Gabriel and the Mountain

For peace of mind in a wild world:

Kobi, Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy

For a villain to love to hate:

The Teacher

You only think you have seen it before:

Step

And for a laugh

That’s Not Me, A Date for Mad Mary

The New Zealand International Film Festival gets underway in Auckland in a couple of weeks, before opening around the country. Check out nziff.co.nz for more information and also to compile cinematic wishlists, before buying tickets!

Rings: DVD Review

Rings: DVD Review

The Hex files returns in the second sequel to the 2002 American horror that was a remake of 1998 Japanese scare fright.

But, quite frankly, with a run time of nearly 2 hours and nary a scare at all, its return is hardly warranted.

This time around, it centres around Matilda Lutz's Julia whose boyfriend Holt (Alex Roe) is heading off to college while she stays home and nurses her sick mother.
However, when Holt misses a Skype conversation and a strange girl is seen on the other end demanding to know where he is, Julia packs up the car and drives the 514 miles to his college to find him.

And it's here that Julia finds herself sucked into the world of Samara after she discovers that Holt's watched a computer file of the original video tracked down by Professor Gabriel Brown (a pudgy downbeat Johnny Galecki from The Big Bang Theory).

Realising that the only way to shake the curse is to find herself a tail (ie someone who will watch the video and take the curse on), Julia tries to do this - but she finds her digital file won't copy, so she can't pass it on (a la It Follows).
With 7 days before Samara claims her victim, Julia and Holt race to track down the truth of Samara before it's too late.

A ghost story with no (after) life and with generic leads that look like they're sleep-walking through proceedings, Rings is a dull, uninspired, frustratingly gloomy and predictable piece of fare.

It's a shame as it starts brilliantly on an aeroplane with tension and a devilishly clever way of bringing the curse to life (Samara's static image appears on flight instruments, in chair entertainment) before squandering its visual touches for a cut that robs you of anything other than a feeling you've been watching an out-take from a Final Destination film.

Director F J Guiterrez assembles some truly impressive apocalyptic visuals, from crows twitching to birds flocking near a church, but over-use of them dilutes their initial impressiveness and the final product resembles something from a 90s Nine Inch Nails video that didn't quite make the cut.
The leads don't do much better - Lutz looks like Rachel McAdams and Roe a little like Devon Sawa - and they can't do anything to bring any of this script to life, as they splutter from one choppy encounter to the next.

Every jump scare is signposted from a mile off and hits with a sickening dull thud that barely registers on the scare-o-meter - it's as if the execution of Rings is nothing more than hitting a series of familiar tropes and beats as a series of set pieces emerge into proceedings. There's a bit of an upgrade with phones and flatscreens taking on Samara's curse, but quite frankly, the film works too hard to achieve so little.

In much the same way that old VHS tapes used to fade in quality the more you used them or copied them, Rings is a pale imitation of the genuinely terrifying original. To call it derivative is to point out the blatantly obvious, but quite frankly, this shoddy sequel which has been shunted around the release schedule since November 2015 is nothing but a frank and unadultered stultifying mess of a movie, guaranteed to make you wish the curse would just take you out of the cinema. For a film that's supposed to look at what happens next to the soul, it's distrubingly soulless. 

Spider-Man Homecoming: Film Review

Spider-Man Homecoming: Film Review

Cast: Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Laura Harrier

Director: Jon Watts

Here we go again, with the return of the Amazing Spider-Man.

There's no denying that the latest adventure, Spider-Man Homecoming, has the Avengers DNA coursing all through its veins.

While that's no bad thing to the legions of Marvel Universe fans out there, the reliance on Stark and his technology almost threatens to over-burden parts of this go-round-again for Spidey, but never quite overwhelms but it does provide a deus ex Stark machina from time-to-time.

However, it's a great deal of charm from English actor Tom Holland that helps make this Spidey such a joyous high to behold.

After Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's attempts at the web-slinger saw more of a mope-fest, this latest seizes on the sense of fun as Parker tries to wait for his call up to the Avengers, following his part in the Civil War.

Stripped of yet another take on the origins of the character, Homecoming builds on the work done with the brief Civil War appearance when everyone was at each other's necks.

Desperate to get the call back from Stark and the gang (Spidey's enthusiasm and Civil war moments are captured on phone cam) Peter finds himself stonewalled and sidelined.

Stuck doing the "friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man" thing and juggling school life as well, Parker's caught in a web of his own when he discovers that Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes (aka Vulture) is taking Chitauri tech and re-purposing it for his own nefarious ends.

Unable to get a message through to Stark via Jon Favreau's dismissive Happy Hogan, Parker decides to take matters into his own hands...

Spider-Man Homecoming has a definite bluster to proceedings as it pastiches John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and as already mentioned, it's great to see a lot of the angst jettisoned from previous films in favour of a take on the teen growing up and dealing with average stuff, while desperately wanting to be older. 

From the pratfalling to being ungainly, Holland brings a humanity to Parker that is both refreshing and endearing; this really is a definitive stamp on the role and a signal of intentions that Spidey won't become burdened with the usual considerations of the MCU.

The Stark touches are there throughout, whether it's the female Jarvis style suit (voiced by Jennifer Connelly) or the brief moments appearing as a mentor; and peppered with a couple of other appearances throughout from one other Avengers alum and mentions of the Sokovia Accord, there's no denying the DNA of this movie runs deep from the Avengers' world. But it's the lighter touch employed by the script that helps keep it refreshed and entertaining.

And a great deal of stock has to be set in Keaton's performance as the blue-collar Toomes whose evil aspirations seem drawn from economic concerns many will feel are familiar and timely. There's a great twist involving Toomes that helps Spider-Man Homecoming subvert expectations but there's also a very strong performance from Keaton as the Vulture that meshes both elements of Green Goblin and Birdman throughout.

Perhaps less successful is the muddied final CGI showdown sequence which takes place in a night-time setting and is hard to make out as it whirls around.

And unfortunately, women get very short shrift in Spider-Man Homecoming, a film that's definitively and disappointingly, predominantly for dudes.

Whether it's the unattainable hot girl of the school who needs to be rescued or the slightly ditzy Aunt May, the female sector of the MCU feels like a real step-back. Equally disappointing is the deployment of some Korean/ Asian stereotypes - one's a chess club nerd, the other's a schlubby goofball friend; there's an argument to say it's great to see roles represented, but given the piecemeal once over of the writing, it feels like a veritable slap-in-the-face for inclusivity of all genders and races.

Ultimately, despite a bit of a mid-way slump, Spider-Man Homecoming represents a strong signal of intent from the MCU in their handling of the web-slinger.

Relying more on the fun side rather than the relentless quippery of before, this Spider-Man is a dazzling blast of entertainment, a deftly-delivered film that brings the entertainment in much the same way that Ant-Man did. And because of that blast of freshness in the ongoing stale atmosphere of the Infinity War cosmos, it scores highly on many levels.

It's a geeky heady treat, albeit one that has a few foibles but not enough to unpick the web that's been spun on screen.

The Greasy Strangler: DVD Review

The Greasy Strangler: DVD Review

Best suited to a midnight screening rather than a more temperate Thursday afternoon's viewing, Jim Hosking's The Greasy Strangler is definitively lurid and trashy.

But it's also a test of an audience's patience, with repetitive scenes, oft-repeated dialogue (from arguments) and looped soundtrack interludes.

It's a conventional story about an unconventional father and son relationship - of co-habiting Big Ronnie and Brayden, the pink wearing disco tour kings of a small town. By day, the duo lead people on tours of areas claiming that's where parts of disco were invented, or where "The Earth, The Wind and The Fire" set up shop.

But by night, Michael St Michaels' Big Ronnie has a secret - he likes to get slopped down in grease and go on a killing spree...

And things are further complicated when Sky Elobar's Brayden falls for Janet....

The Greasy Strangler certainly has the power to leave speechless and will polarise audiences.

With its lo-fi feel, its schlocky gross-out edges and its penchant for older male nudity, it's certainly there for pressing the buttons.

Coupled with the repetition of the lo-fi dialogue that taps into the clear streams of consciousness rhythms that Hosking is clearly aiming for with some of it feeling like it's barely being delivered with any hint of anything other than over-acting, there's potentially something meta going on here.

And yet, this is a film that clearly knows what it is, how low it can go and how its audience will react - either embracing all of this with puerile chutzpah or being turned off completely. There's no middle ground in this polarising piece which doesn't bother to give you such trivial things as to why this greased up monster is killing, preferring to settle for scatalogical laughs that really do mine the essences of relationships in many ways.

Slopped down in congealed gloop, St Michaels' Big Ronnie is a Swamp Thing type creature, that exerts such force, his victims' eyeballs literally pop out. When his killing's done and before heading home, he takes a trip to a local car wash run by a blind guy to clean up.

If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about The Greasy Strangler, nothing will.

Scenes dovetail into the next with the dialogue of a teen argument and always culminate in a who can shout the loudest and the rudest; if you're on board with that, then this surrealism and silliness is for you to lard it up over everyone else. It has to be said though, the romance between Brayden and Janet has a sweetness and the triangle that forms is quite cleverly put together - with more being said under the surface than is fully put on screen.

The Greasy Strangler is a perverse film in many ways, and one suspects its film making team (including gonzo supremo Ant Timpson and Elijah Wood) takes a perverse pleasure from the fact it's designed to leave you speechless. It's also probably destined for cult status with large swathes of its dialogue being written solely  for being ripped out and hurled at fans by other fans as wanton catchphrases.

It's a singular NZIFF experience, of that there is absolutely no doubt.

And given what the film-makers probably set out to do, this unconventional rom-com, typical boy meets girl, boy suspects dad is greased up killer, delivers everything it sets out to in the trashiest way possible.