- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Emilia Clarke vs The FBI in ABOVE SUSPICION [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Ben Wheatley Returns with IN THE EARTH [Trailer]
- Josh Hartnett is Memorable in Drug Drama INHERIT THE VIPER [Review]
- Cube Meets Saw in MEANDER Trailer from Mathieu Turi
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- EIFF 2019: ANIARA is a Deeply Haunting Sci-Fi Experience [Review]
- Darkstar Pictures Announces Free Online Film Festival!
- Re: Occupation, Australian Sci Fi movie
- Slice of Life, Blade Runner inspired short
- Is Snowpeircer a sequel to Willy Wonka?
- Re: Yesterday
- Re: Yesterday
- Yesterday
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Re: White Night (or where do I get my 30 + from now?)
- Don't Mess With the SCAVENGER [Trailer]
- BERLINALE 2021: TIDES Comes After Hell [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- A Comet Destoys Earth in GREENLAND Trailer
- Interactive WAR OF THE WORLDS Adaptation Out Now!
- 8K Trailer for Train to Busan Sequel PENINSULA Drops Hard!
- Making a Bomb Shelter in a Funhouse is a Bad Idea in IMPACT EVENT [Trailer]
- Retro Slave: FOX's Post-Apocalyptic Sitcom WOOPS!
- TRAIN TO BUSAN Sequel PENINSULA Gets a Teaser Trailer
- New on Blu-ray and DVD for March 11, 2020
- The Apocalypse Kills Women in ONLY [Trailer]
- SATOR is a Welcome Addition to the Folk Horror Canon [Review]
- Women in Horror Month: NEAR DARK
- SOUTHLAND TALES: The Cannes Cut [Review]
- A Woman's Mind Unravels in BIGHT HILL ROAD [Review]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
- TIFF 2020: NEW ORDER is Brutal, Violent & a Must-See [Review]
- TIFF 2020: ENEMIES OF THE STATE, Or Are They? [Review]
- TIFF 2020: HOLLER Explores Life in a Dying Town [Review]
- Split Personality Thriller MINOR PREMISE Coming Soon [Trailer]
- Who Hunts Who in HUNTER HUNTER? [Trailer]
- SKYLINES Is Coming! [Poster Premiere]
- Enter for Your Chance to Win a Blu-Ray Copy of 2067 [Contest]
- Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival Returns with In-Person Event [Line Up]
- Family Drama & Creature Feature. WHAT LIES BELOW Brings Both? [Trailer]
- LUNATIQUE Director Returns with WASTELAND 3 Promo [Short Film]
- Producer Adrienne Biddle on Horror, Working with Bryan Bertino & Their Latest THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Interview]
- Joe Manganiello is a Washed Up Superhero in ARCHENEMY [Trailer]
- Nightstream Horror Festival Launches Next Week [Lineup]
- 2067 Director Talks Inspiration, Environment & Time Travel [Interview]
- THE STRANGERS Director Returns with THE DARK AND THE WICKED [Trailer]
- Michael Shannon is Crime Boss in ECHO BOOMERS [Trailer]
- Hair Extensions Get Horrific in BAD HAIR [Trailer]
- TIFF 2020: Vanlife Gets a Reality Check in NOMADLAND [Review]
- VIFF 2020: Sobriety, Reintegration & Telekinesis Come Together in THE CURSE OF WILLOW SONG [Interview]
- VIFF 2020: Revenge Thriller Re-Examined in VIOLATION [Interview]
- VIFF2020: Director Loretta Todd on the Making of Her Debut Feature MONKEY BEACH [Interview]
- TIFF 2020: APPLES, THE WAY I SEE IT, PIECES OF A WOMAN & ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI [Capsule Reviews]
- TIFF 2020: The Truth Tellers Return with THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL [Review]
Jack In
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
PA News
Latest Reviews
Older News
Crew
Marina Antunes
Editor in Chief
Vancouver, British Columbia
Christopher Webster
Managing Editor
Edmonton, Alberta
DN aka quietearth
Founder / Asst. Managing Editor
Denver, Colorado
Simon Read
UK Correspondent
Edinburgh, Scotland
Rick McGrath
Toronto Correspondent
Toronto, Ontario
Manuel de Layet
France Correspondent
Paris, France
rochefort
Austin Correspondent
Austin, Texas
Daniel Olmos
Corrispondente in Italia
Italy
Griffith Maloney aka Griffith Maloney
New York Correspondent
New York, NY
Stephanie O
Floating Correspondent
Quiet Earth Bunker
Jason Widgington
Montreal Correspondent
Montreal, Quebec
Carlos Prime
Austin Correspondent
Austin, TX
Latest news








The debut feature from writer/director Tilman Singer, Luz is a dreamy thriller shot in the style of a 1970s European horror film. It’s wildly confusing, but there are some interesting things going on.
Luz (Luana Velis), a young taxi driver, arrives dishevelled at a police station. Rossini (Jan Bluthardt), a psychologist, is drinking at a bar and is picked up by a sultry woman (Julia Riedler). He is then called to the station to interview Luz, but appears to have been demonically possessed during his earlier encounter. He places Luz under hypnosis, supervised by police detective Bertillion and her assistant Olarte. What happens next is basically completely bonkers.
Singer shoots in a deliberately stilted, quasi-‘giallo’ style with an emphasis on colour, composition and sound design, rather than, say, naturalistic acting or linear storytelling. Writing that synopsis above, it’s basically a rehash of the IMDb plot summary - immediately after seeing the film I would not have been able to tell you what actually happens. I’m still vague on it now.
Characters frequently speak in enigmatic riddles, their movements self-conscious as though controlled by unseen forces. The scene between Rossini and the woman at the bar feels like a piece of surrealist theatre, and throughout the film characters quote a profanity-laden take on the Lord’s Prayer. Whilst under hypnosis, Luz mimes driving her taxi, and the film adds the appropriate sound effects, including honking traffic and pop music on the car stereo. It’s heady stuff, and expertly executed, but as with so much in the film we’re not entirely sure why she’s doing this or why we’re watching it.
As the demonically possessed therapist, Bluthardt is both creepy and funny. There are moments where he seems to be channelling the spirit of Klaus Kinski, a manic grin giving way to a ferocious scowl - he has a commanding screen presence, even when sporting a negligee. Velis’ performance as the eponymous Luz is quietly impressive too. Her character spends most of the film under hypnosis, but when conscious she is tough and sad and world-weary. All of this would bear more significance had the film explained itself more clearly, but we sense these are actors taking the material seriously.

Eventually the already fragile narrative structure of Luz dissolves entirely. There are hysterical flashbacks and supernatural rituals; nude demons prance freely as the sterile reality of the police station is replaced by a sort of ethereal smoky netherworld. Again, I can’t tell you why this happens, but it does.

Young film-makers will continue to pay homage to their favourite directors of the past, and Luz sometimes feels like a strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Rainer Fassbinder and Dario Argento. Othertimes it just feels like a big incomprehensible mess.
At 70 minutes Luz is a short, crazy ride, and I admit that it has stayed with me over the last few days. The film does feel frustratingly oblique, and at times we wish Singer had taken a more straightforward approach to the material, even if this were at the expense of its otherworldly tone and often startling visual design. Nevertheless, I'm certainly glad to have seen this curious debut, and look forward to seeing more.
Recommended Release: The Sentinel
You might also like






