No matter how disparate the recommendation algorithms are on platforms, there is something that will always be infallible: the content most viewed by users. These, presented in rankings of 5 or 10 productions, offer the latest trends so that we don’t have to spend more time choosing a movie than watching it. The top of most consumed Prime Video productions offers a decalogue of stories that promise to satisfy even the movie buff who thinks he has seen it all. Even more so, taking into account that the platform offers one of the best film catalogues, with current films and also modern classics that it also constantly expands. As it is increasingly difficult not to get lost among the immensity of content, we have the perfect option: a disturbing film that has sneaked into the top 5 of the platform in Spain.
After dominating British horror cinema with cult works such as ‘Dog Soldiers’ (2002) or ‘The descent‘ (2005), Neil Marshall He completed his career by directing two key episodes of ‘Game of Thrones‘: ‘Blackwater’ and ‘The Watchers of the Wall’ (Emmy nominee). It was in 2020 when, for the first time, he teamed up with his partner Charlotte Kirk, a tandem that continues to pedal along new paths. After the witchy ‘The Reckoning’, director and actress collaborated again on ‘The lair‘, a film that was presented at the festival of SITGES where Marshall received an honorary award, in addition to the nomination for Best Film in the Midnight X-Treme section.
In addition to starring in Marshall’s risky proposal, Charlotte Kirk wanted to be part of the script and production of ‘The Lair’, a B-series adventure full of action and humor with an air of ‘Dog Soldiers’. Although Marshall’s career seemed to suffer a deterioration following the problematic production of ‘hellboy‘ (2019), the director managed to pull off a playful and shameless tribute to the cinema of John Carpenter –same font included–. In it, a Royal Air Force pilot is on her last mission when her plane is shot down over one of the most dangerous strongholds in Afghanistan. While she finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker, deadly creatures awaken, half human, half alien and very hungry for human flesh.
‘The Den’ confirms that Neil Marshall is still doing what he likes best: B-movies. In this lair full of bloodthirsty secrets, delicious corpses and gore galore, the filmmaker returns to the practical effects, one of the biggest attractions of the film. To do this, he surrounds himself with creatures that fuse the physicality of ‘resident Evil‘ (WS Anderson, 2002) and the absurdity of ‘Doom‘ (A. Bartkowiak, 2005). Despite the bad reviews, ‘The Lair’ presents a jumble of complexities ideal for fans of stories that revolve around experiments gone wrong. Details like the reason the Russians invaded Afghanistan, brilliant delirium, and the ‘Predator’ style closing credits (J. McTiernan, 1987) give it extra points.
‘The Lair’ is available in the catalog of Prime Video.
Caught between music and cinema, she came from Vigo to Madrid to study Journalism and Audiovisual Communication at the Carlos III University. Legend has it that she preferred to skip classes to go to a premiere, although if you ask her, she will deny it.
She came to the Fotogramas editorial office as an intern, after delving into music and film journalism, collaborating in media such as Milana magazine. She has interviewed personalities such as Jonás Trueba or Irene Escolar and her most valuable asset is a guitar pick. She lives in love with Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Nora Ephron. If you can’t find her, she’ll be watching some Kurosawa movie. It doesn’t matter when you read this.
