A harem of scary films are coming to a cinema near you this Halloween.
Released on 4 October 2019, Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line) makes his debut as the eponymous character of ‘Joker’. Following in the footsteps of the Oscar-winning turn by Heath Ledger will certainly be challenging, but the film has already won the Golden Lion, the top honour at the Venice International Film Festival. Robert DeNiro (Raging Bull) provides support to a Joker very much in the leading role.
Swooping onto the silver screen on 18 October 2019 is ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ with Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted) reprising her role as the iconic wicked witch from the 2014 fantasy film Maleficent. While its predecessor grossed over $750million worldwide, expect big box office for the return of this antagonist, with Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Liaisons) joining the cast.
After one decade, Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Emma Stone (The Favourite) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) reprise their roles in the comedy ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’, also released on 18 October 2019. If you require a reprieve from the other frightening films featured here, this may help you sleep again.
But not for long. On All Hallows’ Eve comes a sequel almost 40 years in the making. Succeeding the 1980 film ‘The Shining’, ‘Doctor Sleep’ follows Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!) as Dan Torrance from the previous film with Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) as the villain of the piece.
In Scotland I attended Dunfermline High School from 2010 to 2016 and Edinburgh Napier University from 2016 to 2020, emerging with two Advanced Higher and five Higher qualifications from the former and graduating with an undergraduate bachelor of arts honours degree in journalism from the latter. After two years away from further education due to the coronavirus pandemic, I'm going to be studying the MFA Photography course at York St John University in England from 2022 to 2024. I've achieved The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Bronze) Award and received grade five level certification for electronic keyboard from Trinity College London. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, watching television series, listening to music and going to the cinema as well as catching up with friends, travelling by railway and hostelling overnight and overindulging in food and drinks in a pub or restaurant then having to go to the gym to burn it all off again.
By studying journalism and photography, my aim of practicing photojournalism professionally will hopefully be once step closer. Both are partial artforms requiring the rest of the work to be undertaken by the audience, the specialism of photojournalism, however, providing each of its two parts with greater context. Exploring photographic techniques (aerial, timelapse, editing) through a variety of journalistic styles (features, poetry, songwriting) will allow me to develop my portfolio, hone my camera skillset and narrow my focus further in anticipation of working life. Without a global pandemic to deal with this time. Fingers crossed.
