Almost 18

Maarit Lalli's Almost 18 (Finland, 2012) - There were five of us guys. We stuck together through thick and thin—most of the time. I think we all had normal families. Normal problems. Normal feelings. Nothing we couldn't overcome. And then one year, for some reason, everything started going really wrong. RATING: 7.

Purge (2012)

Antii Jokinen's Purge (Finland, 2012) - Adapted from Finnish author Sofi Oksanen’s award-winning novel, which won, among others, the 2007 Nordic Council Literary Award, Purge is set in Estonia from before the Stalinist deportations in 1949 until after the country’s independence in 1991. Shot in Estonia, with Laura Birn, Liisi Tandefelt, Amanda Pilke, Krista Kosonen, Peter Franzén and Tommi Korpela in the leads, it follows two generations of women intertwining the stories of Aliide, a villager, and Zara, a victim of human trafficking, linked together by deceit, desperation and fear. 2013OE. RATING: 7

Childish Games / Dictado

Antonio Chavarrias's Childish Games (Spain, 2012) - Playing childish innocence against adult guilt has been a staple of psychological horror ever since The Turn of the Screw, and it’s been a reliable ploy for recent Spanish chillers - notably The Orphanage and, before that, The Devil’s Backbone. Considerably less Gothic than those films, Childish Games (Dictado) could nevertheless very modestly emulate their success in sales terms, if only because it’s a relatively efficient reworking of familiar tropes. But, once it’s set out its initially enigmatic premise, Childish Games doesn’t do much more than run through its moves to increasingly routine effect. 2012BERic. RATING: 5.

Frankenweenie (2012)

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie (US, 2012) - Tim Burton’s directing career comes full circle with Frankenweenie, an animated remake of his 1984 live-action short that followed the exploits of a brokenhearted boy who decides to bring his beloved dog back from the dead. And as befitting a film that pays homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tale, this stop-motion effort feels constructed out of bits and pieces, stitching Burton’s pet obsessions together with different tones and genres to create a work that’s diverting fun in fits and starts but can’t quite achieve a coherent whole. 2012LON. RATING: 7.

Mai Ratima

COMING SOON: Yoo Ji Tae's Mai Ratima (South Korea, 2012) - Although overlong, Yoo Ji-tae’s feature debut is a promising piece of work that demonstrates his talent as a filmmaker, and given his already high profile as an actor (Oldboy, 2003), Mai Ratima, should secure a strong festival run following its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. At the heart of the narrative is a melodrama, which still remains a characteristic of some Korean cinema, but Yoo decides to veer away from sentimentalism, and instead explores a number of social issues including the increasing number of South East Asians that have immigrated to Korea. While this is a trait found in other local films such as He’s On Duty (2010), this is a darker film, but remains strangely appealing throughout. 2012BUS.

Elevator To The Gallows

GREAT MOVIES: Louis Malle's Elevator to The Gallows (France, 1958) - When the bewitching Florence (Jeanne Moreau) and her lover, Julien (Maurice Ronet), plot to kill Florence's unsuspecting husband (Jean Wall), they don't count on a technical glitch -- a broken elevator -- getting in the way of the perfect murder. Louis Malle directs this haunting French thriller in his feature film debut, an impressive achievement heightened by the film's memorable improvisational score composed by jazz legend Miles Davis. 1000DT, TAS. RATING: 9.

10 Years

Jamie Linden's 10 Years (US, 2012) - The night before their high school reunion, a group of friends realize they still haven't quite grown up in some ways. Stars Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson. RATING: 5