This’ll take a lot more viewings to really sink in but, though I’m not yet sure it’s “the Citizen Kane of fantasy cinema” (Mark Kermode – sorry I’m mentioning him a lot lately, I just can’t get enough of his weekly podcast), it’s already one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year (which doesn’t say a great deal in itself either). It’s slower than expected and the fantasy element is relatively minimal, playing equally alongside the violent real world side of things. That’s not to say the fantasy side of the movie is pretty – like many reviewers have said, this is definitely no kids’ movie … there’s one scene in particular with a creature with eyes on its hands that scared the hell out of me and could easily keep me from sleeping, and a lot of blood on the real world side. This is a movie you really need to stick with and give as much of your attention to as possible, but the ending is beautifully rewarding.

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