Be brave Morvern. A brave sophomore feature from Lynne Ramsay, shying away from narrative convention in favour of mystification and lyricism. The tone is set from the first shot of Morvern in close-up, periodically illuminated by an unseen light source. Later, in the bath, curling up into a fetal position, waiting to be reborn. Abstraction is Morvern Callar's M.O. Continually shifting depth of field and artfully edited to withhold context, before each tiny revelation brings the past into focus. The…

Very loosley based on The Vampire of Sacramento case and adapted from William P. Wood's novel, William Friedkin uses the story to explore the limitations of the American legal system. It's an open and shut case in that the identity of the murderer is never in doubt - what hangs in the balance is whether he'll be sentenced to the death penalty for his crimes or receive life in prison (which doesn't actually equate to a full life term). Given…

Darkly oblique, low key character study of a damaged mind. Philip is a puppeteer by profession, who is forced to return to his childhood home following his disgrace at his last paying gig. He terrified the kids with his puppet, a macabre arachnid creation with a blank head resembling his own. This is Possum, an alter ego which has haunted him since entering his life in childhood, preventing him from becoming a functioning adult.

Scored by a brooding collection of…

I'm not sure what I was expecting - neo-realism or retro-styled kitchen sink drama perhaps - but Mark Jenkin's entrancing film is a labour of love that borders on anti-realism with its expressionistic editing, montage and post-synced sound. It's a defiantly experimental, subtly confrontational piece that stays true to his own Dogme-like Silent Landscape Dancing Grain 13 manifesto. It looks like a long lost artefact, rescued from oblivion, but has an unmistakably modern sensibility.

The way the sound is entirely…