Camino Skies (12)
Directed by Fergus Grady and Noel Smyth
★★★

CAMINO SKIES tells the story of of six complete strangers from New Zealand and Australia as they embark on the 800-kilometre long historic pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Aged between 50 and 72, they’re all on a personal and spiritual mission to overcome the heartbreak of loss and grief. Some are newbies but others have done the trek before and, as one remarks, “the Camino is part of healing.”

Fergus Grady and Noel Smyth’s impressive debut film captures the highs and the lows as well as the physical pain and emotional toll of the gruelling walk, offset by stunning Spanish landscapes and vistas.

You can’t help but be moved by their stories and their determination to pick themselves and each other up when they are physically and emotionally drained, although it feels intrusive to watch them break down in tears when it all becomes too overwhelming.

In Search of Greatness
Directed by Gabe Polsky
★★★

IS IT nature or nurture that makes a great athlete is the question posed by writer-director Gabe Polsky in this film.

He talks to some of the greatest sportsmen of all time, including football icon Pele, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and American football star Jerry Rice in his quest to uncover the secrets of genius.

It’s a fascinating fact-finding mission as the film explores a whole gamut of areas, from upbringing and coaching and from genetics to psychology.

The consensus is that the greatest never conform to an ideal but break the mould and, as an expert points out, “a balance between discipline and spontaneity.”

With engaging visuals and a lightness of touch, Polsky delivers a captivating documentary, with compelling insights from Pele, Gretzky and Rice.

The Wretched (15)
Directed by Brett and Drew T Pierce
★★★★

A REBELLIOUS teenage boy takes on a 1,000-year-old diabolical witch with a penchant for young children in this Hitchcockian horror from the Pierce brothers.

Struggling with his parents’ separation, Ben (John-Paul Howard) has been sent to spend the summer with his father (Jamison Jones) at the local marina.

But he soon realises something is awry with his dad’s neighbours as he starts to spy on them, Rear Window style.

Of course, no-one believes him.

Though The Wretched doesn’t reinvent the horror wheel, it does use the tropes to intense and scary effect as it explores teenage angst and humiliation against the backdrop of a child-chomping monster who literally gets under people’s skins.

Deliciously creepy and macabre, it ends on a killer twist.

The Shed (15)
Directed by Frank Sabatella
★★★

THIS vampire horror takes the creatures of the night back to their basic blood-sucking roots in a morality tale about bullies and their victims.

The life of orphan Stan (Jay Jay Warren) takes a turn to the macabre when his abusive grandfather (Timothy Bottoms) is killed by a monster taking refuge in their shed.

He can’t go to the authorities because he will end up in care or juvie. But his best friend Dommer (Cody Kostro), who’s being hounded and humiliated by school bullies on a daily basis, finds the answer to his prayers in Stan’s shed.

Written and directed by Frank Sabatella, the film starts off on a powerfully gruesome note as it explores teenage angst and kids doing what they have to to survive and escape their poor upbringing and dead-end lives.

But it begs the question: what would you do if you had the power to decide who lives or dies?

Though nicely acted and paced, with plenty of scares, the showdown loses the preceding impetus and energy as everything is tied up too rapidly and nicely.

Nevertheless, it’s an engaging B-horror outing.