Why you can trust 12DOVE
Headlining the National Film Theatre's The Other British Cinema season, Wisconsin Death Trip was originally made for the BBC Arena documentary slot, but fully warrants a big-screen release, not least for its lyrical black-and-white cinematography.
Adapted from Michael Lesy's book, which itself drew heavily on archival still photographs, James Marsh's film recounts the truly bizarre tale of the farming community of Black River Falls, Wisconsin during the 1890s. Faced with a crippling economic depression, the town's residents went berserk: murder, suicide and insanity rates soared, businesses collapsed, cases of arson, vandalism and religious possession multiplied, while a diphtheria epidemic devastated the infant population...
Marsh doesn't seek to explain the macabre events, which were all recorded in the town newspaper. Instead, cleverly deploying narrator Ian Holm's sly voice-over, he re-enacts individual stories in silently acted, fractionally slowed-down scenes. It makes for an eerily haunting, enigmatic journey: civilisation has rarely seemed so fragile.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.

Blood of Dawnwalker devs explain how the vampire RPG's "narrative sandbox" builds on what they were "known for crafting" in games like The Witcher 3

Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio composer's new JRPG gets a Steam Next Fest demo, and it's basically a turn-based Metal Gear Solid

Avowed is nothing like Bethesda's RPGs, but The Elder Scrolls 6 should take inspiration from its combat