Written and directed by Hadi Hajaig, Puritan stars Nick Moran, Georgina Rylance, Pete Hodge, David Soul and Ralph Brown. Music is by Simon Lambros and cinematography is by Peter Ellmore.Simon Puritan (Moran) is a medium in the East End of London. Tormented by the bad cards life has dealt him, he's become a alcoholic and battles with migraine headaches. When his latest client introduces him to Ann Bridges (Rylance), it spins his life onto another plane.Low on budget it may be, but Hadi Hajaig's movie has style and atmosphere to burn. Though set in modern London, Hajaig pitches Simon Puritan into a Gothic flavoured world. It's world where the spectres of Jack the Ripper and Aleister Crowley dwell, where architecture is by Nicholas Hawksmoore. Then the director fills this eerie backdrop with shadows and filtered light, enhancing the blood reds and the deathly blacks for maximum impact. There's the distinct whiff of the supernatural as Puritan finds himself in classic film noir territory.The plot is deliberately labyrinthine as intriguing characters wander in to further cloud Puritan's perception. Some of the means and motives of the main players are at first glance murky, but as the makers blend genres, as Simon tries to crawl out from what is now a vortex of crime and dishonesty, it pieces together with a devilish glint in its eye. Ambiguities are one of the film's strengths, they drag us the viewers into Simon's confused state of mind, whilst simultaneously keeping us hooked into this most interesting and visually stunning picture.Performances are only OK and the sound mix is sadly poor at times, but I'm convinced this would be better known and rated if more fans of noir could see it. 8/10

Most commentators seem to like this, but I didn't. It seemed to me to be 90% of nothing happening and 10% denouement. The photography was laboured and unnecessarily monochromatic (mostly red/black). I guessed the identity of the disfigured man fairly early on and I think that most people will manage that. I love supernatural films but this was a real disappointment. I thought that there was no suspense and no character development. Also, I did not 'get' the ending. In fact, I couldn't engage with any of the characters at all. I've had to pad this out because of the rules but my summary would be: Quite boring with no resolution (yep - I'm one of those who likes a real ending! :-)

I drove all the way from Birmingham to enjoy the Frightfest Festival over the bank holiday weekend, and I have to say I was disappointed with some of the films, there was a degree of childishness to them, but I was relieved to to see Puritan, as it was a real treat.I had planned not to watch it, as was starving, but then i thought I had to get my money's worth for the weekend pass I had gotten.So i sat down and watched the director introduce the film, and was really hypnotised by the lyrical beauty of this film.Its is quite poetic, intelligent and atmospheric to the hilt. I loved the very calm acting styles of all concerned, and the glorious visuals that encompassed this film.The similarities to Alan Moore stories I spotted immediately but that was a good thing, as its not really a Moore type plot, in that it was a thriller at heart, and not really supernatural, although there is that element to it. I just have to say i really liked this movie.Nick Moran held my attention as the fallen down hero who has to pick himself up again and start afresh, he has to purify himself, and the way in which that is achieved is incredibly shrewd and cunning.A Top Film!

I just saw this film in what seems to be the World Premiere screening (Germany, Fantasy Filmfest). It was called a "supernatural film noir" in advance. It's not really dressed film noir in terms of cinematography or looks in general, but it's story sure steps into the tradition. In my opinion, it starts a bit too slow. As things unfold, tension rises. The hints that point at a supernatural background add to the thriller-atmosphere. But when the viewer is finally able to make a picture out of the puzzle pieces, the ending comes all too quick, although at this point the story asks for much more. Altogether, the big moment of confrontation to which it all aims is a bit too predictable to serve my tastes. Fans of the genre (or this sort of genre-mix-up, rather) will still be pleased. But don't expect something that will make impact.