In Fabric

A malevolent frock proves surprisingly wily in a film that gives the phrase "fashion victim" a whole new meaning. Possessed by the spirit of 1970s horror, the fourth narrative feature from Berberian Sound Studio's Peter Strickland combines Tales from the Crypt-style fatalism with lashings of Italian giallo. It finds Marianne Jean-Baptiste's bank clerk Sheila negotiating the singles scene while dealing with her surly son (Jaygann Ayeh) and his even surlier girlfriend (Gwendoline Christie). Looking for a dress to impress, Sheila heads to the strangest of department stores. There she encounters a shop assistant straight out of Hammer horror (Fatma Mohamed), who directs her to a flashy red number with a sinister past that's destined to continue its reign of terror. Jam-packed with idiosyncratic period detail and directed with unabashed flamboyance, Strickland's fusion of the uncanny and humorously humdrum is irresistible, sending up British bureaucracy, disastrous dates and the lure of the sales, as it rubs up against gothic kink and the supernatural. Sublimely shot by Ari Wegner, In Fabric is weird and wonderful in the extreme.