Greta

Terror is a little old French lady in this perversely sprightly New York-set chiller from writer/director Neil Jordan. Chloë Grace Moretz is kind-hearted waitress Frances, who lives in a swanky Tribeca loft with her spoilt, cynical roommate (Maika Monroe). When she finds a handbag on the subway and returns it to its owner Greta (Isabelle Huppert), Frances makes a new friend. But the recent death of her mother leaves Frances vulnerable to the manipulations of a woman who's much more sinister than the lonely soul she appears to be. Softly spoken, stealthy and superhumanly nimble, Huppert plays the assiduous antagonist with delectable precision and a knowing air. Hitchcockian imagery and playfulness abound in a fairy tale of a film that's as in love with the city as it is alive to its dangers. If Greta feels a little superficial, however, there's still a lot of fun to be had: in a mischievous screenplay; in a shameless score giving oomph to every shock and in a vivid colour scheme which defies the notion that thrillers should be dark.