18 h. ago Dave: The Boy Who Played the Harp review – it’s clearer than ever what a stunningly skilled rapper he is

Returning with his first album in four years, the arena-filling UK rapper is still such a smart, sharp lyricist as he explores a series of existential crisesAs Dave notes, a few minutes into his third album, he’s been conspicuous by his absence for “a couple summers”. Four years separate The Boy Who Played the Harp from his last solo album, the platinum-selling We’re All Alone in This Together. Perhaps more strikingly, it’s been two years since he released Split Decision, the collaborative EP with Central Cee that spawned Sprinter: not just the longest-running UK rap No 1 in history, but the track that finally did the thing that it seemed increasingly unlikely a UK rap track would ever do and became a hit in the US, selling a million copies and even winding up on Barack Obama’s annual playlist. But rather than attempt to capitalise on its US success, as Central Cee did – jumping on tracks by big names ranging from J Cole to Ice Spice to Jung Kook from BTS; releasing a debut album th...

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25 h. ago Dazzling debut fiction: Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy, Boy from the North Country by Sam Sussman, Our Precious Wars by Perrine Tripier

Sara Lawrence reviews the best debut fiction out this month

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3 d. ago Midnight Timetable by Bora Chung review – sinister stories from the graveyard shift

Horror tropes meet modern nightmares as the South Korean author takes us deep inside a research facility called The InstituteOur fears turn feral when they have nowhere to go. South Korean author Bora Chung’s new short story collection plays with old horror tropes: endless corridors and looped staircases, exits that only lead you deeper, a phone that rings and rings (don’t pick up). The kind of stories dare-drunk children trade in the dark.Set in a research facility known only as “the Institute”, a repository of cursed and haunted objects, Chung’s tales come from the building’s skeleton staff – warnings and gossip from the night shift. It’s a nod, perhaps, to Stephen King’s debut collection, 1978’s still brilliant Night Shift. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Good Boy review: Stephen Graham is almost unrecognisable in this sick family thriller

Jan Komasa’s pitch-black comedy will have you squirming on the end of a chain leash

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3 w. ago Moment 'getaway gran' leads police on a 100mph 'horror movie chase' at 3am in Yorkshire

This is the moment a 'getaway grandmother' leads police on a 100mph pursuit through the streets of Yorkshire's Beverly after they spotted her driving with false number plates at 3am.

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3 w. ago Good Boy review – crafty supernatural horror leads with a heroic dog

A lovable pet is unlikely protagonist of 73-minute haunted house riff that has ingenious moments but gets repetitiveIn the horror genre, you’d be a fool to ignore the concerns of a dog. While cats are mainly lurking in dark spaces waiting to collaborate with the orchestra on a cheap jumpscare, dogs are quick to alert their owners of nefarious goings on, acutely sensitive to threats whether they be human or not.In the often ingenious new horror film Good Boy, a pet dog isn’t just an easily dismissed harbinger of evil, he’s the main character. Like last year’s Presence, which saw Steven Soderbergh tell a ghost story through the lens of the ghost, and In a Violent Nature, which gave us a gory slasher as seen by the killer, we’re given a fresh perspective on a story that’s anything but, this time a haunted house horror as seen by Indy, a loyal retriever. He’s worried about his owner Todd (Shane Jensen, whose face we barely see), who’s retreating to his grandfather’s remote cabin after a...

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