A scene from the director John Carpenter’s latest venture, The Ward.
A scene from the director John Carpenter’s latest venture, The Ward.

The Ward



The Ward
Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Amber Heard, Jared Harris, Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer
***

After nine years away from cinema screens, the Halloween director John Carpenter returns to salvage his reputation from younger imitators and lame remakes. That's the theory, at least. Set in 1966, The Ward stars Amber Heard as an amnesiac arsonist imprisoned in an all-female psychiatric ward. Led by Jared Harris as a creepy shrink, the doctors and nurses in this fortress-like hospital are less than sympathetic. But their sinister scowls are nothing compared to the ghostly creature who stalks the corridors, apparently abducting Heard's fellow patients one by one. Carpenter's feature-directing comeback was reportedly inspired by working on the American TV series Masters of Horror. He applies the same low-budget pulp approach to The Ward, which helps explain its cheap and clunky tone in places. Thus, sketchy stock characters, cheesy plot twists and jolting shocks might generously be seen as tongue-in-cheek nods to formulaic genre rules, rather than lazy errors. That said, Carpenter clearly retains a flair for nerve-snapping tension and breaks new ground by including enough graphic gore to satisfy fans of the Saw series. There are passing nods here to cult classics including Shock Corridor, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Shining, but The Ward is most similar in setting and theme to Scorsese's recent retro-schlockfest, Shutter Island. Carpenter's polished B-movie is hardly a glorious return to form, but it looks pleasingly glossy, moves along at a lively pace, and presses all the right slasher-shocker buttons. Next time, we can only hope the celebrated pulp-horror maestro chooses a script worthy of his talents.

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Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Results

2-15pm: Commercial Bank Of Dubai – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Al Habash, Patrick Cosgrave (jockey), Bhupat Seemar (trainer)

2.45pm: Al Shafar Investment – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Day Approach, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash

3.15pm: Dubai Real estate Centre – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Celtic Prince, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly

3.45pm: Jebel Ali Sprint by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Khuzaam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

4.15pm: Shadwell – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Tenbury Wells, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

4.45pm: Jebel Ali Stakes by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson

5.15pm: Jebel Ali Racecourse – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Rougher, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

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Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
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MATCH INFO

Serie A

Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)

Match is on BeIN Sports

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO

World Cup 2022 qualifier

UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm

Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai