Archive for November 27th, 2009

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465430/

Dir. Paul Andrew Williams

This is a British horror/comedy starring Andy Serkis, Reece Sheersmith and Jennifer Ellison. It’s essentially a two-part movie like From Dusk Till Dawn, complete with the abrupt switch in tone. The first section is a bungling crime caper and the second section is a slasher film and while both sections are enjoyable in their own right they don’t quite blend together as a whole.

I discovered, when watching it with the director’s commentary, that a lot of decisions about the structure (notably separating the crime and horror sections of the film) were made during editing; there was even an entire character cut out of the narrative because it wasn’t working. While some of these changes are for the better, which you can see watching the deleted scenes, the harsh separation of the two elements of the film does not feel like it was the best choice. The trailers for the movie, the posters and the DVD case all advertise it as a horror/comedy; keeping the horror out of the film for a long period of time creates an odd impatient for the film to arrive at what appears to be it’s main plotline.

In terms of horror the film is occasionally successful. There is little tension to the piece as a whole because the comedy is mixed so readily with the horror, unlike Shaun of the Dead where comedy occasionally takes a back seat to let the horror and drama work, but there are some moments of unexpected gore and actions that work to disgust the audience. The visual production is fantastic and it’s this that builds the majority of the horrific atmosphere; it complements the sick idea of the farmer who steals faces (even though this idea isn’t communicated as well as it could have been) and is one of the films strengths.

What really shines through the piece are the performances from Andy Serkis, Reece Sheersmith and Jennifer Ellison (Steven O’Donnell deserves a mention for being funny, even though it’s essentially the same role he always plays). It’s what keeps the film together and the performances and comedy are why it’s worth watching.