Rating: C+
Dir: S.N. Sibley
Star: Ross Doney, Cy Henty, Dawn Daroczy, Terrence Betts
Not sure I’ve seen a horror movie set around Newcastle before. So there’s that, straight out of the box. Well, I’m going by the plethora of Geordie accents, anyway. This is an almost farcical, deliberately, serial killer story. Lewis (Doney) is the psycho in question, whose latest kill is interrupted by the return of husband Robert (Henty). Lewis convinces Robert to help dispose of the corpse, by threatening to frame him for the murder. However, before that can happen, they get carjacked – the criminals drive off, unaware of what’s tucked in the boot. Until, that is, they encounter a group in the countryside, shooting a promo video for a faded eighties rock musician, near a haunted house attraction. .
Ok, maybe not exactly “Whoops, where are my trousers?” farce. Yet it does appear that Lewis may be the only person here who is competent, with the possible exception of final girl Kate (Daroczy) . The film does struggle with multiple shifts in focus, from Robert through the carjackers to the video outfit, and on to others. It’s better when keeping things simple: Lewis chasing all of the above through the trees. He’s clad in a shitty costume and mask – although, for once, this is justified, because he liberated them from an employee at the haunted house. One of his impending victims congratulates the killer on staying in character, and his method acting. Further evidence, tongue is at least drifting in the direction of cheek.
It’s these lighter moments which I felt helped differentiate this from the million other, “slasher in the woods” films. For example, the irate land-owner who abruptly changes his tune (or perhaps Toon, given the locale?) on recognizing the has-been musician. Or at least the later albums, after he had left the group, in a discussion which is likely funnier than anything in Spinal Tap 2. [A low bar, I know] Another plus to the outdoor scenes is, they are less burdened by the poor audio which hampers some other scenes – to the point where subtitles may be required, even for those familiar with the Geordie accent. When Lewis is chasing his victims about, nobody has time or breath for much in the way of chit-chat.
Make no mistake, this is low-budget horror, and comes with the rough edges that implies. It’s not hard to think of ways it could have been improved: contrasting the relatively smart Lewis with the thuggish and brutish carjackers would have been interesting. Yet Sibley has found and makes decent use of some creepy, deserted locations as well as the haunted house, and uses them to occasionally surprising effect (top). The effects are good enough, and the giallo-tinged score is another area where, once the film gets going, this punches above its weight. It’s the kind of film you will have to stick with, getting through turbulence on take-off before it reaches its cruising altitude and settles down.
The film is currently streaming on Screamify.