Tag: Ben Wheatley

Sightseers (2012) British Black Comedy Caravan Style

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I watched this film after reading a brilliant review by Natasha on Films and Things. I’d not heard of the film, but, as it was directed by Ben Wheatley (creator of the brilliant film Kill List and Down Terrace) and I am an unabashed fanboy of this brilliant new film director, I decided to give it a go.

The film starts with Chris (Steve Oram) taking his new girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) on an introductory trip to his world; the world of caravanning. Tina’s mother  (wonderfully played by Eileen Davies) doesn’t like Chris or trust him. It turns out that she is pretty much spot on with her character assessment of Chris.

Although he obviously adores Tina, he is, in fact, a serial killer and has been eliminating people who irritate him since his redundancy six months ago. Tina, doesn’t know this at first, but getting caught up in the action, becomes an over enthusiastic accomplice.

Director Ben Wheatley again shows the deft touch that is his trademark and he allowed the two main characters plenty of opportunity to free wheel their scenes. It works wonderfully. Oram, Lowe, and Wheatley get together to tell us that all the things we imagined about caravaners is true. In fact, it’s worse than we thought; these people aren’t just odd, they’re murderous.

Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, aka Tina and Chris.
Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, aka Tina and Chris.

The humour is of the blackest sort and quite droll in most places. Chris’s penchant for killing those that irritate the living hell out of him is very funny (and not a little bit scary, it must be said) and most of his victims are very deserving of their fate.

Sightseers began as a stage comedy “skit” thought up by the two (Oram and Lowe) after they discussed childhood experiences in the world of the caravan holiday makers. This skit was performed regularly and it led to the decision to attempt a screenplay. With everyone they approached declining to make the film as it was considered “too dark;” they eventually got Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, et al) to green light the project.

Ben Wheatley wisely allowed Steve and Alice to improvise a lot of their scenes as they were the authors of the material and due to repeated performances of the skit knew their characters inside and out. It makes the film something special to watch. You also come away from the film realising that it is possible to produce a work that, despite its shoestring budget, looks great.

After seeing the film, I realised two things; that I was an even bigger fan of Wheatley (if that’s possible) and I now adored Alice Lowe. While Oram was outstanding as the monumentally screwed up Chis, it was Lowe who impressed the hell out of me. This is her film really and the character of Tina, who is just as messed up mentally as Chris, but on a different level, was hysterically funny.

There is a scene early on in the film with a Jack Russell dog and a pair of oversized knitting needles that made me laugh so long and hard that I had to stop the film and rewind it. I’d missed a lot of action because of that one scene.

A definite 5 out of 5 stars for a British black comedy that will tickle your dark humour funny bone.

Blackly funny.

*Filmfans in America will now be able to enjoy this English gem as the film has a release date of 10 May 2013 in the US.*

Tina (Alice Lowe) and Banjo/Poppy.
Tina (Alice Lowe) and Banjo/Poppy.
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Kill List (2011): Keeping Death in the Family

Written by husband/wife team Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump and directed by Wheatley, Kill List is a tour de force of dark unsettling images and sounds. From the very first frame, the film disturbs the viewer. Despite a fair sprinkling of black humour, an overpowering feeling of evil and doom fill every moment of the film.

Neil Maskell is Jay, an ex-soldier who has become partners with his old army buddy Gal (Michael Smiley) together they work as hitmen. Jay’s wife shel (Myanna Burning) is also part of the business, setting up contacts and contracts. She also sorts out lodgings for the lads when they are on a job.

At the beginning of the film we are privy to the discord in Jay and Shel’s life. He has not worked in eight months and the money that was set aside (40,000 pounds) is gone. Jay and Shel argue a lot and their son Sam (Harry Simpson) takes Shel’s side. She is adamant that Jay get back together with Gal for another contract hit.

We can see that they have an opulent lifestyle and by the amount of money that they’ve gone through in an eight month time period that money does not last too long in their house. Jay is on medication for a back problem that Shel says is in his head.

Fiona and Jay, before the crockery goes flying.

Gal comes over with a new girlfriend Fiona (Emma Fryer) for dinner. After a meal that culminates in Jay throwing a fit and scattering all the dishes to the floor, Gal tries to convince Jay to take on the contract with him because the money is good. Although Jay is angry about Gal and Shel going behind his back, he concedes.

The “kill list” consists of three men and when Gal and Jay meet their contact he seals the deal with his and Jay’s blood. The “hit” is on and the men go to kill their first victim.

This film has an underlying tension to it that oozes through every scene. The score is intrusive and has the effect of not only setting the atmosphere and the pace of the film but of deadening the dialogue between the characters. This combination makes the whole thing seem off-kilter, odd, and very ominous.

The score also has a fuzzy feeling to it, like you are hearing a low-pitched background roaring sound through cotton padding. This adds to the foreboding and aids the various set points of the film.

You get the feeling that none of this is going to go well for any of the participants. Events in the film, serpentine in and out causing the viewer to get lost if they are not careful; reality becomes blurred at one point in the film. The two men are hidden spectators to a strange ceremony. When the men make their presence known, the participants chase them and the accompanying noises sound like a combination of animal growls and pigs screaming. It is unsettling and scary as hell.

One of the ceremonial participants.

The film “feels” dark and each hit gets darker. The fact that each victim seems to recognise Jay disturbs him and starts affecting his job performance. There are reverences to Kiev and a job that the lads did that went wrong somehow. At one point Gal mumbles to himself that Jay is acting like he did in Kiev. This is never explored and left up to the viewer to imagine what went on.

The characters are not completely fleshed out in order for them to raise more questions than they answer. This has the added effect of keeping the viewer guessing as to what is going on with Jay. He is clearly the one with issues carried over from their past “mission.”

Gal’s girlfriend Fiona is a personnel resources specialist, whose job is to cut the fat from poorly performing organizations. Despite the fact that she breaks up with Gal, she visits Shel often and on the night of the dinner party puts a strange mark on the back of the bathroom mirror. She also takes a tissue with Jay’s blood on it.

Kill List has been compared to The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General, two  classic British horror films. Not a bad comparison as this film has all the hallmarks of a first-rate horror film thriller that will disturb you and will have you discussing it long after you’ve watched it.

I watched the film twice and found that Wheatley telegraphed his ending early on in the film. I take my hat off to him and the cast, who performed brilliantly, for what is one of the best English horror films that I have seen in ages.

I owe a special thanks to Darran over at foxiecinnamon for blogging about this film and bringing it to my attention. Good one mate.

Gal and Jay (Michael Smiley and Neil Maskell) hitmen together.
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