The Cottage Review

Any scriptwriter/filmmaker will have written something when they were young that didn't quite work. A first attempt at something new, a little naive and most importantly an excercise in learning that should never really see the light of day. Paul Andrew Williams follow up to London to Brighton (a tense thriller dealing with the world of prostitution) is a prime example of something dusted off the shelf once a name has been established.

Gangster brothers Peter and David have a plan to make themselves rich and worry free. They have kidnapped the daughter of a local mob boss, taken her to a remote cottage and plan to ransom her. Unluckily for them she's a mouthy little mare with enough aggresion to spoil their plans. Even more unluckily for all involved a vicious killer is picking off bystanders and keeping their heads for trophies. As they do.

Many of the faults of the script lie in a teenage over reliance with thinking bad language makes the characters sound 'ard. While there may be a smile raised the first time Jennifer Ellison cries 'cunt' in a thick scouse accent, the repitition of all things 'fucky' and 'cunty' soon start to grate. The other two leads Reese Shearsmith and Andy Serkis are also given dialogue and roles they can't do much with. Although the former having some experience in the field of horror/comedy does manage to do better with the material given.

The film is not a complete failure as there are some funny gags (the room full of moths and the slow crawl to help certainly stand out) and the horror is handled well. The two films in one angle draws comparisons with From Dusk Til Dawn and the new wave of Brit Horror Comedy is much more welcome than the old wave of Brit Gangster flicks. But when all is said and done sometimes its best to leave that first script where it is, written but unfilmed. Or perhaps filmed but only shown to friends.