DVD Review: DON'T LET HIM IN (2011)

DON'T LET HIM IN (2011)

Label: Image Entertainment
Release Date: January 3rd 2012
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 79mins
Video: 6:9 Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Director: Kelly Smith
Cast:  Sophie Linfield, Sam Hazeldine, Gordon Alexander

Synopsis: What if you invited a serial killer on holiday? Heading off for a weekend in the country, Paige and Calvin reluctantly allow Calvin's brash younger sister to bring along Tristan, an arrogant city trader she's picked up in a one-night stand; but when the group learn a brutal serial killer is plaguing the area, Paige must confront the disturbing truth about Tristan.

I must say that the past few years have been robust with quality indie genre films outta the United Kingdom. A few of my favorites include the Faustian fantasy film HEARTLESS (2009), the paranoid thriller SALVAGE (2009) and the quietly intense portrait of serial killer TONY (2010). The latest export from the UK to screen on my LCD is the nasty slice o' indie-horror by the title of DON'T LET HIM IN (2011) from first time feature film director Kelly Smith. The director doesn't really stray too far from established formulas we've seen so often but he manages to throws in a few tasty surprises that might just make this worth a rental, so let's have a look.

A nurse named Paige and her boyfriend Calvin are a young Brit couple on their way to a countryside retreat when they stop off to pick-up his super-slutty sister Mandy  who rather rudely schleps along a wealthy young man she's only just met the night before at the club against her brother's better judgment. He's an arrogant sort of prick with an unattractive sense of entitlement by the name of Tristan. After an uncomfortable car ride the foursome arrive at their rural destination only to be informed by a local policeman Sgt. Utley that a serial killer known as the Tree Surgeon has been stalking the area and that it would be best if they keep their doors locked and not wander about the area after dark. The killer's known as the tree surgeon for hanging the dismembered remains of his victims from trees in the area.

No sooner is it dark than does a bloodied stranger named Shawn arrive on the doorstep of the cottage, barely conscious and sporting a nasty gash to the gut, the shocking arrival scares the bejeezus outta Paige whose home alone at the time but luckily for the stranger she's able to quickly tend to his mostly superficial wound. The next day during breakfast there's some nastiness between Tristan and pretty much everyone else in the group about what a bad idea it is to let the stranger remain in the house when there's a psychotic killer in the area, but Tristan is no innocent himself and may actually pose more of a danger to the group than the killer at large.

The characters are pretty one-dimensional with both Paige and Calvin just being pretty swell people the kind you'd want for pals. The sister Mandy is just a straight-up trollop, the most annoying  insecure cum-sucker you could ever hope to meet at a bar and Tristan as mentioned previously is just an arrogant prick with potentially murderous tendencies. The stranger Shawn turns out to be a hitchhiker with a heart of gold or so it seems, a few of the characters get some decent twists thrown their way but overall it felt just a bit too contrived.

The finale is pretty twisted in it's own way I guess with some decent low-budget gore effects but like I say it just felt a bit too contrived with a double-downer ending that should've left me chilled but really just kinda left me wondering, really? Don't get me wrong, this is not a terrible film, it's a decent first film with a few nice moments of suspense and twists but it's by the numbers and I found even the twists were expected.

On the plus side the acting is pretty top notch even if most of the actors don't get much to to chew on aside from the final girl and the killer, even though I found his motivations a bit too weird and nonsensical.  There's some decent kills and a fair bodycount considering the small cast, it moves along briskly at only 79 minutes and the droning score is chillingly effective. While it lacks originality it's still an entertaining watch but on the downside I didn't particularly care for the look of the film, it's particularly cold looking and a bit ugly, workman like in it's composition. A lot of character's decisions/actions were laughably poor without any logic, for instance a scene wherein an art class sketching trees makes a gruesome discovery made me laugh out loud, it is ridiculously bad.

DVD Special Features:
- Audio Commentary featuring Co-Writer/Producer/Director Kelly Smith, Co-Writer Chris Andrews and Co=Producer Mike Mindell
- Behind the Scenes Featurette (41:22) 16:9
- The Making of the Visual Effects (1:16) 16:9
- Trailer (1:58) 16:9

Verdict: It's not too original but neither is it a piss poor film, just a middle of the road spin on the cabin in the woods genre with a few inspired moments from a first time film director. I'm definitely not writing Kelly Smith outta the game, there's definitely potential for this young talent to really shine, it's just not here. Definitely worth a rental or checking out if it's streaming on Netflix, but only a medium recommend.
2.5 outta 5

DVD Review: TONY (2009)

TONY (2009)

Label: Revolver Entertainment

Region Code: 1 NTSC

Rating: Unrated

Video: 16:9 Widescreen

Audiio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Director: Gerard Johnson

Cast: Peter Ferdinando, Ricky Grover, George Russo, Frances Pope

Tagline: It's Aways the Quiet Ones

This is a film that will have you second guessing that weird nut on the bus that sits next you that mumbles to himself a bit and occasionally yelps or elicits some other random verbal outburst or perhaps the strange guy that frequents your magazine shop every so often, till now you've suspected they were a bit "off" but mostly harmless otherwise. We have one where I work we call "Fake Business Man", a dapper dressed fellow who carries with him a briefcase at all times, we often wonder what's inside, some say a knife others claim to have seen a lone sleeve of saltines, but it definitely has garnered a legend of it's own not dissimilar to the suite case from PULP FICTION. One day he came in bought a bottle of Peligrino water and crawled on his hands and knees from the register to the end of the counter where he arose stating "I don't think they saw me this time" and then off he went, I doubt he's a serial killer or a threat but after seeing this film I may be a bit more guarded next visit just to play it safe.

Gerard Johnson's feature film debut TONY (2010) follows the exploits of the titular Londoner played by actor Peter Ferdinand.  He's stricken with a severe case of awkwardness, he's gaunt, wears thick glasses, has a bad haircut and a truly awful mustache. His daily routine consists of not much more than feeding his appetite for 80's action films on VHS over a bowl of cereal and beating off to porn on the shitter, sounds like a pretty typical blogger or podcaster if you ask me, trust me, I know. His daily ventures out into the surrounding working class neighborhood is frought with awkward interactions with addicts, prostitutes and drug peddlers. Most pay him no heed but occasionally one ends up back at his place for whatever reason and more often than not they end up cut into tiny pieces, wrapped in newspaper and placed in a blue plastic grocery bags and dropped in the Thames during a nice gingerly stroll.

TONY is a quietly intense portrait of a modern day serial killer, a deeply disturbed individual who appears troubled but is not someone you'd peg as a killer on sight. Tony doesn't set out to kill but instead is looking for that elusive human connection but he's so introverted that he's virtually incapable of interacting with others on any kind of meaningful level and as a result he is easily dismissed and his attempts to make friends just end badly, his particular way of dealing with it just happens to be to simply kill them. As we view Tony's daily routines i feels almost documentary style, it's voyeuristic and creepy, not much happens but when it does it's hair raising. Despite being a psychotic killer he's not a unsympathetic character, unlike nearly all his victims, but he's just so creepy that even low-rent prostitutes shun him, he's the guy in the neighborhood that everyone knows as the weirdo, not even the guy selling bootleg DVD's is willing to carry on a conversation with him. He resorts to consorting with drug addicts whom he scores smack with and takes back to his place, suffocating one with a plastic bag while he's strung out and imprisoning the other and then releasing him, apparently because he was nicer while the other was an asshole. A night out at the gay bar ends with him waking up next to a corpse whom he offers tea to while tucking it all nice and comfy into the bed, perhaps there's some necrophilia implied but it's not explicit. All this goes on under the noses of the neighborhood who seems not to suspect shenanigans despite a constant funky smell emanating from his flat until a young boy goes missing and the boy's father fingers the neighborhood nut as a suspect which puts the police at his front doorstep.

Don't come into the film expecting a gore fest or even a blood bath, while there's a foot in the sink and some entrails being packed into bags and what not this is more a chilling study of a deranged nutcase than a blood n' guts splatterfest. This is worse, this is the weirdo next door to you. 

Despite being a low-budget production the film looks great and was shot on film, not digital, and you can tell. Its gloomy with long languid camera shots, it's fascinating stuff and is anchored by Peter Ferdinand's stunning lead performance, and the film's eerie atmosphere is further complimented by a melancholy score from THE THE.

DVD: The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 surround sound mixes with optional English subtitles as well as a audio description audio track for the vision impaired. Special features include an informative audio commentary from director Gerard Johnson, producer Dan McCullock and actor Peter Ferindando. There are also two short films from the director; MUG (2004) follows the daily routine of a street mugger and it's a depressing bit of film and the short film that preceded the feature film TONY (2005) also starring Ferdinando in the lead role and featuring a few scenes that are fleshed out in the feature length production.

Special Features:

- Feature Commentary from Gerard Johnson, Peter Ferdinando, Dan McCulloch

- TONY (2005) Short Film (14:07) 16:9

- MUG (2004) Short Film (10:45) 4:3 Letterboxed


Verdict: A film that recalls some of the cinema's finest serial killer character studies like HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and MANIAC. I give this a high recommend, it's a skin crawling film that will stay with you for some time afterwards, so watch out for the weirdos and pick this one up ASAP.

http://www.tonythemovie.com/