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Reviews
I'm Haunted (2022)
Low budget, high value
So I'll admit it: my wife and I love this genre. Low budget, unknown cast and crew, interesting production values.
The reason? Strip away the effects, egos and aesthetics and there's no distraction from the stage and the actor. And in this case, that works perfectly. The lead is compelling, charismatic and totally believable. The supporting cast are equally real. Yes we've seen the style before, but this feels fresh.
A chilly creepiness builds slowly throughout - those looking for quick'n'dirty thrills look elsewhere. But the speed makes it even more real.
Movies like this are never going to win awards, but they win over imaginations and for that they are absolute gold.
The Lodge (2019)
Unlikely and contrived
Besides the stellar performance of the kids, this effort sadly falls disappointingly flat. The developing story becomes increasingly far fetched and disjointed, while the ending feels unnecessarily cruel and robbed of an opportunity for genuine drama.
It's not often I watch a movie and feel both let down and angry at the finale.
Stylistically the aesthetic is solid, albeit dragged down by the slow pace and contrived cinematography which conspire to make each scene feel painfully predictable and drawn out.
As I said at the beginning though, the two young stars are better than this and will go on to bigger and better things.
Scarborough (2019)
Don't expect cheap laughs. This is a step up from Benidorm.
I really didn't expect this show to be different to Benidorm, but it really is. And in a good way. I think - with all due respect - that the bad reviews here are from people generally expecting another bunch of Garveys.
Instead, we have a small but very well conceived set of folks in a dead end town, wrapped up in each others lives in a sometimes hilarious, but mostly fascinating way.
I think the acid test here is imagination and appreciation of fine writing and acting. If you lack either, you probably won't be affected too much by this. But if you do, I think you might enjoy what I've found to be a thoroughly enjoyable and fun comedy drama with excellent character development.
This Country (2017)
A work of understated genius
This is probably the first comedy since the Office that I've cried laughing at. The characters, timing and production style are all brilliantly conceived - and while aspects are definitely borrowed in places from other works, they are blended together here so well that I fell in love with it after just one episode. There's so much potential for this to become a classic.