New Town Killers

One of the most creepy, scaring and ultimately thrilling films I've seen for a long time, New Town Killers benefits from some amazing performances, not least by Dougray Scott, who was never this menacing in Desperate Housewives (;-) LOL).

His presence on screen is brooding and claustrophobic, a real tour de force as a troubled soul with some very strange habits and preferences - and the rest of the cast more than stands up to be counted alongside him.

Jobson's edgy, jumpy camera style simply adds to the tension, and by the end of the film, if you don't have clammy hands and find yourself short of breath as a result of feeling you are IN the movie, then I challenge you to check for a pulse. Really really good.

But with out a Jean Claude Van Damme or an Ice T it has a wee Scots lad in stead as the hard up hero getting mixed up with rich guys on a human hunting trip.

It starts with a title sequence thats Lucky Number McSlevin, red and black animated rooftops and soon as we realise the hard up Edinburgh kid is in a bit of a cash crisis and life's crap Dougray Scott turns up all Lance Henriksen like with a little offer of cash for a challenge.

The game begins, we get a lad running through the dark dark streets of Edinburgh that the festival brochure won't show, while Scott and his lesser sidekick give chase, playing coppers and starting on chavs (a lighter moment for those of us who dislike aggressive teenage gangs).

Reasons, motivations, peoples, none can be trusted during a long night where bars, clubs, gig venues are all packed out yet no one walks the streets and having been to Edinburgh this is a little silly.

Scott plays the hard Bastard a lot better here than in other films like MI:2 and Hit-man but there's no real connection to any characters part in the story so you feel more a witness to a dour hunting party rather than being involved in the chase.

After a while the film takes a change of pace and the outcome becomes less obvious but makes the lad being chased far to intelligent and clever to be where he is in life at the start. But it does have a nice conclusion.

This movies a bit boring in places and not as thrilling as i'd hoped but it's nice to have a British thriller without Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan or a London setting which gives it a leg up on a few of it's peers. Worth watching even if it's just to support small independent British film.

One question though, if a buildings locked and you have to break a window to get in how come that's not an option when you need to get out?

Having grown up in Edinburgh I expected to enjoy this film based on the comments of other reviewers. I also chose it for Dougray Scott who plays a mean if somewhat two dimensional villain in other films with entertaining results. I felt that the story was weak and rather predictable. However, that did not detract from the performance of the young male lead who I thought was excellent and utterly convincing as was his friend. Liz White continued to grow in my estimation with this performance having already seen her in "Life On Mars" and "A Short Stay in Switzerland". These actors far exceeded the capabilities of the script and the storyline and I will continue to watch for them in future releases. To be honest, their performances and the clever use of art and location in the film are the only reasons I have for giving this film a 7. If the score was for storyline alone, it would have garnered a 3.

This film's Edinburgh set crime thriller, which dips into murky chase torture at times has a sense that 'Lola' (the modern-ish German classic) is going to be parodied.

Obviously pitched at being outside of actual reality, where wealthy landlords, pimps or drug dealers (known in the film as 'private bankers') not only extort their penniless customers but also bait and taunt them, as in some cruel, sadistic game.

Unfortunately, this is no The Third Man (shadowy sinister characters lurking on dark corners), Lola (the 'chase' seems to be mainly driving about in a Jaguar saloon) whilst The Trainspotting vibes resonate most. Except, there simply aren't the oddly likable, charismatic characters in that, for a start. There's quite a few Hitchcockian twists with a silent, weaving camera teasing us, though.

It seems that the whole thing passed me by without making much of an impression. Not sure exactly where it fell down, maybe a bit in each. I daresay I'll have forgotten it by tomorrow. There have been US equivalents that have worked better, maybe for being more villainous, or better written, or better everything. It's not a bad effort, though and worth watching if it's free and not much else is on. Equally, it won't sink the indie Brit film scene but very definitely, unlike Trainspotting, won't set it alight either.

NEW TOWN KILLERS is a low budget Scottish riff on the Van Damme film HARD TARGET and many other movies, such as THE GAME and the 'hunting human' classic that spawned them all, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. This one sees a hard-up teenager lured into playing a deadly game by a bored investment banker (!) with murder in mind.

The problem with the film is the lack of talent on the part of the filmmakers. They try hard, sure, but the issue is with the direction: the attempt to make this flashy and appealing to young people just makes it feel dated and I honestly thought it was shot in the 1990s. Then there are the animated titles, promising a decent free-running movie; unfortunately the opening sequence is unconnected to the rest of the movie and the only example of Parkour in the whole thing.

Instead we get low budget emoting throughout and some dodgy writing which gradually sacrifices plot and character in favour of some predictable 'twists' and endless, only mildly exciting chase sequences. The main character really suffers from one-dimensional characterisation; despite the best efforts of star James Anthony Pearson, he's never likable for a second and comes across as a below-average-intelligence thug.

What a relief, then, to have Dougray Scott on board as the film's villain. Scott is a delight here, a joy as he reveals in his own sheer evilness. He brings verve and vigour to his role and at times seems to be the only professional actor on board. Certainly he's the best thing about the movie and as NEW TOWN KILLERS reached its second half he was the only reason I kept watching.