The Warehouse

The Warehouse is a dark journey into the murky world of property development in East London. And one that utilises the film's low-budget limitations as a positive strength, evoking a dank, claustrophobic misery that seems to permeate characters and settings equally.

At first I found myself wondering what genre 'bucket' in which to place this film. Is it a thriller? Is it a family psychodrama? Is it a Mike Leigh-esque treatise on the social cost of urban gentrification? But then I realised that The Warehouse is all of those sub-genres wrapped up in something that might just be new. At times those pieces don't fit perfectly - characters are occasionally prone to pontificate on social issues for longer than is polite - but that rough edge is also the sign of genuine innovation.

I think The Warehouse is a film that heralds real promise. The cramped milieu fills the viewer with a growing sense of unease. A sense of unease that is matched by a sense of critical dissonance caused by the desire to label the film as something we already know.

But I would urge the viewer to embrace the dissonance because The Warehouse might just signal the arrival of a new voice in the canon.