Bite

The director of Bite, James Owen, came to filmmaking from being a surgeon. I had the pleasure of meeting him and he is a very lovely guy, but all I can say is that having watched his movie, I never want him near me with any sharp objects. Bite is a fun first-time-film that ticks all of the low budget horror boxes. It has scares, laughs and gore and some fun performances. I especially enjoyed Annabelle Lanyon and Stuart Sessions as the (big air quotes) "sweet" couple that our hero stays with when her car breaks down. The practical effects are also well done, so much so that if you're a wimp like me you'll have to spend half the film looking away. James is making waves in the UK film industry so catch his first film when you can and he is one to watch too. Just maybe don't accept an invitation to stay over at his place and if you do, definitely don't eat the pie.

Bite (with live Q&A) - 7.5/10

An impressive feature debut from local (to me) up and coming director James Owen. He is a former surgeon who has branched out into the world of film and decided that the horror genre is the perfect place to cut his teeth.

The story begins with two con artists on the run after a botched robbery attempt. One of the girls gets spit up from her partner and ends up stranded in the pouring rain, until a lovely old Lady comes along to pick her up. But when we get back to her place, perhaps she isn't quite as lovely as she seems...

It keeps throwing twists and turns at you. The performances are strong. The gore is used sparingly and looks suitably authentic. Considering the tight budget and way it was sporadically filmed in phases over many months, the end product is impressive.

I look forward to following James Owen's career as this shows that he is a more than capable director, brimming with ideas.

I am not a fan of horror movies so was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one but that is because there was far more to the story. The main characters were sympathetically drawn and the relationships felt realistic. The opening scene at the dog fight venue was fast paced and hard hitting and set the tone for the rest of the film. Shian Denovan's portrayal of Nina and her devotion to Yaz (Nancy Nsue) was completely believable. Nancy's performance was equally strong but supported by some excellent script writing.

Annabelle Lanyon's "Beryl" was your typical harmless little old lady with a twist. A great performance. Stewart Session's character was also really strong. The script, sets and locations were all realistic and supported the story. Well worth a watch.

The plot has been covered well in other reviews I think. It is worth mentioning that although a scene is at a dog-fight event, there is no actual fighting shown. The only violence is on a human level and it is pretty gory; although the humour in the script lightens the intensity. There are certainly enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, as to the fate of the lovers, as the suspense builds.

I think fans of the genre will like the film and there is enough character development of the main characters, to give the story extra depth. I would say its worth watching if you have an interest in this type of horror. Certainly it will be interesting to see future projects from the director James Owen.

I have just read the other reviews and noticed that someone suggested there is dog fighting in this film and switched it off. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!! So don't be mislead by this. Yes the opening scenes portray gangsters and implies an illegal dog fight arena, but obviously there is no dog fighting or dog cruelty at all. It is just a set up for a great action sequence with the bad guys. In my opinion Bite is a well crafted story with unexpected twists and some fantastic and very realistic gore (but not gratuitous like some films). The main characters have dimension and flaws, which I really liked and for an indie film it looks awesome. I thought Bite was a lot of fun so give it a go.