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.

A script this poor should never have been made. There is an attempt at social commentary, monied classes playing psychopathic games with the underclass simply because they can. There is an attempt to tick the thriller genre boxes, but all terribly clichéd - a jump across rooftops, flashing red tracker lights, a stalk through a nightclub (and switched identities that resolve this), hiding in the stalls in a toilet... There is not one original thought or scene in this whole film. The dialogue is full of clichés - "I am your friend" - and often lacks plausibility. For example, the protagonist is enraged when he discovers his sister has run up a debt of 12,000 pounds. The hunters offer him exactly 12,000 pounds to be hunted. When he calls to accept, he asks: "How much are you offering again?" The theme seems to take issue with the corrupting influence of money but has a flippant attitude towards male prostitution. This kind of puerile writing makes it impossible to talk about the performances, the actors simply have nothing to work with. This is a po-faced, poorly executed film, the main achievement being to confirm that whatever talents Jobson has, screen writing is not one of them. Two stars for some nice photography of one of my favourite cities.

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.

The Encyclopaedia of Film Noir reckons that films have to be American to qualify as film noir. As a generalisation I can accept this but nor as a universal truth. New Town Kill is British (Scottish if you like) and it is clearly a film noir or, at least, a neo-noir.

I'm honestly deeply impressed with this British film, a phrase you will seldom hear me utter. Most Brit films are an embarrassment to me, being usually limp, unfunny and completely lacking in cool, style or engaging story. I'm glad to see the back of the Film Council and all the overpaid "executives" who dole out what remains of their money, after their fat salaries have been accounted for, for another flaccid waste of time.

This film, on the other hand, IS cool, engaging and genuinely exciting in a way that movies should be. The budget is clearly small but the acting talent on display is massive. The direction and writing by Richard Jobson are excellent and I just love the sheer nihilism of the plot and the fact that everything does not need to be justified or explained. The "villain" is completely amoral and the "hero", apart from family allegiances, is ultimately not much different.

A British film can be film noir and New Town killers is the proof.

PS If IMDb is for genuine film lovers then why do glossy American blockbusters get hundreds of reviews whilst really interesting independent films or foreign language films (i.e. non-American films) end up with a handful of reviews like this one?

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.