Shannon Matthews the Musical the Movie

Surely the funniest film of the year, though that statement comes with major caveats about its subject matter, content and language, which means that its chances of finding appreciative audiences seem very limited. It's a true-crime comedy musical written and composed by one-man filth-pop cult legend Kunt and the Gang, whose song lyrics revolve largely around genitals, sexual acts, newsworthy paedophiles and other unsavoury subjects. Despite that, he's troubled the Top 75 twice with "Use My Arsehole as a Cunt" and "Fucksticks", and as frontman of punk band The Kunts, has had four more recent Top 10 hits, including "Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt" and "Fuck the Tories". So you get the sense of what he does.

Despite those left-wing credentials, Kunt goes full tabloid exposé in his take on northern council estate life as epitomised by Karen Matthews. An unemployed mum of seven children, almost all of whom have "Different Dads" according to one of the songs here, she notoriously came up with "A Plan (Based on Maddie McCann)" to fake the abduction of her daughter Shannon, in the hope of splitting the Sun newspaper's inevitable cash reward with her accomplice. The depiction of this fraud - and of Karen's lifestyle - is done in incredibly poor taste, but the thing about Kunt is that he's able to do very bad taste with a cheeky wink. Even when he's not the person you're watching sing the songs (or speak the dialogue), that adorable, hilarious naughtiness is still there.

It's there in the numerous background jokes, many of which demand a rewatch to take in properly. It's definitely there in the lyrics, which for example, rhyme "computer jargon" with "why have you got that hard-on?". And it's there in the the ever-jaunty, major-key synth backing music that even make songs called things like "You're a Paedophile" so catchy and enjoyable. The film's production values are akin with the tinny tunes: pretty basic and rough around the edges, but with enough comedy chops to overcome the lack of polish. The staging of "Shannon Ain't Dead (She's Under My Bed)" as a chase scene around the north of England is particularly brilliant, and there are many, many other highlights. But it's a difficult film to recommend to anyone you want to remain friends with, because if they hate it, chances are they'll get the police to check your hard drive.

We arrived, along with all the rest, excited to see the London premiere of what we knew was going to be a very funny and irreverent film Rest assured we were not disappointed! Not only was it a very funny film it was very well made, well shot and directed. Especially when you consider the minimal budget that they had to work with!

Although in my heading I suggested it might not be for the faint hearted I think I can safely say that I was one of, if not the, oldest member of the audience that night and I was certainly laughing with all the rest The fantasy dance scenes were beautifully choreographed, both well danced and funny!

All in all it was a great night out which my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed. It says something that on several occasions I have woken in the morning with Shannon's Not Dead She's Under His Bed going round in my head!!

Well done to all involved and let's hope for a greater distribution or a least a DVD Release.

A great film with some memorable songs which YOU will be humming along to for days after, cast are brilliant. Won't be for everyone but if you like your humour dark and want to watch a very funny version of an almighty strange story then give this a go. I attended the london permiere and was amongst cast and like minded film goers and we all have a jolly good time. I hope this film gets a cinema run as it does deserve to be seen on a big screen. Aware some people think this sort of film is wrong and I say to them don't watch it if it is going to offend you and let the people who do enjoy their humour with a sprinkle of sick humour to lap it up.

Went to the Leeds premiere and was so impressed. It was so hilarious I was choking and laughing so much I couldn't breathe.

In reality it is one of the bravest movies ever made. Tackling a tricky subject by only making fun of the culprits. Not the victim Shannon aged 9! Very clever on doing this for one of the strangest crimes ever committed.

The songs are so funny and catchy and the cast on such a small budget excelled better than the overpaid luvvies. DC Radgitt and Karen deserve Oscars! Some really nice shots of Yorkshire beaches too on such a small budget.

Everyone with a sense of humour should see this as soon as possible. Definitely deserves a mainstream release ASAP! Needs a health warning though to warn of choking after uncontrollable bouts of laughter throughout.

If you've already heard the musical album by KATG, or seen the musical live already, you may wonder, why was a movie version needed? As it turns out, the movie format lends itself superbly for expanding not just the story, but the jokes too. Obviously, the movie follows a rather sensitive subject, but the focus is always the extraordinary lengths Karen Matthews would go to for infamy and cash, unaware she'd surrounded herself with the least useful fiends imaginable.

The subtle and not so subtle references for KATG fans a will entertain most people who watch the film after hearing/seeing the musical. For everyone else, there's always a danger it may be too crude but to make a film that was less blunt or ridiculous would have defeated the whole purpose of making it.