Tony

Meet Tony, perhaps the most understated and naturalistic Serial Killer ever put to the cinema screen...

I saw this film at Manchester's Grimm Up North festival and was completely taken by surprise. Not knowing quite what to expect, the film grabbed me from the first minute with a deliciously dark, creep and comic turn by Peter Ferdinando as the titular character. Made with an intelligence rarely seen in this end of the genre scale, Tony is fascinating from beginning to end, and offers a great social comment on London's outsiders, and how society treats the 'invisible' amongst us.

Working with a low-budget, the filmmakers have made a classic film here, with every element of the film's production worth a shout. The direction from Gerard Johnson is superb, the acting from all concerned is spot on, the cinematography lends the film a suitably dark and grimy feel and the music, by Matt Johnson from The The fame, matches the visuals perfectly without ever detracting or pulling you out of the film's journey.

But it's Peter Ferdinando who really stands out here, creating a character that deserves to take pride of place next to other famous filmic serial killers such as Henry, Patrick Bateman, Dr Lecter and Ezra Cobb from Deranged, with a pitch-perfect tone that would, in all honesty, creep you out if you ever met him on the street.

I hear the film is due a release in the UK in February, and thoroughly recommend you make the effort to see it. UK low-budget film-making of the highest order...

This is a fantastic film. Well shot, well written, well edited, well acted,effective soundtrack...and short enough to leave you wanting more.

I cant say enough good about this film, as its one of those films that is so good that it takes on a life of its own. As all great art, this is not a 'horror film' but a sociological reflection of our times.

The story introduces us to a lonely man who lives by himself and tries to form relationships with the vagrants and oddball characters but due to his inability to communicate properly, which we read into as shyness, years of repression, denial he ends up killing them.

Humour is used as a temporary escape valve from the horror we see, and actually, the comedy is a real highlight of this dark piece, as we are challenged to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. This is nothing new, but it added to the humanity of the piece.

To be honest, there are a few things that I have to criticize for this piece but these more loving embellishments than anything else. For example, the film could be longer as we are left hanging at the end and wanting more.without giving the game away, if tony had succeeded in his goals, and then given due punishment, it would have created the next layer of depth that the film is surely deserving.Also small symbolic indicators, without being too blatant would have added to revealing his past, that even if the film chose not to express, could add clues hinting at the person that Tony once was.Also could have done some scenes of him eating alone.

However with respect to the directors artistic choices, I believe leaving certain issues unresolved allows the viewer to imagine and ponder more about an epidemic that wont go away, provoking deeper contemplation. So in this respect, it is an intelligent artistic decision which is in hindsight, to be respected.

Like i said, great films are the ones that have a life of their own, not dictated by comparisons although comparisons are necessary to explain them, once you see the film, it goes far beyond that. this is a character study of a creature in pain. A product of its environment and even a sociological reflection of the dysfunction of its environment. As all good art does, makes us reflect and think in the here and now. And what we as people, society , generation, have become. Definitive stuff.

In Tony, the title character (played very convincingly by Peter Ferdinando) is a soft-spoken, middle-aged nerd who enjoys old action movies. He's severely withdrawn from the world, unable to speak or relate to others, and has never worked a job in his life. One other important fact about Tony is his penchant for murder. In fact, Tony murders on a regular basis, whether it's druggies, men he picks up at gay bars, etc. At a mere 75 minutes, Tony never strives to be complex or hard to follow, but instead a simple portrayal of a simple killer who inability to connect with the world causes him to outburst so easily on those who confuse or anger him. When a young boy goes missing in town, the father immediately assumes it's Tony's doing and we watch as everything in Tony's life comes dangerously close to unfolding. Like I said, the film is simple yet sophisticated enough to be enjoyed mostly by the smarter movie watcher. Those looking for quick release won't get it here at all, despite the film's overly short runtime. A lot have compared it to the English answer to American classic Henry; Portrait of a Serial Killer and I couldn't agree more. It's dark, gritty, and covered in gloom, yet you somehow feel for this monstrous character. Overall, Tony is an excellent watch, one of the better "horror" films I've seen this year. Good film.

A small budget, short film, well acted by all, the film puts the story across as a 'Fly On The Wall' real life drama and is really put across so very well, that this kind of person: Low life,no connections,loner could so easily do this kind of crime and get away with it, very easy without being ever getting caught.

Certain 'so called' reviewers have had a go at this gem of a Lottery financed film and if the truth be known these people have never lived in the East End of London, I do and have all my life , Tony is shot in the area and the surrounding neighbouring areas where I live.

There are literally hundreds of these kind of weird, lonely, strange and some dangerous psychos walking daily in the streets of East London, who knows? with so many "Have You Seen This Missing Person" posters all year round amounting to many people disappearing never to be found? This Tony character could easily be a real person.

Friends and other people who have seen the film, have all said the same as myself, make a sequel the film is brilliant...

This movie takes a small peek into the life of a middle-aged, lonely, action-movie obsessed serial killer named Tony.

Tony's life is dull. No job, no love-life, no real anything. He's just a human being that is going through the motions. Or so it would seem from the outside looking in. The movie Tony focuses on a killer that gets away with killing because that person, the type of person that Tony exemplifies, is never focused on.

One of the posters for this movie has a tag-line that hangs under the seemingly unaware and blood-smattered Tony, and says: It's Always the Quiet Ones. I can't say for sure if that's always the case or not, but it's something that we all think. That man looming alone under that tree. That guy with the blank stare who came out of nowhere to tell you what he thought of the store across the street. The ones that have their own agendas, but are never noticed…that is, until it's too late.

Tony is a well-thought out serial killer film that focuses on the character, the killer. And for it to work, the acting and writing not only have to be good, they should be realistic; and they were. Not only was our Tony played with style and intelligence, but every secondary character in the movie was also played well. The vibe of the movie and overall idea being displayed never faltered, and we were left with a study of a serial killer, that at one point, I began to feel pity for. Gerard Johnson, the director, needs to be applauded for the movies' fruition.

A rather short feature film that was chock full of fine performances and ideas. If you're in the mood for a different approach to the sub-genre of serial killers, I would definitely recommend you give this a shot. This film and the amazing, Angst, would make for a great serial-killer double feature.