gideon-12

With Razor Blade Smile what director Jake West has attempted to do is to take on the hollywood blockbuster but with no money. I understand the production budget was a mere £20,000. Now far from being heralded as a new and rare talent to be nurtured and encouraged many of the reveiws seem to be unable to take this simple fact into account. Yes the acting is truly awful, but within the visuals and structural dynamic of the film we can clearly see that the director at worst has flair and more likely is gifted. Cinema is about spectacle, be it emotional, visual or action based. This is where Mr West has come a cropper because without any emotional spectacle (due to script and performance inadequacies) all that the director is left with is visuals and action. £20-000 is never going to be adequate to fill this void but through clever editing and in places inspired cinematography what we are left with is a tongue in cheek romp through a genre that is old and tired.

With Lighthouse at last we see a lottery funded co production that is trying to appeal to a mass market. Hunter has with this film managed to demonstrate that he is adept at handling action and tension while keeping the chit chat to a minimum. Some of the performances are below par but with the money he had £i.5 million we can see where Hunter has put it and it is obviously not on the performers. Notable exceptions being Don Warrington and Paul Brooke. Where the money has gone is on the set peices which are well planned and show sadistic delight in the subject matter. The production design is superb although perhaps let down by some indiffrerent cinematography in places. The film brings nothing new to the genre but Hunter does a good job with his first film. Perhaps the saddest aspect to all this is that it is inevitable that Hunter will cross the pond and work within the Hollywood system. A good watch