The British horror genre has in recent years been leaning more and more toward black comedy, and has done well from it with hits such as Shaun of the Dead and Severance being well received by audiences. The Cottage tries to follow in these footsteps but just doesn’t seem to hit the mark.
British Horror
An excellent British cast including Reece Shearsmith of League of Gentleman fame, Jenifer Ellison, and the formidable Andy Serkis, should give this film a strong basis to prove that British black comedy is truly world class. Serkis in particular shines as the real talent from the offing, and is well supported by Ellison and Shearsmith. The opening introduces some believable and interesting characters, however the plot rapidly begins to unravel and the actions takes an age to get going. The directorial style lacks subtlety and relies too heavily on the same techniques time and time again.
The Plot
The story is based on the dysfunctional relationship between brother’s David played by Serkis and Peter played by Shearsmith. They have decided the best way to raise enough cash to free themselves from their current situation, living together, is to kidnap David’s bosses daughter, Tracey, and demand a ransom. Tracey’s step brother, Andrew, is in on the plan and poised to deliver the ransom safely in return for his share.
The film opens as David and Peter arrive at their designated cottage hideout, deep in the British countryside. David’s boss Arnie however is two steps ahead of them and already knows there is something a foot, it doesn’t take too many slip ups particularly from the bumbling Peter before David’s well constructed plan begins tumbling round his ears. However it turns out this is not the pairs only worry, the extremely volatile and now very angry Tracey soon over-powers Peter and sets off across the countryside with roles of captor and captive now reversed. Their true troubles have only just started though as they fall prey to a local psychopathic farmer, hell bent on hacking them all to pieces.
The Plot
Written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, the film never seems to settle into one genre, a risky strategy that on this occasion does not end well. The film gets off to a good start, the audience knows that things are bound to go wrong for the unlikely sibling team, but the suspense of waiting to find out how is built up with the sizzling tension between Shearsmith and Serkis a joy to watch. However the series of events which are designed to move the plot forward rapidly become farcical and a little like a pantomime.
As the horror story swings to the fore, the action quickly wades out of its depth and ceases to retain its edgy comedy. One redeeming feature, which ties the film together until this point, is the comedy, often at the expense of the characters and wickedly delivered it could have been the films redeeming grace. Unfortunately the whole thing becomes overly gruesome for the type of film it is and only the briefest of glimpses remain of what could have been a terrific film.
If you are a fan of the film’s stars it maybe worth watching, as they all give sterling performances, the plot however lets the whole thing down. This is a disappointing addition to British film making, with a story that could have done us proud.
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