The Cottage
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths
Issue 106 August 2008
(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 10)
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Funny farm.
The Lowdown: Bickering brothers, David and Peter, kidnap the daughter of a powerful criminal and hold out in a remote cottage while awaiting the ransom money. When their plan goes tits up, the bungled kidnapping plot becomes the least of their worries when a psychopathic farmer turns up on the scene.
Review: London To Brighton (2006) director, Paul Andrew Williams, opts for some light relief after his powerful but bleak drama, and while comedy seems like an odd route to take for the Brit talent (The Cottage was apparently conceived before his debut feature), Williams does an admirable job with this frequently funny slasher farce.
Almost Ealing-esque to start with, except with much more violence and a lot more swearing (seriously, this film gives The Big Lebowski a run for its money), the crime comedy takes a sharp left turn into Texas Chainsaw territory about halfway through, and while the merging of genres is nothing new, few such outings have been executed with as much infectious energy, and few are have been as hilariously entertaining.
Andy Serkis (exceptional) plays the steely straightman to Shearsmith’s bumbling sidekick with smirk-inducing results, and Jennifer Ellison’s Asbo Barbie Doll routine provides some solid laughs throughout. Shamelessly piling on the slapstick (the film can’t even resist slipping in the old ‘man steps on rake’ routine), Williams goes for cheap laughs and gets them every time, and while this is neither innovative nor memorable, The Cottage provides some silly but solid entertainment and gets the job done in a undemanding 87 minutes.
The downbeat audio commentary with Williams doesn’t really suit the fun and frolics of the main feature, and the special features don’t reveal a whole lot about the production. However, the ‘Fuckometer’ Easter Egg (which counts the many Fs and Cs throughout the film) is an amusing addition to the package.
FILM: 7
EXTRAS: 6
DVD Info:
Certificate: 18
Starring: Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith, Jennifer Ellison
Directed By: Paul Andrew Williams, 2008
Distributor: Pathe
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 87 mins
Price: £19.99
Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Paul Andrew Williams
Deleted Scenes (With Optional Commentary From Paul Andrew Williams)
‘Making Of The Cottage’ Featurette
Trailer
Cast And Crew Biographies
Outtakes
Easter Eggs
Photo Gallery
Scene Selection
September 4th, 2008 at 11:56 am
It is extremely difficult to find a coherent balance between humour and horror. Only a few filmmakers have successfully gelled the two together. Although ever since Shaun of the Dead we have had numerous amounts of copycat filmmakers trying to cash in on its success. But The Cottage has to be the least effective attempt to date.
The main problem is that the film is neither genuinely funny nor scary. Where most filmmakers trying to tap into this comedy/horror genre usually only achieve one requirement or the other, The Cottage misses both completely.
In the first, supposedly comedic, half of the film, Serkis and Shearsmith endlessly bumble around trying to keep the feisty Ellison under wraps. Constantly making mistakes events are far too repetitive. Each character just emphasises their stereotypical characteristics; Shearsmith is a weak coward, Serkis is a hard man and Ellison is a tough babe. The dialogue itself is not witty by any means and just involves a lot of people shouting and swearing at each other. So by the time the horror arrives we couldn’t care less about what happens to anyone. In a sudden stark contrast of events with no sense of development the atmosphere is nowhere near as chilling, shocking or repulsive as it wants to be.
Obviously The Cottage was never going to be ground-breaking as a horror or as a comedy but even as a throwaway piece of entertainment it just isn’t that good. Director/screenwriter Paul Andrew Williams should stick to what he is best at which is realistic gritty drama, as proven with his brilliant hard-hitting debut London to Brighton.
In a few brief extras a great deal of emphasis is placed on how the horror and humour were successfully meshed together. This couldn’t be any further from the truth and suggests how all those involved weren’t really paying attention to the film they were actually making.
Overall: Lasting only a brief 87minutes, this is nothing other than an instantly forgettable Shaun of the Dead bi-product.