Tony
Starring: Peter Ferdinando, Francis Pope, George Russo, Neil Maskell, Ricky Grover
Director: Gerard Johnson
Rating: 3/5
Unemployed and unemployable, Tony is an alienated psychopath with severe social problems, an obsession for action films.
Socially awkward his attempts to make friends are usually met with ridicule and scorn as he's is pushed around by anyone who gets the chance.
But what they don't know is Tony has a rather violent streak that could take hold at any moment...
Tony is Gerard Johnson's directorial debut and it an interesting look at the image of the serial killer. Many movies sensationalise the image of killers when it could quite literally be the man around the corner.
There's nothing out of the ordinary about Tony he's just a guy that you wouldn't pay much attention to if you passed him in the street, which is possibly the scariest thing.
Peter Ferdinando's uncomfortable performance is really very good as Tony, who kills for company. Unable to make friends in the conventional manner he watches TV and offers cups of tea to his dead victims.
Despite being a movie about a serial killer it's not overly violent as the film is more interested in Tony's reaction that the actual murders.
The dismembering of the bodies is done mainly off camera, a foot in a sink is the only sign of the clear up, and this is a powerful way of filmmaking leaving the audiences imagination to run wild.
The movie was developed from a fourteen minutes short and here lies the problem there is just no character development. We get no back story Tony remains the same throughout the film and this can get a bit tiresome.
This is a very unique movie that does leave you comparing it to the likes of martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver.
Johnson has produced a dark and really quite miserable movie as Tony shuffles through life with no job, no friends and nothing really to live for except the killing of his next victim.
While Ferdinando's performance is attention grabbing the movie does struggle to hold your attention for the full ninety minutes.
While independent movies lovers will enjoy the film Tony will struggle with mainstream audiences.
Tony is out in cinemas now.
Helen Earnshaw