There are only a couple of days to go before we see Tom Hiddleston lead an all-star cast in High-Rise, the latest film offering from British filmmaker Ben Wheatley.
Sightseers
We continue to look back at Wheatley's movies so far and today, it is horror comedy Sightseers that is in the spotlight. The movie hit the big screen back in 2012. This was the first film for Wheatley since Kill List while Alice Lowe and Steve Oram teamed up to pen the film's screenplay.
Chris (Oram) wants to show Tina (Lowe) his world and he wants to do it his way - on a journey through the British Isles in his beloved Abbey Oxford Caravan. Tina's led a sheltered life and there are things that Chris needs her to see - the Crich Tramway Museum, the Ribblehead Viaduct, the Keswick Pencil Museum and the rolling countryside that accompanies these wonders in his life.
But it doesn't take long for the dream to fade. Litterbugs, noisy teenagers, and pre-booked caravan sites, not to mention Tina's meddling mother, soon conspire to shatter Chris's dreams and send him, and anyone who rubs him up the wrong way, over a very jagged edge...
Wheatley has delivered some great films during his career but, for me, Sightseers is currently his best as he beautifully walks the line between black comedy and horror. It really was one of the best British films to hit the big screen in 2012.
If you love sinister and somewhat morbid comedy then Sightseers is definitely a film for you as Oram and Lowe have crafted a wonderfully funny script that has some incredibly dark undertones.
As well as penning a great screenplay, Oram and Lowe deliver terrific central performances as Chris and Tina, serial killers that you cannot help but like and, at times, sympathise with - how often do you find yourself saying that?
I love the rapport between these two actors and they have created two characters that are complex and interesting. It is this central partnership that drives the story forward and keeps you totally hooked.
Sightseers is a road-trip movie like never before yes, it is funny and gory but there is an intimacy to it that was a little unexpected. I love the social satire that Wheatley and the writers also weave throughout the film.
Sightseers went on to be screened in the Director' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 before being met well be the critics upon release.
While Sightseers may not be a film that is to the taste of everyone, I found the horror/comedy to be a whole lot of fun.
High-Rise is released 18th March.
Tagged in Ben Wheatley