Simon Pegg came to the attention of most American audiences
with the release of SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Since then he’s done a few horror films
but has delved into more standard roles as well as the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
series of movies. So when word got out that he was in a new horror film along
with cohort Nick Frost (who he co-starred with in SHAUN and PAUL) I was anxious
to see how it would turn out. Thankfully it’s good. Not SHAUN good but still
good.
Don Wallace (Finn Cole) has done nothing with his life since
the death of his father. Wanting more for him his mother has enrolled him at
the posh Slaughterhouse School, one of those high class schools filled more
with the snobbish elite than the everyday person. He arrives and the school is
exactly as expected with upperclassmen taunting the new arrivals and looking
down their noses at them all.
He catches the eye of Clemsie Lawrence (Hermione Corfield),
one of the few female upper class students. This puts him in the sights of
Clegg (Tom Rhys Harries), an upperclassman leaning towards definite Nazi
tactics with a superiority complex. Don is warned off by his new roommate
Willoughby Blake (Asa Butterfield), a student whose last roommate is the talk
of the school having committed suicide the previous year.
As the new year begins school teacher Mr. Meredith Houseman
(Pegg) introduces the school’s headmaster referred to by the students as “The
Bat” (Michael Sheen). An old school alum now in charge he warns the students of
the new rules: no swimming in the pond and no walking in the woods. The reason
for this, unknown to the students, is that he has leased out that area to a
fracking company.
The usual school related problems occur from there, things
like the youngest member of the class being targeted for bullying, snobbish
wealthy elites looking down on everyone else and Don ignoring the warnings he’s
been given and then suffering the wrath of Clegg. During one of these tortures,
forcing his roommates to run across campus, he and Blake are left behind by
Clegg who informs them he doubts he’ll see them in time for breakfast.
As the pair take a shortcut through the off limits woods,
they come across a huge sinkhole that resulted from the fracking. With gas
turning the flame from Blake’s lighter green they realize something isn’t
right. Watched by the fracking company an alarm is set off and the boys
run…right into the arms of an encampment of anti-fracking people led by Nick
Frost. He launches into a diatribe about fracking before offering to sell them
drugs.
Break comes but Don, Blake and their roommates are denied
going home for walking in the woods. And Clegg is left in charge of their
supervision. While the students are about to rebel the upper class members are
being initiated into a Bacchanalian orgy that elevates their status on campus.
Unfortunately things go from bad to worse when the fracking results in
something coming out of the caverns the company discovered. Strange creatures
are set loose and attack the workers before heading for the school. Who will
live, who will die and will Don finally have a chance with Clemsie?
The movie is quite well made with some stunning photography
and visuals. The effects are mostly held off until the last part of the film
but are well done here. All of those involved on screen turn in admirable
performances given that what they are starring in is basically a 1950s styled
monster movie with lots of screaming and trying to stay alive. I will note that
you should not be fooled by Margot Robbie’s name in the credits here as her
part is little more than a cameo.
For me the movie was fun and reminded me of those classic
films I mentioned but on a better budget than Roger Corman would have offered.
It may not be up to par with Pegg and Frosts’ previous films but then little is
these days. And yet I had a good time with this one and can recommend it with
ease.
Some have taken the film to task in write ups on it but I
think they were missing the point. Rather than looking for some fun, they did
expect a repeat of the past. Go in looking at this as an original film and my
guess is you’ll enjoy it as well.
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