Director: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Robin Hill, Robert Hill, Julia Deakin, David Schaal, Tony Way, Michael Smiley, Kerry Peacock
After being released from jail, Bill (Robert Hill) and Karl (Robin Hill) are preoccupied with finding out who turned them into the police. They analyze all their friends, but tensions run high as the family business is suffering. Furthermore, Karl discovers that his girlfriend is pregnant, and finds his parents are rather unsupportive of the union.
Down Terrace is an interesting, dark tale of a close-knit community that’s permeated with a fog of mistrust. Even though they give each other platitudes it’s clear that none of them can trust each other, and as the film continues this spirals more and more out of control, and layers of the characters are peeled away. One moment you think a character is a decent sort but then they do or say something that makes you rethink your opinion of them, and it’s a really interesting way to develop the characters.
Some people may not like this because it basically means you’re watching a film filled with unlikeable characters and there’s not really anyone to root for.
One problem I had is that the film was really quiet. I’m not sure why, but I watched it on Netflix and I had to put the volume up to maximum just to get it to a level where I could hear what people were saying, although of course then some of the sound effects were blaring out.
It’s very low-budget and it shows, but it’s a tense film that I found captivating. I watched it and wondered who was going to betray whom next. don’t know how people can live with so much stress but there we go. I’m glad I’m not part of this mob lifestyle.
