The Radleys – Movie Review
Director: Euros Lyn
Writer: Talitha Stevenson (Screenplay)
Writer: Matt Haig (Novel)
Cast
- Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting)
- Damian Lewis (Dreamcatcher)
- Jay Lycurgo (The Batman)
- Shaun Parkes (The Mummy Returns)
- Bo Bragason (Renegade Nell)
Plot: It follows a seemingly ordinary family with a dark secret: they are vampires. They choose not to drink blood despite their natural cravings, but their truth is revealed one day.
Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Radleys starts as we meet the Radley family, Helen (Macdonald), Peter (Lewis), Clara (Bragason) and Rowan (Baxendale). They seem like any other family living in a suburban UK, preparing for Peter’s birthday. However, they have a secret from the rest of the town.
They are vampires but not in the normal traditions and the children are only just discovering this. Clara kills a local boy and Helen and Peter must explain who they really are. Meanwhile, vampire hunter Jared Copeleigh (Parkes) has been watching for the family for years. The family must come together to keep their secret before everything gets exposed to the world.
Verdict on The Radleys
The Radleys is a horror comedy following a family of vampires who live a quiet life. However, when one of the children learns of their bloodlust, they must come together to cover it up. The problem is, that their secret has seen the whole family change.
This movie feels more like it would have been an introduction to a pilot sitcom. It wants to create something much bigger than the movie presents and never quite feels like enough comes from the events. There is a sense that everybody wants to come to life and laugh out loud, but it never, and the changes the teenagers go through, struggle to make the impact required.
Final Thoughts – The Radleys is an odd horror comedy, that struggles to land the laughs.
