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Not long ago the UK horror scene had faded away to zero and was
replaced by a few period dramas and lame comedies. We had those
to represent ourselves to the world. Sure we had "Hellraiser,"
but then we had "Dream Demon." "Razor Blade Smile"
was a cheap and grubby thing that didn’t even try.
Then things like "28 Days Later" and "Shaun of The
Dead" are the big daddies and the country can’t make enough
horror films. Titles like "Dog Soldiers," "Inbred,"
"Evil Aliens," "Doghouse," "The Last Seven,"
"Devil’s Playground," "Kill List," "Creep," "Outpost,"
"The Zombie Diaries" 1 and 2 are works which don’t always
have the budget but have the heart. However, we also get "Long
Time Dead," "Umbrage" and "Attack The Block"
that make people forget this country is home to Hammer, and have
created "The Wicker Man," "Psychomania," Peter
Walker films and many more epics. It’s like any country really;
take the good and spit at the bad.
"Dead Man’s Shoes" is another thing altogether. In fact,
it is a horror, thriller, drama and just a sheer weird
atmospheric journey that is an unforgettable experience. It is
written and directed by Shane Meadows, a man responsible for the
film "This Is England" and it's two short TV series.
He’s a gritty fellow who likes to push the envelope a bit and
throw something up that you don’t expect. This movie is a pure
example of that.
We open up with Richard, played by Paddy ("Bourne Ultimatum")
Considine who has returned from a tour of duty. He is followed
by his younger brother Anthony (played by Toby Kebbell) along
winding country roads. We witness old 8mm flashbacks showing
the two of them as kids and they carry on walking silently as a
mellow guitar track plays.
Day 1: 6.30am. Rich and Anthony walk into town. We see black
and white flashbacks which show a local gang of dealers making
Anthony do errands. The lad is a bit slow reacting, almost
childlike, so easy to abuse. Rich has made home in a derelict
farmhouse just outside the town with Anthony. Later both sit in
a pub. Anthony sees a man walk in. “He’s one.” he tells
Rich whilst nervously hiding his face from view. Rich stares at
the man. “Can I help you, mate?” he asks Rich. “What
you looking at?" "You! You cunt!” screams Rich and
slams into the table he’s sat at. The man backs off from this
and leaves the pub.
Rich follows him. We see the man go into a house and chat with
some knuckleheads. On the way out he bumps into Rich who
apologies about the way he was at the pub with a really wild
grin on his face. The guy’s name is Herbie and Herbie is quite
nervous about the whole situation. Later he tells some mates
about what had happened and admits he’s freaked out. He tells
them that it may be Anthony’s brother. All their faces go pale
and they are almost shaking.
Cut to another black and white flashback as they all make
Anthony drink and then hit a bong as he tries to fight back.
One night Herbie leaves the house totally wrecked (worth noting
the names of the characters: Big Al, Tuff, Gypsy John, Soz --
you gotta love these characters for though they are bad guys and
dealers, they act like average blokes having a laugh before all
hell breaks loose) and comes face to face with a man in a full
head gas mask and a boiler suit. He runs back to them all and
the whole gang charge out into the empty street. Back inside
they find the place is wrecked and their ‘gear’ has vanished as
well. All Herbie can talk about is the man “looked like an
elephant,” which doesn’t sit well with his friends.
Day 2: 7.30. Rich is mixing up a drug cocktail and telling
Anthony why people give kids drugs, “To control their minds.
It’s ‘cause they’re weak minded themselves.”
Herbie and the gang have to go and tell their boss, Sonny, about
the missing gear and the man with the “elephant man mask.”
After Sonny has beaten Herbie for a few moments, Anthony’s
brother is mentioned. Sonny becomes very quiet, thinking of
when he told Anthony that Rich had joined the army because he
was sick of his retarded brother. He then wanted Anthony to
suck his dick before punching him hard. Yep, unlike the other
bad guys, Sonny has no redeeming features and is a pure nasty
piece of work. Sonny is played by ex-boxer and male model Gary
Stretch who really chews the scenery in this role.
Worth noting, is the music score which cuts into your soul with
its sparse empty guitar cords and other instruments. They are
especially noteworthy in the flashback scenes and make you feel
the slow downfall of Anthony. The long shots of the countryside
and winding country roads also give the film a sense of doom.
This film works up to this point as a slow burner and you just
know things are going to really explode any moment.
Driving down a street, the gang spots Rich so they stop. Sonny
confronts him. “Did you….?” “It was me!” Rich
grins and smirks into his face. “You’re not afraid of me?”
Sonny asks. “Naaah,” Rich says and then warns Sonny he
best get his gang and kill him first or they’re all going to
suffer. Then he tells him where he’s staying.
Later on, they all get wasted as usual and suddenly one guy is
found in the bathroom with his head all smashed in. ‘One
down’ is written in blood near him.
Day 3: They drive up to the derelict farmhouse to confront Rich.
Big Al is volunteered to go to the door whilst Sonny loads a
rifle. Rich appears carrying an axe and shouting. Big Al backs
off and is accidently shot in the head by Sonny. They panic and
drive off as Rich raises his axe to them smiling insanely. Some
of them are sobbing. Others are just staring into space.
Things aren’t going as planned.
Rich and Anthony sit back to back discussing their lives before,
and remembering better times. Anthony idolises Rich, you can
see his older brother means the world to him. Later on, Rich
sneaks into Sonny’s home and puts his drug cocktail into the
kettle, then hides when they all come back. Soon they are all
tripping outta their skulls. Rich then picks them all off one
by one and takes great sadistic pleasure doing so.
The final revelations of day 4 come soon after, as Rich hunts
the last man in a revealing black and white flashback. Some of
the twists aren’t as shocking and maybe many will guess them
throughout the film but due to the nature of the movie and the
sheer style, they hit quite emotionally. The surrounding fields
and lanes, the crumbling town, the farm, are all used as images
of some horror that’s building up slowly and really grips you.
It’s a simple story told well and doesn’t want to soak each
frame in blood or cheap shocks (though some scenes do let fly
the red stuff here and there.) It is mainly a character driven
work that will live with you afterwards as you listen to the
music on the credits.
An obvious stumbling block to anyone who isn’t British will be
the heavy accents. It’s like listening to old defunct soap
opera "Brookside" which also had a seriously heavy dose
of accents. All in all, "Dead Man's Shoes" is a UK
classic that wipes the floor with blockbusters like "Trainspotting"
and "28 Days Later."
The UK DVD release by Optimum Home Entertainment offers a
commentary with the director, Paddy and the producer. There are
a good few deleted scenes and extended scenes and an alternative
ending which I haven’t watched just in case it spoils the film
for me. (Think of the recent action movie "Faster" with
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The alternative ending of that was
far more brutal and downbeat than the actual released one.)
There’s a short film which is so-so, scenes from the graphic
novel, trailers, a music video by Danger Mouse and Jemini and a
hidden extra which I couldn’t be bothered to look for. |
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