Actors: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram
The relentlessly
bleak nature of the violence in Ben Wheatley’s Kill List made it a difficult film to enjoy, which may explain the
filmmaker’s choice to go for a more comic edge in his latest film, Sightseers. There is still a large
amount of violence and gore, though it is boldly applied in a darkly comic
manner. Blending a road trip narrative with a serial killer storyline, this is
something like Arthur Newman meets Natural Born Killers.
Chris (Steve
Oram) has a plan to take his new girlfriend on a vacation in a motor home. Tina
(Alice Lowe) has been something of a recluse ever since a tragic accident with
her dog, and it has left her somewhat unhinged. Road trips and vacations with
new couples can often be eye-opening, revealing truths previous able to be
hidden, and this can destroy a relationship which is not stable enough to
withstand this trial-by-fire. This is the case with Chris and Tina, who have
only been dating for a few months. This is not long enough for Tina to discover
that Chris is a serial killer with specific targets of poor social etiquette.
What begins as
an ‘accidental’ death in a parking lot turns into a full-on spree against all
who irritate the couple on their journey. Though the storyline remains fascinatingly
compelling due to the sincerest of performances from the two leads, Wheatley
does not shy from giving us graphic deaths along their journey. Most of these
are skulls being crushed on the rocks of famed locations in Northern
England , including the Ribblehead Viaduct. Although there are
issues of social malaise engrained in the killing habits of Chris, one of the
final deaths also proves there to be a class struggle amidst the violence as
well, placing Sightseers in direct
descent of films such as Kind Hearts and
Coronets (1949).
The DVD special
features include interviews and a theatrical trailer for the film.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Disc Features: 4/10
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