Arriving on DVD Tuesday, May 13th
Cast:
Andy Serkis as David
Reece Shearsmith as Peter
Dave Legeno as The Farmer
Jennifer Ellison as Tracey
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
Review:
A cut above last year’s British horror-comedy, Severance, in terms of yucks (that’s “ha-ha” not “ew”), writer-director Paul Andrew Williams’ The Cottage adds nothing new to the slasher canon but what Williams’ scenario lacks in originality, he more than makes up for in execution. A confident hand is demonstrated here, guiding us through the rambling laughs and spurts of raucous violence with a precise balance. It’s a mature, British answer to Adam Green’s Hatchet that pits a bunch of bumblers against a malformed goon who wants to see them dead and the results are gut-splitting in more ways than one.
Laura Rossi’s animated soundtrack and The Cottage‘s opening effectively set the tone from the get-go recalling Barry Sonnenfeld’s ambitious quirky early days (I’m referring to The Addams Family) before his career veered off course. But that’s a wacky comparison to make, let’s move on… The Cottage is cartoonishly off-kilter from the start, introducing us to Peter and David, siblings finding refuge in a quaint countryside home after kidnapping the daughter (Tracey) of a well-connected individual. They’ve got this buxom blonde spitfire – a foul-mouthed Ellison hilariously tapping into her queen bitchery – bound and gagged upstairs. Each brother is fixing to use the ransom money they acquire to bring their modest daydreams to fruition; it’s here Williams sets up David and Peter’s charming dynamic, one mixes brains and aggression (Serkis), the other’s a goofy family man (Shearsmith), respectively.
Their plan is botched up when a third party – their inside man and stepbrother to Tracey – brings the loot bag, sans the loot (!), and unknowingly lures two hitmen to the Peter and David’s hideout. To make matters worse, Tracey has escaped. But these assholes are the least of the siblings’ troubles because just a short walk away, in the next cottage over, there’s a seriously pissed off and funky-lookin’ farmer who doesn’t take kindly to trespassers.
Williams takes some time turning the screw and driving his narrative into full-on horror territory. That’s not to say, however, the journey there isn’t a sluggish one. The situations Williams concocts – paired with Shearsmith’s turn as Peter, a spineless, bespectacled dolt – are priceless, particularly Peter’s nonsensical fear of moths and the jokes that arise from that. Serkis, for all of his forcefulness, is the one who warrants the most empathy from The Cottage‘s ensemble of rogues. Williams graces Serkis’ David with some very fine, human notes and avoids portraying him as a thuggish caricature. Together, their biting banter and wry delivery very much make for choice “British” humor (it’s an acquired taste for some) that will have you grinning ear-to-ear.
Chuckles soon give way to yelps when Williams introduces “The Farmer,” one mean mofo with a garden variety of sharp implements with which to skewer, hack and decapitate. And we’re gleefully shown what this salt of the earth killer can do with a brazen, bloody, unflinching approach that warms the cockles. Williams obviously has a blast formulating the fright gags as he does Cottage‘s comedic streaks, often relying on similarly structured visual “reveals” (you’ll notice it in the editing when you see the film) that pay off in grotesque ways. By the time its screamer of an ending rolls around, the film ultimately proves to be a satisfying, unpredictable trip across seemingly familiar grounds. Cottage is right up there with some of the best horror-comedies I’ve ever seen – full of energy, viscera and smarts.
