The Cottage

Director: Paul Andrew Williams
Screenwriters: Paul Andrew Williams
Starring: Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith, Jennifer Ellison
Running time: 92 mins
Certificate: 18

Destined to be a cult classic, The Cottage is a true rarity - a film that successfully blends comedy and horror to fine effect. Bolstered by superb performances, taut direction and playful twists, it breathes fresh creative life into a British film industry too obsessed with cockney gangster movies and Keira Knightley pouting in a tight frock.

The action follows two brothers, hardman David (Serkis) and the fragile Peter (Shearsmith), as they take up residence in a secluded cottage in the dead of night. Amidst their bickering, they attempt to keep their feisty young hostage Tracey (Ellison) under control and blackmail her wealthy crimelord father Arnie for her safe return. Their plan quickly falls apart as Arnie's brutal oriental henchmen arrive on the scene, although nothing can prepare them for the horrors that lurk in a nearby village. Especially a disfigured maniac called The Farmer.

Although this sounds like the splutterings of a cliché-ridden football pundit, The Cottage really is a film of two halves. Accusations of it being tonally uneven are undeniable, but that doesn't matter at all when a prolonged bout of belly laughs gives way to a succession of shocks. The humour content isn't provided by the contrived one-liners that tend to litter your average script. Instead, they mainly stem from acting and writing that combine perfectly to tease out every hilarious nuance from within the characters.

Indeed, The Cottage begins in a very farcical fashion, with former Gollum Serkis and Shearsmith gradually bringing out the hilarious quirks in their neatly contrasting roles as David, the aspiring gangster and Peter, the bumbling fool. In particular, Peter's somewhat perturbed nature is a frequent source of mirth, with everything from his premature baldness to his bizarre moth phobia being suitably milked for laughs. Jennifer Ellison is also well cast as the foul-mouthed, headbutting wild child. It'll certainly make your average lad think twice next time he opens up a copy of Nuts featuring a photoshoot with the ex-Brookside babe.

The sudden shift to horror, laden with homages to the likes of Evil Dead 2 and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, largely works well because of the decision to totally withhold the gore for the first hour. When it does arrive, the impact is therefore heightened although it wisely still manages to amuse more than disgust.

Director Paul Andrew Williams, who previously helmed the acclaimed London To Brighton, demonstrates what a bright future he has ahead of him. He paces proceedings well, foregrounding the Serkis/Shearsmith double act in the early stages of the film and crucially allowing their performances the time to breathe before tightening the noose around the narrative as it (mostly) hurtles towards its blood-drenched climax. The only major flaw is a brief lull in momentum before the finale, as if the script had nipped out for a fag break before going into the home straight.

A winning package of laughs and thrills, The Cottage is a refreshing break from the moronic slasher films churned out from across the pond and deserves to find mainstream success.