Starring Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville

Directed by Jonny Campbell

Studio Canal / Samuel Goldwyn Films – in cinemas now

When a mutant fungus escapes from an underground storage facility, a retired bioterrorism agent recruits two of the casual night staff to save the planet.

You know that bit in a teen horror when you shout at the screen: ‘DON’T GO IN THE CELLAR, YOU FOOL!’? To be fair, most people just think that – but I’m getting on a bit so I’ve become disinhibited in my old age. Anyway, the joy of Jonny Campbell’s slick new horror B-movie, Cold Storage, is that pretty much the first third of the action consists of our hapless young duo – ex-con Travis aka ‘Teacake’ (Joe Keery from Stranger Things) and trainee vet Naomi (Georgina Campbell) – breaking into the decommissioned underground biowarfare bunker behind the plasterboard in their storage unit facility and merrily ignoring the biohazard warning signs, dusty hazmat suits, honking alarms and flashing red lights.

Of course, what awaits them is green, slimy, lethal and worst of all, intelligent, and we know that once Naomi’s dodgy ex (Aaron Hefferman) and a bunch of hapless small time crooks get involved it’s all going to get deliciously messy… and when Liam Neeson arrives it’s going to get even messier. David Koepp’s playfully sure-footed script isn’t trying to do anything new. Cold Storage is a celebration of the same B-Movie sensibility that made films like The Thing and Tremors such a satisfying way to spend 90 minutes in the dark, with a dollop of zombie-style fun for good measure.

Jonny Campbell’s direction is similarly sure-footed and while there’s a good deal of knowing genre winking going on, he makes sure that his cast play it like they mean it. It’s also great to see National Treasures Lesley Manville and Vanessa Redgrave eschewing their period Brit-flick type-casting, and kicking monster butt with the best of them. If I have any caveats it’s that we don’t get nearly enough of them, as they light up the screen whenever they make an appearance.

My other caveat is that far too many of the key plot points were given away in the trailer. Essentially it told the story of the whole film, not just the set-up. No neeeed!

Verdict: Cold Storage won’t rock your world, but in troubled times it’s 99 minutes of efficient, lovingly crafted monster nonsense. 7/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com