Signature Entertainment, on digital February 22 and on DVD March 1.

In the 1990s English countryside, a trio of thugs break into the home of an elderly doctor and his wife, planning to steal from their safe. But when the couple disturb the robbery, things take an unexpected turn.

Boasting a cast with genre favourites Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who) and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Julius Berg’s dark horror thriller retreads familiar territory as the preyed-upon turn on their captors, but the hysterical and bonkers antics are never boring.

Three dreadful young men break into a house, and it’s hard to believe what Mary (Maisie Williams) sees in one of them, Nathan. She’s not part of the gang but gets pulled in when she asks to borrow the car. Then, when the elderly couple Richard (McCoy) and Ellen Huggins (Rita Tushingham, A Taste of Honey) return early, they are threatened by the thieves, who want the combination of the safe. What follows is a madcap explosion of hammer blows, knifings, severing of digits and plenty of the red stuff.

As I’ve already mentioned, this is a well-trodden sub-genre, with notable examples such as Don’t Breathe, The Intruder, Villain, or The Last House on the Left. But there’s a twist in the tail of this very British exploitation flick, which could easily have been made by Pete Walker in the 1970s with Sheila Keith and Rupert Davies.

Sylv is having the time of his life, playing a doctor, though probably not the one you were expecting, supported by an equally batty Rita Tushingham. But poor old Maisie is having the worst day ever, and you can see it on her face as she battles friends and foes to get out alive.

Verdict: A film very much out of time that just comes across to modern eyes as a ridiculous morality tale with a bitter sting. If you’re in the right mood, you’ll have a blast, but subtlety is not on the menu. 7/10

Nick Joy

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