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Patrol Men
R2 - United Kingdom - Crabtree Films Review written by and copyright: Jon Meakin (3rd May 2011). |
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The Film
 Peyton Island’s inhabitants are supposedly living a contented life, secluded from the immoral temptations of modern times that mainland Britain is succumbing to. That is, so long as they are happy living under a strict curfew, enforced by a nutty Mayor and his Patrol Men, the creepy mute replacements for a police force. There could be a murderer on the loose and the charismatic Mayor is using him as bogey man to ensure the scared citizens toe the line. Alex (Chloe Van Harding) is a teenage girl living with her dad (Jez Jameson) on this island. She is friends with Jess (Josh Golga) who has only been there a few weeks and is willing to question the strange rules. When he disappears, Alex endangers herself to find out how and uncover the secret of the Patrol Men. The real talent behind Patrol Men is in a precise understanding of the Thriller genre and despite the lack of resources, a neat sidestepping of clichés into something more naturalistic and tangible. It doesn’t matter that the vaguely dystopian theme is a well-worn template, because it’s told in an honest way that still has the power to scare and shows us the great potential of the filmmakers. Nothing feels staged, yet it is nevertheless dramatic. The opening scene is especially disturbing and perverse (hints of Dario Argento! Though a bit let down by the music) and while there is nothing else to quite match its promise, a couple of the deaths are suitably nasty. The story was written by directors Ben Simpson and David Campion with Niall Maher and is balanced and well-paced. Dialogue is inconsistent, with some scenes flowing better than others, but small details that give a sense of depth and history to the background bulk up the plot. It doesn’t just rely on the central character either (note the sub-plot with a school inspector and an English teacher) and there’s even a bit of social context. It can occasionally feel episodic; it would work brilliantly as a comic, 2000ad style, or a creepy TV series. As an example of the effort being put into this, I was very impressed by the great-grandfather character that has visions, because this is strictly not a supernatural tale, but all the best horrors have a dose of madness, something you can’t rationalise. This old fella is it and his few scenes are effectively staged. Throughout, Ben and David show a talent for precise composition. The poor quality set-up hides it well (not their fault, film-making is all about counting pennies), but they know how to use the frame to its best. A flashback moment with an Inspector is particularly good. The mysterious Patrol Men themselves do little, but how they are positioned and when they appear makes them very threatening. Wearing gas masks seems such a cheap solution, but it bloody works! You’ll remember them after the film has long finished. While you get used to the cheap visuals because of this confident style, the sound quality is fairly poor. It’s the limits of the environment though and there’s a decent soundtrack of modern music used well to break it up. The cast are unknowns working for free, which is astonishing, because at least the key parts are very good. Some of the supporting cast occasionally look a bit lost and unsure, while others struggle to be consistent, but young Chloe does well as Alex. Jonathan Hansler as Mayor Yorke throws himself into the role, as a kind of Wicker Man Lord Summerisle crossed with a Bond villain. He’s great fun. Andrew Harwood Mills, perhaps the most experienced according to his IMDB profile, possibly has the most intriguing role as the Schools Inspector, but Anthony Abua as Okie, a reluctant helper to Alex, is the best, giving a layered and generous performance. His fruity dialogue helps give him the attitude and he wears it well.
Video
Difficult to judge. It’s a good quality anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer from basic equipment. It doesn’t look great and is pretty low resolution, but the disc is the best it could be, so an average rating is fair.
Audio
The English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is a bigger problem than the video, but again it’s the limits of the available resources. No subtitles have been included.
Extras
Who was expecting extras on a disc like this at all? But we do get one in an interview of sorts with Ben Simpson and David Campion. It’s 22 minutes long, so fairly substantial and their irreverent conversation gives a good insight into how they got to the point of making the film. Some marketing materials, like the trailer, would have expanded on this nicely.
Overall
The low grade production is bound to put people off, but those who make the effort will be rewarded with a decent story with a couple of scares, and an insight into a group of filmmakers with a sharp talent that should blossom with more cash behind them.
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