Comedown (2012) Reviews

• Apt Title

  bushtony2013-03-16

  What's with the recent spate of British urban thriller movies set in and around abandoned inner city tower blocks? In 2012 we've had CITADEL, TOWER BLOCK, ATTACK THE BLOCK and now COMEDOWN. COMEDOWN is the least creatively accomplished or inventive of the trend so far. It relies on the slasher movie staple of wayward teens targeted by a serial killing maniac. They have to fight for their lives, and you just know that for most of them it's a losing battle. Audience sympathy is not enhanced by the fact that the teens in question are portrayed as a barely literate group of alcohol-swigging, drug taking hooligans with low IQs, criminal tendencies and repugnant personalities. Their nemesis is equally as unattractive, subhuman and just as unsympathetic, so there's really no one to root for. Rather than hoping for anyone to survive or prevail, I found myself wishing for them to hurry up and get killed so that the film could move more quickly towards its (foregone) conclusion. If someone has a mind to make this sort of movie, at least have the sense and common decency to attempt some level of character development and provide the audience with some individuals they have a chance of identifying with or emotionally investing in. I can't imagine even the most depraved brain-dead inner city delinquent hoodie scumbag finding anyone in this film in the least way appealing. What chance, then, have the rest of us got? It looks cheap – probably because it is – but the tower block itself is well rendered in all its decaying grotesqueness, and some of the death scenes rise just slightly above the mundane whilst still remaining largely uninspired. Finally, COMEDOWN is probably an apt title. The film feels just like one.

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• Take it or leave it? LEAVE IT!

  gothic-fiction2013-03-14

  So as it seems, already people agreed that there's nothing new here, nothing original, nothing outstanding, even more, you're going to find what you've already seen 1000 times. Even so, movies like this could be enjoyable, yet, not this one, it's too dull, you have to wait for a loooong time for anything to happen and when it finally does...I don't know, it's dull, it's just dull. Now, a budget of £2,000,000 kinda takes you out of the indie section right? Therefore, you can't say you love it for the fact that is small, made with extra love and people might just find it in their hearts to like it! Only reason to enjoy it is if you're a fan of the director, cause he returned with one guy from his previous movies, so I guess it's safe to say you wanted to take a look further into their careers, you found this little gem, and there you have it, you're satisfied! As a huge horror fan, I might say,I watched it with my gf, we both got bored, she even left the room, I almost prayed for the movie to end sooner, but it didn't. Therefore, it's all up to you, do as you please, watch it or don't; my opinion --> DON'T! You can do a lot better than this one!

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• Menhaj Huda Does It Again ...

  Theo Robertson2014-11-23

  ... Makes another deeply unpleasant film that borders on being unwatchable Yes the director of KIDULTHOOD is back and this time he tries his hand at horror in an inner London setting . This type of horror has been done before in ATTACK THE BLOCK , a film I personally despised because the anti-heroic protagonists deserved to get eaten by alien hordes . This film is no different and is a film I despise for the same reason as ATTACK THE BLOCK If you're going to have a film where the protagonists are going to be fighting for their lives at least craft some type of characterization that will have the audience empathize with their predicament . Here I didn't know anything about the villain in the background stalking the teenagers . All I knew was that he was probably doing the gene pool a massive favour Some commentators have criticised the " Estuary English / chav speak " dialogue but if we had the Royal Shakespeare Company speaking in pedantic Queens English this wouldn't have made any difference because most of the dialogue is downed out in a poor sound mix with some very dire muzak on the soundtrack just to remind the audience that this is a horror film In summary this is one of those films that will alienate and outrage everyone from the most rabidly right wing reader of The Daily Mail to the most left leaning Guardinista . When you're watching a horror film and the most likable character is the villain that must be seen as a fundamental failure

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• The glass is half-empty.

  rushknight2013-03-16

  ***May contain lite spoilers*** This film is quite good. I enjoyed it through and through, and thought that the acting was really quite remarkable for a movie of this sort. If you like slasher-themed horror flicks, this one is a must see. The film itself is well thought out. The plot is realistic, the characters are very believable, even the slasher, and the setting is absolutely appropriate. All in all every tool necessary to make a good slasher film was there right from the beginning. ALMOST everything ties together seamlessly, with only one or two loose threads making me slap my head and say, "Why?" Even when the killing starts, the characters make practical decisions like, "Everyone stays together," and "If we don't get someone out of the building to find help, we're all screwed." I like to see these sorts of things in horror films, because this is how people would react in real life. Unfortunately, after about half the film, things change somewhat. The originality wears off and is replaced by the usual timeless horror movie clichés. For instance, one character runs away from the others for no good reason (what happened to sticking together?), the deaths occur in a predictable fashion, purely by order of character importance. You can literally point to who dies next. The atmosphere throughout the film is dark and brooding, even when the actors are having a "party", badly done computer effects when a few fake blood packets would have served better and would've been cheaper, and lastly, the ending is really just nothing new and has been done before in several other movies. Still, it was well done overall. I would be happy to see a sequel.

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• what you looking at fam?.....

  FlashCallahan2013-04-11

  Six friends break into the tower block they lived in as kids, now deserted and condemned, to rig up a pirate radio station, and party. When one of the group goes missing, her friends begin to search the dark interior of the tower and soon realise that they are not alone. A resident psychopath lurks in the shadows and is hunting them down, taking them out, one-by-one.... What sounds like a good idea, is ruined by the awful script, and the equally awful dialect that the characters spout out every other minute. There are so many troupes in this film, guy comes out of jail to do right, friends try and turn him back to the criminal ways he had, and the friend who is a bit mental, but really weak. The cast are good, Deacon plays the same character he does in every other film, and it all ends up a bit Kidulthood meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. It's intense in parts, the initial set up is great, but when the main protagonist is vexed because of pigeons, you know you cannot take this film seriously. The action literally takes place on on corridor, and we are treated to scenes of the villain in his torture chamber, playing with his victims, another cliché in this type of genre. deacon is the most vile character, hence he gets the most intense death scene. The ending is too obvious, the boy who wants to change gets implied in the killings, and we are treated to a final scene with the killer...sequel time? This time, I very much doubt it. It's okay, but nothing worth writing home about.

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