Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith and Jennifer Ellison star in this British horror comedy from director Paul Andrew Williams, about a botched kidnapping and the resulting terror that ensues as the kidnappers hide out at the titular location.
The film opens well and is quite funny and indeed enjoyable for the first half. Where it encounters problems is when the horror aspect is introduced.
Shearsmith is the stand out talent here and after him it’s Steve O’Donnell’s Andrew that provides the most laughs. Jennifer Ellison plays a slapper well and Serkis is just an average guy.
It’s a shame that the horror aspect didn’t work that well as The Farmer looks amazing and is a welcome addition to the horror bad guys hall of fame. He also has an interesting back-story and it’s in these revelatory scenes that Serkis is at his finest.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Incredibly gory and with brilliant practical effects work, The Cottage is sure to both impress and please gore hounds across the globe. When it’s funny it’s very funny, when it’s supposed to be scary it isn’t and that’s an unfortunate shame as this looked like it was going to be a standout horror effort for 2008.
