REVIEW: The Cottage

Never judge a book by its heaving cleavage.

If the French are the undisputed masters of the modern-day slasher, then Britain is the epicenter of the blood-soaked horror/comedy revolution. Writer/director Paul Andrew Williams has scored some serious cinematic points with his witty crime flick The Cottage, a film which takes the From Dusk Till Dawn approach to genre filmmaking. The first half of the picture is, essentially, a screwball caper featuring Andy Serkis and Reece Shearsmith as a pair of bumbling kidnappers who swipe the busty daughter of a ruthless gangster in order to collect a sizable ransom. Naturally, things get out of hand rather quickly, at which point the story takes a turn for the truly twisted. Williams -- whose previous efforts I am completely unfamiliar with -- handles the material with deft comic timing, brilliantly balancing the laughs with the scares, the intelligence with the gore. And while a trio of strong performances from Serkis, Shearsmith, and Jennifer Ellison are certainly clever enough to disguise the script's suspiciously familiar origins, the overall lack of originality may rub some jaded viewers the wrong way. That said, fans of grue-saturated terror should be pleasantly surprised with The Cottage's level of dizzying mayhem, as there are several truly inventive slayings littered across the film's breezy 90 minute stroll. Hardcore horror buffs will also enjoy a brief cameo from Hellraiser cenobite Doug Bradley, who drops in for an odd Twin Peaks moment to warn our anti-heroes about the impending danger lurking within the woods. Will everyone genuinely appreciate The Cottage, its hillbilly monster, and its warped sense of humor for what it is? Probably not. Just don't carve out my spine if you discover you hate it.

Recipe For Success: Serkis & Shearsmith + Jennifer Ellison + No, It's Not Like Shaun of the Dead

Explain This: Why is every British horror/comedy compared to Shaun of the Dead? I need to know.

It probably has something to do with laziness.