REVIEW: P.O.V

- By @TheBlueTook

Richard Anthony Dunford’s new feature was made with a modest £9k budget, uses a crowd-splitting camera perspective and takes place mainly in a car and an empty building. You’d think with such a setup (plus the fact we’re currently swamped with shaky-cam zombie/demon flicks) these choices would soon irk the veteran horror lovers amongst us, but I must admit that wasn’t the case here for the majority of P.O.V’s runtime.

The plot is thus: Zack (Tom Clear), down in the dumps after being binbagged by his girlfriend, is essentially kidnapped by his brother and a few mates, who proceed to get him to the most sparsely populated party you’ll see to lift his spirits. But here’s the thing: while this screams “found footage” when you consider my previous paragraph, you’d be wrong: we actually watch everything unfold through Zack’s eyes – reminiscent, unquestionably, of Channel 4’s Peep Show, one of my favourite programs in the universe - an interesting and ballsy move, I’m sure you’ll agree. While it’s admittedly not the first time we’ve seen something like this, and some of the scenes don’t quite hit the mark, there are moments where it works extremely well and I honestly skipped back in several places to see if I could spot just how the gang had managed it!

The setting for the bulk of the film is a former retirement home which Zack’s brother is refurbishing, reportedly burned to the ground years before amid sinister stories of demons running amok. As mentioned, there aint that many people at this shindig, but there’s plenty of conversation – plenty – that teetered on the edge of losing my interest, but when the horror elements kick in, we’re taken on an impressive, fast-paced, first-person journey of pretty remarkable editing. I’m still unsure how Dunford’s accomplished some of Zack’s “double-takes” during his run-ins with possessed partygoers. The entire house is navigated from top to bottom by our head-camera’d hero as he seeks an escape (“SMASH A FUCKING WINDOW!” – me, shouting at my tele, x 100), and while some of these panic-stricken expeditions can be a little repetitive and dizzying, they’re all in good fun and show that a lot of thought has gone into this divisive format to keep the audience’s eyes pointing screenward.

Negatives? Well, as mentioned, certain scenes seem overly long due to heavy dialogue, and the car trip to the film’s main set feels a tad awkward and extensive, but that’s it really. And thankfully, the acting is of a surprising standard for what initially may look like your usual fodder to pull us through these moments. A special mention must also go to our old mate, and knighted Slaughtered Bird Brother, Judson Vaughan, who pops up as the cosmic Bellamy.

P.O.V has the kahunas to try something that is relatively unexplored in horror and very nearly nails it. It’s wacky, inventive, and once it finally gets going, will keep you involved until the end. Check it out.

@TheBlueTook