As a Prelude to Fear

British horror movies have usually something special, differ quite a lot from the usual horror flicks from the U. S., have some better character and atmosphere development that capture the real and gripping horror.

This is a british low budget movie from Brighton, refering to a true event and trying to adapt it on screen.

Well, it's an ambitious flick with a lot of dialogue and slow character development, but the filmmaking is not tense or suspenseful: The acting is solid/ok, but not great, intense or gripping that the story needs.

The score is a rather monotonous, annoying midi-synth-piano, that doesn't help in creating atmosphere and tension.

The dialogues are soporific and the longer the movie gets, the more talking and the harder it's to be interested in the kidnapped victim and its fate and the police investigation. I felt more and more bored. Sorry.

If you're interested in some low budget, independent horror flick based on true events and have the patience to sit it through, give it a try.

Otherwise, skip this one.

Very moody, dark and atmospheric thriller/horror.

Not very scary but certainly has a lot of suspense. Would say it's definitely more of a police/crime thriller rather than a horror.

Worth a watch if you like thriller films with a twist.

Some interesting ideas in this although not completely original but what film is these days.

Kind of reminds me of a low budget seven/kiss the girls.

It was a bit slow at times but the end is good and worth sticking with.

I'd say it's just about good enough to be taken seriously unlike a lot of other low budget films out there.

Francis Magee is great in the lead role also.

Mildly entertaining with a good twist that keeps you guessing. It starts well then lags a bit in the middle but then gets good again towards the end which seems to be the way with most films. I'll be kind and give it a star rating of 7 just because of the low budget. It's worth a watch for any fans of low budget film making just to see what can be done with. It's got some interesting characters and a good musical score and better than most indie films. The kidnapped girl I really felt for and thought she did an excellent job. Like I say it's good for a low budget independent film so if you like indie thrillers then worth a watch.

A good solid independent feature film starring Francis Magee and Lara Lemon.

Slow in parts with a lot of dialogue scenes but overall I thought it was pretty good.

The basement scenes where by far the best adding lots of mystery and very atmospheric.

Most indie films really suffer because of the low budget but this one managed to hold up quite well considering the low budget.

Performances where all fairly good although maybe a bit over the top in parts but it added to the intensity of the situations.

I would recommend this film for anyone who is a fan of Francis Magee and for anyone who likes British thriller/horror films.

This is an interesting thriller that stars Francis Magee (who is great in his role as police detective Barnbrook). Although a bit slow at times it's well worth sticking with as the end twist is well worth the pay off.

The acting performances where all fairly good with some interesting characters. Most British horror/thriller films I find it hard to get into as they tend to be slow and drawn out but this 1 kept me intrigued untill the very end and although it wasn't a high end big budget Hollywood film the production values where surprisingly good and was shot quite nicely.

Very dark and moody with a lot of atmosphere so I'd say definitely worth a watch.