Film Review: "Sightseers" (2012).

"Killers have never been so average." This is Sightseers. This British horror comedy directed by Ben Wheatley, and written by Alice Lowe and Steve Oram. An innocent tour of Britain's countryside turns into a disturbing odyssey when Chris whisks his girlfriend away on a cross-country road trip.

The film and characters were inspired by a stage experience with Lowe and Oram appearing as innocent campers who slowly revealed they were serial killers seven years prior. A short film was later produced and was sent to several production companies, however despite being found to be funny, the pitch kept getting turned down for being too dark. They put the short online, and it generated some buzz, and Lowe sent the link to Edgar Wright, with whom she had worked on Hot Fuzz (2007). Wright saw potential for a feature and put them in touch with a production company, Big Talk, who, with Wright on board as an executive producer, greenlit the project. Lowe and Oram did research into horror literature and even took a caravanning holiday, in character and with a cameraman, to the locations that would go on to be featured in the film. Lowe and Oram were influenced by Withnail and I (1987).

The film stars Oram, Lowe, and Eileen Davies. It's tightly performed with some knowing, throwaway dialogue and it must have demanded some very physical performances from its quirky characters.

Sightseers aims squarely for genre thrills, and hits its target repeatedly and with great gusto—albeit with something less than pure cinematic grace. The film effectively has the banter, fun factor, cast and style, but its lack of story makes it difficult to be taken seriously as a thriller. Everything else is competent, diverting enough, but pretty forgettable. Like a good cheeseburger, its nutritional value is questionable, but it's satisfying enough that it's difficult to care. A golden eight-five minutes, if a slightly tarnished one. The many wisecracks fire as fast as the bullets in this enjoyable and stylish gangland romp, though it's curiously unengaging and I never cared who would win. The film is Wheatley's most accessible film that entertains with its wonderful cast, the witty, quotable script and confident direction. It may not hit a bullseye with perfect accuracy, but unlike the characters, it's certainly ain't a bad shot. Wheatley brings a bit of style to everything, with a couple of clever set pieces that give the film a boost in some spots. Unfortunately, the film starts to drag about midway through and it starts to feel like it is stuck in neutral. The film is a down and dirty piece of action filmmaking with a darkly comic streak that runs through its violent exterior. Wheatley's film is an energetic piece of high-octane cinematic acid jazz. It's a tightly scripted, smartly executed, perfectly cast actioner that's as witty as it is violent. The problem with the film is that it just doesn't have much more going on in outside of what you see in the trailer.

Simon says Sightseers receives: