Canaries

So wanted it to be good, but it wasnt. Then wanted it to be so bad to become good, but it wasnt.

Ironic that Cwmtwrch was on the map for it's little known sulphur spring or stink water. Now it's known for a little known stink film.

Sorry Boy Bach, a decent Brain Dead or a low budget Welsh cornetto trilogy homage this isnt.

They deserve credit on raising £29,000 and trying though.

So this was advertised to be a Welsh Shaun of the Dead-like sci-fi comedy, sadly it fails hard on most fronts.

It tells the story of a group of friends celebrating new years just as an alien force makes their move against mankind.

The characters are pretty plain and lack gimmicks and the aliens are, well they're basically pale dudes with Lady Deathstrike fingers and they wear..........raincoats. So, yeah.

Comparing it to Shaun of the Dead is optimistic, this just isn't funny. There are a couple of laughs to be had but not enough for a feature movie, in fact in places it gets very serious for extended periods and you forget its a comedy at all.

From a sci-fi perspective it really hammers home the X-Files conspiracy nonsense that is going on in the background away from our heroes, and that's about as interesting and engaging as a 60 minute special on shoes.

Not funny, not interesting and the aliens quite frankly look ridiculous. But wait, the worst part is yet to come! The movies ending, is well............it doesn't have one. Things happen, then you're hit with a to be continued and the credits roll. So this is an incomplete film and chances are it won't get a sequel so it'll never be continued anyway.

Should have been better but they just didn't have much to work with.

The Good:

Some great writing

Robert Pugh

The Bad:

Comes across as cheap in places

No ending

An enjoyable 84 minutes, which may bring to mind peripherally Jaws, Hot Fuzz, I Know What You Did Last Summer among others, with some rather fancy locations. To producer Craig Russell, how on earth did you manage on the budget you mention? Congratulations: the mixture of eerie atmosphere, thrills (accompanied by notable soundtrack) and humour (some wry lines here) worked thoughtfully.

The movie played at Frightfest and it arguably had if not the best introduction to a movie, then definitely one of the best. The main actor got conned into stripping (only partly, upper half, but still a hoot for all the women and some men I guess, but fun nevertheless). And it all was setting the mood for one very funny movie.

The main character, a radio DJ, who is past his prime, goes back to his roots. For financial reasons of course. What he doesn't know: there are things happening outside of his realm ... literally! But while the dialog is amazing, the script may seem a bit convoluted in general, especially when it comes to coherence. Still that takes not much away from the fun you can have with this. Just roll with it and it's idea, that is really out there ...

This film has a lot going for it, and deserves a lot more than 4/10. While not original in itself, there are enough extras in the script to make it that bit different. The characters are believable, and it's nice to see aliens attacking Wales for once! It's low budget, and some of the acting, and editing could be better, but it's much better than many bigger budget, star laden affairs. Well worth a watch if you get the chance, definitely better than average.