13th Day of Christmas

The 13th Day of Christmas is an amateur film and it shows; with lighting, intermittent sound quality and such. But beyond that is a film that is actually pretty good.

Copper David Jennings is leading his crew on a hunt for "the Christmas Killer", who has been hacking their way through the holiday season. Out of the office, he visits his brother James, who runs a swanky club, and mum, who oddly looks about the same age as him. Alongside this plot is that of a dysfunctional family, the Blunts, whose Dad is alienating his wife and eldest daughter by gambling. These two stories eventually, tragically, coincide.

The main problem with the film is it tries to fit too much in, perhaps it would have worked better as a series. Subplots abound, with a workplace romance, a battered husband (in a particularly unsettling scene) and the lead character's divorce all making appearances, though several tail off without a conclusion.

The script, by actor/writer Dan Brothers, mostly shines in the more domestic scenes, particularly in scenes with the Blunts; with Mike Parker's grizzled but caring Clifford coming across as the most naturalistic in the film. Other standouts include Richard Smith's (unfortunately brief) turn as an oh-so-camp gay best friend, and Kerry Barratt as David and James' formidable Mum. The final confrontation between policeman and killer is also very well done, and the twist is quite a surprise, although the killer's identity is unfortunately quite obvious from the moment they open their mouth. Additionally, the filmmakers have clearly gone to a lot of effort in preserving the look of the early Noughties, with chunky desk phones and the like littering the police station.

Certainly worth the price on Amazon Prime.

We all have to start somewhere and learn things in the process.

Just a few genuine pointers to watch for.

Lighting is key - know what lighting source you have in the wide shots then plan you lighting around that for the close and mid shots.

I say plan because where the lighting is and what type would help a lot to make the lighting believable to a viewer.

Sound - sound is super important as it is what drags us into the film and keeps us there believing the story.

Casting - use star now or Facebook if you like but you must audition everyone and don't take people on due to fame if they don't fit the part.

Story - try not to spoon feed the audience. Allow them some imagination. Obviously this example wasn't in the film but... someone drinking a beer then telling his friend I'm drinking a beer is an example of spoon feeding.

You made a feature film!

Well done. Really!

There were some issues.

• lighting in the club was bad.

• some dialogue bad.

• sound was bad.

The story was rather obscure but maybe that was what you wanted to get.

Please take this constructively.

I hope legacy will be good too.

I enjoyed it but was a bit ameature. The picture was quite grainy and the sound kept going funny in places, but the plot twist was cool and some of the actors in it were really good. I was happy with the cost because of the quality of the production. It does need work but I definitely think it has some good potential.

I watched this film over the holidays. The acting is pretty basic but the actors are very good at what they do and for making this film seem quite realistic. I enjoyed it to be honest and well done Katie!