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On Edge (1999)

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Hijacking a funky London cinema for the premiere of your first short film has to be the coolest move for a new film-maker wanting to make waves in the business.

I was first exposed to Frazer Lee's work at the Prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square, having paid to see Very Bad Things.

Before the main feature, though, four figures mounted the stage (one of whom was just recognizable as Doug Bradley, aka Pinhead, star of Lee's piece). After their stylishly rambling introduction, the curtains rolled back and we were treated to 15 minutes of some of the most promising and compelling horror to hit British cinema in decades.

A visit to the dentist goes horribly wrong when the patient (Charley Boorman) realises he's decidedly not in safe hands. The gruesome end product looks like a flossing incident conducted with barbed wire.

The dentistry theme is of course a winner for any horror movie, and Lee does not flinch on the emotive drill-work. Bradley excels as the twisted tooth-totaller, balancing humour and psychosis with expert skill.

The real treat, though, is Lee's tight script and taut direction. Not a second is wasted and the film is a perfect showcase for his consumate skill. Surely this talent must soon spill over into a feature-length production (by which time I may just have plucked up the courage to visit the dentist again).