INBRED

"What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger" is an adage that independent film makers are surely well acquainted with. None more so than our very own Alex Chandon whose suffering at the hands of unscrupulous distributors a decade or so ago meant his ambitions were put on hold.

But Alex has come a long way in the last 1o years since his seminal Cradle of Fear (and of course verbally ripping Jess Franco a new arsehole at EuroFest 94 in London when Senor Franco suggested there were no new filmmakers coming through!). Rather than wallow in self-pity, Chandon honed his composite effects skills, recharged his batteries and crafted a most wonderfully warped script from his wiser, though still twisted, brain.

The script thankfully evolved into a movie that that will satiate the most ravenous of gorehounds appetites! The basic premise of INBRED centres around two contrasting care workers Kate (Jo Hartley) and Jeff (James Doherty) who take three oxygen thieves, I mean youth offenders away from the smog of the city for a few days for some cultural diversity at the remote (fictional) village of Mortlake, North Yorkshire.

They are an eclectic bunch. The care workers are a contrast of disillusioned and regimented (Jeff) and down to Earth and helpful (Kate). The scumbags, I mean vulnerable adolescents, are themselves an intriguing blend. Tim (James Burrows) is an unassuming lad whose failure by the system has manifested in his arsonist tendencies. Zeb (Terry Haywood) the baggy pant bling donning follower. Finally we have Sam (Nadine Rose Mulkerrin), the introverted sole female and Dwight (Chris Waller), the ‘lovable rogue’ whose pseudo gangster bravado made him rather hateable!

Upon arriving at their ramshackle lodgings, the group decide to head down to the local boozer, the brilliantly named The Dirty Hole, for some soft drinks. You know, when something looks like piss, smells like piss and tastes like piss, you know what it tends to be..? Yep, homemade lemonade of course! At least it’s complimentary, though the only cuisine on offer is some dubious looking pork scratchings in need of a Gillette Fusion!

Now troubled souls these young people may be, but discreet they are not. Needless to say they attract attention of certain members of the local community. After the Tim and Sam pray witness to a Mortlake tradition of a little live animal burning, a run in with three of the locals sparks off a mini crisis. Jeff sustains a nasty leg injury and the Dirty Hole provides some solace and help for the bleeding worker. Or does it...

INBRED was one of the movies doing the tour of last year’s Film Festival circuit and when I indulged at Abertoir, it was noted just how cinematic the movie looked. Filmed on location in Thirsk with a RED camera, Ollie Downey’s cinematography brilliantly showcases the awe and beauty of the Yorkshire countryside with aplomb. Grey overcast skies jointly stretch across the widescreen presentation with vast stretches of greenery leaving the viewer in no doubt where on the Planet they are!

But ultimately it is the red splatter of blood, not the capturing of natures wonders, that is the highlight of this movie. Some fantastically innovative deaths are crafted including the best horse trampling in cinema history and a shit flinging murder that makes HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 look like a wet fart! Of course you can’t have farmers without some shotguns, and the resulting flying slugs and shells cause no end of finger blasting carnage! The aforementioned protagonists bounced off each other brilliantly. I hated Dwight the minute he opened his foul mouth and spouted his ignorant drivel, which is pure testament to Waller’s performance. At least it made a change to want a character disposed of for being utterly detestable as oppose to being merely irritatingly irrelevant as per some tepid slasher movies.

Special mention has to go to the landlord and master of ceremonies, Jim (Seamus O’Niell). His guttural Yorkshire patter throughout the picture graced proceedings with authenticity and humour. Given the movie is being distributed internationally; I would LOVE to know quite what the yanks make of Jims rendition of "EE BY GUM". The ultraviolent folk song is surely destined for inebriated film festival sing-a-longs before too long!

With extended cameos from the ever delectable Emily Booth along with Emmerdale’s Horror fanatic Dominic Brunt as the twitch hindered chainsaw wielding henchman Podge, the movie is literally fortified with insane characters.

Anchor Bay’s disc showcases the rural scenery and crimson splatter beautifully and retains the original 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio. Two sound options are given, 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Dolby both of which express the underlying melodic abhorrence along with the frenzied violence. Sometimes its hearing the subtle squelch of tyres grinding up a corpse or those tinkled of spurts of blood that crowns the visceral parade.

Having the pleasure of meeting (and sharing a lighter or two... ssshhh!) with the boy Chandon I can testify a bigger horror fan you will not find! As such the disc comes complete with some cracking bonus material. Firstly we have the DIRECTORS DIARY (22 minutes) whereby Chandon takes us behind the scenes over the three week shoot. What struck me is just how many people were involved and the levels of organisation needed to bring the director’s vision to fruition.

Then we have a MAKING OF chapter which weighs is at a very healthy 53 minutes. Pre shoot special effects testing and some casting of Thirsks locals as ‘extras’ start us off before we play voyeurs to the film making process. Again Chandon is revealed as being very hands on and totally committed, while his appreciation of the crew is blatantly evident.

Next up is MICHAEL’S CLIPS. The movie was largely set in Skipton Grange, just outside Thirsk which is owned by Michael Sanderson. Michael is an avid horror fan and took over 6 hours of behind the scenes footage. It has mercifully been whittled down to 4 minutes for our enjoyment in this segment!

NEILS HIGHLIGHTS is a hilarious 15 minute featurette by long time Chandon collaborator Neil Keenen who plays Vern. The initial comical but valid discussion as to whether using the word ‘CUNT’ as oppose to ‘TWAT’ will push the movie to an "18" certificate kind of sets the tone for the next quarter of an hour!

6 minutes of Deleted scenes and the obligatory trailer completes the Extras section.

Obviously this is a frantic gorefest at heart. But watching the movie for a second time was equally if not more enjoyable due to the aforementioned camera work and quality performances. INBRED is a highly recommended movie and a value for money disc.

Review by Marc Lissenburg