A birthday party turns into the weekend from hell for the man of the hour in Andrew Gaynord’s horror-tinged social satire.
The title of writer/director Andrew Gaynord’s feature debut is a tad deceiving. Not all of Pete’s (Tom Stourton) friends hate him, but the uni mates who gather for his 31st birthday certainly appear indifferent to him. Such is the way with reunions – getting the old gang back together often merely serves to highlight how little you had in common in the first place.
Pete’s posh chums aren’t his primary cause for concern, though. His already bruised ego takes a further hit when a local interloper named Harry (Dustin Demri-Burns) establishes himself as the life and soul of the party. What should have been a boozy celebration takes on an awkward air, and worse still, Pete has reason to suspect this random gatecrasher may not be as harmless as he seems.
Set in a fusty country pile somewhere in Devon, the film initially sets out its stall as an upper-middle class satire. Gaynord’s real intentions are only revealed when the film pivots into psychological horror territory around the halfway mark. With Pete and Harry isolated from the rest of the group, the former takes the opportunity to confront his would-be adversary. But is there really something sinister going on, or is Pete’s paranoia (as the title alludes) simply getting the better of him?
The film keeps us guessing to the end, although a lack of character development and some ponderous plotting means it’s hard to care too much about the fate of Pete and the others. To his credit, Gaynord nails the cringeworthy social rituals that characterise a particular type of English privilege. But Ben Wheatley he is not.
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Published 8 Jun 2022
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