The Cutting Room (15) | Home Ents Review

The Cutting Room is a low budget British horror film which sees a trio of friends (loveable prankster Raz, his scaredy cat girlfriend Charlie and sensible girl Jess) set out to make an end of year media studies documentary. After protestations about Raz’s idea of focusing on the porn industry, Charlie suggests the group focuses on bullying and they eventually settle on cyberbullying. Two local girls have recently gone missing after being bullied and in their quest to highlight this now common social problem, the group is drawn to an abandoned army barracks and uncovers a terrifying secret.

Made for only £12,000, The Cutting Room is an impressive debut from writer director Warren Dudley. A man who has not only obviously done his market research, but has spent a lot of time and effort crafting an enjoyable film with a simple story which is populated with likeable characters.

The technical aspects of film (picture, lighting and sound) which are nearly always neglected in low budget horror and found footage films in particular, are really good here. You could tell (even before watching the ‘making of’ documentary) that a lot of effort went into the pre-production period as it shows on screen.

As much as I love the horror genre, most of the characters who inhabit it are one note. Again, a lot of work has gone into character here and as a result, the leads are interesting: Raz who on first appearance seems to be your common likely lad has the guts to back up his gobbyness; Charlie who is the annoying one who always bursts into tears and screams when she should be cowering quietly is also fun, smart and has a tough side and sensible Jess has a vulnerable side.

There are plenty of eerie moments to be had thanks to the excellent use of location, the deliberate lack of lighting and the original score by Richey Rynkowski. The only really negative thing I can say about the film, is that I saw the ending coming a mile off, although it’s revealed in a very clever way and finished off with a very creepy song. The Cutting Room ticks a lot of boxes for horror fans and doesn’t outstay it’s welcome.

Review by Phil Davies Brown

[SRA value=”4″ type=”BIG”]

The Cutting Room is out now.