Review
Ben Wheatley provides one of the year's darkest and funniest comedies in this tale of true love caravans and dead bodies.
Ever since her terrier Poppy died in a bizarre knitting accident Tina (Darkplace's Alice Lowe) has lived a sheltered life with her mother. New boyfriend Chris (Steve Oram) decides to show her his world and takes her on a selfproclaimed Ȯrotic odyssey" in his caravan to such wonders as the Crich Tramway Museum Ribblehead Viaduct and of course Keswick Pencil Museum. But with litterbug National Trust snobs and feral youths running rampant Tina and Chris inadvertently leave a trail of dead bodies in their wake as their holiday continues to spiral out of control.
Steve Oram heads up the fantastic cast as the muted yet brutal Chris complementing Alice Lowe's awkward yet creepy Tina perfectly. However the real star is the special effects which provide some of the most realistic and memorable on screen deaths of the year. The unsettling albeit hilarious performances of the two leads is mirrored in the soundtrack a mix of cheery '80s pop songs and a haunting minimalist score.
Shot in the beautiful Lake District director Ben Wheatley uses lingering shots and slowmo in an innovative way making his comedy edgy whilst poignant. No doubt this is a very British black comedy. Wheatley shows directorial flair but reigns it in from his previous work Kill List leading to a much tighter film with a concentration on the biting wit of the script.
Sightseers overall plays out like a cross between Bonnie & Clyde and In Bruges leading to a perfect pitchblack comedy that's not for the faint hearted.