The Group

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0:23 Lee Good evening and welcome to horror. I'm Lee.

0:27 Chris I'm Chris.

0:28 Adam I'm Adam.

0:29 Lee And we are here this evening to cover a movie yet to be released in the UK, which is really exciting.

0:36 Adam Exclusive.

0:39 Lee And we're going to be doing our very best to discuss it without spoilers.

0:44 Lee Because obviously normally we we will knew we're going to spoil the shit out of it, but we're not going to do that for this because that'd be unfair.

0:52 Lee And I personally think people should go out and watch this. So,

0:57 Adam They should.

0:58 Lee Yes, so we are covering the group by William Higo. He has he's friends with Tony from Scotch worthy, yeah. Sorry, it's Sunday night and my brain is shutting down already. And so I'd seen some of William's work previously. He directed a short called My Name Is, which was actually one of my favorites from the the first Wo to Death DVD.

2:13 Adam Oh, yes. Yeah.

2:14 Lee And it's sort of similar to the movie we're covering this evening, but twists in a very different way.

2:21 Lee So anybody, I'd recommend if you go and Google Will Higo, he's got a website and if you go it's there's got an editor and director tab. If you go to the director tab, all his short stuff's on there. Yeah, and I've been through and watched all of them at least a couple of times because they're all really good, so

2:39 Lee I recommend people go and do the same.

2:42 Adam And also he has worked on so much stuff like in the capacity as an as editor or as in you know like not not in a directing capacity, but yeah he's sort of he's worked on.

2:51 Chris I'm going to say

2:52 Adam It comes through.

2:52 Chris Yes.

2:53 Adam Yes, yeah.

2:55 Adam Yeah, this doesn't this doesn't feel like a first go, No, even though this is his first feature length film as a director and writer.

2:58 Chris It definitely felt polished to me.

3:02 Adam It it did.

3:02 Lee I mean it looked lovely, it was really well put together.

3:06 Lee And the acting in it again, I know we always say, that's the thing with lower budget and independent stuff that can be quite hard is getting a decent enough cast to carry your

3:14 Chris Yeah.

3:17 Chris And that works well together.

3:20 Chris Because they could all individually be great, but it's it's got to be a believable set up of all of them.

3:24 Lee Yeah, and I I thought it worked perfectly with this.

3:27 Lee Because there was that

3:29 Lee You know, there was the kind of those who got on and those who it was a little bit clicky and very different personalities.

3:35 Chris And I thought it would they didn't all stay exactly the same either.

3:37 Chris There was definitely intrigue with each of them that folded nicely.

3:45 Adam Yeah.

3:46 Adam I mean just to

3:47 Adam Just so we're obviously we like we say, we're remaining spoiler free, but the essential setup is is that a the group refers to a group like a meeting for reformed or reforming addicts.

3:59 Adam Mainly basically mainly drug addicts, but addiction, basically. And so it's a group therapy session for that that spirals out when a new person comes into the room,

4:09 Adam Pulls a gun and starts doing their own version of a group therapy session.

4:20 Chris Yeah.

4:20 Adam Yeah.

4:21 Adam And yeah, like you say, you've got you've got all these characters who weirdly enough they they give you a nice

4:30 Adam It gives you a nice feeling from the off that you feel familiar with all the characters, you know, they're sort of like, oh right, so that's that person, that's that person.

4:37 Chris Yeah.

4:38 Adam But then that alters as people's truths are coming out as people's what what has led them to this point.

4:47 Chris Yeah.

4:48 Adam And you get sort of like you suddenly it's you know, there's a lot of you realize that yes, you know these characters, but you then know them on a much deeper level.

4:58 Chris

4:59 Adam And their actions change in in that context or they're feeling, you know, it's

5:05 Adam Yeah, it's an impressively done little because it's

5:10 Adam It's almost literally just in one room.

5:12 Chris Yeah. Yeah.

5:14 Lee That was the point I was about to make. I when I watched the trailer, yeah, and I was like, are they is he going to be able to sustain an hour and 15 minutes of just

5:23 Chris And

5:23 Lee Half a dozen characters in a single room, but as you said Adam, it's that character development and all those little twists and turns of finding out people's secrets and backstories.

5:31 Chris That was really keep it moving.

5:32 Lee It rushed by. Yeah, it really does.

5:35 Adam It's it's weird, it's in that tradition thinking of like single location films, it's it's a very similar thing you get you get a very similar sort of thing with 12 Angry Men and Phone Booth.

5:46 Chris That's it, yeah.

5:47 Adam That thing where you're restricting to that, yeah.

5:48 Chris Phone booth is the one I always think of.

5:50 Adam Where you're restricted to that single location, but it's just done to the, you know.

5:56 Adam That drives it, that sort of claustrophobia and that.

6:00 Chris It's it's all about the character or characters that then

6:03 Chris And so yeah, you get that right and it it works amazingly well.

6:08 Lee It is, but yeah, that's the thing, it does all hinge on everybody selling it.

6:12 Lee Because you only need one weak link in there, sort of act to wise or whatever and it it it yeah, it it can it can destroy a movie, can't it?

6:22 Lee I mean and again trying to find this many what is it seven or eight people.

6:27 Lee And you need everybody to be perfect, otherwise the entire thing falls like a house of cards.

6:33 Lee But yeah, I was I was totally blown away by this, I really enjoyed it.

6:37 Lee I said it's not I know it's a lot more of a thriller than stuff that we normally cover.

6:42 Adam Yes.

6:43 Lee but yeah, I I I totally loved it. I really really really drawn in.

6:49 Adam I mean we've we've definitely covered thrillers in the past and I think that they are so they can rub so closely to horror.

6:57 Adam It's a similar sort of thing of it's that, you know, it comes from the tension.

7:01 Adam It comes from the sort of

7:04 Adam You know, it's whether the tension is whether a werewolf's going to appear or

7:07 Chris Well, that's it. Yeah, it's like you are on the edge of what's going to happen next. Yeah, definitely.

7:13 Adam But I also think that

7:15 Adam Because basically, yeah, the one the one location is this is this meeting which is basically taking place in a community center.

7:24 Adam And it's weird that it feels it feels cinematic. It doesn't feel like someone in a community center with a camera.

7:35 Chris Absolutely.

7:36 Adam Do you know what I mean?

7:38 Chris Yeah, yeah.

7:38 Adam Not in an attempt to make it documentary in that way or just not looking right. It just somehow

7:44 Chris It it does have that artistic element to it. It really does.

7:48 Adam Yeah.

7:50 Lee Yeah, I think it's the lighting and everything that they've put it. It's got that as you say, it's got that kind of lived in feeling.

7:57 Lee Yeah, whereas if it's just a community center under fluorescent light, it's a bit it's a bit glaring and a bit off.

8:04 Lee Yeah, whereas this felt like you sort of settled into it quite nicely cuz it all just felt Yeah, I felt real, really.

8:13 Adam And I think that there are, I mean clearly there are, you know, there are harsh moments because this this is a film about people who are already

8:23 Adam Battling struggling that struggling in many ways, and then someone's coming in and poking at that and.

8:25 Chris Struggling that yeah.

8:33 Chris What was interesting is how there was elements of positivity throughout where you know, you can clearly see they are they are the people who they're they are trying to better themselves and in a way what Jack does is also getting them to reflect on on that.

8:53 Chris So even though it's it's yeah, there's so much negativity, but it's it is that sort of can we move on from here in some way?

9:02 Chris It's I tell you what

9:03 Chris You reminded me of and the obvious similarity was the scene in Fight Club where he pulls the gun out on the Garage Clerk.

9:14 Adam Oh yes, yeah.

9:14 Chris Yeah, and so it was, you know, definitely had an element of that like just putting someone under very intense experience.

9:20 Chris And getting them to think about what they're doing is almost like, you know, mindfulness but extreme.

9:29 Adam Yeah, it's mindfulness of on the down the barrel of a gun. It's.

9:35 Adam But that's the curious thing as well is that his presence actually does it makes them a group.

9:43 Chris Yeah, yeah.

9:44 Adam Which they are not they're kind of not before.

9:46 Chris Yeah.

9:47 Adam You know, they you know, weirdly enough they all sort of chip in in one way or another.

9:55 Chris

9:56 Adam You know, and like the of there's there's a scene of yeah, warning scenes of extreme drug use.

10:04 Chris Oh yeah.

10:05 Adam But there is you know, there there is the sequence where there is a sequence where they're sort of like almost egging each other on.

10:13 Chris Yeah.

10:14 Adam Of like to sort of rally around and save a life, but it's just but it's not someone that but it's not even someone that any of them have rated.

10:23 Chris Yeah.

10:24 Adam Before, you know, they're not sort of.

10:26 Adam But yeah, it's it's but I think that because that's the weird thing is because right at the start of the group there's the there's the woman who runs the group who

10:33 Chris Right, so that's yeah.

10:34 Adam I understand she's actually Canadian, but you know, I was like at first I was like, American, Canadian, I'm not apologies to her, but she's Canadian. And I did think that was the one thing that was missing possibly was

10:46 Adam When he first pulls the gun out, no one disbelieves the gun.

10:57 Lee Yeah.

10:58 Adam And I don't know if you would in the UK.

11:01 Chris

11:02 Adam Because it's because that's the thing it's a British set film.

11:04 Adam You know, it is Yeah.

11:05 Adam And I don't know why, you know, I mean you've got an ex you've got like an ex-policeman in there who could maybe be maybe identify that it's real or whatever like that.

11:17 Adam But I also thought if you've got if you've got someone who's like from somewhere where guns are more freely available.

11:22 Adam Just going, no, no, sit down, this is real.

11:27 Lee Yeah.

11:28 Adam You know, But then admittedly there is a far more pertinent exposure that the gun is real.

11:34 Chris Yeah.

11:35 Adam But it's just the fact that you know, but no one I don't it was just weird that no one at first was like,

11:41 Adam Is this a joke?

11:42 Lee Even questioned it. Yeah.

11:43 Adam Yeah, is it that real, you know?

11:45 Adam But it's but still I mean I

11:48 Chris I wonder if that's that's that could be indicative of the lives they've been leading, they probably have seen some bad things.

11:53 Adam That's I mean very true.

11:55 Adam I mean that's the thing but I think it's just sort of like yeah.

12:00 Adam But that is a very minor thing that crossed my mind in an otherwise.

12:07 Chris And it fears reasonably quickly on that front.

12:11 Adam Oh yeah, it didn't it didn't take me out of it or anything like that.

12:13 Adam I was just sort of like when he was a.

12:15 Chris He is he is like.

12:17 Adam I was like, oh yeah, maybe.

12:19 Chris He is a a character, isn't he? Like really, it just the way he comes in and takes over it's like.

12:28 Lee And he and again I found I found him an unusual character because in spite of the fact what he's doing is terrible.

12:35 Chris Yeah.

12:39 Lee It at no point does it feel like he's doing it maliciously, does that make sense?

12:42 Lee Like he doesn't come in and you immediately go what an absolute monster.

12:46 Lee You immediately think he's here for a reason, he's yeah, so I thought he carried that across quite well, like he didn't just come in like a arrendo villain.

12:55 Chris Yeah.

12:56 Lee You knew immediately.

12:58 Lee Yeah.

12:58 Lee You know, he's been put upon, you know he's been pushed to the point where he's there.

13:03 Lee So you almost you really want to find out.

13:06 Chris Yeah, what.

13:06 Lee Yeah, what his back story is.

13:08 Lee As much as.

13:10 Lee Yeah, which I

13:11 Adam Because that's the thing.

13:12 Lee Oh yeah.

13:12 Adam It's there there is that as well where it's like you still, you know, for it for a great deal of the film, you do not know.

13:19 Chris

13:20 Adam Why this is occurring.

13:22 Adam There's people some it's interesting because there's a few people who have inklings.

13:24 Adam And it turns out they're completely wrong.

13:27 Chris Yeah.

13:28 Adam They're like, oh sort of, you know, they assume that it's something they've done and then he's just very calmly, no, it's not me.

13:33 Chris Yeah.

13:34 Adam You know, that's that's not the reason, but you know, thanks for sharing.

13:38 Chris It's so

13:40 Adam Yeah.

13:42 Chris I suppose it's the way he you know, like I said he's not just being horrible.

13:47 Chris Like he there the way he's talking, the things he's saying, the things he's doing, it's yeah, absolutely that you just don't know for sure what he's his aim is.

13:58 Adam It's everything feels like an end to end to a means.

14:01 Adam It's not it's not sadism.

14:04 Chris No.

14:04 Adam It's not getting off on doing it, but it's like, no, I'm having to do this to get to this.

14:09 Chris Yeah.

14:11 Adam And yeah, that's.

14:13 Lee And the thing that I liked as well, which again not to try and to do it without giving any spoilers.

14:16 Lee Is I don't know how much of what what what happened while he was in there.

14:20 Lee He knew going in.

14:22 Chris

14:23 Lee So like the amount of people who were involved in that, it seemed like he was surprised at points.

14:28 Lee By the things that he was discovering along with us. Yeah, so that I was kind of wondering I was like, oh, when he wrote it, I wonder if he had in mind that, you know, the guy has gone in there for a reason and he knows what he knows, but does he know everything or is he.

14:38 Chris Yeah.

14:41 Lee Yeah, and I thought that added a level to it.

14:44 Adam It's it's like.

14:48 Adam Because at first like you say, that there is that sort of element where yeah, he does stuff may come out that he's not aware of and things.

14:55 Adam Because at first it feels very like an Inspector Calls.

14:59 Lee That was what I kept thinking an Inspector Calls.

15:03 Lee Very similar.

15:04 Adam Where, you know, obviously obviously in an utterly different way, but he's like, he's like the 24 version of an Inspector Calls, like you said someone who with a gun who breaks legs to sort of, you know.

15:14 Adam But it's yeah, just again sort of there's a lot of.

15:19 Adam And it's it's not a long film.

15:23 Chris No.

15:23 Adam Which is always which is always fantastic.

15:26 Chris It captured exactly what was needed in in the time without.

15:30 Adam But it actually it you know, it does ripple along.

15:33 Chris Yeah.

15:33 Adam Especially for something in one location, you know, that you.

15:38 Chris I think that's it like when you know,

15:40 Chris When you know that's the setup, it's impossible not to think, oh, is this, you know, is this going to struggle at some point?

15:46 Chris And it's like as it, you know, every few minutes you're like, no, it's getting it right.

15:51 Adam It's just I think it's just you get this, you know, it just it doesn't piss about, you get into the situation immediately.

15:59 Chris Yeah.

15:59 Adam There's the lovely thing as well, which is I just love the touch that obviously because it's quite a common practice with any sort of meeting, I know they do it in like they do it at work and things like that where you lock up everyone's phone beforehand.

16:09 Adam So someone's not sitting there on their phone or getting calls or whatever like that, so you have to focus on the meeting.

16:14 Adam And it's like, brilliant, you've just in one you know, in one move of something that is absolutely common to that situation.

16:19 Adam You've removed right, why isn't someone called for help?

16:21 Chris Yeah.

16:22 Adam You know, brilliant.

16:24 Adam Just immediately sort of, you know, well done.

16:30 Lee Yeah, I think it's the tension.

16:31 Lee I think for me as well, I think it because it it maintained that tension all the way.

16:35 Lee Like there's no, it doesn't let off at any point.

16:38 Chris Doesn't love.

16:39 Lee Oh, no.

16:39 Lee I think that's why it went so quick because you are literally on the edge of your seat for the entire duration.

16:44 Lee It's not like, you know, when you get a breather and then it's back in again or whatever, like there there's no letting up.

16:50 Lee Which yeah, which which kept you and again it's those twists and turns.

16:54 Lee Just enough characters that you don't get bogged down in everybody's backstory and confused with who does what, it's just enough characters, but it it's enough characters that yeah.

17:04 Lee Every five minutes or so, you get a new piece of information or a new reveal or a new angle on it that keeps keeping it fresh.

17:13 Lee And taking it in a different direction to where, as he say, you're sort of expecting it to go.

17:20 Chris Sure.

17:21 Adam I think that's the thing it's it's tense and fascinating.

17:25 Chris

17:26 Adam Because you're intrigued because you want to know what is going on.

17:29 Adam But it keeps it at that sort of real run that sort of knife edge through it.

17:35 Adam So you're sort of like, you know, cuz let's face it, you can do a film that's very tense for an hour and 15 or whatever.

17:42 Chris But it'll be just too much.

17:44 Adam But you might not no, but you don't necessarily have would have character development or something like that.

17:46 Chris Oh, yeah.

17:47 Adam Or something like that, you know, you can relentlessly chase someone with a pickaxe for an hour.

17:53 Adam You know, it it would get dull, but you know.

17:59 Chris I think I I noticed a few times the music was very good as well.

18:03 Chris I don't know if you've know any details about that, but.

18:08 Adam No, I didn't know the I didn't recognize the composer's name, but I am going to be looking him up.

18:12 Adam Because yeah, I really.

18:13 Adam I really liked a lot of what that.

18:17 Adam But again, it wasn't a it wasn't an intrusive sort of

18:21 Chris

18:21 Adam Thing it was partially partly sound designish sort of, you know, it's that sort of gray area now, isn't it really?

18:26 Lee Yeah, that's what I liked about it as well. It didn't feel too sometimes it can feel a little bit too overdramatic.

18:32 Lee And like it's pushing too hard, especially with this where it's limited cast, single single scene.

18:39 Lee They can sort of use the music to keep pushing that.

18:42 Chris To try and convince you of something.

18:45 Chris But really it just felt like it was adding to the energy and the.

18:48 Lee Yeah.

18:48 Chris The sort of the mood and that's that's why I think overall just the production seemed fantastic. It wasn't too much or or you know disjoined it would just yeah, it was really well put together.

18:55 Adam You know, I've I've I've seen far worse third you know, as your debut feature is like this is you know,

19:03 Adam This is this is someone who knows what they're doing.

19:09 Chris

19:09 Chris I also had a sense that I would quite happily watch it again.

19:12 Chris I felt like it wouldn't, you know, even though there are some reveals, it's like, no, actually.

19:18 Adam Yeah.

19:18 Adam I would.

19:19 Adam I would watch it again mostly because now I know those reveals.

19:22 Chris Yeah, no.

19:23 Adam Yeah, then you would see from that point of view of someone is.

19:27 Chris Yeah.

19:28 Adam

19:29 Lee Yeah, it's those usual suspects where you want to go back once you know who went up, you want to go back to the start and see what you can up on the next time through.

19:39 Adam And that's the thing it's it's not a plot it's not plot twisty in that in the sort of usual suspects sense.

19:44 Adam It is much more the, you know, it's just these characters that you find out all these secrets about and where their resolve leaves them and where their sort of.

19:52 Adam And I I really liked its ambiguous nature with you know, where it was like no one is clearly bad or worse.

20:01 Chris

20:01 Adam You know, I mean Jack is obviously, you know, a you know, he's not right.

20:06 Adam He is.

20:07 Chris He's upset.

20:08 Adam He upset.

20:09 Adam Yeah, there's there's that's nicely put there.

20:12 Adam So but no, but what I mean is I think it's there's there doesn't there's not a lot.

20:15 Adam There's not a clear you know, it doesn't demonstrate any sort of morality in the sense of this person's definitely bad, this person's definitely good.

20:22 Chris Yeah.

20:23 Adam And again, not wanting to get into spoiler if it territory, but certainly there was a a line.

20:30 Adam One of the very last lines of it was just perfect. It was my favorite thing about the the movie.

20:38 Adam

20:38 Adam And I won't give it away.

20:40 Adam But there is just a bit where it's like, wow, you know, just.

20:44 Adam So.

20:45 Lee Yeah, it yeah.

20:46 Lee It's I can't wait to see what he does next.

20:48 Lee

20:49 Chris Yeah, yeah, definitely.

20:51 Lee So hopefully this is a if I've got it correct.

20:55 Lee I believe it's available in North America at the moment.

21:02 Lee I think it's just got distribution.

21:04 Lee and he's working on cuz Will is

21:07 Lee is is London-based as well, he is British. Yeah.

21:12 Lee So I think he's working on getting released over here.

21:18 Lee I did emailing to ask him details of when it might be coming out and where people will be able to see it.

21:24 Lee But in my usual disorganized way, I did that about six hours before we started recording.

21:32 Lee And I'm guessing he's a very busy man, so that's it.

21:34 Lee So, but what we'll do is.

21:34 Chris You think so.

21:36 Lee But yeah, hopefully if we hear back in the next week, what we'll do is we'll drop it in the show notes any information as to where you'll be able to see this and when.

21:45 Lee so I think it was completed in 2022.

21:48 Chris Yeah.

21:49 Lee So it's been so it's done the festivals and stuff and now it's getting like a slow roll out.

21:54 Adam Yeah, cuz I think it it was definitely at Fright Fest.

21:57 Adam So they, you know, they would also have like some info on it there as well.

22:05 Adam Probably, you know, but definitely, yeah.

22:07 Adam This is this is one to check out, it's definitely as I say.

22:13 Adam I think as a superior thriller, you know, this is definitely one to one to go and seek out.

22:21 Chris Yeah, absolutely.

22:22 Lee 100% couldn't agree more.

22:26 Lee Excellent.

22:27 Lee Right, so go and check this out as soon as it is available, we'll let you know where and when that will be.

22:34 Lee thank you very much, Will for sending this film our way and and.

22:37 Adam Yes.

22:38 Lee Suggesting that we check it out.

22:40 Lee Yeah, it was a it was a really, really nice surprise.

22:45 Lee

22:46 Lee Yeah, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

22:47 Lee So we will be back in a fortnight's time, are we doing what we've been watching because we haven't done one of those in about two months.

22:55 Adam yeah.

22:57 Adam It's going to be easier than remembering what we were going to do as a film next.

23:00 Adam So let's do that.

23:02 Lee Then.

23:03 Lee Excellent.

23:03 Lee Right, yeah, so we'll be back for what we've been watching, so no homework for next week.

23:09 Lee and go and check out.

23:11 Lee I say if you go to Will Higo's site and you can check out all of his shorts on there.

23:18 Lee It's yeah, it's an entertaining hour or so just going through and and and watching all those.

23:23 Lee So, thanks very much, take care and see you on the night's time.

23:26 Lee Good night.

23:27 Adam Good night.

23:27 Chris Good night.

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