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The Cottage (2008) DVD Review
The Cottage (2008) DVD Credits:
The Cottage (2008) Directed by:
Paul Andrew Williams
The Cottage (2008) Written by:
Paul Andrew Williams
The Cottage (2008) Cast:
Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith, Jennifer Ellison, Steve O'Donnell
The Cottage (2008) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Cottage (2008) DVD Release Date:
12th May 2008
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The Cottage (2008) Synopsis:

Black horror comedy set in the remote countryside, about two brothers who bungle the kidnapping of the daughter of a crime boss and then stumble across a dark rural secret.

The Cottage (2008) DVD Review:

Every once and a while there is a fantastically successful British film that proves exportable and financially rewarding, and it seems that everyone including the audience is rewarded by the success. This initial film is nearly always a pleasure, and it is only the inevitable imitations that will follow that grow increasingly tiresome. When Four Weddings and a Funeral was a success it brought duplicate films (Notting Hill) and Guy Ritchie’s success with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels brought an onslaught of Tarentino-esque action films. Shaun of the Dead brought comedy-horror to the forefront of exportable British commodities between Jane Austen adaptations, and although I enjoyed Severance, I fear that The Cottage may signal the decreasing quality in the duplicates.

The Cottage is the sophomore effort of writer/director Paul Andrew Williams, who seems content to focus on the comedic elements of the story. This makes for a rather slow start, but once the violence begins it quickly becomes a gruesome and twisted comedy where no limb is safe. When two brothers, David and Peter (Andy Serkis and Reece Shearsmith) botch a kidnapping scheme to get David out of trouble, they find themselves hiding out in a secluded country cottage. Far too much time is spent focused on this kidnapping and what the idiot kidnappers will do to screw it up further, especially considering none of this is relevant when the axe-wielding deformed neighbor starts killing everyone.

The kidnapping fades into the background as soon as the gory violence begins. Much of this has been done before and there is even a gag that seems eerily similar to one in the aforementioned Severance, although there were a few moments which impressed me if only because of how balanced the film stays between comedy and horror, especially considering how strongly and graphically it portrays each within the film. Often I wasn’t sure if I was laughing between grimaces or while grimacing. The only thing I could remember was that I was doing neither for much of the first half of the film.

The DVD comes equipped with the new “digital copy” option which allows you to copy the film onto a computer, just in case one copy isn’t enough. There are also deleted scenes and outtakes in the special features along with a storyboard gallery.

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The Cottage (2008) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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