 |
| Available at Amazon.com |
The Cottage is kind of two movies in one. The first movie is a black comedy about a kidnapping; the second is a mostly-straight slasher about a crazed killer. While these kind of hybrids can work at times, this one does not.
The movie begins with two brothers, David and Peter, kidnapping the step-daughter of a crime lord. Neither of them really has the stomach for kidnapping, but they figure they can bluff it. They take the step-daughter, Tracey, to an a rural cottage where they are to meet up with their accomplices. Once they arrive at the cottage, Tracey proves to be a rather difficult and uncooperative hostage, one of their accomplices doesn’t show up and the other, Tracey’s step-brother, is completely incompetent. And to top it all off, the crime lord is on to their plan. Moderate hilarity ensues.
About halfway into the movie, they attract the attention of The Farmer (let’s be grateful they didn’t call the movie, The Farmer). Once The Farmer shows up, the movie pretty much becomes a straight slasher. There are still occasional bits of dark comedy, but it’s mostly your standard slasher from this point on.
I’m not quite sure why the decision was made to arrange the film in such a manner. A lot of the deleted scenes were scenes of The Farmer that were intended to appear in the first half of the film (killing the missing accomplice, lurking around the cottage, etc.) so it’s clear that the original script contained no such division. The DVD case, the menus and other such things make it clear this is a horror film but if you were to just stumble across this on TV, you’d have no idea it was a horror film until The Farmer suddenly turned up. It’s a jarring setup.
The Cottage has a colorful and entertaining cast of characters. You can’t help but laugh at Peter and David’s petty bickering or their complete ineptitude when it comes to dealing with their hostage, Tracey. Tracey herself, one of the least timid hostages in the history of hostage-taking, is also quite amusing. The Farmer’s backstory is handled well and stands out amongst standard slasher fare. The characters are great.
Unfortunately, the characters in The Cottage are also a big problem. They simply aren’t slasher movie characters. These aren’t people the audience is cheering on or waiting to see killed. Every single character is annoying. And yet, they are just sympathetic enough that you don’t want to see them killed. The end result is you just can’t care about the characters, one way or the other. For a black comedy, that’s can work pretty well but for a slasher film, it’s a very bad thing.
As a black comedy, The Cottage works well. While the constant squabbles between the two brothers (as well as literally everyone else in the movie) are entertaining. Unfortunately as a slasher film, a creative villain is all the movie has going for it. The Cottage could have been a solid black comedy focused on the kidnapping and its aftermath. But a left turn into a slasher film really hurts the film.
The video is in 2.35:1 and the audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. No problems to be found with either.
Deleted Scenes – There’s about twelve minutes of deleted scenes here. Most of the deleted scenes focus on The Farmer: there’s some additional killing and all kinds of lurking around that was meant for the first half of the movie.
Outtakes – About five minutes of your standard outtakes. A few chuckles, but it is forgettable for the most part.
Storyboard Gallery – There are two storyboard galleries: one is “Peter and Tracey Meet the Farmer” and the other is “Peter and Tracey Fight the Farmer.”
Trailers – Previews of Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, 88 Minutes, Zombie Strippers, Outpost, Loch Ness Terror, April Fool’s Day, Revolver, Pistol Whipped, Cleaner, The Tattooist, and Diamond Dogs.
Digital Copy – If you are so inclined, you can transfer the movie on to your computer or PSP.
The Cottage could have been a solid black comedy. Sadly, it’s merely a mediocre hybrid. The extras aren’t all that impressive either. It’s not a bad movie, and the acting and writing is a lot better than your average slasher, but it’s nothing to get excited about either.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sony Pictures presents The Cottage. Directed by: Paul Andrew Williams. Starring: Andy Serkis, Reece Shearsmith, and Jennifer Ellison. Running time: 91 minutes. Rating: R. Released on DVD: May 13, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
About Trevor MacKay
