By Simon Thompson
Writer Rhys William Thompson and director Jamie Langlands The R.I.P Man is an uneven watch which, for all of its good qualities, sadly cannot overcome its glaring flaws. To use a football analogy The R.I.P Man is as consistent as prime Mesut Özil in a game that actually matters, which is a shame because as a director there is a lot that Langlands does well.
The plot of The R.I.P Man follows a group of university students, led by Donnie (Maximus Polling) who, while going about their lives are being stalked by a toothless serial killer ( Owen Llewelyn) who I could best describe as resembling a meth addicted Billy Corgan. It turns out that this killer has a specific habit of taking a tooth from his victims to correct the rare oral condition that he has struggled with since childhood. This puts him in the crosshairs of a police detective (Matt Weyland) who begins to notice the pattern that each of his victims form.
Technically most of The R.I.P Man is excellent. The score by Cristian Parras creates a strong sense of atmosphere and sets the tone perfectly. As a director Langlands pulls some showstopping shots out of the bag, including a Hitchcockian overhead shot before one of the movie’s set piece killings, and a Jacques Tourner style fake out involving a pair of wind-up chattering teeth.
Langlands’ camera work is down and dirty, reminiscent of an Abel Ferrara movie or prime 70s-80s De Palma, creating an uncomfortable level of closeness as the horror unfolds. Where there are hitches however, mainly come from the sound and dialogue mixing, with one scene between two characters in a library being mixed like something straight out of Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place.
The biggest flaw of The R.I.P Man however, lies in the characterisation and plotting. Donnie and his group of friends look and act like the cover models you see on a UCAS poster, with the supporting characters all having vapid uninteresting personalities with their only memorable actions being when they are killed off.
While Maximus Polling does an okay job as Donnie, and Owen Llewelyn is genuinely intimidating as the serial killer, the standard of the rest of the supporting cast’s acting is at the level of a later series of Skins, where most of the cast’s brightest talents had sought greener pastures.
The detective character, played by Matt Weyland, is a stereotypical burnt out cop with a demeanour that’s less Wallander and more the bank manager from the 2000s Nationwide ads.
The plot is an assorted collection of coincidences, where either someone a character needs to speak to, or an object crucial to the plot, always happens to be wherever they are – no matter what. This has the effect of leaving a narrative which features a literal serial killer on the lose strangely lacking in any real urgency or peril.
In short, while The R.I.P. Man does have a lot going for it from a technical standpoint, the writing and acting is frustratingly lacklustre, undercutting all of the positive qualities and skill shown by Langlands as a director in the process.
The R.I.P Man is available now on digital platforms.
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