By David Dent
Paul Stainthorpe’s first fiction feature, after several years of shorts and documentaries, takes place on an unspecified housing estate in the fictional town of Elmbrook, into which Jacob (Connor Lawson) and his mum Michelle (Jill Dellow) move; specifically into Michelle’s father’s house, following his death. As well as the usual small town boredom and drugs problems, Elmbrook also boasts of a legendary ‘Elmbrook Puma’ and an accompanying rash of disappearances.
Jacob, a talented artist, has to adjust to a new school, making friends with a group which includes Erin (Helen Chong) and trying to avoid the class bullies. Meanwhile back at home, with his mum having a tough time of it, partly because of her rather awful neighbour Mrs Walker (Meryl Griffiths), Jacob finds an old video camera while rummaging through his grandad’s things. Although it doesn’t work in the usual sense, via a video recorded by grandad he finds that the camera views events precisely one hour back.
Somehow Stainthorpe weaves all these story strands together; the result is a baffling mix of teen drama, murder mystery and science fiction. Without the swearing and bloodshed, it would have made a perfect Children’s Film Foundation movie forty years ago.
It’s a strangely watchable piece, mainly because the viewer is never really sure where the film is headed next. The young cast are good value and do excellent bickering although, as mentioned, the whole thing becomes increasingly wayward. Stainthorpe’s hope, in nicking a motif from George Pal’s 1960 movie The Time Machine, is, I think, to make at least one sequel. While I’d be happy to see Jacob, Erin and the gang again, a less rambling story would be advisable.
Bloody Flicks 