It's always good to give your support to a movie clearly made with more love than funds and resources, and Benny Loves You is a fun comedy horror that deserves to be seen by those who can enjoy the whackiness of it. BUT it's also good to offer some constructive criticism, where relevant, and not overhype something that others may then end up disappointed by. This is a decent little movie, one with no small amount of charm (particularly in the character of the titular killer toy bear), but it's not quite the flawless modern classic that some people may want you to think it is.
Karl Holt stars as Jack, a man who really could do with a bit of a break. Having lost his parents in a bizarre double-whammy of accidental deaths, on his birthday, Jack is trying to keep his job, manage his finances, and get himself some occasional female company. Having long ago left behind his childhood toy, Benny, it seems that Jack is about to find himself on the receiving end of some unwanted attention from a one of the cutest little psychopaths to ever be seen in a movie.
As well as acting in the lead role, Holt also wrote and directed Benny Loves You, but it feels more like a case of him needing to take on every role to get the film made, as opposed to anything to do with vanity. Sadly, he's good in every one of his roles, but not great. Yet it's hard to spend too much time faulting him, considering how hard he must have worked to get the film made. It's not exactly an easy sell, and the very least you can say about it is that Holt fully commits to the crazy main idea. The humour is never as sharp as it should be though, the movie references are a bit too clunky and obvious, and the pacing is just a bit off, with the more entertaining moments spread out a bit too thin.
As for the other people involved in the film, Claire Cartwright is a good choice to play Dawn, a friendly woman who may also be able to help Jack, George Collie is enjoyably smug and irritating, James Parsons is amusing as Jack's boss, Ron, and Anthony Styles and Darren Benedict do good work as, respectively, "bad cop" and "good cop".
I know that this review doesn't seem like a ringing endorsement for the movie, and I'm not sure Holt would be too pleased to read it, but I DO recommend Benny Loves You to horror fans after something with some chuckles and bloodshed. Although the flaws hold it back from being truly great, they also add to the charm of the thing. This wouldn't work if it was all too polished. It's just a shame that it wasn't a little bit better in a number of small ways, enough to take it from being watchable and gently amusing to being something I'd highly recommend to all.
6/10
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