Harpoon (2019)

Written and directed by Rob Grant, Harpoon is the kind of black comedy thriller best described as enjoyably vicious. It takes three people, throws them together in a small environment, and starts to allow them to twist the knife into one another. And twist. And twist.

It all starts with Jonah (Munro Chambers) packing up things after the death of his parents. He is visited by his friend, Richard (Christopher Gray). Richard punches Munro in the face because he believes that Munro has been cheating with Richard's girlfriend, Sasha (Emily Tyra). Once that misunderstanding has been cleared up, the three head off on Richard's yacht for a day trip. Tension is still there, as well as a spear gun that is a birthday surprise for Richard.

Framed by the words of an unreliable narrator (Brett Gelman), Harpoon moves deftly between the very funny and the very painful. The truth can often hurt, but so can a swift kick to the balls. The latter will also happen to make viewers laugh. The three central characters show themselves, at various points, to be people who aren't really very nice, which makes their pain ultimately more satisfying, and also more expected as momentum starts to build towards the finale.

The praise must all go to Grant for his script (with some input from Mike Kovac). He's managed to take a simple three-hander of a tale, add some more humour and uncertainty with the help of that sharp narration, and somehow keep things both blindingly obvious and yet entertainingly serpentine at the same time. Everything is there from the very beginning, in many ways, as you are shown the characters, their actions, and main relationship dynamics.

It helps that the main cast all do very well in their roles. Gray is, of course, the one we take an immediate dislike to, being the rich kid who comes onscreen and punches his friend in the opening sequence. Chambers is enjoyably mistreated by Gray, the two of them perfectly illustrating an unlikely, and unhealthy, friendship, and Tyra is a perfect third point in what is set out as an obviously problematic triangle.

Although not as simplistically entertaining as Mon Ami (a 2012 film from Grant, featuring Kovac in a lead role), Harpoon is a similar tale of snowballing events leading up to a finale that looks set to be pretty bad news for everyone involved. It's still just a little bit too slight, and not quite as sharp as it could be, but you can certainly see the growth in Grant as a film-maker, and good to see him recently getting some more praise and attention from genre fans.

7/10

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Dead By Dawn 2018: Knuckleball (2018)

If I start this review of Knuckleball by immediately telling you what I liked most about it then you may be waiting for a "but" coming. But there is no "but" coming. There is more than one "but" coming. All for the sake of me trying to not be predictable, and failing spectacularly.

So let me tell you what I liked about this simple, streamlined thriller from director Michael Peterson (who also co-wrote the script with Kevin Cockle and Jordan Scott). The central concept, and the central cast. A young boy (played by Luca Villacis) is dropped off by his parents to spend some time with his grandfather (Michael Ironside). His grandfather views this as an opportunity to both spend time with the boy and also get some work done on his property, which is as removed from most other houses as you might expect it to be. Certain things happen, the young lad has to keep himself safe from a major threat to his life, and it doesn't look as if anyone is going to be coming along soon to check on the situation.

I have never yet seen a film starring Michael Ironside that left me wishing someone else had been cast instead, so Knuckleball definitely has that going for it. There's also a fantastic performance from young Villacis, surely a name to keep your eyes peeled for in the future, and Munro Chambers has a lot of fun with his role. There aren't many others in the cast, but they all do well enough with their screentime.

The direction is solid, showing a level of confidence and cine-literacy that add to a rewarding viewing experience, but it's the cracks in the script that start to weaken the overall structure, failings that some might view as minor but that developed into big enough faults to spoil my enjoyment of the movie.

First of all, this is a potentially tense thriller that never feels as tense as it should. That's all down to the writing of the young lead (who is shown to be very smart for his age, which makes a pleasant change but also makes it almost impossible to think he'll ever be truly outmaneuvered) and the writing of the main baddie (who is far too dumb).

Second, there are a couple of reveals that seem to have been set up in a way that should surprise viewers. They don't. They just happen, many viewers will shrug as they see something extra about details that already made them suspicious, and the film then moves forward.

These two criticisms may not seem like any big deal, and I am sure there are others who will enjoy Knuckleball more than I did, but they're enough to drag down what could have been a tight and vicious little thriller. Which leaves us with a limp, tame, sketch of what could have been. It's still a decent watch BUT it could have been so much better.

6/10

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