Tower Block: "Someone's Trying To Kill Us All. We Don't Know Why, And We Don't Know Who It Is"

Director: James Nunn
                 Ronnie Thompson
Writer:     James Moran
Starring:  Sheridan Smith
                 Jack O'Connell
                 Russell Tovey
                 Ralph Brown
                 Julie Graham
                 Jill Baker
                 Montserrat Lombard
                 Steven Cree
Rating:     ****

Home Release: 18/02/2013

Tower Block was released in cinemas last year, but I can bet your bottom dollar that not one person reading this will have seen it, or possibly even heard of it (this may be a slight exaggeration, but not entirely). This is a real shame, because Tower Block the first genuinely intense and nerve-destroying British films in quite a few years; something we should have been more proud to show off.

Serenity House was once a glamorous and popular place to live, with spectacular views over London for the residents to enjoy, but in 2012 it has become a place for drugs, drinking and crime to thrive and envelop the community. One fateful night a pair of thugs chase a boy up to the top floor of the soon-to-be-demolished flats, and beat him mercilessly to his death; nobody tries to help, people lock their doors, and somehow not a single person knows anything of these events when police come asking questions.

Three months later, the residents are waking up on a Saturday morning, some hung over, some in bed with strangers, and some just with their families. It's at this point when an unknown assassin starts shooting through the windows attempting to kill off our mismatch of neighbours. Plucky, pretty and brave Becky (Smith) takes charge, thinking of whatever way she can to save the other victims, but as the night goes on they slowly get picked off one by one. Left till the end are Becky, aggressive thug Kurtis (O'Connell), shy alcoholic Paul (Tovey), and upfront and honest Neville (Brown). They battle on till morning, fighting till the last moment, when the masked killer is revealed to be...

Sheridan Smith

I'm not going to tell you that because that is the one part of the script I didn't see coming. That would have to be my one issue with this film, the often predictable and basic script does let the overall product down a fair amount, but there is still plenty that makes it wholly enjoyable. First off is the superb direction of the film, it has a real gritty quality with a slightly abstract feel to it. It's hard to describe, but the intense shots and nail-biting sequences are really brought to life by the inspired directors. The next best thing comes in the shape of our two leads, Sheridan Smith and Jack O'Connell. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge Smith fan, and will champion anything she does, but she truly excels her self in this role. She brings life to a fairly basic character, and is able to show the emotions of the role as well as fight till the very end with high energy stunts. O'Connell is quite wonderful as Kurtis; he starts as the villain of the group, but as his story progresses we see his true colours and with a clear background of child neglect and just wanting to be protected, O'Connell really brings out the good in what could have been a hateful person.

If you are looking for an overly intense, jump-out-of-your-seat, high octane thrill ride of a movie, Tower Block will supply you with all of this. It is a real shame it was so let down with it's initial release; so let's make it's home release even bigger.

Tower Block - Trailer