The Sean Wilkie written and directed Scottish horror film The Bench had a long and troubled history. This indie horror was originally filmed back in 2007 but it was then abandoned before it had been completed. Unpredictable weather, running out of money and constant re-shoots led to the film eventually being given up on in 2016. After Wilkie was approached by Ryan Hendrick who had set up a small distribution company, the film in 2024 has finally been finished and released (thanks to an interesting BBC article for those extra details, that can be read here). For a film that is seventeen years old it has actually aged surprisingly well even if it has its fair share of faults. As an aside, it took until the end credits for me to realise that 'the bench' refers to the table where victims are taken to be killed and not a bench that you sit on! Not in my most clever mode today it appears.
A group of friends on their way to a camping trip in remote Scotland come across a girl - Alex (Jennifer Byrne) whose car has broken down. As thanks for them taking her to a nearby garage to get it repaired she invites the group to a nearby cabin she owns out in the woods, the place she had originally been trying to head to. Seeing that as preferable to camping, and with the leader of the group, Aidan (Matt McClure - Penny Dreadful TV show) taking a shine to the girl, they decide to go. Initially they have a fun time, but when one of the group goes missing in strange circumstances they come to realise that there is a deranged killer (Gareth Hunter) out lurking in the woods, who see his victims as prey to be slaughtered.
The Bench doesn't try to hide the type of movie it is, the prologue sees a lost couple getting killed by the tall silent madman, and that is then followed up by an announcement stating that a group of friends went on a camping trip and were never seen again. I can't decide if that was a good idea or not as it was hard to really root for any of the characters when you know they are all going to end up dead, but the journey along the way was mostly a fun one. I thought the actors were all good, and it was neat to have a Scottish cast. There was a warning at films start that the footage was shot in 2007 and that some of the views expressed by the characters might appear outdated in a modern context. I spent the movie trying to work out what moments these were. I think possibly these related to some of the female characters who appeared to be a bit dumb? Or it could be a scene where a guy is going to sleep with an obviously drunk female character, or maybe another scene where a woman is slapped by a man, or could even be the word they use to describe the killer. I don't know, but I didn't really feel that disclaimer was really needed.
I enjoyed the cast but there weren't any stand out ones. I grew to like the almost bully-like Steve (Wilkie) due to the backstory he provides at one point. I liked that Aidan wasn't the protagonist hero he was set out to be, and I thought the initially cowardly seeming Tommy (Chris Somerville) had more to him than it at first appeared.
The press release states this was heavily influenced by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and you don't have to look hard to see those inspirations. The killer is an obvious stand-in for Leatherface but not as iconic even if he kind of acts the same. This killer doesn't have a mask made of human skin, but he does have greasy hair that covers his face, and mainly only shows up in the dark. I felt he had more in common with Jason from the Friday the 13th films, especially when it came to him being able to seemingly teleport from place to place, getting the jump on his victims even in broad daylight! The kill sequences are heavily edited with a variety of quick close-up shots used to show the brutal attacks which I thought were very effective. The most unsettling shot of the whole movie was one where a single split second shot from the middle of a kill was shown on repeat moments before the victim is caught and suffers the fate barely glimpsed in that repeated moment. I thought that was really cool. Outside of the kills the editing never felt as satisfying. It doesn't help that much of the movie takes place outside in the dark where it was really hard to see what was going on. It also felt like scenes were missing at times as characters would move around from location to location between scenes, leading to a disorientating feel. Key moments, such as when the group stumble across a dead body have their impact totally lost due to the at times weird editing. That particular scene I didn't even pick up on until characters started mentioning it later. It didn't help that not long after that apparent discovery is when the film's various sex scenes all start up. Thankfully they were all short and lacking nudity.
I have to mention the really confusing epilogue that left me feeling dissatisfied. The film ends but this ending is then bizarrely immediately retconned as soundbites from earlier in the movie play out as a completely different fate is shown. This left me baffled more than intrigued, I get what it was going for, but it could have been done in a better way.
I enjoyed The Bench, I was impressed with the level of acting for the most part and I thought the kill scenes were suitably raw and gritty. That raw and gritty feel however only appeared in those kill scenes, outside of that this felt much more like a traditional slasher, and had some scenes that veered on the side of cheesy, such as a drinking montage. With some confusing scene skips and looking a little too dark in terms of visibility this could be occasionally hard to follow, and I'm not really sure what the filmmakers were going for with that strange ending. Despite that this was a movie worth watching. The Bench is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.
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