Director: Paul Andrew Williams

Stars: Neil Maskell, David Hayman, Tamzin Outhwaite

Writer-director Paul Andrew Williams returns to the scuzzy crime world of his feature debut, ‘London to Brighton’ for this grisly violent revenge thriller with horror elements. Maskell is the titular character, an ex-hired heavy returning home after a ten-year absence to wreak bloody revenge on the people who double-crossed him, and to get his young son Aiden back from his junkie ex-wife. To do this he has to contend with his father-in-law, the brutal gangster boss Norm (Hayman), and his motley collection of henchmen.

Maskell of course has done this dead-eyed killer before, but he’s still horribly compelling, and it’s tempered this time around by tender scenes between Bull and Aiden. Williams, who has also helmed episodes of ‘Broadchurch’, outlines Bull’s backstory with judiciously deployed flashbacks, while maintaining a clammy sense of menace, augmented by some memorably scuzzy locations. The conclusion is likely to divide audiences.

David Willoughby

Follow David on @DWill_Crackfilm