Director: Martin Kemp
Cast: Anna Brecon, Jane March, Billy Murray, Colin Salmon
Running Time: 77 minutes
Certificate: 15
DVD Extras: Commentary, making of feature, bonus short film – KARMA MAGNET
Synopsis: When novelist Linda retreats to her family home to work on her new book and relive her writer’s block, new PA Linda arrives to help. But Paula’s dark past comes back to haunt her when Linda becomes increasingly unhinged, and the bodies start to pile up…
Coming from UK production house, Black and Blue Films, STALKER is their latest in a steady stream of horror flicks, and also marks the directorial debut of Martin Kemp. The obvious question is whether Kemp, best known as an actor and musician, is a capable director and screenwriter. Fortunately, Kemp has put in a spirited and competent effort, and despite some flaws, has made an effective psycho-thriller.
Adapted from James Kenelm Clarke’s 1976 film THE HOUSE ON STRAW HILL, STALKER has made substantial changes the source material, and the finished product represents Kemp’s own vision of the basic premise. The central narrative thrust of the story – troubled novelist whose psychological problems have returned to haunt her – is engaging enough, and Kemp shrouds the first half of the film with enough mystery for it hold one’s curiosity. By littering the story with disturbing dream sequences and apparent visions, there is something beneath the surface, and by utilising tricks recognisable from the likes of DON’T LOOK NOW, it’s clear that things will not end well for Anna Brecon’s Paula.
The true terror comes in the form of Jane March’s Linda, the PA sent to help Paula through her seemingly incurable writer’s block. Despite March’s relatively unremarkable acting career to date, she turns in a decent performance here: suitably sinister and forever on the cusp of a murderous rage.
However, STALKER falls short towards the close of proceedings, and its conclusion is easily predictable from the film’s first act. Experienced genre fans will undoubtedly spot the signs, and viewers may wonder if there was perhaps a more inventive way of unifying its numerous plotlines. This doesn’t entirely spoil STALKER, and there remains much to admire from Kemp’s first feature length jaunt behind the camera. In fact, the film’s major strengths lay in Kemp’s keen eye; STALKER makes for a visually satisfying experience from its bleached colouring and appropriate setting. The creaky old house to which Paula retreats is the stuff of classic horror, and Kemp makes great use of its nooks, crannies, and grand structure, His use of camera angles and suspense-building tricks are very much horror 101, and he achieves the desired effect with surprising ease.
Though not perfect, STALKER is a success for both Kemp and Black and Blue Films, and marks the first of potentially strong projects from the production house (most notably the upcoming STRIPPERS VS WEREWOLVES and ELFIE HOPKINS). It’s eerie and tense, with some good old-fashioned violence (the demise of Billy Murray’s snide journalist is a particular highlight), and though the climax lets the film down to some degree, for the most part it plays out as an enjoyable and engaging thriller. Martin Kemp may just have a promising directing career ahead.
STALKER is available on DVD from 30th January
