When you think of vampires you don’t then immediately think of Manchester, but writer and director Wric Steele is about to prove how the two components can complement each other. Steele’s debut feature, Boy # 5 was shot entirely in Manchester for a fully self-funded budget of under $10,000. The British setting is screamed loud and proud as it tells an engaging and emotionally charged story of social worker Majorie (Laura Montgomery Bennett) whose latest charge, Nathan (Lennon Leckey), begins to display vampiric urges. Pushed to her limit, and desperate to make up for past trauma, Majorie crosses the line in her efforts to help Nathan.
Steele casts aside all the usual locales for a vampire story, demonstrating how malleable Manchester can be at appearing vaster than it is. Although a city that is a regular staple in British television dramas, the version of Manchester that Steele casts onto the screen feels dark and dangerous. The exteriors are kept to dirty alleys and rough-looking empty streets at night time, injecting a pervading sense of menace. Steele’s interiors reflect the colours of the nightscapes, keeping everything in tones of greys, midnight blues and blacks. These decisions with the colour palette reinforce the naturalistic qualities of Steele’s story, as do the stripped back lighting, all helping keep the film grounded.
Boy # 5 is not only Eric’s feature film debut as a director, but also lead actor Laura Montgomery Bennett’s first time acting. It’s an incredible performance for anyone, let alone someone with no prior experience. Echoing the naturalistic approach of her director, Bennett’s performance is restrained and leans into the real world nature of the piece. By day, Bennett works within the school system and her knowledge of working with children and those in the social care arena has clearly informed her approach to the role. The dynamic between her and Lennon Leckey as Nathan is compelling. The exchanges between the two characters primarily unfold within the construct of an interview room. This environment is cold and sterile, mirroring Nathan’s otherness and Majorie’s own numbness. The fact that Majorie has been paired with Nathan is a red flag. She is clearly still recovering from her previous trauma, but due to the overworked nature of her place of work, she has no choice but to push through it. This is a sad and accurate portrayal of how busy our social care workers are, and if the viewer only takes this piece of information from the film, then that will be a success in itself.
The exploration of vampirism on offer in Boy # 5 is an interesting one. Steele forgoes centuries old lore and tropes to create his own take on the concept. His idea filters the concept of vampires into a clinical mutation, with Nathan having a condition that doctors have never seen before, and Nathan explaining to Majorie that only blood makes him better. The boy’s plight, coupled with Majorie’s own feelings of failure break through the icy wall that has been surrounding her, and as she bursts into action, there’s a rush of warmth. Whilst we know that Majorie’s intentions are pure and from a place of her own desperation, we never get a real handle on who, or what, Nathan really is. Is he really in pain, does he really like Majorie, or is he merely manipulating her to get what he wants? The ambiguity gives Boy # 5 a depth and intrigue to it that the audience can invest in.
If we were to nitpick, the only real complaint with Boy # 5 is that the jump from Majorie not believing Nathan to suddenly ‘going to the ends of the Earth’ for him, is a little fast. The reasons for the connection and bond escalating so quickly are obviously down to the short run time and limited budget. It doesn’t cast a cloud on the quality or enjoyment of the story, but it does momentarily bring the viewer out of the film as they question it.
Overall, Boy # 5 is a fantastic first genre offering that uses the age-old institution of vampirism to explore new ideas. Steele’s decision to transplant the story to the cold lonely streets of Manchester helps instil an air of despair into the piece, whilst also exploring the broken status of our overloaded social care system. Eric Steele subverts the vampire conventions and jumbles them up into an emotionally charged social drama that is unlike any vampire film out there.
Boy # 5
Summary
The story of the vampire receives yet another fresh transplant of blood in Eric Steele’s story of broken connections and social drama.
Boy # 5 was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2021.
