F (2010) Review
Hoodies. The word alone strikes fear into the hearts of the modern masses. As a buzz word for bullying bunches of anti-social anarchists roaming our streets like packs of wild animals armed with knives instead of claws.
As panicked as you may already be by the media frenzy around the youth of today, expect any fears that you have of these masked mantled menaces to increase infinitely after you watch the brilliant and brutal Brit horror F.
World weary English teacher David Schofield (Robert Anderson) hates his job and hates his pupils even more. Traumatised by an incident involving a kid attacking him in class after receiving an F he is now a paranoid alcoholic with a failed marriage desperately try to reconnect with his daughter who hates him, giving her detentions just so she will spend time with him.
However Schofield’s obsession with teenage hoodlums is about to become a reality as the closed college comes under attack by a faceless army of hoodies who seemingly without reason or motive are viciously murdering anyone unfortunate enough to still be in the school.
Under siege Schofield must face his demons and the bloodthirsty gang which has him, his co-workers and his daughter trapped and terrified if he has any chance of escaping alive.
Written and directed by Johannes Roberts and taking over 2 years to perfect F is an homage of sorts to Assault on Precinct 13, shot in the style of the modern Asian horrors. Roberts’ aim was to get back to something that he thought was missing in horror – an emotional character driven piece which keeps the killings off screen and the tension high and he has more than succeeded.
TV favorite Anderson nails the character of Schofield perfectly, crafting a pitiful loser who becomes an unhinged anti-hero when his worst nightmare becomes a reality. The younger cast members also do a fine job, especially Eliza Bennett who plays Anderson’s daughter and Finlay Robertson who injects some humor into the proceedings playing a bumbling security guard.
Excellently directed, Roberts knows when to hold back and increase the tension and when to show us the gory results of the silent stalking murderers. And coupled with a spooky soundtrack the film is full of chilling moments and well timed jumps which slowly builds to its emotionally devastating climax.
Taping into the contemporary media obsession with hoodies, it manages to be original and inventive and avoid the yob culture cliché’s of other teen focused horror movies, such as the dire Eden Lake.
An underplayed and intelligent movie which proudly waves the flag for fantastic U.K filmmaking. F is a solid shocker which takes hoodie horror to a whole new level.
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