ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

After a blistering big screen debut with London To Brighton (2006), English writer-director Paul Andrew Williams goes a different way with The Cottage. Once again he's angling for gut-level thrills, but this time he does it with a one-two punch of comedy and horror. At times the structure feels unsteady but overall it's much bolder and more fun than the average Hollywood slasher flick. And in the midst of all the chaos, Andy Serkis is solid as a brick house.

Initially it's Serkis who provides the quiet menace as David, a man brought to boiling point by his spineless brother Peter (Reece Shearsmith). They've just kidnapped Tracey (Jennifer Ellison), the daughter of a powerful crook, and are holding her hostage in a remote cottage in the middle of a forest. No doubt something lurks in 'them there' woods, but there isn't a sniff of it for an unusually long while. Compared to the manic energy of his first film, Williams lets the anticipation build slowly before a psychotic farmer comes to reap a harvest of human heads.

"THIS IS CARTOON CARNAGE"

For the first half hour there's only a little head-butting between David and Peter and, in a very literal sense, between Peter and Tracey. It's hardly edge-of-your-seat stuff so thank goodness it's funny. Serkis is the perfect straight man to Shearmsith's simpering twit and, caught between them, Ellison plays it like Vicki Pollard on Red Bull. Still, when the farmer eventually comes swinging his hoe, it's a much needed energy rush all round. Williams opts for startling bursts of violence that give way to incredulous laughter, including the most effective use of the man-steps-on-rake gag since Sideshow Bob in . This is cartoon carnage with a slightly surreal twist - most notably in Peter's encounter with a swarm of moths - but the developing bond between the brothers makes it surprisingly poignant too. All things considered, you'll forgive the shaky parts.

The Cottage is out in the UK on 14th March 2008.