User Reviews

The protagonists were not particularly likeable and came across incredibly one dimensionally, leaving Hugh Bonneville little to do but chew the scenery. He gives a committed performance, but his character is ultimately lacking the flair or nuance to make it truly great.

Kelly Macdonald was solid as ever, but felt a bit wasted here and primarily there for the shock factor of killing her off mid-film. It was a shame she only got one scene with Bonneville, and while this was well done, it was far too short and should have been followed up with a stronger last act overall. The ending feels incredibly rushed and ruins any sense of suspense that has built up throughout the film. You aren't left thinking about the consequences of the story because it's all been tied up with a bow in two minutes and that jars against the dark tone seen earlier in the story.

I think there was real potential here to create a truly memorable modern serial killer film/performance, but this ultimately fell short.

It could have been soooo much better! I was hoping for a big finale, but it never arrived.

Great acting, the plot felt believable for the first two thirds and then the film became frustrating towards the final act.

This could have been a Silence of the Lambs for a new generation, minus the people munching elements. It just didn't take itself to the next level.

Was great to see Hugh playing a different character - although still a posh one - and Kelly played her part well.

It's worth a watch, but sadly makes you want to write your own ending.

I need to write more words as I'm getting an error to save my review is too short. However I really have nothing more to say !

Publish now please ?

The writers were trying to have some kind of social commentary on the injustices between the rich and the poor. Unfortunately all they have done was to perpetuate this injustice by showing that the rich are smart and competent whereas the poor are bumbling idiots. The 2 protagonists, mother and son, were so infuriatingly stupid. They were not lured or kidnapped into the house, they actually broke into the house which had the element of surprise in their favor. But what were their plans? Have they brought some weapons or at least some tools to achieve their plans? Did they take some photos or evidence of the crimes so they can alert the authorities? No! All they did were flaying around, falling on their faces until they were caught and killed. What's the point of this debacle? Is this supposed to be a comedy? It's a total waste of the actors as there was no credible story, no credible motive and was just a total mess.

At first I thought it was quite bad but I persisted. Then I perked up as I thought it had some potential. Then it dragged on for a bit (but I did get a jump scare in). Then it ended.

You can gloss over the inconsistencies about the British police, and I guess most of his victims were never going to be reported missing, but a social worker/psychologist going missing? Someone would have reported it.

Maybe it should have been a mini series, so the time jumps made a bit more sense and a few of the characters were fleshed out a bit more. I'd have liked to have seen more of Horrid Hugh. Then again, maybe we were saved a few hours.

Overall it was just a bit disappointing. I still watched it though, so I was entertained which is the point!

The ratings for this movie are very interesting, I don't understand the review bombing on here declaring the movie unwatchable. This is probably one of Netflix's strongest releases since they declared they would release a new movie each Friday. Every movie Netflix has released in the past year has been absolute garbage. This movie was very well made, the ending could have been a bit better, and I didn't like the killing of certain characters because I thought they were great! But this movie was solid, definitely rewatchable. I loved it!

If you have seen The Blue Ruin, Green Room, and enjoyed them, then you will most likely enjoy this movie because the leads are not unstoppable, invincible "know it all's", they know just enough to get to the point where they realize something is wrong but, in the end, they are all just human.

Perfectly watchable Netflix time waster.

But.

There's a really odd bit of spectacularly lazy writing at one point.

Following the disappearance of a character's son (the son is 23), when questioned by the police about the whereabouts of his father, the mother (played by Kelly MacDonald, who is in her 40's), responds "oh he died years ago, he was old."

So he just died of natural causes then did he? More details please!

Because all I've got to work with here, with the information given, is the deeply unpleasant mental image of a teenage MacDonald doing the business with a man in his 70's or 80's! Perhaps this odd couple deserved a film of their own, surely this unlikely March to December romance was deserving a bit more scrutiny?!

Or maybe the writer was having a bit of a lazy day. "Got to figure out what happened the lad's dad. Hmm. Oh, I dunno. I'll just say he was old. That'll do."

Brilliant.

"He was old".

This show is a bit of a mess really. It's a story without a clear protagonist.

To begin with it follows a really unlikeable 23 year old graffiti artist called Toby who's tag is 'I Came By'.

He acts like a disaffected teenager, vandalising rich peoples houses to some how get back at the system. He lives with his Social Worker mother who he's angry with because she won't yet give him the inheritance his father left him. Toby is an unsympathetic character who needs to grow up (and lose the annoying London/Jamaican Ali G accent while he's doing it).

After Toby breaks into a serial killer's house he's murdered, and his ashes are flushed down the toilet. At this point I was firmly on the side of the killer.

His mother picks up the role of protagonist, and begins following the serial killer (who happens to be an influential ex-judge.) Then she's killed and probably follows Toby down the toilet.

In the last 20 minutes Toby's best mate breaks into the serial killer's house and knocks the guy out, leaving him gaffa-taped for the police to arrest. He leaves the tag 'I Came By' on the wall. The arresting officer looks down at the killer smugly, but she's going to have a hard time getting a conviction because all the victims have long ago been flushed away!

There are references to immigrants and their distrust of the police, and a couple of characters who don't want to let down their hard working asian parents. Very cliched. Their connection to the story is tenuous... and seems to be trying to convey themes of how difficult it is to be a person of colour in modern Britain.

Great photography, but the story is pretty incoherent.

So from the first impressions of this film and the trailer that I saw on Netflix it looked like it was going to be a really good film. The storyline was obvious before I even watched it; some rich influential judge has a sick, sadistic side hobby and someone rumbles him for it. It wasn't really that difficult to work out what the story was going to be.

First of all I will say that I thought Hugh Bonneville did a great job playing the sadistic Judge Hector Blake in the film. I've only ever seen him play nice roles and Paddington Bear so it was really interesting watching somebody that is so loved, play such a vile character. He did it really well and with conviction and there were times I genuinely found him to be quite creepy.

Watching the trailer, looking at the promotional materials and also the synopsis from Netflix themselves, it seemed clear to me that Toby was the protagonist in this. A rather unlikable stereotype that seems hellbent on breaking into rich peoples homes, tagging them with "I came by" to show a rise up against the system. When his friend Jameel decides to wash his hands of their ventures due to his partner expecting their first child, Toby continues to carry on and targets an affluent judge who he feels is harbouring some sinister secrets. He wasn't the most likable character, a very hammed up character with an over-the-top accent and attitude, general disregard and ignorance towards his mother and judgement against his friend Jameel for wanting to change his life led him to be quite unlikable.

He continues to carry on and targets Hector Blake's house. However when he breaks in he discovers more than he bargains for and reports him to the police but nothing is sorted or actioned. Hector is very prominent in his line of work and has the police superintendent in his back pocket; making him untouchable. So Toby being a hero, instead of telling anyone else what is happening, decides to go back and rescue somebody that he found hidden in Hectors basement. Just as he's about to become a hero he makes a stupid mistake which lands him at the mercy of Hector and we are left not knowing his fate.

All of a sudden the protagonist switches and it appears that Toby's mum Lizzie takes up the mantle of hero. Again Kelly McDonald does a fantastic job in her role, you can really feel her sadness working as a social worker and helping so many others but yet unable to build a bond or find peace with Toby. You also feel her frustrations she talks deeper into the mystery and finds that there is no help or support for her and nobody is listening. She makes some good headway as the main character and starts to unravel the mystery. She witnesses another young boy into hectors house and then sees him escaping out of the window drugged and takes him back home. It's at this point we understand a little more about Hector and why he targets such a specific demographic. However again nothing happens, the boy doesn't wanna press charges because he is an asylum seeker and nothing is done about it and at this point Lizzie becomes frustrated and completely let down by the police. Hector is aware that he is being watched and leaves breadcrumbs and temptations for Lizzie which she finds all too tempting and after the person she helps escape goes missing, she decides to take matters into her own hands and break into Hectors house. She finds secret USB drive hidden in her sons room which once she breaks into it, reveals all of the evidence of Toby and Jameel being behind the "I came by" movement. She goes to Jameel and asks him for help trying to uncover Hectors wrong doings but Jameel wants no part of it, fearing that becausehe has previous and is black, he will be unfairly treated by the justice system and be locked up away from his newborn son.

Lizzie Decides to tackle it herself and breaks into hectors house but he is aware of this having left breadcrumbs and physically showing very hide the keys and is waiting for her. This was disappointing because she built such a good character, you really got behind her but such a stupid mistake to make and once again she's left at the mercy of Hector and his sadistic tendencies. When she asks about her son, it's revealed that he has been killed cremated and his ashes flushed which disappointed me. I figured the storyline was going to be the mother somehow rescuing her son but to find out that the son was dispatched months prior even though he had been penned as the protagonist in all promotion materials I've read, it felt like a bit of a rubbish end for his character. By this point in the film I then lost interest because that's now two protagonists that have just dropped out of the film and most films tend to have a lead character that you're following and can empathise with.

Personally for me I would've found the film more engaging if Toby had been in the film longer and was trying desperately to work towards uncovering Hector's lies and also developing as a character as well. Toby comes across as very selfish, self-absorbed and ignorant so it would've been really good to see his story arc a little more and his character develop. Even if his mother took up the mantle of protagonist to save him before he was killed or brought his murderer to justice would've been better other than her meeting a very quick and unsatisfying end too.

At this point it's time for Jameel to take up the mantle of protagonist. Having completely walked away from everything going on at the beginning of the film due to wanting to create a better life for his son, he's had nothing to do with anything going on and his only link is knowing Toby and the fact that he highlighted the property right at the beginning when he was working near the property. All too late, Jameel realises not only has he let his friend down but also his friends Mum down; both who have taken him in as family when he's needed it so at the last minute he decides to go on a vigilante crusade and ultimately is the one to bring Hector to justice, delivering into the hands of the police, saving the newest victim who has yet to be dispatched and tagging the property with "I came by". At this point I kind of felt disappointed because two protagonists had already died, there was no real justice for them, and their deaths could've been prevented by simple communication

There were some solid performances on this, I think the storyline was good but the fact that there wasn't a protagonist that you could stick with, it made it very difficult for me to actually get into the film. I presumed the protagonist would be Toby and when he went missing, his mother took up the mantle and held it for nearly half the film only to meet a rather unsatisfying and quick end. Jameel did not have enough screen time for me to really resonate with him as a character so him sweeping in and saving the day too late to save his friends and family just felt like a bit of a rubbish ending.

Overall good film ideas, good performances but ultimately poor story arcs.

Absolutely garbage. Movie will insult your intelligence. The characters make completely irrational decisions, for example the masseuse gets drugged by the judge, goes to jail, gets out, sees the judge on the street, and willingly gets back into the judge's car based on some immigration threat. Let me get this straight, this guy JUST got DRUGGED and NARROWLY escaped god knows what from this guy he doesnt even know and willingly gets back into that same persons car a short while later? Terrible garbage.

I mean cmon, the mother goes in and doesn't even have a weapon after suspecting, no not even suspecting, KNOWING that the judge is a potential killer. I mean how stupid does the director think the audience is ??