Axed - DVD

Film: Kurt Wendell (Jonathan Hansler) is mighty clean. He's just fallen victim to his company's budget cuts. He doesn't let on to his wife Steph (Andrea Gordon) and children Megan (Nicola Posener) and Jay (Christopher Rithen) that he's lost his job. Rather, he plays the good-humored head of the family, whisking his loved ones away for an impromptu trip to the countryside. School and job can wait, because there's nothing like a day with the family in a rural idyll. But no sooner have the Wendells arrived at the small, secluded country house that Kurt presents to them as a surprise domicile than the lively excursion turns into a bloody nightmare. For Kurt has a score to settle - and it doesn't just involve his ex-boss Zack (Henry Douthwaite) tied up in a room in the house...

Axed begins like a very cynical, low-budget horror feature on the financial crisis, peppered with black humour. However, the film then loses this bitterly nasty, somewhat socially critical undertone and turns into a bloody, quite brutal family drama that can boast some very effective moments, but at times gets lost in a somewhat chaotic, too hysterical and confused production. There's no question that Jonathan Hansler is wonderfully insane as the fired and cuckolded head of the family, and the rural wasteland of the British county of Cumbria, where much of the film is set, also possesses an enjoyable menace.

However, director Ryan Lee Driscoll unfortunately fails to build on the existing qualities of his production in such a way that even the weaker aspects could benefit from it. Driscoll's ambitions are visible and well realized in the thriller-drama's best moments. And in the second half, the film also has a few decent shock effects to offer, which can definitely increase the entertainment value for genre fans. But unfortunately, the dialogues often remain too inconsequential, the acting of most of the actors a bit overdone and the dramaturgy too predictable to do justice to the promising initial situation.

For those who appreciate small, nasty low budget horror and don't approach the film with too high expectations, the positive aspects of Axed might be strong enough to drown the weaknesses in plenty of movie blood. And in that case the film gets a: worth seeing!

Image + Sound: Axed is not an expensive Hollywood production, but a small independent film from the UK. As such, not too much should be expected of the audiovisuals. There are discernible weaknesses in both areas, but for a small production like this, both the clean, largely sharp picture with its reduced colour scheme and the sound with its few, but well-executed sound effects and the well intelligible mixed dialogue can convince.

Extras: There is a small point deduction here, as the audio menu offers an audio commentary by the director, but this is ultimately not to be found on the DVD. In the bonus menu, on the other hand, there is a making of worth watching (approx. 29 min.) and 5 minutes of cut scenes, which can optionally be viewed with a commentary by the director. Unfortunately, there are no optional subtitles available for these good extras. The trailer for the film and other programming tips from the provider round out the decent additional offerings.

Conclusion: Axed is a low budget British horror with potential. The whole thing could have been a very bitingly nasty commentary on the financial crisis. But unfortunately, in the second half, this dark humour-infused premise turns too much into a bloody family drama that comes across as a bit muddled and too strained in places. Nevertheless: despite its weaknesses in staging, dramaturgy and performances, the film holds some intense moments, which, together with the good initial idea of the story, still make it worth seeing in the end

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp