Double Date | Film review - Shudder and squirm along with horror comedy

(Image credit: Playtime Group (Film Constellati)

Dennis Wheatley meets Mike Leigh.

Ginger-haired, socially awkward and still a virgin, the hapless Jim (Danny Morgan) and his laddish best mate Alex (Michael Socha) hook up with alluring sisters Kitty (Kelly Wenham) and Lulu (Georgia Groome) while out clubbing on the eve of his 30th birthday. It seems his luck’s finally in when they get invited to the girls’ grand country home. But their hosts turn out to have an occult secret agenda...

Written by Morgan and directed by feature first-timer Benjamin Barfoot, British horror comedy Double Date comes across as Dennis Wheatley meets Mike Leigh. The mix of laughs and scares don’t always come off, but there’s much to enjoy here all the same. Some suitably Satanic-sounding music from Swedish psychedelic rock band Goat adds a delightfully chilly frisson, while a bloody, bruising fight scene upends expectations and conventions.

Certificate 15. Runtime 89 mins. Director Benjamin Barfoot

Double Date premieres on Sky Cinema Premiere on 5 April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK_F22qrs-M

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.