Dead Cert Review

• 12th Oct 2010

Hammer films have finally returned to the fore of British horror and not to be outdone, the new gangster film Dead Cert injects its narrative with a healthy dose of vampire mania.

Starring a whole host of British east-end faces Dead Cert sets itself up as a Lock Stock wannabe with faces such as Dexter Fletcher and Jason Flemyng to give that Guy Ritchie flavour. But just as you sit back expecting Vinnie Jones to turn up any second what you actually get is a fleet of Romanian cockney gangster/vampires.

The second half of the film descends into From Dusk Till Dawn, London style as the cockney boys formulate a plan, via the Van Helsing slaying smarts of Steven Berkoff. Crosses get buried in heads and much carnage follows as both sides reach the final face off.

It’s hard not to partly appreciate a Britsh film that truly wants to make a impact in the world of B-movie mania. Sadly, it does not succeed in its aims largely due to a mediocre script, terrible accents and on the whole a lack on any kind of financial backing. The makers are not lacking in terms of ambition but this is not attached by their vampire know how.

Ultimately, the film comes off as a simple cash-in on the current vampire over kill that we as viewers are having to endure. They would have been better served going for a far more brutal approach, at least making it a must for gore hounds if nothing else. By not pushing either end of the narrative to the necessary extreme to make a splash, both end up falling short of the mark.

Aled Jones