Feature Film Review: “Casting Kill”
Dir: James Smith
UK • Thriller • 75 Mins
Arthur Capstone is an identity fraudster posing as a casting director scouting for fresh talent in the UK for a new Hollywood blockbuster he’s alleging to be involved in. He preys on vulnerable actors desperate to land their big break. But instead of winning a life-changing role in a movie, the ambitious actors he auditions fall victim to his scam, losing their money, identity and in some unfortunate cases, their lives. But when two young and broke but rather tenacious actors catch wind of Capstone’s more sinister side, they set out to get to the bottom of his true intentions and end up revealing a much more terrifying truth.
Inspired by the far less glamorous side of the movie industry, filmmaking duo, Director/Cinematographer James Smith and Writer/Producer Caroline Spence, have not only tapped into every actor’s worst fear with this Hitchcockian thriller but have created a film that will also send an icy chill down the spine of anyone in a freelance profession who regularly finds themselves in strange situations like these, tendering or pitching for dubious jobs from dodgy and shady characters.
While at its heart Casting Kill is a dramatic thriller, there’s also a comedic lightheartedness to the film and at times echoes classics like Barton Fink, tapping into the Coen’s satirical dry sense of humour as well as evoking their rebellious relationship with the Hollywood machine. Writer Caroline Spence, building on an intriguing concept, has fused clever dialogue with some fun, tense & bizarre moments brilliantly and has filled out this world beautifully with a wild array of colourful characters.
The wonderfully deranged Arthur Capstone played superbly by Rob Laird is one of the film’s highlights, not only in terms of performance but also in character creation and provides much of the film’s dark comedic moments. Writer Spence has conjured up a thoroughly unpleasant & highly memorable character in Capstone and Laird, prepared to make some brave choices, is clearly having a blast playing the unnerving casting director, relishing the opportunity to ham it up to 11.
Rob Laird’s larger-than-life performance might initially stand at odds with the other performances, but makes perfect sense when considering Capstone as a metaphor for the movie industry as a whole, and not just in relation to starry-eyed actors looking for their big break but literally anyone trying to get their foot in the door and climb the ladder of the industry. If you can get away with your pockets just a little lighter and your dignity intact, you’ve done well, because this industry will do its absolute best to humiliate, dehumanise and kill you. With Casting Kill, Smith and Spence, with help from Laird, have encapsulated this perfectly.
Rachel Chima and Jack Forsyth-Noble as aspiring and (for a change in a movie of this ilk) likeable actors turned would-be-sleuths Ruby and Domenic deliver some fantastic, grounded performances adding some sanity and balance to proceedings as their determination to secure a role turns into determination to unravel the mystery behind the bizarre casting director and the alleged Hollywood production he’s supposedly working on. There are also some fun supporting turns from Andrew Elias and Ian Renshaw to name a few, providing more of the film’s highlights and surprises.
Director James Smith, also acting as the film’s cinematographer, has a good eye for what makes a great shot. There’s nothing bland or paint-by-numbers about the camerawork, which is made all the more impressive by the 6-day shooting schedule of the film. Nothing on screen appears simple in its execution. No cameras plonked for coverage. The lighting too is superb, and really sets the tone of the piece. The sound, another factor that would inevitably suffer or be a telltale sign of a low-budget 1-week shoot, is also remarkably flawless.
For the most part, this is a single-location film. Conceptually, that works well for the intense, shady, thriller aspect of the film and reinforces the idea that there’s not much more to Arthur Capstone, having no actual connections and isn’t a major player out in the wider world.
The key location, Capstone’s basement studio in a gentrified area of London, is well chosen. It fills out that boujee aesthetic to support the Hollywood highflier he’s purporting to be, but on a psychological level, there’s an added sense of dread as the hopeful (and hopeless) auditionees, lured by the desire to star in a Hollywood picture, descend the cold metal staircase into Capstone’s underground lair to endure the fate that awaits them.
At just 75 minutes Casting Kill certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome and thunders along at a rapid pace, never giving you a second to get bored or allow your attention to drift. Although there would have been room to fill out the world and its characters a bit, this is a well-structured and finely-tuned film, and it’s no bad thing to leave the audience wanting more.
Director James Smith has masterfully pulled together a superb, fresh, intense and highly entertaining feature with minimal crew and on an insanely tight shooting schedule, leaving no clues that he was ever under such constraints.
Casting Kill is a slick and original thriller packed with memorable characters, great dialogue, interesting camera work and wild edge-of-the-seat moments.
8/10
Casting kill is premiering at Horror-On-Sea on 15th January 2023. Find out more information about the screening here.
Reviewed by Philip Pugh
