Tower Block

source: Tower Block

The first thing you should know about Tower Block is that it doesn't have much of a budget. And it shows. However, for all its financial shortcomings, it does its best to lift itself above the rest. The residents of the top floor of a high rise tower block - soon to be demolished - are targeted by a sniper who won't let them leave (alive, anyway). What follows is an hour and a half of a siege movie where they desperately try and find ways out. When I read the blurb about the film, I wondered how they could stretch that out for the full ninety minutes. I was pleasantly surprised when they did. It's no classic, but enough of the characters are fun, stupid, or evil enough to take pleasure in watching and the typical 'stupid decisions' they normally make in these sorts of films are kept to a minimum. My advice: suspend your disbelief and just give it a go if you like the sound of it. You could do worse (I found the only major plot point I found hard to stomach was how one sniper could effectively shoot everyone in 0.1 seconds as soon as he saw them at any window - seriously, he must be the best marksman in the world!).

I will admit that I found the movie quite enjoyable; however, it's set in a country with some of the harshest gun control laws in the developed world, and the sniper is picking them off with unbelievable accuracy using a suppressed H&K Semi Automatic long range rifle. It's hardly aneurysm inducing surprise when the identity of the killer is revealed…. I'm surprised Christopher fulford didn't get a larger role, given that he's a relatively big actor for a budget movie. As I said, though, the movie was good fun and the emotions and tensions between the characters were presented really well. I thought the old guy gets over his wife's death a little too quickly, though it's not ruining the movie with that. The choice of character for the killer, whilst obvious given the setting and modus operandi, was a refreshing change from the usual angry parent or rival drug gang killers that make up most British horror/thriller movies. Steven Cree is a little typecast in his role. Though, again, it's a great movie to enjoy, with a welcome plot twist, when you can't get to sleep at 4am with your headphones in.

Several months after witnessing a murder, residents of Tower Block 31 find themselves being picked off by a sniper, pitting those lucky enough to be alive into a battle for survival. Leading the way is Sheridan Smith, who I was not previously familiar with, despite her distinguished list of credits. She comes across as a strong actress and should be praised for that. Unfortunately, she is also a very, very hideous monster of a woman, and will thus probably not be seen in many American films. The British are less superficial about who they cast (as this film shows -- not one person was more attractive than average, giving it a more realistic feel). The idea that a sniper is taking out people in an apartment complex is pretty cool and makes for a good thriller. Sometimes I found it a bit hard to believe... one guy has to watch an entire building and is still able to pick people off within a second of their going near a window (with almost every shot being fatal). Does the killer never sleep or take bathroom breaks? How is he able to have his sights on twenty windows at once? Bonus points for including a Wilhelm Scream in the film, even if it seemed completely out of place. At least there was one momentary break of humor in this otherwise dark picture.

Remaining tenants in a building set for demolition all hate each other, and a thug collects protection money from them. Why these tenants weren't properly moved out of the building weeks earlier wasn't made clear. Suddenly a sniper starts shooting them, and they all in a split second drop their differences to help each other survive? Whatever the script was trying to do make this plausible didn't work, so I turned it off 20 minutes into the movie when this miraculous change happened.

Derivative and largely formulaic thriller, but nevertheless one that remains suspenseful and compelling throughout the entire running time thanks to the raw & gritty atmosphere and a handful of extremely brutal shock-moments. Reminiscent to the other recent British flick "Attack the Block" in terms of tone & social setting, "Tower Block" takes place in a pauperized and crime-infested big city suburb where people abandoned all hope for prosperity long time ago already and desperately avoid every type of contact with fellow human beings. The film entirely takes place in a large apartment complex that is scheduled for destruction and only the residents of the top floor still live there. One Saturday morning, they are rudely awakened by a relentless psycho killer with a sniper rifle. He – or she – fires at everything that moves and placed booby-traps across the building. There's a obvious link with an unsolved murder committed in the block a few months earlier and now the asocial tenants are forced to rely on each other for survival. The biggest trumps for a film such as "Tower Block" are surprise and unpredictability. All the residents are equally insignificant, meaning that literally anyone of them could be next. And they could be next at any random and possible moment, too. Writers/directors duo James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson aptly play with these trumps, as the characters definitely don't die in the order you'd expect. Sniper murders can perhaps get a bit monotonous after a while, but there's enough diversity in killing methods and circumstances. Obviously there's quite a large number of holes and irrationality in the plot and the climax (as in: revelation of the sniper's identity) is weak and disappointing. The acting performances vary between adequate and amateurish, with good roles for tough blond gal Sheridan Smith and "Alien³" veteran Ralph Brown. In case you want to seek out more "serial sniper-killer" movies after this, I warmly recommended the almighty "Dirty Harry" but also the more obscure "Two-Minute Warning", "Targets" and "The Deadly Tower"

When I saw the trailer for Tower Block it looked rough and brutal. Sadly it never became brutal but still it's an excellent flick. Everyone knows those tower blocks were you never wants to resident. This is one of them. When there is screaming in the streets below you turn on your television or close your doors, got nothing to do with you. Exactly what is going on here. We see someone running from some hoodies toward Tower Block 31. After being killed no-one wants to be involved although Becky (Sheridan Smith) witnessed the beating and has been hit also by the hoodies. The police isn't wanted in such areas. Life goes on until the tower block is under the eye of a sniper and is killing everyone. It's the first attempt of UK co-directors James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson and they succeeded in their mission. Not only you wanted to know what is going on and who's the sniper it's also the acting of Sheridan and Jack O'Connell (Kurtis) that takes this flick to a higher level. It has an overall brutal look but you hear bullets fly and hit but it's almost never shown. The first hit is the goriest one and you just can't see it coming. Enjoyable flick were scum needs each other to survive and where they also become friends to survive. Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

I can't quite remember when I last scratched my head in wonder at the perverse rating given to mindless dross, probably yesterday. I must commend the young writers who won the under 12 award though for the production of this film, and even though I am comparing it to regular adult fare, I feel it is not too unfair as this is the competition it faces. So if you want to watch inner city scumbag stereotypes innit being overacted by the usual bunch, including the jug eared squealing wolfman himself (who had a hilarious end, squeaking all the way)in an appalling deep depression guaranteeing, bleak dark, yet still supremely dull script - watch this shite. Oh and like yous like sister is like a munter skank yous tosser. My dogs better than your dogs innit! I is gonna murderalize you . Well done the under 12s.

This is a fantastic movie and even more so given it's a low budget indie entirely filmed in one small location! I have great admiration for a team that can put together something with the quality of this movie particularly with those obstacles. The direction is top notch, building suspense throughout, delivering unpredictable shocks & events and developing some lovely relationships between the people trapped in the building. The cinematography and music score are spot on lending a hand to the overall gritty industrial mood of the environment and sense of impending doom & hopelessness. But it's not at all a depressing movie. It's actually quite uplifting. I loved the characters and their believable and interesting interactions. There was some top notch acting from several people and the character of one in particular was so well acted & developed I wanted to see more of him!! Several other characters were also very likable and engaging while others were infuriating but you still didn't want them to get hurt. It's a fine movie indeed that makes you care so much for the people they've invented that you feel sad when the movie ends and they've gone. Yeah the plot had some holes here and there but they are not that significant in the context of how incredibly well this movie is put together. Most of the time it hung together well, people behaved as anyone would in the situation and it was mostly unpredictable. Special marks for having a strong female character, for not pulling punches about who "bites the bullet" and who doesn't and for the interesting side story of the alcoholic lad. And of course for the thoroughly fascinating stand-over guy. (I'll be looking for more movies with that young actor in them!!) The "reveal" and final scene could possibly have been handled better, but I've seen a lot worse and I was happy enough with it. In any case, the journey to get there was so engrossing and enjoyable it really didn't matter. The only truly (wholly) negative reviews I've read about this movie have focused on very trivial details (nit picking) &/or a couple of plot holes to proclaim this pretty much the worst movie in the history of the Universe. This seems a little petty & extreme to say the least. It's most certainly NOT the worst movie, nor is it the best but it's definitely one of the better ones, regardless of any flaws it may have. I say, you show me a movie totally without flaws and I'll find at least one anyway! :) I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and recommend it unreservedly for people who enjoy good drama, thriller, suspense, action movies etc and for those who like to see how a movie can be brilliant without the need for a huge budget and fancy effects.

Tower Block is a good low budget British thriller film starring Sheridan Smith and upcoming star Jack O'Connell. "Several months after witnessing a murder, residents of Tower Block 31 find themselves being picked off by a sniper" - As you can probably tell by this description, the film is shot entirely in one place. It is all mostly set in the top floor of a tower block, where around 10 residents are trying to escape after a mysterious sniper takes down members of their families. The surviving members all go out on to the hallway and the film really starts from here as they try to plan their escape. The film managed to keep my attention the whole way through. The cast mostly gave good performances and as the film went on, characters seemed to suffer more brutal exits. All in all its a little predictable but still a good thriller film to pass the time (only 85 minutes). Don't open the curtains 7/10.