Ben Wheatley’s directorial debut, (2009), is a masterclass in low-budget, claustrophobic filmmaking that subverts the traditional British gangster genre by dragging it into the kitchen sink. Shot in just eight days in the home of co-writer Robin Hill’s parents, the film trades sprawling underworld empires for a cramped suburban house in Brighton, where the most dangerous weapon is often a poisoned cup of tea. Domesticity Meets Depravity
: Maggie (Julia Deakin) is the matriarch who brews tea and suggests garden burials with the same chilling level of calm. Down Terrace
The story centers on Bill (Robert Hill) and his son Karl (Robin Hill), who return home after a prison stint convinced there is a "rat" in their midst. Unlike the slick, stylized criminals of Guy Ritchie films, these men are mundane and petty: Ben Wheatley’s directorial debut, (2009), is a masterclass