VOD film review: Double Date
Review Overview
Horror
7Bloody romance
7Originality
6Rating
Mike Williams | On 16, Sep 2019
Director: Benjamin Barfoot
Cast: Danny Morgan, Michael Socha, Georgia Groome
Certificate: 15
Watch Double Date online in the UK: Amazon Prime / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store
You may not immediately deem a horror flick about two murderous sisters “enjoyable”, but that’s exactly what Benjamin Barfoot’s Double Date is. It’s enjoyable – and quaint, too, because what starts off as something akin to a slasher movie quickly morphs into a quintessentially British film about two sisters. They are Kitty (Kelly Wenham) and Lulu (Georgia Groome), and they are going round collecting sexually naive men as part of a sacrificial offering to resurrect their dear dad.
This slick, low-budget effort sure has taken its sweet time to get a home release, and it‘s worth the wait. Double Date is a cutesy film not about serial murderers or depraved human beings, per se, but about loneliness, belonging, and meeting that special someone. These themes shape the story but they aren’t visible during its opening, where our seemingly horrendous siblings slay a couple of men they’ve brought home on a double date.
When the pair are in need of a male virgin to complete their sadistic dalliance with the undead, we’re introduced to possibly the most awkward man in existence: Jim, played by the film’s writer, Danny Morgan. He’s both hapless and ginger (something of a double whammy of perceived loser traits, according to the screenplay), and his best mate and professional loudmouth, Alex (Michael Socha), tries a little too hard to help him pop his cherry.
While admittedly there’s plenty of bloody violence to sink one’s teeth into here, that’s not the main focus of this horror-cum-romance, which crams in a poignant love story where lost and lonely souls meet. It’s all very character driven, which is pleasing and refreshing. Both sisters and their mates are complete opposites of one another, adding another dynamic to the situation: Kitty’s assertive, in charge, and mildly psychotic, in contrast to Lulu’s more gentle, childlike subservience. Like Lulu, Jim is pushed about by the brash overconfidence of bessie Alex.
The drama and romance develop during the film’s second and third acts, building to a climax akin to one you’d associate with a scary flick but one that also reminds us about the very human nature of the journey our protagonists have been on.
Morgan, who wrote the script, delivers a mostly solid, free-flowing story centered around his bumbling man-child and his desperation to find a new girlfriend, or, more poignantly, “The One”. The script’s a competent if not somewhat seen-before setup, with a fairly basic narrative clearly plot-pointed from start to finish. From its awkwardly hilarious dialogue and witty quips to its more tender exchanges, however, Double Date offers genre fans something a little sweeter than an onslaught of guts and gore. Oh, and there’s a delightful cameo from Dexter Fletcher, too.
Double Date is available to watch online on Amazon Prime Video as part of a Prime membership or a £5.99 monthly subscription.