4 out of 5

Directed by: Ben Wheatley

Man, dark as pitch.  Working from what seems like an actual mostly scripted script for the first time, Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers is a fun progression from his previous two works, also combining some of the genre elements from each film.  What’s most rewarding, though, is how, without synopsis, Sightseers can really catch you off guard, and if you’re in sync with its dark humor, hilariously so.  For this reason, I shan’t share anything about the film proper – if you’re a spoil-it-for-me type, you can get your kicks elsewhere – as, like Kill List (and Down Terrace, though I wasn’t a big fan of that one), it’s best to go in cold and let Wheatley set the tone, which is what he’s proven to be masterful at.

Homely Tina (Alica Lowe – also co-writer) and chumly Chris (Steve Oram – co-writer #2) are escaping the dregs of daily life to go on holiday in a caravan, making a tour of several notable locations.  The Wes Anderson title sequence and cringe-comedy opening suggest we’re in for some indie fare, and it’s moderately amusing as Ben and the duo play around with this for a little while, ekeing some ridiculousness out of Tina’s overbearing mother and the embarrassing innocence the couple seems to have.  But we soon shift out of this territory when the couple is well on the road, and even if there _weren’t_ some surprises in store, Lowe and Oram’s child-like interactions (her awe at the simplest things, in particular) are worthy of our time.  For the betterment of the film, though – escalating above a travel comedy – there are more things to come, and that they’re presented with the typical Wheatley drollness makes them all the more hilarious… and dark.

This misleadingly bright color contrasts of the poster aren’t indicative of Wheatley’s camera-eye, though his visuals are, as usual, on point with his mood, dripping with rain and earthiness and crumbling locales.  Along with this accomplishment, though, comes some of the other Wheatley tropes: some subplot smash cuts (which are fun in retrospective analysis but occasionally distracting in-film) and the muted, semi-improvised conversations.  Thankfully the latter are kept very much in check by a script, but every now and then things slow down and you’re anxious that it might not get back to where it was going.

But it does.  Darkly, and delightfully.