We’re all very used to the genre that doesn’t quite have a name; a nice couple/family trapped with one to four oddballs in a claustrophobic but usually well‑to‑do environment as we watch and wait for madness and violence to ensue. It’s a tried and tested horror/thriller format but one thing has never been asked about this genre before – what if one of the oddballs was trying to sell a patented crumb catcher?

The central conceit, trailer and best bits of this film revolve around masterfully played semi‑comical weirdo John (John Speredakos) as, through a combination of politeness, blackmail and fear of violence, he compels newly‑weds Leah and Shane (Ella Rae Peck and Rigo Garay) to listen to his sales pitch. This is a lot of fun and played for darkly squeamish laughs, but sadly the tone of the whole doesn’t match Speredakos’ manic and impulsive energy. Labouring too long over establishing the deeply unsympathetic leads (and telling us in exhaustive detail exactly why we should find them so unsympathetic) neither antagonist John nor his partner in crime Rose offer us anyone else to root for so, as chaos unfolds, it is difficult to really care. Equally, flashes of sharp and taut direction are followed by long moments of nothing very much, leading to a rollercoaster ride where every jump can be seen coming, and every stomach lurch is followed by enough recovery time to forget all about it.

Too much of what we learn in this film matters too little to the thrill ride action, and the action itself is too lacking in pace and surprises to overlook how little we care about the outcome. Even the four central actors really giving it their all (besides the compelling Speredakos, Peck and Garay are on particularly top form here) sadly fails to sell the pitch for this shiny, pretty, lovingly made product with no real purpose behind it.

THE CRUMB CATCHER is out now on VOD in the US, and coming soon to the UK.