There’s a common expression that you should suffer for your art. That’s the crux of Mat Menony’s debut feature that mixes a whodunit scenario with pseudo-avant-garde theories.
Melissa (Chelsea Edge) is being interrogated by a pair of police detectives (David Bamber and an underused Julie Graham) about the murder of an art critic (Ronald Pickup) at a gallery show. As Melissa tells her side of the story, more murders come to light, and things become even freakier.
Its set-up might mirror The Usual Suspects, but that’s where any comparisons end (particularly when it comes to quality). The setting of Borley (the students stay at ‘The Old Rectory’, but the real-world legend isn’t touched upon, although there may be a spectral presence of a former artist) is a nice touch, but the fact that all the students are so annoying makes us wish they’d get bumped off sooner. There’s a very Saw-esque BDSM torture chair built by one budding ‘artist’ that wouldn’t pass health and safety in any gallery, but the creator is surprised when there’s a casualty when someone sits in it, particularly with its ‘see no evil’ theme! Sadly, End of Term doesn’t delve deep enough into many of the characters’ artist theories beyond being lightly sketched. It’s perhaps a little too pedestrian for the casual horror fan, too.
There are some famous faces amongst the youngsters (as well as the already named stars, there’s a bored-looking Peter Davison, clearly just picking up a paycheck), and this raises the profile of the picture and arguably is the reason it’s getting a general release when better indie films are struggling to be seen.
END OF TERM is out now on digital platforms.
