A bonfire night house viewing becomes deadly when Jack (Andrew Lee Potts) and Lena (Eloise Lovell Anderson) are not prospective buyers but hardened criminals. They take the estate agent, Matilda (Katie Sheridan), hostage as they search the place for a safe containing something of value to them. Using the fireworks exploding all around as cover, they have to demolish a wall to get to what they want. However, things don’t go as smoothly as they planned.
Andrew Lee Potts’ feature directorial debut is a tense and gripping crime thriller. He doesn’t try to make it as flashy as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (a comparison to which is unavoidable given the appearance of Jason Flemyng and Nick Moran). However, he manages to make a despicable bad guy likeable and adds elements of humour that don’t overpower the drama. Fans of Potts will recognise his wry style, but ultimately, his character is a nasty piece of work, and he definitely doesn’t hold back. Likewise, Anderson and Sheridan are fantastic in their respective roles. The former excels at projecting a hard-as-nails demeanour, while the latter has a resilient, if vulnerable, composure when put in a terrifying predicament. The chemistry between the trio brings extra tension to the situation. Predominantly set within the one house, Potts utilises as much of the location as possible and creates a palpable nervous energy in scenes where the villains might get caught, with some shots straight from the Hitchcock playbook (and that’s a good thing!).
Potts has been cutting his directing teeth on shorts for many years, particularly with Kindred and the superb web series Wireless, and this venture into feature-length filmmaking shows he has the eye for crafting engaging, fresh movies and appears to be as comfortable behind the camera as he is in front.
FIRECRACKER is available in select cinemas and on demand in the US and can be rented or bought on digital platforms in the UK.
