Dir. Sean Wilkie (2024)
A group of friends and the stranded motorist they pick up find themselves stranded at a cabin with a bloody history.
"Cabin in the woods" horror films are inseparable from the genre as a whole, to the extent to which there was a rather famous blockbuster film with a similar title (you know the one). Writer/director Sean Wilkie's new film The Bench, which he started making way back in 2008 and was just able to finish for release this year, attempts to blend this genre staple with backwoods classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre into a Scottish slasher flick with a gritty feel.
A group of recent college graduates (kinda) have gathered to go camping in the Scottish woods. They run across a young woman who is stranded with car troubles, giving her a ride to a cabin in the woods that she has recently inherited after the death of her parents. As they party the night away, it begins to become clear that there is a malevolent presence in the woods that only wants to kill, and the group must fight for survival in completely unfamiliar territory.
The Bench hardly measures up to its inspiration, but you can hardly fault it for not being as good as one of the best horror movies ever made. While you can certainly see the influence of Hooper's masterpiece, there's a lot more than that here. Tons of slasher references appear throughout, from the first-person killer POV that was initially popularized by Halloween to the comedic elements of films like Friday the 13th, The Bench is a love letter to the slasher genre with a lot more Scottish brogue than normal. There's even a bit of The Hills Have Eyes feel in some scenes, yet another classic horror film that has left its mark on the long-awaited indie flick.
There's lots of meat and blood, and at times The Bench is pretty unflinchingly brutal. This serves as another difference between this film and Hooper's, but it also helps to modernize the film and place it more firmly into the modern generation of slasher films. The filmmakers wisely keep a lot of the more gory elements off-screen, showing after effects much more often than actual slice-and-dice scenes of bloodshed. The effects are pretty good, surprisingly so for what's obviously a low budget indie effort, and there's more than enough for slasher fans to enjoy.
The acting is also very effective. As a consequence of the film being released so long after initial filming, a lot of the actors have gone on to other, larger projects since: Matt McClure, who plays Aiden in the film, was in an episode of Penny Dreadful, and Joy McAvoy, who plays a bit part in the film, was in Filth. All of the actors do a fine job in their roles, however, and they're definitely a bright spot in the film. They're convincingly scared, and they should be, because there's a hell of a lot of mayhem in the film.
Director Sean Wilkie gives audiences a film that is both decidedly indie and extremely competent, and there is a noticeable style to his film that is reminiscent of other European horror films like Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers or The Descent. One thing it definitely nails in comparison to TCM, it's main inspiration, is that gritty, backwoods feel. It's got some gnarly set design that really brings home the abrasive, dirty scope of the film. Wilkie does a good job of leaning heavily on his inspiration without leaning too heavily, making The Bench completely his own while serving up enough of the genre tropes to make horror fans happy.
All in all, The Bench is a solid effort 16 years in the making, and when it hits, it definitely hits. There's plenty of blood for people who are looking for it, and it's a slasher fan's slasher film. My one gripe is that a lot of the film takes place in the dark, perhaps a bit of a crutch for the lower production budget but sometimes making it hard to see what's going on. That and I often had no fucking clue what they're saying because I don't understand Scottish people at all, but that's on me. This is an indie film that is worth your attention, especially if you're a fan of the films that came before it. While there's nothing particularly groundbreaking to be found within, it's a good film with a lot to love. If you're the desired audience, you should definitely give it a look.
Who this movie is for: Slasher movie fans, British horror lovers, Scottish campers
Bottom line: The Bench is a good indie slasher film with some legendary influences, and it leans heavily into them while delivering a film that is its own thing as well. Lots of blood, some great effects at times, and excellent performances from every cast member delivers a film that will be a treat for indie backwoods slasher fans. It's a long time coming for director Sean Wilkie, and he does a fantastic job with it. It's streaming now On Demand, and you should definitely help support indie horror by checking it out.
