DVD Review: 13 Hrs

Last time I did my bit for British cinema, I had to endure the little known (and quite frankly, crazy as a box of frogs) horror flick Psychosis.

This time round, I decided to sit through 13 Hrs, another contribution to the werewolf genre from the producers of Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers.

Boasting a cast that includes Hollyoaks Gemma Atkinson, Harry Potter's Tom Felton and some kid off My Family, I have to admit I was not expecting much from 13 Hrs. And not much is what I got.

Taking centre stage in the film is Sarah Tyler (Isabella Calthorpe), returning to her isolated country home for a much off-put visit to her family.

After catching up with her brothers and the other local youth in a barn (isn't that where all rural kids hang out?), a raging storm comes overhead and they decide to retreat into the house, only to find that Sarah's family appears to have been attacked by some form of a savage dog.

Pretty soon, characters are offed and our protagonists head upstairs into the loft. Surely the safest place to hide. As things we progress, the characters become just as much as a hazard to each other as the monster is to them.

The films lack of budget clearing shines through. This is evident by the fact that we never get a decent look at the main monster. What we are treated to instead is some choppy editing and quick POV shots demonstrating how fast it is.

Now, I know less is sometimes more - but in this case, less really does mean less and sadly the film suffers for it.

On the plus side the film does a bit of effort explaining who the characters are and gives the audience a bit of background to their relationships.

Now, the cast aren't exactly oscar winners and sure enough, some of them have “dead meat” tattooed all across their foreheads as soon as they introduced.

Having said that, most of the case put in watchable performances. Isabella Calthorpe takes the lead quite sufficiently and lads mag favourite Gemma Atkinson wasn't even half as bad as I was expecting.

It's also refreshing to see Tom Felton playing a role where he isn't required to look blonde and jealous all the time.

Overall, despite the lack of budget and the fact that'll you'll probably see the plot twist coming from a mile off, 13 Hrs is an average if completely forgettable film. Just don't go expecting a werewolf film that will bite, because this little horror has no teeth.