B & B

‘You reap what you sow’ says the tagline on the DVD sleeve and that much is true when a couple return triumphantly to a B&B after having won a court case against its Christian owner who had previously denied them the pleasure of a twin bed. But triumphant mischief soon turns to the night from hell after a sinister male guest arrives and the owner’s son fancies a walk on the wild side…

Enter Marc (Tom Bateman) and Fred (Sean Teale), a married gay couple who, for a few days at least, leave their hectic urban life behind to enjoy a break in the countryside. However, the B&B they have chosen is the very guesthouse which is run by Christian landlord Josh (Paul McGann) and it was Josh who previously refused to let them sleep in a twin-bed room. A newspaper on display at the reception desk (why is it there except for us to see?) reveals that Marc and Fred took Josh to court over the entire affair and claiming their human rights, or gay rights, or whatever rights, they won! Now they are back to sort of humiliate Josh by demanding their twin-bed room… only to learn that in the meantime Josh has put twin beds in all of the rooms. Touchè!

However, the seemingly blissful stay soon descends into unpleasantness when it emerges that Josh, rightly perhaps, is rather sour over having lost hard-earned cash during the court case affair and his embittered sarcasm is not lost on Marc and Fred. To add insult to injury Josh’s adolescent son Paul (Callum Woodhouse) feels that he too is gay and thus would like nothing more than to come out but is naturally afraid of what his dad’s reaction might be. That said, Josh probably has an inkling anyway but being a good Christian he is in denial. The atmosphere is so tense you could cut it with a knife but things are about to get a whole lot tenser when a truly sinister male guest arrives in the dining room – a Russian by the name of Alexander Petrovich (James Trat) though that may not be his real name.
Marc reckons that the Russian is most likely gay himself because of the way he looks the couple up and down, however, Fred is certain that the mysterious stranger is a ‘gay basher’ and even worse, that Josh may have arranged for his arrival to take his revenge over the costly court case. While Marc and Fred keep arguing over who is right and who is wrong the Russian, coming out from the bathroom (in a later scene) sports right-wing and extremely religious tattoos all over his torso, thus further cementing Fred’s belief that Mr. Petrovich is up to no good. Add to that some nifty technical gadgets he uses which can block mobile phone signals and access internet files etc. etc. and things seem crystal clear. Only that they’re not!

When young Paul expresses his wish to wander off to a nearby parkland for some gay cruising the Russian soon follows – Marc thinks nothing of it as he’s sure that Petrovich just wants to join in the fun but Fred isn’t so sure and worries for Paul’s safety. Yes, he follows them just to make sure nothing bad happens but of course that’s exactly what does happen… just not as he (or the viewers) had anticipated! After the first twist is revealed it’s too late as blood has been shed and from now on things can only get a lot worse as indeed they do… Prepare for a night from hell and some seriously claustrophobic psycho-terror!

The acting in this low-budget thriller is spot-on and sensibly executed which is just as well, considering that most of the action takes place either inside the guesthouse or the parkland. The big let-down here is that most scenes are shot at night and after a while it gets a little tiring on the eyes trying to figure out who is who in the dark. The more explicit scenes are cleverly shot using solarized effects, thus ‘straight’ audiences shouldn’t feel too alienated by the film’s heavily gay overtones. By the way this story would work just as effective as a stage play!