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Product Description
Cat & mouse thriller tells the story of two bankers who offer Sean the chance to clear his sister s debt on the condition that he can hide from them for 12 hours on the streets of Edinburgh. Sean accepts the offer and soon realises it s a tragic game of life and death that the bankers will stop at nothing to win.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Behind the scenes, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: With a premise that suggests an early 21st century variation on David Fincher's paranoia classic THE GAME (1997), NEW TOWN KILLERS stars Dougray Scott as Alistair, a slimy, icewater-veined financier who gets his kicks and thrills by targeting human prey. His modus operandi involves bringing in an innocent young candidate for a new job, Jamie Stewart (Alastair Mackenzie) and demanding as a prerequisite that the two play a mysterious game together. They must find a down-and-outer and challenge him to escape from their clutches over the course of one long and fateful night. The 'prey' on this occasion is Sean McDonald (James Anthony Pearson), an inner-city teen with a serious problem on his hands: his pregnant sister risks being killed by the thugs to whom she owes gambling money. Alistair informs the young man that if he manages to evade them in their chase, he will receive enough money to clear off the towering gambling debts of his pregnant sister; if he loses, he will be killed. Out of concern for his sister, Sean agrees to the contest, though victory seems impossible for two major reasons: first, the crafty Alistair has closed all major exit routes from the city without informing Sean of this, and second, Alistair secretly plants a tracking device on Sean that the young man isn't aware of. ...New Town Killers
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The idea of people being hunted for the sport of others is one that has been a staple of the printed page and the moving picture for a very long time. In fact it is so much of a staple that it seems to have pretty much run its course, but suddenly, along comes New Town Killers and makes everything that is old feel very very new.
Directed by Richard Jobson (yes the Richard Jobson who used to be in the Skids), the film centres around a riveting performance from Dougray Scot as Alistair, a cold and dangerously psychotic financier who gets his kicks from hunting human prey. Alistair has his eye on a new employee for his firm, Jamie (Alastair Mackenzie), and decides to use his game as a way to prove that Jamie has what it takes. The pair decide to target a young lad named Sean (a fantastic performance from James Anthony Pearson), who is down on his luck and desperate to make some money so he can bail his waster sister out of the trouble she has gotten herself into with a couple of loan sharks. Sean agrees to the offer, aware that to win he must simply stay one step ahead of the duo over the period of one night, after which he gets enough cash to solve all his problems. Unfortunately, what he and does not know is that loosing doesn't just involve loosing the money, it involves losing his life.
What we have is basically a cat and mouse game played out across the backstreets and clubs of a brilliantly realised Edinburgh. Jobson is obviously very familiar with the spaces of the city, and uses this knowledge to his advantage in portraying Edinburgh after dark as both beautiful and threatening in equal measures helped along in no small way by the films various action set pieces, and there are any number to choose from. Whether it is a white knuckle chase across the night time rooftops or a palm sweatingly tense pursuit through a nightclub, the film never lets up from the opening moments to the superbly realised denouement.
The film is helped in no small measure by a trio of great performances from the films main characters. Both Alastair Mackenzie as Jamie the man who is in over his head and James Anthony Pearson as Sean the lad who is prepared to risk it all give excellent performances, but this is really Scott's film, and he gives a performance in which he is far more menacing than he ever was in Mission Impossible II.
Aside from a few extraneous moments, such as a rather unnecessary death trap sequence, and a hospital sequence involving one coincidence to many, this is as good a thriller as you're likely to see in a good long time.
Directed by Richard Jobson (yes the Richard Jobson who used to be in the Skids), the film centres around a riveting performance from Dougray Scot as Alistair, a cold and dangerously psychotic financier who gets his kicks from hunting human prey. Alistair has his eye on a new employee for his firm, Jamie (Alastair Mackenzie), and decides to use his game as a way to prove that Jamie has what it takes. The pair decide to target a young lad named Sean (a fantastic performance from James Anthony Pearson), who is down on his luck and desperate to make some money so he can bail his waster sister out of the trouble she has gotten herself into with a couple of loan sharks. Sean agrees to the offer, aware that to win he must simply stay one step ahead of the duo over the period of one night, after which he gets enough cash to solve all his problems. Unfortunately, what he and does not know is that loosing doesn't just involve loosing the money, it involves losing his life.
What we have is basically a cat and mouse game played out across the backstreets and clubs of a brilliantly realised Edinburgh. Jobson is obviously very familiar with the spaces of the city, and uses this knowledge to his advantage in portraying Edinburgh after dark as both beautiful and threatening in equal measures helped along in no small way by the films various action set pieces, and there are any number to choose from. Whether it is a white knuckle chase across the night time rooftops or a palm sweatingly tense pursuit through a nightclub, the film never lets up from the opening moments to the superbly realised denouement.
The film is helped in no small measure by a trio of great performances from the films main characters. Both Alastair Mackenzie as Jamie the man who is in over his head and James Anthony Pearson as Sean the lad who is prepared to risk it all give excellent performances, but this is really Scott's film, and he gives a performance in which he is far more menacing than he ever was in Mission Impossible II.
Aside from a few extraneous moments, such as a rather unnecessary death trap sequence, and a hospital sequence involving one coincidence to many, this is as good a thriller as you're likely to see in a good long time.
Format:DVD
This film's Edinburgh set crime thriller, which dips into murky chase torture at times has a sense that 'Lola' (the modern-ish German classic) is going to be parodied.
Obviously pitched at being outside of actual reality, where wealthy landlords, pimps or drug dealers (known in the film as 'private bankers') not only extort their penniless customers but also bait and taunt them, as in some cruel, sadistic game.
Unfortunately, this is no The Third Man (shadowy sinister characters lurking on dark corners), Lola (the 'chase' seems to be mainly driving about in a Jaguar saloon) whilst The Trainspotting vibes resonate most. Except, there simply aren't the oddly likable, charismatic characters in that, for a start. There's quite a few Hitchcockian twists with a silent, weaving camera teasing us, though.
It seems that the whole thing passed me by without making much of an impression. Not sure exactly where it fell down, maybe a bit in each. I daresay I'll have forgotten it by tomorrow. There have been US equivalents that have worked better, maybe for being more villainous, or better written, or better everything. It's not a bad effort, though; it won't sink the indie Brit film scene but very definitely, unlike Trainspotting, won't set it alight either.
Obviously pitched at being outside of actual reality, where wealthy landlords, pimps or drug dealers (known in the film as 'private bankers') not only extort their penniless customers but also bait and taunt them, as in some cruel, sadistic game.
Unfortunately, this is no The Third Man (shadowy sinister characters lurking on dark corners), Lola (the 'chase' seems to be mainly driving about in a Jaguar saloon) whilst The Trainspotting vibes resonate most. Except, there simply aren't the oddly likable, charismatic characters in that, for a start. There's quite a few Hitchcockian twists with a silent, weaving camera teasing us, though.
It seems that the whole thing passed me by without making much of an impression. Not sure exactly where it fell down, maybe a bit in each. I daresay I'll have forgotten it by tomorrow. There have been US equivalents that have worked better, maybe for being more villainous, or better written, or better everything. It's not a bad effort, though; it won't sink the indie Brit film scene but very definitely, unlike Trainspotting, won't set it alight either.
Format:DVD
Oh dear! I watched this thinking it was going to be at least interesting. Not a bit of it. The two-dimensional characters and highly implausible plot make it one of those films you wish you'd missed. After picking out the victim, the villain also manages to contact or research all his relatives and associates thus making them part of the chase. All this in a supposedly short time-scale when, in reality it would take months of painstaking research to achieve. And does Jobson really believe everybody is driven by money? All the friends are complicit in the conspiracy for the price of a cuppa by all accounts. It's as far-fetched as a bucket of sand from China and seems to have been a vehicle for some gratuitous violence masquerading as a taut psychological thriller.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent budget film
This is an excellent gritty low budget film that starts off slowly but well worth perseveri9ng with. Highly recommended.
Published 21 months ago by John Doyle
Gritty urban chase thriller
If it were not for the violence this could have been one of those excellent tv dramas stretched over three nights but instead what you get is an excellent chase thriller condensed... Read more
Published on 11 May 2010 by PJ Rankine
An Auld Reekie chaser
Why don't they make more Scottish thrillers like this? Written and directed by Richard Jobson, New Town Killers is a dark tale of a psychotic Edinburgh banker who enjoys playing... Read more
Published on 8 May 2010 by LXIX
Fantastic film.
Dougray Scott gives a terrific performance as just about the most evil villain I have ever seen in a film, so menacing, and the plot is totally "different" to anything I have seen... Read more
Published on 2 May 2010 by Sylvia B
5 stars for a special reason
I'm giving this 5 stars not because this is a great movie. It's not.
And not because it's based in Edinburgh. I have no sentimental affinity to Scotland's dreary capital. Read more
And not because it's based in Edinburgh. I have no sentimental affinity to Scotland's dreary capital. Read more
Published on 15 April 2010 by Justice Peace
Average at best
Dougray Scott just about keeps this sinking plot afloat & aside from decent footage of "auld reekie" (Edinburgh) there's not alot to keep you focused. Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2009 by Sizzle
the chase goes on...
After a fairly neutral performance in 'Desperate Housewives' Dougray Scott goes direct to the dark side in this chase thriller. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by Dee Tee
big let down
was looking forward to seeing this especially as it's set in edinburgh but it is a bit of a let down,it's watchable and visually stylish but as a thriller it's a bit lame. Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2009 by M. black
A Terrifying Ride.
I rented this out and watched it last night, on the edge of my seat and gasping at what happened on screen. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by Ms. J. F. Gilby
Edgy stylish thriller.
Saw this in the movies and loved it.
Very atmospheric with excellent graphics which made you feel you were there. Read more
Very atmospheric with excellent graphics which made you feel you were there. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2009 by Kate the Great
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