Midlands Review of Hamster

midlandsmovies • October 21, 2022

Hamster

 

Directed by Scott Driver

 

2022

 

4AM Pictures


“There are 2.5 million members of the ex-forces community living in England today.”


Hamster is a new 30-minute drama film from Scott Driver which delves deep into the effects of war on military personnel, PTSD and the need for support for those who have left the armed forces.


We begin with a group of new recruits on a bus looking concerned about their future before we move forward in time to see Lewis (Luke Boydon-Jones) return home and warmly welcomed by his loving mother.


Shots of a once-sporty and social homelife contrast against how Lewis feels (“weird”) and the adjustment to domestic routine appears to conflict against the withdrawn man’s demeanour. And his mother introduces him to a new pet hamster she got to combat her loneliness whilst he unpacks his bags.


But the safe return home is saddened as Lewis passes on the service medal of his dead friend (an excellent Tinashe Darikwa as Jason in a brief but important role) over to the man’s bereaved mum and dad.


Lewis explains the emotional story of his passing in a warzone yet behind the honest tears seems to lurk a more troubled disposition – clearly related to the beginnings of PTSD.


Interspersed by flashbacks with his friend, the film ramps up the effects of his condition as even small things set off haunting mental reminders and sounds of warfare. High-pitched noises, quick cuts and muffled and echo-y dialogue show the director’s skill in using a variety of methods to convey the condition.


The locked-up animal parallel to the pet hamster are obvious, but more cleverly it symbolises a surrogate son to his mum in his absence - but more interestingly also represents a soft nature rather than the obvious and over-used caged tiger metaphor.


Luke Boydon-Jones (from the director’s previous film Venari – our review here) does extremely well with the material. He captures both the protagonist’s withdrawn nature but also delivers a fidgety nervousness combined with agitation to great effect. This really draws in the audience making us as off-footed and uncomfortable as he is.


The film also shows him drinking alone before he hangs out with friends but his conversations are awkward and stilted – no longer having much in common with his footy-loving mates.


His reluctance to ask for help and his withdrawn nature are common effects for ex-service people and he also faces immense frustration when one friend calls him a “hero”.


The film explores the many complicated issues surrounding its central theme and highlights areas such as physical and mental health, the access to support groups as well as the importance of communication and the need to talk things through. Without these there are more than just suggestions within the film how their absence could lead to self-harm and worse.


Technically there’s a flair of film techniques used with the editing by the director and Chris Clarke clearly demonstrating the story to its best ability and the handheld camera and close-ups provide an intimacy to this man’s journey.


As we head towards the film’s conclusion we see the back-story of Lewis and Jason’s combat time and his friend’s demise. There is a clear hint of what Lewis has held inside to protect Jason’s loved ones from the horrors he has himself experienced.


A powerful and moving film, Hamster has a tour-de-force central performance from Luke Boyden-Jones who showcases humanity, guilt and outrage all with the understanding of the subtleties a battle-scarred role like this requires. And long after it’s over, you’ll appreciate how the film balances all these difficult issues with a sincere and delicate touch.


Finally, it also offers a lifeline - by showing the importance of support groups, offloading and sharing – to those souls putting themselves in danger, in the hope it could even lead to a much-needed hint of a smile once they're back.


★★★★★

5/5


Michael Sales


https://www.ptsdresolution.org/

By midlandsmovies April 26, 2025
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer  Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
By midlandsmovies April 26, 2025
On the 24th of April, the Midlands Art Centre opened its doors to Gobby Flicks Productions for a night of live comedy. Proceeds were raised towards the production of new short comedy films, directed and written by women.
By midlandsmovies April 25, 2025
Ti West’s The House of the Devil makes a wonderful companion piece to his film The Innkeepers. Both maintain the director’s referential approach to horror, incapsulating it in a slow burning 90 minutes that manages to build and maintain tension while cheekily winking to the audience and showing the mechanisms behind the scares.
By midlandsmovies April 21, 2025
Read the full list of nominees for the Midlands Movies Awards 2025
Show More