May 02, 2011

DOWN TERRACE, an English dark comedy by Ben Wheatley, will be released on the Evokative Collection of DVDs this May 17th. This is the 10th release of the collection and its first in the English language.

Father and son Bill and Karl have just been released from jail, but all is not well at Down Terrace. Patriarchs of a small crime family, their business is plagued with infighting: Karl has had more than he can take of his old man's philosophizing and preaching; Bill thinks Karl's dedication to the family is seriously compromised when he takes up with an estranged girlfriend who claims to be carrying his baby; they have to explain the profit drop to the bosses in London and figure out who’s the mole who turned them in. It’s time to clean house. Recrimination, betrayal, murder and a spot of redecorating are quick to follow. Always remember: you’re only as good as the people you know.
DOWN TERRACE breathes new life into the gangster genre by mixing-up family drama in the style of Mike Leigh, The Sopranos’ gangster reality and the body count of a splatter flick, caught with a fly-on-the-wall camera.

The film, shot over only 8 days in Brighton, is a real family affair. The characters Bill and Karl are real life father and son Bob and Robin Hill. Karl’s girlfriend Valda is Robin’s wife Kerry Peacock. Down Terrace is really their family home. This is the first feature film for Brighton-based Ben Wheatley, after writing and directing many animated and live-action short films, sketches and advertisings (some can be seen at mrandmrswheatley.blogspot.com) and work on Channel 4’s Modern Toss and the BBC’s Time Trumpet, Comedy Shuffle, The Wrong Door and Ideal. His following feature film, KILL LIST, recently premiered at SXSW to much buzz. Ben Wheatley wrote DOWN TERRACE with Robin Hill and allowed space for improvisation by the cast, including Julia Deakin (Spaced), David Schaal, Tony Way, Micheal Smiley and Mark Kempner.

DOWN TERRACE won the Next Wave Award for Best Film at Fantastic Fest, the Raindance Award at the British Independent Film Awards, the Jury Prize for Best UK Feature at the Raindance Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize Narrative Feature at the international Film Festival of Boston. The film played to acclaim at many film festivals around the world such as Rotterdam, Glasgow, Belfast, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Puchon, Perth, Melbourne and Espoo. In Canada the film was featured amongst the programming of the Fantasia and Vancouver International film festivals. Ben Wheatley recently won the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

The DVD features UK English dialogue with optional Québécois French and Spanish subtitles and English Closed-Captions. An Audio Commentary with Ben Wheatley and Robin Hill, Acting & Camera Tests, an Extended Scene, a Deleted Scene, a Special Effects Featurette, a previous Short Film also starring Bob and Robin Hill and set in the same house, and the Festival Trailer are included as extra features. The DVD packaging is an environmentally-friendly and elegant digipack made of 100% recycled materials and wrapped in a 100% biodegradable cellophane.

Posted in DVD Releases