White Settlers (2015)

Very simple, plot wise - a couple buy a house in rural Scotland and almost immediately are targeted by a group of hostile locals who break into the house with evil intent. The couple try to escape. That's the whole story - there is no subplot, no interactions with the locals to suggest motive, no small 'precursor' building up of hostile actions - just straight into the home invasion. Clearly, these guys (meaning either hostiles or the film makers) don't have time to muck around. 

It's actually refreshing to find a film where the antagonists are this direct and don't go through an preamble of putting dead birds in mail boxes or kidnapping family pets. This allows the film - even at a lean 80 minutes - to focus on a protracted cat-and-mouse sequence as Sarah and Ed try to survive their night of Hell. 

A quaint house warming ritual

I liked how the characters were not designed to be likeable or sympathetic - quite the opposite, they are a couple of big city English yahoos buying up a derelict property because they want the prestige of a big country house but can't afford one anywhere better (i.e. in England, as they make clear).  But being unlikeable doesn't mean they deserve what happens to them, and we begin to feel sympathy for them as events unfold. 

I think the actors do pretty well with these broad and unsympathetic characters to play. Pollyanna MacIntosh, in particular, does well. We warm (some what) to Sarah as she changes from changes from whiney and demanding into a tough, resourceful character. 

There are no dramatic reveals or preposterous sequences, and no Wes Craven style ludicrous 'traps'.  The characters are about as capable as you'd think normal people would be in these situations. They behave realistically - doubt and disbelief turning into a desperate struggle to survive. 

Ye look a wee bit rough, hen.  You out on the rand-dan last night?

There is a cop out ending, where you suspect the producers baulked at what seems originally intended for the characters. But it's a pretty good, well executed home invasion fare, without excess fat or padding.

Star Rating: **