Review of F (2010) by Amy M — 25 Sep 2012

When done perfectly, the horror genre is capable of physically shaking it's audience like no other. Remember that effect upon yourself the first time you saw Psycho or Scream? It was wild, it was exhilarating, it quickened the heart and left you sweaty but feeling like you'd rarely been more alive. Now, Johannes Roberts 'F' joins the list of the few horror moves that can do that to a person.

It may be only 79 minutes long but length isn't everything, and in this case less is most definitely more. Roberts has constructed a film which taps into a primal fear that many people must still harbour and combined it with a realistic set of characters and dialogue to produce something extra special.

David Schofield is a teacher pushed just that little bit too far by one of his pupils. An unjust system results in school authorities trying to sweep it all under the carpet while Schofields relationship with his wife and daughter suffers. One night, he finds himself staying behind after hours, along with a collection of colleagues and his offspring, when the school is set upon by a gang of hooded figures, with very bad intentions.

'F' uses it's location to great advantage. If you ever left a classroom during lesson time, you would always be struck by how quiet the corridors seemed, how eerie, how alien and echoy. Roberts takes this and puts it in the dark, with a bunch of hostiles after you. 'F' not only taps into the fear of going to school that I'm sure most people can identify with but takes it to a completely terrifying level.

Roberts has populated his film with characters that might be seen as stereotypes (the headmistress, the secretary, the librarian) but each of them is identifiable. Ruth Gemmell as the headmistress is particularly good in her role, while Finlay Robertson almost steals the film as the sarcastic security guard who doesn't really believe the school is under siege. The film is held together performance wise by Schofield and Eliza Bennett as his daughter. She plays it just right between utter disgust for what her father has become and still caring for him because he's her dad. Schofield is amazing as we literally see him falling apart on screen but having to try and keep it together for the sake of his child. It's what any father would do.

'F' is a film which doesn't need to rely too on its gore quota either to satisfy the viewer. There is gore, but it's used so sporadically that at the timer when it does happen it makes the effect even greater. There is no doubt left in the viewers mind that these hooded figures are very dangerous indeed.

Sometimes when a film is left as open ended as 'F' is, you get the impression that the director simply didn't really know how to finish it. Sometimes an explanation is needed. The open ending is another film making trick that when done right, can be very good. 'F' does it flawlessly. Johannes Roberts gives us just enough information to keep the idea of this film germinating in the head for days. There are several conclusions one could come to. Pick the one you think fits the best, it won't tarnish what has gone before.

'F' is a truly magnificent film. It takes a normal setting and infuses it with the stuff of nightmares. It has great characters, a sense of not knowing who will survive, a malevolent threat and a real sense of total dread. One of the finest horror thrillers ever made.