Nice effects though.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Blistering performances.

We watched this 3-part series yesterday on BBC Canada and found it incredibly putrid compared with the great TV that we normally associate with the UK. In addition to what earlier reviewers have said about the inconsistencies, (spoiler alert) what was Cosmo's motivation in turning on the gas jets in the crofter's home if he wasn't the killer? Why didn't the crofter alert the authorities when he found the body hanging upside down in his home - and why did the killer put it there in the first place? And how was it this band of yobs could wander around the highlands for so long without encountering anyone else? Incredible.Only gave it a 3 (rather than a 1) because the acting wasn't half bad given the ridiculous plot.

If you imagine a Christopher Brookmyre novel, one of the crazy ones, dramatised by the League of Gentlemen, then are somewhere close to Stag. A bit larger than life in places, and there are a few parts of the plot where things don't quite stack up.Smart, stylish, quirky and enjoyable. Not a comedy in the conventional sense. Not your usual horror, or crime programme, or drama either.Some great characterisation. Some of the truly unlikable people change in your estimation as the series progresses. And the ending was a big surprise.Well worth a watch.

When Ian arrives in the highlands for Johnners', his soon-to-be brother in law's, stag do and finds nobody there to meet him he should have got the idea that he was going to have a terrible weekend… he couldn't have guessed how bad though. He manages to get a taxi to where the others are and finds them to be a bunch of obnoxious city wide boys who quickly start picking on him. They have hired a local gamekeeper to take them stag hunting but due to the weather he advises them against it; they are determined though and he drives them into the woods… then abandons then. The group is understandably annoyed but this turns to terror when one of their number is harpooned and dragged into the trees! As the weekend progresses their numbers are whittled down in a variety of ways. They are convinced that the gamekeeper is hunting them but could it be somebody else; or even somebody within the group?This was advertised as a comedy but if you are expecting lots of jokes or wackiness you are in for a shock; the humour is as black as pitch and there is genuine tension once the mystery killer starts killing off the members of the group. Apart from Ian the characters are fairly unsympathetic at first but over the course of the series we get to know them better and learn that some of them aren't as bad as we thought… just before they die. The remote highland location and the oppressive weather combine to create a great atmosphere where the tension is rarely broken… and when it is that often means something bad is about to happen. The identity of the killer can't be guessed but the person they are working with is mildly surprising… only mildly because by the time it is revealed there aren't many people left. The cast, which includes several familiar faces, does a fine job making us believe in the situation but just because a character is played by somebody is played by somebody familiar doesn't mean they will last very long. There are of course some clichés and silly moments but not enough to spoil this viewer's enjoyment. Overall I found this to be tenser than I expected and well worth watching.

Well just when you thought the BBC were spent they hand us this, a great mix of Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot and Hostel.I feel the show was undersold thus missed a bigger audience but in my opinion was/is one of the (BBC) shows of 2016.I could be opinionated as I'm from Scotland but the setting is as dreary as it is here.Can't wait for the third episode as the first two have set the finale up well.For a change well done BBC.Sandy.