CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
julianmoorhead25
It seems I'm late to the party, review-wise. However, I just watched this movie on TV and felt compelled to write this, due to the bad rep this film is getting on here. I'm really surprised it has such a low rating as it ticked most boxes, for me. First of all, I should say that this film is very much a Brit-flick. This is not intended to be a blockbuster on any level, which is fitting due to the claustrophobic setting. Possibly the mistake some viewers have made is walking into this with an idea that it will be full of spectacle and effects-laden. It is not, and thank goodness for it. Instead, the film is character driven, in particular the character of Robert, a traumatised man who has become jaded with his role as both teacher and father. I won't give too much away, but the flaws in his character are used as a clever plot device when events begin to take a gruesome turn, but nobody heeds Robert's warning due to his questionable history of alcohol abuse and violent outbursts. The bulk of the movie takes place in a school, which is besieged by a group of anonymous youths seemingly wreaking revenge on both staff and students. Usually, there would be a lazy portrayal of good and evil, however this movie resists that, and is all the more believable because the victims themselves are shown to be deeply flawed. As a result, we get a real sense of each character, which keeps us interested in what happens to them next. As for the ending, all I will say is that some people have been brainwashed by Hollywood into thinking that a film isn't complete without a neat and tidy ending, complete with gift wrapping. This film certainly provides us with a tense, uncompromising ending that completely gels with the rest of the movie. All of the answers aren't handed to us on a plate, but there is genuine suspense, a feeling of creeping dread and a fresh, relevant twist on the genre. If you have imagination and a thirst for something a little less obvious than the usual slasher fare that's out there in droves, then this little movie will draw you in and provide some big scares.
BA_Harrison
I know that there is no golden rule saying that all characters in a scary film must be likable, but I think that it really helps one's overall enjoyment of a horror if there are at least a few people to identify with or root for; similarly, there's nothing to say that indiscriminate on-screen carnage needs to be justified, but it's quite nice to be given a motive for such behaviour.F, from director Johannes Roberts, features almost no-one worth caring about and offers little explanation for its random killings, making it a very frustrating watch—a shame, because the basic set up has plenty of potential and Roberts shows a lot of promise with his handling of the visuals, making great use of his surprisingly creepy setting, a secondary school after hours.Things go wrong almost immediately with the introduction of the film's central character, teacher Robert Anderson (David Schofield), who loses the viewer's sympathy with his insensitive and very unprofessional classroom manner, belittling his less able students in front of the whole class (and quite deservedly getting a head-butt for his troubles). We then get to meet Anderson's bitchy superior Sarah (Ruth Gemmell), his wayward daughter Kate (Eliza Bennett) and her douche of a boyfriend Jake (Max Fowler), and the world's most useless security guard, James (Finlay Robertson). So many horrible people in one building...The killers in this film—faceless 'hoodies' who understandably have issues with Anderson, but who for some reason also vent their rage on less deserving members of staff and their own peers—prowl the corridors of the school like wild animals, quite literally at times, silently scaling furniture and shelving to pounce on their quarry; I understand that Roberts wanted his killers to appear predatory, but he takes it just a bit too far—I've seen ninjas less stealthy than these kids. It's all a bit hard to take seriously at times.The dark locale does allow for quite a bit of tension, the odd shock, and some occasional gore, with the death of F's only really amiable character, hot teacher Nicky (Roxanne McKee), being particularly nasty, but as a whole it is a very flawed film, the inconclusive and unsatisfying ending being the final straw.
LGav
This is my first review and I'm literally doing this to save people from this atrocious movie!! I was sucked in by the few decent reviews thinking "maybe it wasn't everyone's cup of tea but it'll appeal to my broad taste in movies" I was WRONG!!!It's just a completely pointless, unrealistic, ridiculous movie.If you watch this movie "I told you so" springs to mind. I don't know how anyone could enjoy this movie - some of the reviews say "fill in the blanks for yourself". Donnie Darko - YES. Great film to fill in the blanks and keep you thinking. This film!? NO. I'd rather watch a blank screen for 76mins or read a book!AVOID AVOID AVOID
Jack Hawkins (Hawkensian)
'F' is interesting initially, however it descends into a woefully banal, generic and wholly unfrightening slasher flick. This film takes me back to watching my classmates' Horror trailers in secondary school; it seems as if the film-makers consulted a GCSE Media Studies text book when attempting to construct tension, it's tiringly clichéd and ineffective.The film's paper-thin, immature and utterly dumb plot makes me think that the crew also opened the text book when it came to narrative, which consists of a secondary school being raided by hooded assailants whom needlessly jump and climb around with such agility that they appear to have either been bitten by a radioactive spider or are just psychotic free runners – it's all completely stupid.Horror fans are presented with disappointing scenes that merely examine the resulting cadavers instead of displaying mobile blood and gore. While some of the make-up art is admittedly appropriately grisly, this approach is amateurish and suggests to the viewer that the filmmakers aren't able to execute violence in motion.Almost all of the characters are obnoxious and flat: the unreasonable, vindictive daughter; the cold, officious bitch of a boss; the overly sarcastic, rude little urchin of a security guard. They all add up to a slightly increased blood pressure; a testament to their acting credibility, perhaps. As I said, the film began strongly; it appeared to be a straightforward but compelling, resonating story about a middle- aged man struggling with the pressures of work and family after suffering what he considers an injustice, however it devolved into an amateurish rip-off.
