Any Minute Now (2013)

Any Minute Now (2013)
Directed by: Peter Goddard
Written by: Darren Barber, Peter Goddard
Starring: Alexandra Kelly, Darren Matthews, Lee MacDonald, Mhairi Calvey, Ryan Spong

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLzEzQ4_XpM[/youtube]

Running Time: 115 mins

Certificate: 15

Reviewer: David Gillespie  Official HCF Artist

Peter Goddard’s second full-length feature revisits the eccentricities of life in a small English town. If 2011’s Season of the Witch had traces of The Wickerman then Any Minute Now has elements of The Orphanage. Although operating on a micro budget of allegedly £10,000, Goddard’s latest project has superior production values and a stronger cast than his first. Similar to the original feature it utilises atmosphere and unsettling imagery over cheap frights and gore.

The story begins with a troubled sixteen-year-old called Anna (Mhaira Calvey – Braveheart) arriving at the country home of her repugnant Aunt Jennifer (Phillipa Tozer) and volatile Uncle David (Darren Matthews). Although they are both reluctant to take her in, Aunt Jennifer acknowledges that her mother and father need time to organise things after a messy separation.  To make matters worse, Anna is Narcoleptic and suffers surreal hallucinations as a side effect of her medication. Her condition is met with interest and amusement from her new classmates. She befriends a fellow student called Abigail (Alexandra Kelly) and her dizzy and irritating pal Lydia (Tallulah Webb). Anna is immediately attracted to the school loner, Josh (Ryan Spong) but is initially weary of his arrogant advances.

Anna’s popularity diminishes when she freaks out after a spiked drink plays havoc with her medication at a party. The teenager attempts to convince everyone that she can hear the distressed cries of children outside yet no one else hears a thing. Soon there are nighttime visits by a decomposed youngster and a pale looking man (similar to the ghoul from the Carnival of Souls). Having initially thought that she was going mad, Josh reveals the shocking revelation of the town’s past. Could her hallucinations be connected?  It seems that there been a number of people leaving the town unannounced or disappearing without explanation. Anna and Josh plan to uncover the truth behind the disappearances. However the teenagers may have uncovered something far worse than they could possibly have imagined.

Although laboured by similar budget and quality issues to his previous release, Goddard has certainly taken a step in the right in the right direction with Any Minute Now. The movie is more polished with many of the edit and sound issues that were present in Season of the Witch having been ironed out this time around.  The young cast are solid in their respective roles with the two leads in particular displaying far more chemistry than the pasty-faced couple from a certain vampire franchise. Mhairi Calvey is an extremely pretty, young actress and commands the screen well considering she is onscreen for almost the entirety of the film. We even get to experience Grange Hill regular, Lee MacDonald (Zammo) as an over concerned and sleazy teacher. Apart from the shocking facial hair he looks exactly the same as he did 20 years ago. Although the running time could have be tightened with some of the dialogue seeming repetitive at times, the storyline is reasonably engaging with a bitter sweet twist come the final sequences. It has been mentioned that the version that I viewed may still be re-cut and tidied up before the film is on general release. This would be advisable as at over two hours the production is a little longer than it needs to be.  Goddard patiently builds up the tension and sense of foreboding until the final set piece when we are treated to a Romero style gut feast. The sound effects alone make this one of the most effective sequences in the film and reminded me of the recently released, Come Out and Play.

Although be no means perfect, Any Minute Now is a slow burning, supernatural thriller with disturbing, surreal imagery and an enthusiastic young cast. Goddard has proven once again that he is able to produce something of great promise with very little and I would be keen to experience what he would do given a proper budget to work with.

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