Unwelcome
Irish folk horror offering isn't entirely "Unwelcome."
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The marketing materials for “Unwelcome” (now on Blu-ray and DVD) refer to the film as, “’Gremlins’ meets ‘Straw Dogs.’” This assertion is apropos, but these disparate halves don’t necessarily add up to an entirely cohesive whole.
Londoners Maya (Hannah John-Kamen, she was Ghost in “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) and Jamie (Douglas Booth, he played Nikki Sixx in “The Dirt”) are a young couple who’ve just discovered she’s with child. In going out to pick up a celebratory bottle of sparkling grape juice, Jamie runs afoul a group of local toughs led by Aitch (Bradley Turner). Aitch and his mates follow Jamie back to his flat and proceed to pummel both he and the pregnant Maya.
Thankfully, the baby survives the attack. Shell-shocked, the couple longs to leave the city. Through a fortuitous yet sad turn of events they receive their exit strategy. Jamie’s aged Aunt has passed and willed her rural Irish home to him.
The dwelling isn’t without its problems. There’s a hole in the roof and other issues in need of tending. Maya and Jamie hire Whelan (seasoned cinematic a-hole Colm Meaney) and his grown children Killian (Chris Walley), Aisling (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) and the developmentally disabled Eoin (Kristian Nairn, Hodor from “Game of Thrones”) to do the repairs.
The Whelans aren’t ideal employees. They work slowly and Killian is the thieving sort. Senior Whelan creepily insists that Maya call him “Daddy” and often mercilessly beats Eoin.
Arguably worse than the Whelans are the far darrig AKA the redcaps – goblins that reside beyond the home’s garden wall. Maya is warned by friendly barkeep Niamh (Niamh Cusack) to feed the redcaps daily lest she and Jamie face dire consequences.
The title “Unwelcome” can be interpreted many ways. It could pertain to Maya and Jamie, English interlopers who draw the ire of the Irish. It might be in relation to Aisling, the Whelans and the redcaps invading this couple’s safety and space. Perhaps it’s referencing Maya’s first pregnancy? In all likelihood, it’s all of the above.
As directed by Jon Wright (he made his monster movie bones with 2013’s “Grabbers”) and co-written by Mark Stay and Wright (they previously collaborated on Wright’s 2014 offering “Robot Overlords”), “Unwelcome” works best as a creature feature … it just takes its sweet-ass time in becoming one. The film is almost 105 minutes and would’ve played much better at 90. It opens with a bang, becomes a slow burn (arguably too slow) and goes bonkers in its final third. I really dug the redcaps and honestly wanted to see more of ‘em. (Props to practical effects technicians Krisytan Mallett (special makeup effects designer), Shaune Harrison (redcap prosthetics supervisor) and Paula Anne Booker (recap prosthetics coordinator) for their cool and creative work.)
The cast gives generally good performances playing largely unlikable characters. Meaney’s Whelan is annoyingly alpha. Booth’s Jamie is almost unbearably beta. The only seemingly sympathetic figure is John-Kamen’s Maya. Even Nairn’s Eoin ultimately plays against type proving to be just another deplorable.
Wright and Stay shoot for the heights of Sam Peckinpah, but ultimately crash land in Full Moon Features territory. I just wish they would’ve gotten there sooner as this style seems to suit ‘em better.