One of the films based on Matt Haig’s novel, “The Radleys”, is another vampire flick, which some may argue is more of a horror comedy, yet fails to properly balance out the aforementioned genres, and more often than not, lands somewhere in between. The British production stars Damian Lewis and Kelly Macdonald as Peter and Helen Radley respectively – blood oozing parents who are trying to quit the habit – vampirism, and their suburbs are good enough to hide this and their budding vampiric children for some time.
After their teenager daughter Clara (Bo Bragason) has an epiphany about herself – (in a rather disturbing portrayal of sexual violence, but in a role reversal – makes it unapologetically spineless) they seek help from Peter’s punk brother Outlaw William (also Lewis) who is a very “active” vampire and always enjoys sanguinary combations. The characters most of the time try to define vampirism as a ‘specific family illness’ which develops episodes of cravings which these people do not feel worth interfering with, and together with that – a substance addiction metaphor emerging in the picture. At the same time, the amiable couple’s two lesbian adopted non-legal sex children’s older brother, day-trips adoringly reduced toward Evan (Jay Lycurgo), their sexy lip-ring cockstructions. Who does not see this further double entendre about vampires who are unconfessed gay being in a cloak-and-dagger? But still, these vague thematic hints are probably the only truly precise facets of the movie.
From Chapters one through five of “The Radleys,” it is clear that the film will unfold within a frustrating unimaginative visual aesthetic, which stays put and sometimes tips over to the low energy end. The camera and editing vice versa rarely manage to capture the genuine forward drive and excitement that Keefus Ciancia’s score evokes, creating a dissonance between what is seen and heard that is unpleasant to the eye, and which is made worse by the conversations. For example, looking at Rowan’s voiceover and statements that neighbors made, everyone regards Clara as ‘almost frightening white.’ Even within the scope of the film’s domestic white characters, there is a little variation in her development.
Such distorted occurrences are virtually limitless. Evan’s father Jared (Shaun Parkes) seems to be overly suspicious of the Radleys, thinking they might even be vampires. The family does not follow the practices of hiding, which is why the reasons behind his suspicion remain a mystery. The film lacks a coherent vision of what it wants its vampires to be like – it paraphrases a few clichés, such as mind control, lack of access to some households, or dislike towards garlic, but ignores such central ideas, like the absence of a mirror or bursting into flames due to sunlight, only to only make up half-hearted rules that shouldn’t bother the audience more than the craving for new genres and stories based on vampires. These approaches rest in limbo until such late moments which require their application, prompting a few gags or comical nods referencing its themes briefly.
The cast members all did an exceptional job, but unfortunately, the screenplay is not helping. It is easy to see why Lewis’s character of the psychiatrist-who-wears-a-suit is able to share some elements with his character’s more flamboyant brother. Macdonald is perhaps the only one in the entire cast who really manages to explore the addiction in a more sub textual manner and there is an intensity in this performance that is likely to explode at any moment. Yet, her huge control is never let out at any point in time and so her character never develops.
Watching “The Radleys” yields disappointment after disappointment. It’s never scary, it seldom portrays a wider world outside its central household and its only laughs come from Lewis’ exaggerated reaction shots when Peter is exposed to blood. However, given the movie’s otherwise muted naturalism, it’s hard to tell if this was intended. For a movie steeped in familiar genre hallmarks, it lacks any spark of mischief or intrigue, and more often than not, it zig-zags away from nearly all the subplots it manages to establish. What vampirism means to any of its characters seems to change on a whim, whether the adults who slowly lose control or the adolescents in the throngs of personal discovery. What potential the movie has is quickly squandered.
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