‘Restless’ Review
Stars: Lyndsey Marshal, Aston McAuley, Barry Ward | Written and Directed by Jed Hart
Writer/director Jed Hart makes an impressive debut with British horror Restless, about the extremely relatable terror of having nightmare neighbours. If you’ve ever sat in your home, gritting your teeth while loud music pounds in from next door and fantasising about exacting violent revenge, this is the movie for you.
Lyndsey Marshal plays Nicky, a care home nurse who has recently lost her parents, who lived in the house next door on her run-down estate. Most evenings, Nicky’s life consists of nothing more exacting than a spot of yoga, some classical music and cuddling up with the cat on the sofa to watch the snooker, but that tranquillity is rudely shattered when tracksuit-wearing thirty-something Deano (Aston McAuley) moves into her parents’ place next door and spends every night having loud parties with a thumping music system blaring away.
Nicky’s polite requests for Deano to turn the music down are met with dismissive laughter, and with the police powerless to do anything and the other neighbours refusing to get involved, she soon becomes desperate and decides to take matters into her own hands. It’s clear the lack of sleep has driven her to extreme measures, but how far is she prepared to go?
Hart cleverly structures the story by opening with a scene in which a visibly distressed and frazzled Nicky drives her car into the woods and digs a hole with a shovel, before flashing back to “One Week Earlier”. To that end, the audience is expecting something nasty to occur, and the resulting tension is extremely effective, as events continue to escalate.
The film’s biggest strength is that it taps into some highly relatable real-life fears, perfectly capturing the feeling of helplessness in the face of noisy, aggressive, bullying neighbours. Hart is particularly good at establishing atmosphere – the sense of dread is palpable, and there are moments here that are as chilling as anything from any recent mainstream horror movie.
Restless also works well as a crack-up movie, as the sleeplessness gradually takes its toll on Nicky’s mental state, first forcing her into unwelcome temporary solutions – like sleeping in her car or agreeing to spend the night with hapless would-be suitor Kevin (Barry Ward), who has a crush on her – before pushing her into more dangerous territory.
Hart’s script is especially strong on detail, most notably when it comes to Nicky’s early acts of passive-aggressive revenge, from using the lawn mower when she knows Deano has finally gone to sleep, to baking a less than delicious “apology cake”.
In addition to the fear and dread, Hart also laces the story with a layer of jet-black comedy, so there are a number of very funny moments. Without giving too much away, that element is present in Restless‘s final flourish, a delicious rug-pull of an ending that is decidedly unexpected, wrong-footing the audience in a way that is both audacious and clever.
The performances are superb. Marshal is perfectly cast as unassuming Nicky – the fact that she’s largely known for playing relentlessly nice characters only makes her deterioration that much more painful to watch. Similarly, McAuley is genuinely scary as Deano, unpredictable and vindictive, with an imposing physicality to boot. There’s also strong support from Ward as well-meaning Kevin, who bites off more than he can chew.
Ultimately, Restless is a chillingly effective domestic horror that’s all the more disturbing for its real-life plausibility. It also marks out writer-director Jed Hart as a British talent to watch.
**** 4/5
Restless is in UK cinemas now.
