‘Some debts are paid in blood’
Concrete Plans is a 2020 British crime horror film about the violent tensions and actions that occur on a Welsh building site.
Written and directed by Will Jewell, the movie stars Amber Rose Revah, James Lance, Kevin Guthrie, Charley Palmer Rothwell and Goran Bogdan. Produced by Rob Alexander, Ian Davies and Kathy Speirs.
Plot:
High in the remote Welsh mountains, five builders are bought together to renovate a sprawling old farmhouse. Housed in mouldy Portacabins, tensions soon simmer amongst the men and between the self-entitled aristocratic homeowner.
World-weary old-timer Dave and kindly Foreman Bob try to keep the peace. However, his nephew Steve falls under the malign influence of bigot Jim, the pair taking a dislike to Ukranian Viktor.
As the weather closes in and payments are late, tempers fray. Blood is spilt. As the blue-collar men are confronted with an increasingly dark spiral of moral choices, Jim makes an astonishing proposition…
Reviews:
“It’s inviting us to stare at the unfair economic game of life we are forced to partake. A life sadly spent too long in pursuit of money. Jewell’s takes that basic societal flaw and examines the injustice of the power wealth gives you for zero effort, the lengths people will go to get money, and what they’re prepared to do once they have it. Either by design or by accident, Concrete Plans is a class war film.” BritFlicks
“There are definitely some questionable character choices and I’m not wholly convinced by one of the twists, but the film did hold my attention. Concrete Plans is more in the vein of something like Shallow Grave than it is a blood-thirsty horror but its executed solidly, which makes it a decent watch.” Entertainment Focus
“Jewell, who also wrote, understands his subject well and the builders all come across as believable, rounded characters. Bogdan gives Viktor a sweetness still rarer in this type of character but it’s Spiers who steals the show as the conflicted foreman, burdened by responsibility yet lacking any real power […] A well-managed ensemble piece, Concrete Plans tells a simple story with confidence, keeping it real.” Eye for Film
“Probably not a film destined to be remembered as a classic, or one you will turn to for numerous rewatches, this at least provides an enjoyably tense distraction for about ninety minutes, and at least shows Jewell as a writer-director who takes good care of his material when getting it from script to screen.” For It Is Man’s Number
“The problem is that too often the film sounds like a quaint fantasy of what rich people sound like, what not-rich people sound like, and what criminals sound like. But there are some nice performances: I liked the stoicism of Thomas’s veteran grafter Dave, which unravels into resentment at the youngsters’ annoying attitude.” The Guardian
“Concrete Plans is a film that is constantly evolving, new revelations uncovered and secrets exposed constantly change the trajectory of the piece. Jewell has created a film that keeps the audience on their toes and it’s unclear from one moment to the next where it might end up. There is perhaps a pivot too many towards the end, but nevertheless, Concrete Plans is one of the most exciting British thrillers in years.” The Hollywood News
“A clever script and a talented cast including Upstart Crow‘s Mr Burbage himself Steve Speirs and James Lance from January (aka Estranged) both elevate Concrete Plans to the level of a superior thriller that never goes quite where you expect it to thanks to Will Jewell’s directorial sleight of hand.” House of Mortal Cinema
“The bleak set-up plays well, with rifts in the group leading to horrible mistakes – though writer-director Will Jewell perhaps throws in a few too many last act developments and blunts the impact of the piece. Speirs is outstanding as the decent, desperate bloke with astonishingly poor people judgement skills, and Revah […] is plainly a role or two away from breakout stardom.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“Like the shady characters of the men it so gleefully portrays, Concrete Plans is rough round the edges (how come Merthyr’s finest Steve Spiers bemoans the time he took his sociopathic nephew to the football, but the grown up agnate has a deep set, whiny cockney accent?), but with its hyperbolic violence and scenery chewed like cud, there are enough pastoral pleasures to make this a farmland worth a trespass.” The Movie Waffler
“There’s a lot to enjoy with Concrete Plans. It has that gritty dark feel of many British horror movies, early Ben Wheatley-esque, which can only be a good thing. You might wonder where the horror is coming from but when it does it hits hard, with some brutally violent scenes. You will only hate the awful characters even more and you’ll be desperate to see the good guys pull through.” Nerdly
“A remarkably accomplished debut feature from writer/director William Jewell, Concrete Plans is more of a dark thriller than a horror film but the violence that erupts is brutal, bloody and unnerving – the film’s title might appear a little clumsy but its relevance becomes horribly evident as events takes a turn for the grisly.” Starburst
“Formally, Concrete Plans is a dark, Coen-esque thriller in which one bad action quickly leads to another, and everyone gets drawn into a downward spiral of venality and viciousness. At the same time, the film comes with a strong sociological dimension, offering an Orwellian farmyard microcosm of Britain, where criminals operate at all levels of society, but not all get away with it.” VODzilla
Release:
Concrete Plans had its world premiere at the virtual Arrow Video FrightFest Digital on 23rd October 2020.
In the UK, Signature Entertainment released Concrete Plans in cinemas on 23rd November 2020 and On-Digital from 13th November 2020.
In the USA, Concrete Plans is available via Amazon Prime
Cast and characters:
Amber Rose Revah … Amy
Kevin Guthrie … Simon
James Lance … Richard
Goran Bogdan … Viktor
Steve Speirs … Bob
Chris Reilly … Jim
Charley Palmer Rothwell … Steve
William Thomas … Dave
Gena Kawecka … Radio Announcer
Edwina Davies … Prim Walker
Kevin Cherry … Radio Commentator
Neil Edwards … Uniformed Police Officer
Alex Thei … Detective
Jason Efthimiadis … Detective
Filming locations:
South Wales
Technical details:
1 hour 31 minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 16:9 HD
Budget:
£700,000 (estimated)
Trailer:
