"“A more than worthy achievement given the modest budget at hand...”"

Having been a hit as the opening night film at last summer's FrightFest in London, it seems somewhat unfair to simply tag Paul Hyett's The Seasoning House as a mere horror movie, as this picture is far more of a dark and twisted psychological thriller, and although at points it's somewhat scary, such horror elements derive from the intimidating and intense atmosphere created, as opposed to the more traditional genre devices.

Set in the war-torn Balkans, we enter in to the Seasoning House, a soulless and dangerous organisation run callously by the merciless Viktor (Kevin Howarth), where young guys are prostituted to the military. We witness this deranged world through the eyes of an orphaned deaf girl named Angel (Rosie Day), who has been enslaved to care for the hapless employers. However when Goran (Sean Pertwee) arrives as a customer, Angel recognises him from her own shady past, tempting her in to a brutal revenge plot. 

The Seasoning House is presented in a dark and murky way and such an aesthetic created extends to the ambiance, in what is a harrowing feature film. However it's certainly not an unsubtle piece of filmmaking, and the way the film has been crafted is certainly done so with the intentions of having the greatest emotional impact on the audience, shoving the desolation down your throat somewhat. You simply can't escape the bleakness, and although that's inevitable given the narrative,  Hyett leaves too little to the imagination, showing the viewer perhaps a little too much. We don't really need to see what a dead girl looks like covered in blood and vomit, y'know?

The overtly intense atmosphere does lead to a handful of somewhat melodramatic performances too, however on the whole the cast are to be commended, with Day standing out in particular, in a mature role for the youngster, who impresses greatly. Playing a role with no dialogue is no easy task, as she has to tell this whole story and express all emotions solely through her facial expressions, and she does a fine job. Both Howarth and Pertwee also excel, playing two villainous roles sadistically, avoiding any cliches or stereotypes, coming across as being genuinely threatening and cold-blooded.

With a handful of incredibly tense and captivating scenes, this heart pounding thriller is an ambitious debut feature for Hyett, proving to be a more than worthy achievement given the modest budget at hand. Though at the core of this title is a conventional revenge plot, The Seasoning House is hard going and brutal, and thankfully only lasts 90 minutes. Any longer and it may just have been too overbearing, as a film already unrelenting in its approach.