Summer Scars

Shot Dogme-style in just three weeks, Julian Richards’s coming-of-age psychological thriller reunites him with actor Kevin Howarth, who played the psycho in ‘The Last Horror Movie’. Here, Howarth’s scruffy, manipulative sociopath worms his way into a gang of delinquent Welsh teenagers who’ve skipped school to mess about in the woods. Peter’s knife and pellet gun are tangible threats, but his power over gang leader Bingo and his fellow 14 year olds relies more on exposing their own hidden weaknesses.

Most frightening of all is Peter’s self-deluding belief that he is teaching the kids a valuable lesson about trust, loyalty and friendship. An inexperienced cast don’t always make the most of a slippery, unsettling script by Al Wilson (a roofer in real life), but Amy Harvey’s nuanced portrayal of tomboy Leanne – all braces and bolshie attitude up front, yet shy and vulnerable underneath – is a stand-out. Chris Jones’s subtly supernatural short, ‘Gone Fishing’, starring Bill Paterson as a bereaved angler, plays in support.