A brilliantly dark, underseen crime thriller movie is airing on TV tonight

Stephen Porzio

Holding an 86% Rotten Tomatoes score, one critic dubbed it as being ‘as violent as the Coens, as vérité as Ken Loach’.

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Wednesday, 16 October) is Down Terrace, the debut film from acclaimed co-writer and director Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, High-Rise, Kill List).

The darkly comic crime thriller revolves around Bill (Robert Hill, Kill List) and his son, Karl (co-writer Robin Hill, The Borderlands), who work together in the “oldest of family businesses – organised crime”.

“After spending a few days in jail, they return home and realise they may have a rat in their midst,” the plot synopsis reads.

“As they try to pick out the informant from a group, that includes an unpredictable hit man (Michael Smiley, Bad Sisters), Karl learns his girlfriend (Kerry Peacock) is pregnant and must deal his parents’ disapproval.”

Co-starring David Schaal (The Inbetweeners), Julia Deakin (Shaun of the Dead) and Tony Way (After Life), Down Terrace was made in just eight days on a micro budget of just £30,000.

And yet, it earned rave reviews thanks to its fun mix of kitchen sink family drama and taut gangster thriller, its hilarious yet scary performances from Robin Hill and Michael Smiley, and its deeper themes regarding toxic masculinity and the futility of violence.

Accurately dubbed by one critic as being “as violent as the Coens, as vérité as Ken Loach”, Down Terrace holds an 86% Rotten Tomatoes score.

The movie is airing on TV tonight on Film4 at 11.40pm and will be available to stream on Channel 4’s website following the TV showing.