"The steady pacing creates a rich sense of atmosphere alongside the violence"

Set in the windswept town of Cleethorpes, Pleasure Island tells a relatively gripping if somewhat familiar tale of revenge and personal redemption.

As it starts, we meet Dean (Ian Sharp), a soldier returning to his home town, and clearly carrying some demons of the past. After reuniting with his grouchy father Tony (Nicholas Day) he then meets up with old friend Jess (Gina Bramhill) and eventually becomes embroiled in events concerning both of them and a group of local small-time gangsters.

While some of the story beats are fairly obviously signposted and a couple of the supporting cast’s characterisations are relatively familiar, there is, nonetheless, a sense of tension throughout that is well crafted. The steady pacing creates a rich sense of atmosphere alongside the violence which is always brutal, but very often just off-screen.

It’s not difficult to see where the plot threads are leading to and that this probably won’t end well for the majority of the characters involved. But director Mike Duxford has worked well within a limited budget, creating something that, while not being overtly original, is by no means without its merits.