Out 28 OCTOBER

Most OF YOU would PROBABLY rather gouge out your eyes with a rusty spoon than watch a flick featuring the urban likes of So Solid Crew rapper-actor Ashley Walters and N-Dubz’s Tulisa Contostavlos. Well, put aside any preconceptions, because this is a stylish slice of home-grown horror, which sees writer/director Arjun Rose prove he’s well-versed in slash-tastic fare such as Friday The 13th.

Set against a suitably grimy London backdrop, the nastiness kicks off with a teen being butcher-knifed to death in her bathroom. Presumed to have topped herself, the deceased female is the catalyst for her most disenfranchised schoolmates to form a suicide pact. However, quicker than you can say ‘Jason Voorhees’, their life-ending plans take a twisted turn when a masked killer starts doing the job for them – in ways far more terrifying and brutal than they could’ve ever conceived. Think teen-drama Skins with lashings of blood!

As the cat-and-mouse game unfolds, first-timer Rose keeps the pacing tight, while punctuating events with revelations about the protagonists’ personal demons. Ranging from eating disorders to homosexuality and abusive parents, they add some emotional weight to proceedings, though never get in the way of the film’s central aim: to keep viewers guessing who’s next in line for the chop, and the identity of the deviant responsible.

Of course, the flick’s riddled with clichés, and you don’t need Mensa membership to predict the outcome, but Demons Never Die is a thoroughly entertaining screamathon.