Serenity House, a rundown London council tower block scheduled for redevelopment, is inhabited by a few remaining tenants who are unwilling to move out. When a teenager is beaten to death in the building, and no-one will come forward as a witness for fear of reprisal, a vengeful sniper armed with a high-powered rifle and laser sights blocks off all exits in the high-rise and proceeds to blow the heads off the tight-lipped residents.
The killer in Tower Block is a truly incredible individual: not only can he take aim and shoot the dick off a gnat at 100 yards, in the dark, in under a second, but he's also adept at rigging complex booby traps in a public space without raising any suspicion, knows how to block cell phone signals and internet connections, and even has a designer's eye, rustling up a natty graffiti-style logo to announce his campaign of terror. That said, he's still no match for feisty blonde Becky (Sheridan Smith), who is able to thwart the shooter's best laid plans with a little help from her surviving neighbours, including local thug Kurtis (Jack O'Connell) and friendly, fearless fellow Neville (Ralph Brown).
With a lot more care and attention in the script department, this might have been a taut little thriller—there's definitely the germ of a good idea in there somewhere— but too many far-fetched elements, massive plot holes and unlikeable characters (I struggle with wastrels, criminals and chavs as heroes—see also Attack The Block) prevent it from being a success, despite the best efforts of a game cast (Jack O'Connell's OTT performance is a blast) and competent direction from James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson. With lots of shootings and some reasonable action, it's never boring, I suppose, but it could have been so much better.
Oh, and to the IMDb reviewer who described Sheridan Smith as 'a monster of a woman': get your eyes tested!!! She's a hottie!
The killer in Tower Block is a truly incredible individual: not only can he take aim and shoot the dick off a gnat at 100 yards, in the dark, in under a second, but he's also adept at rigging complex booby traps in a public space without raising any suspicion, knows how to block cell phone signals and internet connections, and even has a designer's eye, rustling up a natty graffiti-style logo to announce his campaign of terror. That said, he's still no match for feisty blonde Becky (Sheridan Smith), who is able to thwart the shooter's best laid plans with a little help from her surviving neighbours, including local thug Kurtis (Jack O'Connell) and friendly, fearless fellow Neville (Ralph Brown).
With a lot more care and attention in the script department, this might have been a taut little thriller—there's definitely the germ of a good idea in there somewhere— but too many far-fetched elements, massive plot holes and unlikeable characters (I struggle with wastrels, criminals and chavs as heroes—see also Attack The Block) prevent it from being a success, despite the best efforts of a game cast (Jack O'Connell's OTT performance is a blast) and competent direction from James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson. With lots of shootings and some reasonable action, it's never boring, I suppose, but it could have been so much better.
Oh, and to the IMDb reviewer who described Sheridan Smith as 'a monster of a woman': get your eyes tested!!! She's a hottie!