What starts as a London-based riff on the themes of Shallow Grave gradually descends into a bargain-basement Straw Dogs as James Franco and Kate Hudson’s misplaced American couple grapple with the fallout of finding a stash of cash amid their dead tenant’s belongings. Should they keep the money and avoid imminent eviction? Or should they heed the warnings of Tom Wilkinson’s wily but bereaved detective? The answer is obvious, yet this increasingly ramshackle thriller somehow manages to bodge many of its key plot points, leaving the narrative as badly maintained as the rundown houses it occupies. Omar Sy picks the short straw as the villainous smooth operator with a naff line in gnomic threats, while the ear-scraping copshop banter leaves The Sweeney looking like a hard-hitting documentary. And I’m talking about the Nick Love version!
