This didn't look to me like the sort of the film that would have been released in cinemas, it looks too much like a low-budget independent film that would go straight to TV or DVD, but it had a good rating, so I tried it. Basically in the fictional Wittering College in North London, English teacher Robert Anderson (David Schofield) is hit in the face by a student, to avoid being sued by the student's parents he is forced to take a three month holiday. Robert a few months later is still affected by the incident, he has become emotionally disturbed, alcoholic and separated from his wife Helen (Juliet Aubrey). Their daughter Kate (Eliza Bennett) lives with her mother and has classes with her father, but she does not respect Robert, he is also loathed by headmistress Sarah Balham (Ruth Gemmell) who wants to get rid of him, but the Union will not allow her to fire him. Robert has read in the news about another school experiencing violence, he sends a memo advising school employees, he is considered paranoid and delusional by everyone. One day after hours Robert and Kate get into a heated argument, he ends up hitting her, she leaves the room, soon after Robert notes strange movements outside the school, he advises security guard James (Finlay Robertson) to do something, but he is ignored. Soon enough however Robert realises that his paranoia is justified, Wittering College is surrounded and under a siege by a gang of hooligans in hoodies, he needs to find and protect daughter Kate and they need to somehow call for help. Also starring Emma Cleasby as Lucy, Roxanne McKee as Nicky, Tom Mannion as Gary, Max Fowler as Jake Eaves, Mike Burnside as Head of School Board Douglas and Jamie Kenna as Brian Stanton. Schofield is certainly convincing as the cynical and alienated teacher, but I'm not sure I agree with the critics giving this film four stars out of five, it is not particularly scary or bloody, it does seem to be more a psychodrama, it has a couple of tense moments, shadowy sequences and a bleak feel, but overall I didn't find it all that entertaining, it's a reasonable horror thriller. Worth watching, at least once!

I can see why this film is either a love or hate movie.There are those that like it's simple approach and execution, and there are those that just dislike it because it doesn't deliver the expected gore fest they've come to expect, and it doesn't make a lot of sense either.I'm a bit torn over this film, and wanted to like it more than I do.THE GOOD:I was impressed in the simple way it slowly nudged up the tension.It slowly made you feel more uncomfortable, as the hoodie gang attack lone teachers and pupils after hours at the school. I felt sorry for the teacher who had his career and life ruined by an obnoxious pupil who assaulted him, and then got away with it.His slow slide into alcoholism and depression was very well portrayed, and the deterioration of his relationship with his daughter was realistic and well acted.I'm glad the film didn't resort to wall to wall gore to show all the killings. Setting up the threat and then revealing later on the horrific aftermath was much more effective for me.Too many horrors swamp the viewer with ultra-realistic death scenes nowadays. It isn't shocking any more, and we all know how good make up effects and CGI can be to show a person getting killed, so the impact is lost.The faceless hoodies were a new scary idea, and how they stalked their victims was well filmed.THE BAD:Well, the film takes a big nose-dive once we've reached 75 minutes of good tension building and plot development, and seems to just fizzle out.There is no resolution at all here, no real motive for the attacks, no members of the gang identified. They just appear to get away with it.The teacher drives off to the hospital with his wounded daughter. The mother arrives at the school and is wandering around on her own. Most of the other teachers and pupils have been killed off. The two police staff who arrived to investigate are also dead.THAT'S IT!! END OF FILM.Quite what this is supposed to mean is a mystery.I'm wondering if the director and writer felt that today's thoughtless, selfish, and nasty society would just accept that there is no justice, no hope, and no end to today's violence, and therefore the ending was justified as showing - real life . Either that, or simply the money ran out and there was no way to film anything else, so the film was left to stand as it is.I don't know which, but I think most people will feel cheated here, and end up disliking what is a well made film that just needed a bit more work to make it excellent.

This was so bad I was compelled to write against this pathetic attempt at horror. Firstly something about fake favourable reviews.... They are transparent to most but are however misleading. If the film is rubbish it just is, haven't you heard about the turd and polish. Now the film; I'm no film buff nor pretend to be one but it made me hate the film. The film carries the same air of suspense which for 5 mins is good then gets seriously tiresome as nothing happens to the end... Really. I didn't even hate the hoodies, mainly as I didn't know who they were or why was this happening. Then there was no killing or gore nor was there any father daughter story developed. In short this had promise for 5 minutes at best. An utter waste of time. The director has absolutely zero skill.

For £150,000 budget this was a good watch. Reading the other reviews, would say it's smart and well shot. The gore scenes were well done and the hoodies, well I didn't feel we needed an explanation unlike other reviewers. The anti hero dad was developed well and the hanging ending was done well, justified the film's brevity given the limitation on budget. My only criticism is the police visit, didn't really add anything to the plot. The Head Teacher was particularly good and immensely dislikeable. Was the story realistic? Hell no What schools can afford two security guards, a fancy gym and a library like that? For me, this film can hold its own within the thriller/horror genre.