A low budget film like this gets reviews all over the map, but even great films have critics that didn't like them. The Kid With a Bike got reviews in the papers of 2, 3, 4, and 5 stars. You wonder if they are watching the same movie.This is a first effort for writer/directors Mark Harriott and Mike Matthews. They evidently worked hard to present a film with an atmosphere that is really creepy. The music and sound really matched the scenes and keep the tension high.The sexual scenes are intense, both heterosexual and homosexual, as Rick (David Paisley) brings his boyfriend Johnny (Jonathan Keane) along with his girlfriend Sadie (Christina De Vallee).It had a strange, but no unexpected ending that really drove the insanity home.The acting was very good, and it was a compelling story.

Words fail me. This review will not seem to bear any resemblance to the 10 star reviews above; subjective as the world is, this truly was one of the worst films I've had the misfortune to sit through. Are they acting we asked? Is it irony, we wondered? Was it improvisation? No, it is none of these. Hammy acting, a series of unconnected scenes with a 40 minute lead up to nothing and a hideous stereotyped gay man coming across like a mix of that horrid character from Gimme Gimme Gimme and Ian Beale. What I would say is that some of the time lapse photography ain't bad - what I'd also add is if the director (was there one?) wanted to avoid make up on the 'actors', natural as that may be flattering it certainly ain't! Avoid.

This movie is stylishly made and definitely pulls you along, helped mainly by Jill Riddiford's performance as the pious and grandmotherly Corinne. Riddiford keeps you guessing until the very end whether she is unhinged or just childlike and pitiable. That said, this is also one of those thrillers where the characters have to make all the wrong (and increasingly stupid) decisions in order to keep the (ridiculous) plot going. By the end, I knew I was supposed to feel the horrible moral ugliness of the deranged religious fundamentalism espoused on "the island", but all I saw was a series of gruesome hate crimes (with the gay guy, of course, getting it the worst). It's been done before--and with less obvious sadistic relish.

Couple Rick (David Paisley) and Sadie (Christina De Valles) are going to the island of Amen for her birthday. They are joined by Rick's best friend (and secret boyfriend) Jonny (Jonathan Keane). They have a surprise for Sadie on the island but, when they get there, things go from bad to worse and their lives are in danger.This movie is far from perfect. The ultra low budget shows in the threadbare sets and some of the plot is left unanswered--like does Sadie know that Rick and Jonny are lovers? Also the slow pace works against it at times. Still this is worth seeing. It starts off with a feeling of dread with eerie music playing on the soundtrack and never stops. Also the acting is good across the board--something you usually don't find in any horror film. I also like that the movie has a gay male couple and doesn't shy away from showing them have sex. There's also some female nudity but more male nudity. Keane and Paisley have a pretty explicit sex scene and later on we see them washing each other off with a glimpse of full frontal from Paisley. I didn't see the ending coming at all and it's disturbing and bloody--as it should be. So--no great movie but worth catching.