Cinema review
Directed by Kit Ryan
Starring Stephen Dorff, Sean Pertwee, Jaime Murray, Bronagh Gallagher
Release date 18 April 2008 (UK)

A trio of burglars, and a handful of hostages, get stranded on the 13th floor of a Moscow tower block after stealing a priceless heirloom. Waiting for them is Satanism, sacrifice and a huge axe-wielding maniac…

Botched is the best horror-comedy since Shaun of the Dead and an incredible debut for first time director Kit Ryan. Although the random, bizarre plot may prove a little bit hair-brained for some viewers (this might be the most non-linear feature film ever made), there is so much comedy gold in here that the whole shebang soon becomes surprisingly charming.

Almost impossible to aptly describe, Botched begins as a straightforward heist movie and then suddenly introduces us to a hulking barbarian who treads around decapitating both burglars and hostages alike. Then things get unspeakably weird – with the script making room for a cult of satanic housewives, a hapless ex-Russian military man and booby traps that slaughter their victims while playing disco dancing music.

Although it all threatens to fall apart at any moment, the various splatter set pieces and preposterous twists and turns somehow manage to come together and the end result makes for compulsive viewing. Calum Waddell

VERDICT: 8/10
With more hilarity than Hot Fuzz, and more blood than Bad Taste, this is far from a botch job.