''New Town Killers'' is a British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by Richard Jobson, starring

James Anthony Pearson James Anthony Pearson (born 1 October 1989 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester) is a British actor who lives in Glasgow. Pearson is best known for his performance as Bernard Sumner in Anton Corbijn's film ''Control''. He played the role of Angus S ...

and

Dougray Scott Stephen Dougray Scott (born 25 November 1965) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared in the films ''Ever After'' (1998), '' Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), ''Enigma'' (2001), ''Hitman'' (2007), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011). Early life Sc ...

. ''New Town Killers'' follows two business men, portrayed by Dougray Scott and

Alastair Mackenzie Alastair Mackenzie (born 8 February 1970) is a Scottish actor from Perth. Early life He was born in Trinafour, near Perth, and educated at Westbourne House School and Glenalmond College in Perthshire. Mackenzie left home at the age of 1 ...

, who play macabre cat and mouse games with people from the fringes of society. The film was an official selection for both The Times BFI London Film Festival, 2008 and The International Thessaloniki Film Festival, 2008.

Plot

Two private bankers, Alistair (Scott) and Jamie (Mackenzie), who have the world at their feet get their kicks from playing a twelve-hour game of hunt, hide and seek with people from the margins of society. Their next target is Sean Macdonald (Pearson) a parentless teenager who lives with his sister on a housing estate on the outskirts of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. She's in debt, he's going nowhere fast. Sean agrees to play for cash. He soon realises he's walked into twelve hours of hell where survival is the name of the game.

Theme song

The theme song "New Town Killers" marked Richard Jobson's first official return to songwriting in over fifteen years. The song was co written with Scottish group Isa & the Filthy Tongues who include former members of

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie Goodbye Mr Mackenzie is a Scottish rock band formed in Bathgate near Edinburgh. At the band's commercial peak, the line-up consisted of Martin Metcalfe on vocals, John Duncan on guitar, Fin Wilson on bass guitar, Shirley Manson and Rona Scobi ...

and Angelfish. Jobson contributed the lyrics and the band created the music. The backing music for this song was also used as the introductory score for the film. Jobson helped the band perform this song at the Edinburgh film festival launch of the movie in June 2009 at Edinburgh's Voodoo Rooms.

Cast

as Alistair Raskolnikov *

as Sean Macdonald *

as Jamie Stewart *

Charles Mnene Charles Mnene (born 11 December 1985) is a British film, television and stage actor. Mnene's television appearances include guest roles in ''The Bill'', '' Holby City'', '' Doctors'' and the drama '' Ahead of the Class'', with Julie Walters, p ...

as Sam *

Shelley Conn Shelley Deborah Conn (born 21 September 1976) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Lady Mary Sharma in the hugely successful Netflix series ''Bridgerton'', as Isabella in the film ''Love Sarah'', as Dr Elizabeth Shan ...

as Julie Stewart * Liz White as Alice Kelly *

Karen Gillan Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction seri ...

(in her first film role) as Young Girl in Bus Station

External links

* * *
Review at Dvdtimes.com
2008 films 2008 psychological thriller films Films set in Edinburgh Films shot in Edinburgh British psychological thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{2000s-UK-film-stub