Down Terrace

Down Terrace may be an ultra low budget film, but there's no lack of effort or attention to detail when it comes to the extras on this DVD - fitting for the labour of love which the end product clearly is.

The commentary track by director Ben Wheatley and writer/star Robin Hill is informative and entertaining in equal measure. There's plenty of detail on the craft of the film - such as the fact that they used a stopwatch to help them keep to schedule and that most scenes were shot only twice, once on script and once improvising around it. They also offer plenty of detail as regards shooting inside Hill's parents' house and the casting of, mainly, comedians they've previously worked with and family - "they were the only people that we know".

There's also lots of enjoyable ephemera, including revelations that Julia Deakin is allergic to soy - which proved rather unfortunate after the dinner party scene - and the fact that Hill's mum is "still wearing" some of Deakin's wardrobe from the film. Hill and Wheatley never take themselves too seriously, but still maintain a decent level of information, rather than slipping into 'in joke' territory.

Short film Rob Loves Kerry, starring Hill and Kerry Peacock as a young couple who move in together before things go south following a burglary at their new pad, is rough and ready but clearly acted as a springboard for the characters/dark feel of Down Terrace.

The camera tests are fun but of the additional extras directly related to Down Terrace, the two extended scenes offer the most entertainment. One sees Robert Hill's speech regarding drugs in the 60s expanded to great effect and the other offers a surreal encounter between his character and a toad. It's easy to see why the latter didn't quite fit in with the film as a whole but great to see it included in this package.

Rounding out the extras is a series of BBC comedy sketches Wheatley and Hill did, entitled The Amazing Wizards - basically bodge-job magicians whose tricks always go painfully wrong - and the trailer.

All told, a thoughtfully assembled set of extras that make this DVD well worth shelling out for.