16 Days 'til the Rest of Your Life DVD Review

Andy (James Fisher) returns from a holiday and introduces his new fiance Lisa (Helen Keen) to his surprised friends, one of whom, Grace (Cathy Eccles) was his girlfriend before he left. They all go to the house of Andy's father (Rufus Graham), where Andy and Lisa announce their plans to marry in 16 days time. Andy's friends are concerned about his sudden plans and his pre occupation with his new bride-to-be. Before long the finger of suspicion points at Lisa. After several dope and booze fuelled days, the group come to the conclusion that Lisa must be a Demon, a Succubus who is planning some unspeakable fate for the poor deluded Andy. The group try to gather evidence of Lisa's diabolical scheme while Andy is oblivious to what's going on. As the wedding day approaches, they have to decide how to pop off of their friend’s fiance without anyone noticing.

16 Days 'til the Rest of Your Life is the first feature from Lee Isserow. It has a very British feel to it and although some of the cast and crew from Shaun of the Dead are involved, this is a completely different animal. Obviously very low budget, 16 days… manages to hold the viewers attention with an absorbing storyline about a group of friends suffering from drug, alcohol and jealousy induced demonic paranoia. The ingenious animated sections work very well and lend individuality to the film. Some of the gags really appealed to my sense of humour; in one part, the concerned friends, convinced that Lisa is a demon, discuss ways of seeing her off and suggest burning her. Not impressed with this, they wonder if scalding her with a cup of tea would suffice! The cast all give good performances. Stones, played by Tom Clutterbuck, occasionally verges on the irritating but on the whole manages to pull off his amusing role as the wise cracking stoner. The rather lovely Cathy Eccles is particularly good as the spurned Grace, and her character has an interesting little secret that’s whipped out at the end. I was very pleasantly surprised by 16 Days 'til the Rest of Your Life and will be keeping an eye on future releases from Opiate films. S.J.T.

16 Days 'til the Rest of Your Life. 2005

Directed by Lee Isserow

Lee Isserow shares his captivating elucidations concerning his directorial debut feature HERE