Salvage (2009) Review – A Gritty and Uneven British Festive Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing Salvage from 2009.

Suspenseful British festive horror

Set on the Wirral in England, UK (the actual estate from the soap-opera Brookside), Salvage tells the story of Beth, Jodie, and Kieran. Something horrifying is happening on their street.  Nobody knows what it is but the neighbours are dying and the place is on lockdown. We follow Beth as she attempts to survive against the unidentified threat. All while trying to save her daughter in the process.

“Salvage is a tense and claustrophobic little low-budget horror movie. Focusing on a very small cast of characters, the initial tension comes not in the form of a horrifying threat but in rote familial drama.”

Salvage came about as part of a celebration of Liverpool’s 2008 EU City of Culture status. Written by the duo of Colin O’Donnell and Alan Patterson and directed by Lawrence Gough, this is a tense and claustrophobic little low-budget horror movie. Focusing on a very small cast of characters, the initial tension comes not in the form of a horrifying threat but in rote familial drama. Beth and her daughter have a strained relationship. Forced to spend Christmas with her, Jodie arrives only to find her mum not answering the door because she’s busy porking some random dude.

Naturally, she’s a bit upset so storms off. That’s when a marauding neighbour runs rampage in the street only to be shot by police. The entire cul-de-sac is placed on lockdown and it’s up to Beth to find her daughter against all odds. Obviously, I am not going to spoil the ending here but there’s a tiny bit of a cosmic element to this film that makes for something that feels flawed but fresh.

A likeable protagonist

The first thing Salvage has going for it is a strong protagonist. Beth, despite her flaws, is incredibly likeable and you want to see her succeed. Her motivations make perfect sense. She believes her daughter is in danger and she will do anything to save her. While doing this, she finds tremendous strength and resolve. It’s a classic horror protagonist story and it’s easy to buy into. She’s a bloody fierce woman and entirely unafraid of what’s lurking behind the hedges of this otherwise peaceful street.

Speaking of the street, the small cul-de-sac that hosts the action is a bit of a double-edged sword. The houses being close together keeps the action contained. Beth moves through some of the neighbour’s houses and you never know what she will find which is good. It works to add an extra sense of tension.

Despite this, the location is undeniably boring and there is a distinct sense of rinse and repeat. Each scene feels similar to the last. Later revelations will make you wonder why the events stayed contained to the small area. When viewed as a complete picture, it really makes no sense. It’s a tiny hindrance to the action. Still, that contained location does keep things flowing at a nice clip. The movie doesn’t labour too much and stays interesting.

Fantastic acting

Wow, Neve McIntosh is on fire in this movie. What a brilliant performance. She is thoroughly convincing as the regretful absent mum desperate to save her child. Beth spends much of the movie covered in dirt and exhausted. She goes crawling around gardens and throwing herself over fences with reckless abandon.

“Neve McIntosh is on fire in this movie. She is thoroughly convincing as the regretful absent mum desperate to save her child. I think it is fair to say that without her performance this movie would barely be worth a watch.”

All in all, she generally gets very beat up and very dirty. It’s one of my favourite British horror movie performances. From being an angry and conflicted person right down to going full-on action heroine mode — Neve is totally invested and genuinely captivating. I think it is fair to say that without her performance this movie would barely be worth a watch.

Shaun Dooley as Kieran is also fantastic; he puts on a nuanced performance. Dooley makes Kieran entirely believable for his sleaziness and smarm. Kieran develops as the movie goes on and becomes fairly likeable. Much of which is down to Dooley’s portrayal as Kieran isn’t a sympathetic character. Scenes where Kieran is displaying emotion are perfectly convincing.

Linzey Cocker as Jodie puts on a very realistic performance, too. I have to point out that she looks way too old to be playing the 14-year-old character. Cocker was in her 20s here and it shows. Still, that’s not her fault. There is a bit of a soap opera realism to the way she plays the character. You really feel her resentment when she shouts at Beth.

Soooo British

A quick thing I should point out here is the dialogue. Americans are going to struggle with some of it. Hell, I did and I am Welsh, albeit with a very non-Welsh accent. It is an absolute smorgasbord of random British accents. Beth has a thick Scottish accent, Jodie is from Manchester, one of the special forces characters has an ultra thick Liverpool accent. Dooley seems to be from Yorkshire.

Beth is generally fine and most people will get a kick out of her aggressive Scottish tinged cussing. Jodie is easy to understand but, again, has a very thick accent. The special forces dude later in the movie can be difficult in parts. It’s Dooley that posed the most issues for me, however. Not so much because of his accent but because of his pitch and the volume he talks at.

“If you are looking for a fairly exciting horror movie with a Christmas theme then give Salvage a watch. It is, however, too inconsistent and uneven to truly recommend.”

I missed big chunks of what he was saying due to this. Having watched this movie a good few times, I miss something every viewing. It doesn’t help that there is a big disparity between loud sounds and voices. People who struggle with understanding accents may have a hard time here.

Inconsistent and, occasionally disappointing

The problem with Salvage and the reason for the score is the inconsistency. It starts with an intriguing scenario and builds tension incredibly well. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t manage to maintain it. It actually descends into farce as the movie goes on. The once promising plot is replaced by an action packed final 20 minutes. This would normally be fine but the action feels ludicrous. Things start happening that just feel completely forced to up the ante. It also has a tendency to set up one story before completely abandoning it for another. It is very inconsistent.

Unfortunately, that is not where the issues end. Despite how good some of the earlier practical stuff had looked, later scenes don’t hold up. Said awful effects combine with some absolutely silly cinematography. Certain shots are actually comical and look ridiculous. It’s very disappointing after a promising start.

Many of the scenes make no sense, too. There are plot holes everywhere. Things happen with no explanation and the writing is very sloppy. A few effective moments toward the end don’t make up for the more ridiculous ones littered throughout. A few things happen that are bound to have the audience asking “WTF?”.

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