The Radleys takes the vampire mythos in a new intriguing direction, but the horror comedy fails to stick the landing in its delivery. Technically speaking, the movie is fine. The actors deliver solid performances, and there is a central plot that moves the story along. But frustratingly, this movie’s potential is squandered in terms of the actors involved, but also the missed opportunities in the plot that wind up being inconsequential side stories.
The Radleys appear to be a typical family in a small English town. However, when Clara finds herself in a dangerous situation, she discovers a dark secret hidden from her and her brother by their parents. In the fallout, Peter, played by Damian Lewis, calls in his brother for help, but that only makes things more complicated. To add another layer of drama and complexity to the story, the Radleys are vampires, though they choose to abstain from their more base desires.
The Radleys Has The Makings Of A Killer Supernatural Coming-Of-Age Movie
The Radleys features a couple of fascinating narrative threads and creative twists on the usual tropes of a vampire story. Rather than simply being vegetarian vampires who drink from animals, the Radleys choose to avoid drinking any blood. This kind of story has an interesting premise that could have been explored more, as the family seeks to fit into normal life and navigate relationships with the community. However, an even better story is hidden one layer down.
There are a couple of fascinating narrative threads, and creative twists on the usual tropes of a vampire story.
Two of the best characters in The Radleys are the children, Clara and Rowan. Both are typical teenagers, navigating social situations, relationships, and school, but when they discover their family’s secret, it puts their entire world in a spin. Choosing to center the story on the kids, and their efforts to deal with the family drama could have made this film into something that was far more interesting. At the very least, it could have played into the horror comedy better.
Instead, the horror and comedy appear to be firmly divided in the film, with the younger Radleys providing many of the lighthearted moments, though there were few to begin with, and the parents only offering up drama. Ultimately, the movie does do some things well, but the failure to really capitalize on the tools at hand makes it fall short. Despite this, it’s at least interesting in terms of the premise, and the acting remains strong throughout.
Unfortunately, The Radleys Lacks A Clear Direction
Just as Damian Lewis was cast in two conflicting roles, The Radleys did not deliver a fully formed idea, opting for a quirky low-budget B-movie. Director Euros Lyn has done spectacular things in his career up to this point with Heartstopper and several episodes of Doctor Who, but The Radleys suggests his abilities work in any format except for TV. Perhaps Lyn is struggling to adapt to feature films and stuffing too much into the limited format.
The story is adapted from a novel, another medium that has more room to meander with numerous plot points, but this adaptation feels like it lacked a clear focus on any specific parts of the story.