by Cookie N Screen
Within the first minute of Terry and Brenda, you’ll think to yourself – “aye, I know people just like these two!” Especially if you’ve grown up in working class Northern Suburbia. Much like The Royle Family and similar British comedies, Terry and Brenda sets the right tone of English nights in with a brew, a quiz show and a Bourbon or custard cream.
There is no denying that you’ll take one look at Terry and Brenda and shuffle awkwardly. These are the faces ripped from the twitching curtains of Coronation Street, only heavily more bleak and realistic. Get five minutes into Jamie Hooper’s dark comedy short and you’ll realise that there is much more to this happily married couple. Get ten minutes in and, as the secrets unfurl, you’ll think to yourself, “Aye, I hope I don’t know people like Terry and Brenda!”
Within the first minute of Terry and Brenda, you’ll think to yourself – “aye, I know people just like these two!” Especially if you’ve grown up in working class Northern Suburbia. Much like The Royle Family and similar British comedies, Terry and Brenda sets the right tone of English nights in with a brew, a quiz show and a Bourbon or custard cream.
There is no denying that you’ll take one look at Terry and Brenda and shuffle awkwardly. These are the faces ripped from the twitching curtains of Coronation Street, only heavily more bleak and realistic. Get five minutes into Jamie Hooper’s dark comedy short and you’ll realise that there is much more to this happily married couple. Get ten minutes in and, as the secrets unfurl, you’ll think to yourself, “Aye, I hope I don’t know people like Terry and Brenda!”
The short plot of this film goes as such: Terry and Brenda are settling in to a cosy night by the television with lavish amounts of biscuits, some filthy married talk and Robocop on the set. However, their fetish predilections overcome them and soon they are bound in leather, ready for a night of bondage as Brenda assumes power for an evening.
What is brilliant about Hooper’s work is how he has written these fully-formed characters that probably waddle around the streets gas-bagging away with the neighbours. It feels highly likely that what lurks behind the florals are is utter depravity in its truer of forms. The cringey lack of sophistication of the couple feels true to form and Hooper wields the story well, with the camera lapping up the pair along with the audience. It’s intelligent writing, focusing on the married couple at the heart of it, rather than the surroundings or twists because the terrible acts that follow unfurl more shockingly. The pair leap off the page and the screen, so it’s understandable that Hooper would chose to develop the story around them, rather than fit them into it.
What is brilliant about Hooper’s work is how he has written these fully-formed characters that probably waddle around the streets gas-bagging away with the neighbours. It feels highly likely that what lurks behind the florals are is utter depravity in its truer of forms. The cringey lack of sophistication of the couple feels true to form and Hooper wields the story well, with the camera lapping up the pair along with the audience. It’s intelligent writing, focusing on the married couple at the heart of it, rather than the surroundings or twists because the terrible acts that follow unfurl more shockingly. The pair leap off the page and the screen, so it’s understandable that Hooper would chose to develop the story around them, rather than fit them into it.
The cinematography and shots are grimy, bleak and brilliantly done, too. With an eye for imagery, Hooper and his team invest in picturesque home life and then slam into the opposite, unravelling the plot and juxtaposing parts of the home with your stance about the pair as you learn more about them. It is almost neat, save for one unnecessary plot device that could be taken out and the film would still feel entirely whole and wicked (the child, more or less, echoes the shock of it all, but feels too unexplored for her to be entirely well placed here). And somewhere in this short film is a mirror to real life events that offer another layer of discomfort, whether intentional or not. Whether that's good or not. Sometimes mixed emotions twist the film into a greater level and there's a sense that this couple will stick around in my mind for a long time.
That being said, there is a slickness (and sickness) to the film and overall, it is quite excellent. It’s safe to say that you’ll be second-guessing what lurks behind the semi-detatched houses and the furtive chats in Asda. It balances the humanistic comedy of our leads (acted terrifically by Tim Blackwell and Debra Baker, by the way) with the skeletons in the closet of England’s street.
The problem here... is that you probably do know people like Terry and Brenda.
Terry and Brenda will be making its way around festivals. Make sure you get it watched. Safe word – red.
That being said, there is a slickness (and sickness) to the film and overall, it is quite excellent. It’s safe to say that you’ll be second-guessing what lurks behind the semi-detatched houses and the furtive chats in Asda. It balances the humanistic comedy of our leads (acted terrifically by Tim Blackwell and Debra Baker, by the way) with the skeletons in the closet of England’s street.
The problem here... is that you probably do know people like Terry and Brenda.
Terry and Brenda will be making its way around festivals. Make sure you get it watched. Safe word – red.
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