Beautiful Creatures review

The debut feature of TV veteran Bill Eagles is a misguided and generally unpleasant affair which relies too heavily on misogynistic thrills rather than - just think of it - having a script.

Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz are a pair of women who are thrown together by the accidental death of the latter's boyfriend. They quickly become embroiled in an increasingly elaborate and dangerous plot of blackmail, betrayal and revenge, as they fake a kidnap and attempt to embezzle a million pounds from the deceased's family...

Right from the start, the tone is unclear. There are several acts of violence that should be unsettling, yet are rendered ineffectual by the elevator music soundtrack, autopilot acting and clichéd set-pieces. Beautiful Creatures wants to be a sassy comedy-thriller but in reality it's an ugly mess, held together by a script that thinks it's good to laugh at bestiality, paedophilia and wife-beating. Avoid.