Kaleidoscope Review

3 stars of brooding psychological thriller.

Kaleidoscope is a claustrophobic and glum British psychological thriller, written and directed by Rupert Jones (Coming Up, The Sickie), brother of the star Toby Jones (First Cow, Out of Blue) and is his directorial debut.

“If it sends you off somewhere, I’ll come and get you. Come on”

Carl (Toby Jones) is a gardener ex-convict living alone in a soulless and drab apartment block. As the film opens, we see him awakened from his slumber on the sofa to the sound of banging on his door. No-one is to be seen, however when he comes back in he sees a broken chair. Investigation leads to a worrying discovery, the dead body of a young woman in the bathroom.

Now we seem to go back in time, we think, he has a date and his neighbour lends him a shirt. We get to meet the young lady, Abby (Sinead Matthews – Jellyfish, The Process) looking much more alive than last time we saw her.

The date seems to be going well, but Abby might not have the best intentions. She is texting someone with details of Carl’s address. She also spikes his drink despite his warning that he doesn’t take alcohol and roots through his belongings.

She finds his kaleidoscope in a drawer, plays with it and then hides it in her bag. This is when Carl notices he has an answerphone message from his mother Aileen (Anne Reid – Last Tango in Halifax), with whom he does not get on.

When she arrives on his doorstep, what follows is a descent into madness, as Carl’s mind seems to fracture like the beads in his Kaleidoscope and he slowly loses his grip on reality.

Kaleidoscope is a very interesting film. It certainly has no small amount of issues, in some ways it tries to be a little bit too clever and the result is quite a bit of confusion. It is well directed however and there is a pervading sense of danger created by the uneasy relationships between the characters.

The acting performances, especially Jones, are what really make this film, he is very believable as a creepy potential serial killer. Coupled with a nerve jangling score from Mike Prestwood Smith (Casino Royale) it really carries the film and makes up for its slightly dubious plot twists.

All in all this is a good watch for fans of the British thriller genre and one to add to the collection.

“See how the colours change…”

Kaleidoscope is available to buy now on Digital and DVD