The Horror Channel is always a good place to find films that don't make the mainstream, most of the time they don't make any stream come to think of it. Tony London Serial Killer is one little gem they show on quite a regular basis. It is how I discovered this British classic and I'm envious of anyone who has yet to sample the dark delights of Tony.
Written and directed by Gerald Johnson, in Tony London Serial Killer ( although the film's titles only call it Tony ) we follow the day to day life of, yep you guessed it, Tony. We see him wander through a very downtrodden looking London and the film is about his episodic encounters with various people.Some bully him, some are nice to him, and some he kills. Tony lives alone in his foul smelling flat, his only comfort the old action videos he watches. Something we applaud here at The Abandoned Video Shop. Tony is brilliantly played by Peter Ferdinando, and it really must rank amongst the very best screen performances of the last decade. It really is that good. Peter Ferdinando not only makes Tony dark and alienating but also gives him pathos and sympathy. You can't help but feel sadness, and more than a little revulsion, as Tony asks a rotting corpse if he wants a cup of tea.
It is not a particularly bloody film, the average slasher has gallons more gore. It is the cloying atmosphere that gets to you with Tony. So when he kills, it is shocking and real. Plus there is none of the Hannibal grand body tableaus in this film, Tony doesn't kill to make a statement. Will Graham wouldn't even notice Tony as he wandered by, let alone delve into his motives. Gerald Johnson doesn't give us motives, we are not even sure if we are watching Tony in the middle of his killings or if it is all starting to crumble away. Just as Tony wandered on at the beginning of the film, so he wanders off screen at the end, through the London night, a predator passing people totally unnoticed and totally anonymous.
If you haven't seen it give Tony a go, you won't be disappointed and I envy the joy you have in store.
The Owner
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