Kill Ben Lyk

There’s a scathingly sarcastic young woman (Simone Ashley), a vicar with the build of a wrestler (Charlie Rawes), a banker (Bruce Mackinnon), a ladies’ man (Ashley Thomas), a nervous-looking dude (Bronson Webb), an older Falklands veteran (Andrew Hall), and a hipster with a penchant for baking (Scroobius Pip). Everyone becomes a suspect, of course. In the meantime, an evil boss immersed in shadow sends his henchman Bale (Martyn Ford) to, yes, kill Ben Lyk. As the Ben Lyks continue to drop like flies, our hero Ben gradually figures out the truth.

“Marinopoulos, along with his two co-writers, have a knack for line delivery and visual humor.”

Marinopoulos, along with his two co-writers, have a knack for line delivery and visual humor. The film’s opening scene involves role-playing during an infidelity, wherein the man’s, ahem, costume almost saves him from imminent death by bullet. The ex-commander, still amped up from his war days, plans out an escape with the banker, of all people (“Of course I’m f*****g in!” the banker states before hesitating: “You’ve got any coke?”). “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” our hero proclaims to the female Lyk. “I haven’t felt this way since I watched Mulan!”

Eugene Simon, as the bumbling idiot savant, makes for a charming enough protagonist, if he does overdo it a little on the bumbling. The film’s not without its rough patches: there’s some awkward acting, a few scenes run too long. Not all of the jokes land: the transgender bit falls flat; the “incompetent coppers” is a worn-out staple; the female Ben Lyk accidentally shooting folks over and over grows tiresome. Yet the filmmakers propel us over those speed-bumps, tongues planted firmly in cheek. Kill Ben Lyk manages to be entertaining and inconsequential in equal measures. Give it a shot.