A married gay couple returns to the B&B that they previously sued for refusing them a double bed following their win in court. Another guest arrives and things take a turn for the dangerous. As they try to figure out what is happening and how to fix it, they must face their issues and some of the owner and his son.
Written and directed by Joe Ahearne, B&B takes current issues that affect many and shows both sides of them while weaving a story with mystery and danger. The way this is all handled makes it work even though there are a few hiccups here and there. The overall film is strong enough to ignore those and still enjoy it. The story here is a horror one, people under potential attack in their home and while on vacation. The film also deals with the horrors of homophobia and how they affect people that could be closer than one thinks when spewing hatred. The two gay leads are well written and caring even if a bit spiteful to get the film its lynchpin. The father and son who own and live at the B&B are layered characters, with one of them easily hate-able, but also layered in how he is and why he is this way, the other also layered and full of surprises as the film moves along. The film does not make excuses per sey for hatred and homophobia, but it clearly shows where they can come from as well as their impact on people close and strangers in one’s life. The writing and directing are strong and allow those elements to come through along with the more classical horror elements with the dangerous stranger.
The main part of the film and what really pulls it together is the cast. In the parts of the couple are Tom Bateman and Sean Teale, playing their respective characters with conviction and chemistry between the two that shows how most marriages, gay or straight, work, they love each other but don’t always agree, but in the end, they are a team. Playing characters with oddly similar values in terms of loving each other, albeit in a different way, having their own chemistry and being a team in the end are the father and son at the B&B, played by Paul McGann and Callum Woodhouse who each give strong performances in this stressful situation. Playing the stranger that may be a danger is James Tratas who keeps this air of mystery about himself and works at adding suspense and stress. His part requires him to be a mysterious man who may be a danger to all others involved and he plays this rather well using what he has as a tall, brooding, possibly Russian-speaking, good looking man who can keep his cool in any situation.
The film and its action are mostly set in the dark and the cinematography by Nick Dance makes great use of the darkness and the lighting that is just right for the mood of the film and to show just enough to create even more mystery and suspense. The cinematography is careful and well-planned, showing that Dance knows how to handle dark situations and make them work.
B&B is a suspenseful film with important issues at its core, strong performances, and carefully planned imagery. The film’s developments are interesting and it has a few strong, gripping moments that allow the strong drama to come across and gives the cast a chance to prove themselves. It’s a strong outing with a few issues of its own, but the film works past that and makes its subject and the issues it approaches the central points of its action and becomes an important film in how it handles the issues affecting the gay protagonists and how these can affect more than their specific targets.