Assassin’s Creed – A shy MP confronts a sex worker in a black magic drama | Video

The fictional interior minister at the center of this magical thriller is dismayed when the prostitute he hires describes his background as “colored”. Various MPs support blood sports and wear bow ties, they say; he likes the word “maverick”. It’s not said out loud, but it’s clear he’s on the right side of politics; you can tell from the sarcasm in his voice when he says the word “proletariat”.

The killer was adapted by Peter Benedict from his play Deadlock, with a sense of calm that is barely felt on screen. Benedict also directs and stars as an MP, named Robert Marlowe, giving a delightful performance that makes Hannibal Lecter look like a man from the kitchen sink. The film is set in the basement studio of Marlowe’s country estate, where he is pottering away while listening to Gilbert and Sullivan (there is also a soundtrack of The Mikado in the plot).

Marlowe’s wife – “the longtime alibi” – is away for several days. So, his assistant Mark (Christian Greenway) books 19-year-old Tommy (Max Raphael) for a sleepover. As Marlowe shows Tommy around the studio, he tells him that a German furnace manufacturer has created a series of murderous ovens, which are not going well.

Instead, things turn dark quickly, and more visible crosses pile up than the MP’s pre-election promises. The whole thing has been put together on a shoestring budget, and it’s actually more of a cartoon than an actual movie. It also resonates a little with his image as a mild-mannered Tory MP; the original play premiered in 2007 and, after David Cameron and Boris Johnson, our right-wing villains and their brand of privilege and contempt have changed.