bowmanblue The first thing you should know about Tower Block is that it doesn't have much of a budget. And it shows. However, for all its financial shortcomings, it does its best to lift itself above the rest.The residents of the top floor of a high rise tower block - soon to be demolished - are targeted by a sniper who won't let them leave (alive, anyway). What follows is an hour and a half of a siege movie where they desperately try and find ways out. When I read the blurb about the film, I wondered how they could stretch that out for the full ninety minutes. I was pleasantly surprised when they did.It's no classic, but enough of the characters are fun, stupid, or evil enough to take pleasure in watching and the typical 'stupid decisions' they normally make in these sorts of films are kept to a minimum.My advice: suspend your disbelief and just give it a go if you like the sound of it. You could do worse (I found the only major plot point I found hard to stomach was how one sniper could effectively shoot everyone in 0.1 seconds as soon as he saw them at any window - seriously, he must be the best marksman in the world!).

FlashCallahan A young man is chased by two thugs in the titular building and killed. Moving on a few months, the tower block is closing and the only residents that are left are in the top floor, and would you believe it? Some dirty rotter starts taking pot shots at them.And they are really good, because they only have to stick their head or hand up near the window and its instant death....Despite the fact that the premise is a bit silly, and all they had to do was to stay on the other side of the tower block, this film is a solid thriller, with great performances from Smith and O'Connell.But a lot of work could have been done on the characters. We have all the generic parts you would expect from a movie. The two Gangsters who may or may not have a secret.The husband and wife who have been there for years.A mother and child, who have just lost the man in their life.The girl who everyone thinks is scum, but really has a heart of gold.The lad who fancies the above.And the hard man who everyone hates/fears, but comes good at the end.And its if they all pick a ticket with a number on to see who gets offed first. If you take plausibility and throw it out of the window, its a good 90 minutes of no brain, tense action.Its a shame it didn't get a wider release, but released so soon after The Raid, and Attack the Block, people must have had council flat fatigue...

gavin6942 Several months after witnessing a murder, residents of Tower Block 31 find themselves being picked off by a sniper, pitting those lucky enough to be alive into a battle for survival.Leading the way is Sheridan Smith, who I was not previously familiar with, despite her distinguished list of credits. She comes across as a strong actress and should be praised for that. Unfortunately, she is also a very, very hideous monster of a woman, and will thus probably not be seen in many American films. The British are less superficial about who they cast (as this film shows -- not one person was more attractive than average, giving it a more realistic feel).The idea that a sniper is taking out people in an apartment complex is pretty cool and makes for a good thriller. Sometimes I found it a bit hard to believe... one guy has to watch an entire building and is still able to pick people off within a second of their going near a window (with almost every shot being fatal). Does the killer never sleep or take bathroom breaks? How is he able to have his sights on twenty windows at once? Bonus points for including a Wilhelm Scream in the film, even if it seemed completely out of place. At least there was one momentary break of humor in this otherwise dark picture.

Tony Bush An unidentified sniper with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle is picking off the last residents of a decaying inner city tower block. He has control of the power to the building and has also set booby traps to prevent them leaving the top floor. The scene is set for a ferocious game of cat and mouse in this tense low-budget British thriller.What makes it good and watchable? The characters are everyday people believably portrayed by an accomplished cast of performers – which helps a great deal. Sheridan Smith is excellent as our vaguely slatternly heroine and Jack O'Connell stands out as Kurtis, the block's resident criminal running a protection racket on the others. His particular cavalier brand of sociopathic thuggery makes for compelling watching.Tension mounts as the group in-fight and bicker and are knocked off one by one as they try various mode of escape. Their plight is linked to the recent murder of a young man in building whereby they failed to help the police with their enquiries. Someone seems to be holding them responsible for not contributing to the perpetrators being caught. But who? The identity of the antagonist – when revealed – is a bit of a letdown and stretches credibility, but apart from that it's a gripping little piece that achieves effective results with a minuscule budget. The gore content isn't massive and the special effects are sparse, but the minimalist overall style keeps it lean and fast-paced. If you enjoy serial-killer sniper flicks, like TARGETS, TWO MINUTE WARNING, PHONE BOOTH, etc, then you'll get a blast out of this little gem.