Overlook 2023 Film Festival – With previous roles in Band of Brothers and Chernobyl, Philip Barantini will be a familiar name to some. Over the last few years, he’s taken up directing, with a couple of shorts and a previous feature, Boiling Point, to his credit. His second feature, Accused, is a tense film that finds a young man wrongly accused of a terrorist bombing in London. This ultimately makes for a nail-biting home invasion thriller, driven by the lead’s gut-wrenching performance.

Chaneil Kular stars as Harri. Initially, everything in his life seems to be going well. He has a job and his own apartment, as well as a girlfriend, Chloe (Lauryn Ajufo). Harri also has loving parents, played by Nila Aalia and Nitin Ganatra. While they’re on holiday, he house sits for them. It’s just Harri and the family dog. However, everything in Harri’s world drastically changes after a terrorist bombs a train station in London. When a picture comes out of the suspect, suddenly, people online accuse Harri, despite no evidence that he committed the heinous act. The figure sort of looks like him, but it’s more so Harri’s brown skin that makes him a prime suspect. At first, he’s tormented by the horrible comments online. Then, the online witch hunt manifests into actual vigilante justice when two masked men arrive at Harri’s doorstep, ready to kill him. Meanwhile, Harri can’t find help anywhere. Because his parents are on vacation, they’re not answering the phone, which seems a little too convenient in terms of the plot, and his girlfriend won’t return his calls, either. Even the police don’t offer much protection and basically tell him to sit tight.

The rest of the film focuses on whether or not Harri can survive the night as the two intruders bust into his childhood home, wielding baseball bats. The second half is a jolting ride as Harri faces off against the two men. At times, this film can be pretty unrelenting. The script, penned by Barnaby Boulton and James Cummings, really doesn’t waste a minute. There’s rarely a breather past the first act. First, Harri faces the emotional pain because of the online harassment, and then he faces very real physical danger.

Other than the tension, this feature works because of Kular’s emotional performance. You’ll root for his character and hope that he finds help and makes it through the night. Through tears, labored breathing, and very visible emotional distress, Kular makes you feel what Harri endures and the possibility that the mob will kill him. Also, while the film is pretty limited in terms of setting, the house becomes a place of unease. Every creaky floorboard could reveal Harri to the intruders, as he ducks behind couches and slinks from one corner to the next. At times, it seems a little unbelievable that he would evade two men for so long, but you kind of have to roll with it.

Despite a few flaws, including one moment near the end that is way, way too convenient, Accused is an intense and emotionally packed thriller. Kular gives everything to this performance, while Barantini proves he has plenty of chops as a director.

7 out of 10