Review for Offbeat

‘Offbeat’ is a surprisingly good British b-movie, tightly directed with excellent cinematography and great performances from most its cast. It also looks incredible on this recent BFI funded restoration, released by the fine folk at Network.


Running at just 70 minutes, ‘Offbeat’ (aka ‘The Devil Inside’) doesn’t waste any time getting going. William Sylvester plays the part of an ice cool MI5 agent, Layton, who is seconded by Scotland Yard to get close to a criminal gang that they believe rumbled and disposed of a previous agent. The idea is that by going deep undercover as one of the gang, he’ll not only be able to bring the gang to book, but will gain a deep understanding of how modern, organised gangs work from the inside; invaluable insight for the Yard.


Knowing that the gang won’t accept him lightly, he gets a name change (Steve Ross) and sets about robbing a bank for real (though returning the money to the banks owners) and admits to enjoying the thrill it gave him. His cool, no nonsense style, as well as an extensive but falsified criminal record, convince the gang that he could be a valued member of their team.


Before long he starts to enjoy the lifestyle. Not just the cash and the lifestyle, but the intense loyalty, camaraderie and support. He even falls in love with one of the girls in the gang, Ruth Lombard (played by the feisty Mai Zetterling). So when they all agree to pull off a daring million dollar jewellery heist, right under the noses of the local police, he changes his plans and decides to take his cut and leave, with his new girl, to South America.


The raid is meticulously planned (spookily like the recent Hatton Garden robbery) and takes up the lion’s share of the film, creating a very tense 30 minutes as they attempt to pull it off, seemingly against all the odds.


There is quite a twist at the end of the film, which I won’t spoil here, but it really is a an excellent study of what a man can believe is right and wrong, whatever the law might suggest.


Fans of the Crocodile Dundee movies will enjoy seeing a young John Meillon as one of Sylvester’s criminal colleagues – he was the chap who played Hogan's partner.


Despite being a budget b-picture, Geoffrey Faithful’s (Village of the Damned) cinematography is often impressive, with interesting composition and striking lighting pretty much throughout. It looks really great on this transfer too which is a bonus.


The period jazz score worked for me too, perfectly reflecting the tensions and the suspense throughout.  

Extra features are slight but include an image gallery and some publicity materials in PDF form.




This may be a mere sandwich-filler of a film (at just 70 minutes) but it’s a remarkably good one and highly recommended.