'Accused' review: Implausible British thriller fails to deliver on initial promise

THERE have been a lot of home invasion thrillers across the decades. This particular British film premiered on Netflix recently and attempts to tell the story of an innocent man, who is falsely targeted after a social media storm.

Harri goes to stay at his parents’ house in the countryside, to look after the family dog, while they are away on holiday. The young British Asian man narrowly misses a bomb attack in London before leaving, but later that same evening, he is mistaken for the terrorist after false accusations on social media. As the social media storm whips up into a frenzy, he suddenly finds himself in danger when vigilantes turn up at his house in the middle of the night.

Director Philip Barantini had previously demonstrated that he is skilful with stories set in a confined space with restaurant drama Boiling Point, but the big difference between that film and Accused is the plausibility. With social media, smartphones and police on high alert after a terrorist attack, it is just not believable that a young man wrongly accused would be isolated in such a way.

Although it might have seemed like a good idea that an innocent young man is in danger after a social media storm, the writing is unable to turn this into a realistic enough story.

The skilled director injects plenty of tension into proceedings and lead star Chaneil Kular delivers a strong performance as a vulnerable man fearing for his life. But the paper-thin plot is stretched out too much and the lack of believability means it gets gradually more annoying as the story progresses. Although, the producers should be applauded for making a movie with an Asian lead, they miss the mark and what remains is a tension filled effort that doesn’t deliver on its initial promise.