The Story: Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith - aka the League of Gentlemen - bring the inhabitants of Royston Vasey to the big screen. Far from the first British movie to spin-off from a popular TV series, although definitely the most leftfield. Bernard Hill and David Warner are among the star cameos.
UK Box Office: £1.373 million (as at 6th September 2005)
Useless Fact: The production couldn't answer affirmatively to the movie's tagline of "Are you local?" - it was shot principally in Ireland.

VIDEO

  WATCH: Jeremy Dyson and Mark Gatiss on alternative names, making a real horror movie, and why a Dr Who movie is a Very Bad Idea

  WATCH: Jeremy Dyson and Mark Gatiss on local films for local people, spin-off movies of TV series, and the last great British movie

THE REVIEWS...

"Hilarious fusion of The Truman Show, Monty Python and Hammer Horror" (4/5)

"The film never forgets its main function: to be as bizarre, grotesque and queasily hilarious as the series that spawned it"

"Be prepared for far and away the oddest movie you've ever seen" (80%)

"If toilet humour's your thing, this is an absolute hoot" (3/5)

"If you're a fan it's as good as you want it to be. If you're uninitiated/ undecided, give it a go" (4/5)

"This very decent spin-off delivers the grisly goods" (registration required)

"Aside from the brave, mind-bending premise, there's still much to admire here, not least the performances"

"More than its fair share of laughs, although its central premise does have a familiar feel to it" (6/10)

"It is sporadically very funny, combining Pythonesque invention with something unsettling, freakish and slightly grubby" (3/5)

"Sprinkled with decent lines and sight gags of the quality we have come to expect from the original show" (2/5)

"The cult TV comedy gets a big-screen outing, with mixed results" (2/5)

"A postmodernist comedy that those unacquainted with the team's work are likely to find baffling and only their devoted fans will really enjoy"

"Not nearly as dark as the original material, the League's fans will no doubt enjoy their feature length adventure"

"By no means a disappointment but one is conscious of willing the film to reach heights to which it aspires but fails to attain"

"If you're a fan it's as good as you want it to be. If you're uninitiated/undecided, give it a go"

WEB WATCH...

The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
Official site

"I've just got to stick a knife in someone's throat"
Mark Gatiss interview

"Most British comedy films are just Christmas specials theatrically released"
League of Gentlemen interview (registration required)

"We're not actively trying to destroy Royston Vasey"
League Of Gentlemen interview

The big league
Jeremy Dyson on being inspired by On The Buses

The local heroes
League Of Gentlemen article

"The biggest laugh was Peter Kay's cameo"
Mark Gatiss interview

"We were really influenced by a lot of action-movie stuff"
League Of Gentlemen interview

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites