Chicken Town
Released after serving a ten-month sentence for a crime he didn’t commit, Jayce (Ethaniel Davy) returns to his sleepy hometown to look for answers in Chicken Town. Unbeknownst to him, he was framed by his childhood best friend Lee (Ramy Ben Fredj), the spoiled son of the kingpin of the town’s criminal underbelly (which mostly consists of poultry and drugs). Kicked out of his family home and living in a caravan located in a ditch, Lee is a wannabe drug lord aided by two henchmen who are even dimmer than he is. Meanwhile, Jayce and his other friend, Paula (Amelie Davies), join forces with retiree Kev (Graham Fellows) to sell the freezer-full of weed that he’s been looking after. Their scheme catches the attention of Lee’s goons, and their paths converge in this enjoyably daft crime comedy from director and co-writer Richard Bracewell.
Despite its “Breaking Bad in the English countryside” premise, this flick is incredibly light on plot and dramatic stakes. There’s not much consequence to anything that happens, and viewers are expected to go along with its non-sequitur story beats that have little to do with building a criminal empire. The entire movie feels like it could have been cobbled together in the filmmaker’s own garden shed, but this can all be forgiven for how genuinely fun it is to watch.
Davy, Fredj, Davies and Fellows are all brilliant in their roles. Each actor is fully committed to the script and brings an endearing charm and charisma to the screen. Davy also delivers some effective emotional moments in scenes with Fredj, lending weight to the characters’ friendship. This is also a very funny film that’s brimming with wonderfully absurd and clever one-liners. Lee confidently tells Jayce that his worries are “water under a duck’s back” in one scene. In another, Paula teases Kev over an unfortunate spelling mistake engraved into a retirement gift. However, it’s the double act of Hugo Carter and Evert Gaskin as the moronic henchmen who consistently have the best lines.
Chicken Town is not a serious feature, and it never attempts to be one. It’s a light-hearted romp with likeable characters and a lot of great gags. While its short runtime wraps up before overstaying its welcome, it could have benefited from a more satisfying ending that tied up some of its loose ends.
Andrew Murray
Chicken Town is released for home viewing physically and digitally on 28th July 2025.
Watch the trailer for Chicken Town here:
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