Welcome To The Darkness Documentary – Review by Dawn Osborne

I was given a day before the Premieres in the cinema to do this review of the documentary ‘Welcome to the Darkness’. If you are reading this immediately you still have time to get to the cinema tonight to see it. There is some footage of the band live, but it is mainly a look back at the way the band works and thinks, and the dramas that have befallen them across their career.

It is a chance to be a fly on the wall, to see the living rooms of the band and of their parents and to see footage of Justin Hawkins, vocalist as he faced an operation on his throat which was literally life and death for his career. Dan Hawkins, guitarist, talks candidly about losing a testicle due to cancer.

The film does not shirk those awkward moments in life, whether it be talking to fans, blokes finding it difficult to deal with emotions or that best man speech given by Justin at his brother’s wedding Dan Hawkins guitarist where Justin sings/performs with a ventriloquist puppet of Dan’s escaped bollock “Tezza” that spits all over the guests. The film is literally worth seeing for that scene from Dan’s wedding video alone. Where does that Justin Hawkins get such notions, the film gives you the closest chance to understand the characters behind the band that you might get. The most dominant band member demonstrating ambition and drive and taking the position of band mentor and coach is not who you would suspect it to be. I think I knew that Frankie was the “weird uncle” of the band, but not until you see him doing eagle shadow puppetry on the ceiling can you quite 20/20 it. So candid is the film Justin says things to the camera that he says the band never discuss and things he has not even said to his brother “that’s what cameras, that’s what documentaries are for”.

The film is not at all a showing off exercise, there is relatively little footage of the band at the apex of its success and while there is a mention of the era of private jets, there is much more focus on what it is like to be a band that goes from the mainstream to ‘cult status’ ie having their own fans that follow everything they do, but no longer basks in the spotlight of the world’s gaze. Justin has allowed footage of him with braces that gives him a lisp and if anything the film allows you to see all the band members getting their freak on in various ways. Several people who are asked their opinion of the band in the film said they love them because they never worried about what the world thought was cool, but were always unafraid to be themselves. Justin confides that he was called a ‘twat’ at school and now is a ‘professional twat’ and that being on stage is like “an hour and a half orgasm and I never want it to end”.

There are killer one liners in the film all of them worth a very large belly laugh. This piece is not a spoiler, but if you are a fan of quirky British improvised humour the film can be recommended on that account. There are many, I will just mention that my favourite is Rufus Taylor the drummer saying “I just want to be taken seriously” in a Native American war bonnet and Union Jack boxers at a photoshoot.

There are cameos from Roger Taylor of Queen, father of drummer Rufus, and Ed Sheeran which fans of theirs might like to know.

Perhaps I should leave the last word to Rufus “We’re quite weird people really, we do some stupid things. There’s a caveman aspect to it.” You don’t say.

Welcome to the Darkness will be available on digital download and Blu-ray from December 4th

Dawn Osborne