LURE (2026)

3 stars

Reel2Reel Films. Digital. 2nd February

A frightened man being chased through a forest – he is dumped into a fire it seems. Cut to the titles.

Another man struggling, chained to a bed. An older man talks to him. About the death of his daughter and the fact that for years they tried for another. Then he had the idea… choosing the perfect father for his child. Then he extracts something from the manacled man!

One Year Later – a huge house-cum-castle. It is a big day for Islay (Silvia Presente) – ‘I’m having six this year’, she tells her mother over breakfast. We soon it is six men who have been invited to the ancestral home – in search of the perfect mate. Our sextet Marcus (Gregory Fung), a fitness fanatic, the intelligent Damien (Reece Henderson), qualified in medicine, wealthy Joe (Joey Lockhart), investor in stocks and shares, drummer Francis (Samy Elkhatib), photographer Connor (Joshua Dowden) and last but not least the mysterious Tom (Kit Esuruoso), who doesn’t seem to exist on the internet.

Islay is excited by what is to come as she meets the latest six men she has lured to the country pile. They are there to play a game to prove their ‘true love and devotion’ to her. To give her a perfect child. The loser of each task will have a forfeit meted out by their hostess. So the evening begins… and it isn’t long before one of them is dead, shot in the back of the head. She clearly means business.

This does seem a drastic way of finding a mate — clearly she hadn’t had much luck with dating apps! Writer/director Oliver Cox wrings out tension from the situation, with the interesting concept, though not sure how eliminating people through various games leads to an ideal candidate! It has touch of READY OR NOT about it and soon shifts into SAW like territory. Silvia Presente as Islay plays her role with relish (she played the young Noele Gordon in the recent ITV drama Nolly). The music is over the top and it does start to get a touch ridiculous.

Steve Kirkham