Stag (BBC-2 2016, Jim Howick, Stephen Campbell Moore)

In darkly black comedy Stag a group of 8 men go on a trip to the Scottish Highlands, it’s a literally stag party for a groom to be. The plan being to actually spend time hunting rather than the modern version of the stag do.

Things get decidedly murky once the weekend gets under way and before you can say Deliverance or Cabin in the Woods the group are being picked off one by one by a person unknown.

There is definitely an emphasis less on comedy and more on the feeling of unease here, as things start to fall apart so does the veneer of mateship that the group are hiding behind. The casting is great too, watch out for Reece Shearsmith and Borgen’s Pilou Asbæk.

production details
UK / BBC Two / 3×60 minute episodes / Broadcast 27 February – 12 March 2016

Writers: Jim Field Smith, George Kay / Cinematography: Rob Kitzmann / Producer and Director: Jim Field Smith

cast
Jim Howick as Ian
Stephen Campbell Moore as Johnners
JJ Feild as Ledge
Rufus Jones as Cosmo
Amit Shah as Mex
Pilou Asbæk as Neils
Reece Shearsmith as Wendy
Tim Key as Aitken
Christiaan Van Vuuren as Christoph
James Cosmo as The Gamekeeper
Sharon Rooney as Brodie
Tom Davis as Chef
Amanda Abbington as Fran
Ruta Gedmintas as Sophie