For those who do not know, a feature film was released in 1987 based upon the UK pop duo Pet Shop Boys – and the end product was fascinating to say the least.

Directed by Jack Bond and starring both members of the band, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, ‘It Couldn’t Happen Here’ is essentially a long music video with some truly bizarre sequences, weird characters and even stranger dialogue taking place in and around the constant playing of Pet Shop Boys songs.

This film is completely nuts, however various Thatcher-related allegory and other critiques of British society can be interpreted within the show’s gloomy imagery and themes.

As clever as this may be, I felt that the film was just ‘weird for the sake of being weird’ at times and often went overboard with the craziness – some of which could have been left out.

However, the one redeeming quality of this movie is the cinematography and surrealism, particularly when focusing less on the wacky characters and more on the wider settings and well-chosen locations. Most of the film was shot around Clacton-on-Sea on days when the weather was poor and the North Sea rather angry, and this added to the dreary, miserable tone that the filmmakers intended.

The Pet Shop Boys would have been experiencing near-peak popularity when this film was made, yet the project flopped and ended up being a box-office bomb.

I used to enjoy their music back in the day, but I wouldn’t have been too excited to see these guys star in their own movie – and perhaps this was the overall sentiment at the time.

One actor that people might recognise in this film is Joss Ackland – who played the creepy priest chasing two boys around at the beginning of the film, as well as the psycho hitchhiker – but I’m not sure if they are meant to be the same character.

Ackland is perhaps best-known for playing the villain Arjen Rudd in ‘Lethal Weapon II’.

If you are into strange, surreal art house films, and enjoy the music of the Pet Shop Boys, then perhaps ‘It Couldn’t Happen Here’ is worth checking out. However, this is a weird show – much like a Ken Russell movie – so it really is an acquired taste and being a fan of the band might not be enough to cut it here.

I should point out that ‘It Couldn’t Happen Here’ has a rating of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the surrealism and artistic direction are mentioned glowingly in many reviews on that site. I’m not sure about the high score, but I do agree with a lot of the positive comments there.

Overall, this is a very interesting film – but I would rate it somewhere around 50%.

On a final note, Jack Bond – who sadly passed away late last year – directed the music video for the Pet Shop Boys’ hit song ‘Heart’. This truly was a work of art – easily one of the best clips from the 1980’s – and starred Ian McKellen as a vampire out to spoil a young couples’ honeymoon. An absolute classic!

Link to the ‘Heart’ music video is below, courtesy of Pet Shop Boys YouTube channel.

Photos and screenshots courtesy of EMI Films.