Grow (2025)

Do you remember those Children’s Film Foundation films made in the 1960s? Well this is very much in that vein as we follow the adventures of “Charlie” (Priya-Rose Brookwell). With her mum having pretty much abandoned her for a career in California, she has been taken out of her care home and now lives with her struggling aunt “Dinah” (Golda Rosheuvel) on her farm. When the youngster realises that the bailiffs are not far away, she decides that the best way to help is to win the local pumpkin growing competition - and it’s prize of £100,000. Though she does seem to have some ability to commune with plant life, she has no idea how to go about rearing it and so relies on the eccentric caravan-dwelling “Arlo” (Nick Frost) to start the seed growing. Now like with “Lady Grantham” from “Downton Abbey”, the usual winner of this annual event is the lady of the manor (Jane Horrocks) but this time not only has that lady “Charlie” to contend with, but there is also the lab-grown effort of a scientist (Jeremy Swift) who just happens to be the dad of “Oliver” (Dominic McLaughlin) who is helping his new school-friend on her quest. Then, somewhat menacingly, these gourds start getting attacked. Brutally slaughtered. There’s a slasher loose in the community! Who might that be, and what might be the motive? Jeopardy, well no - not really, and it is a bit on the long side, but it’s the sort of breezily cheery family film that we don’t see very often these days. Horrocks and Tim McInnerny ham up nicely as the toffs and the two kids look like they are enjoying their daft romp through the daftness of competitive and conspiratorial bucolic life complete with a few tea-time sinister overtones and a Frost who helps keep things entertaining too.