Alienated and prominent gambler's heart deduction, can give people the feeling of overexertion

Traders (2015): Harry Fox (Killian Scott) and Vernon Stynes (John Bradley) are left penniless when their company goes under in the economic crash. Harry takes work as a minimum wage data-entry clerk, Vernon returns home to mum to work on a business plan. A colleague who can't take the stress drives his car into a tree so that his family will get the insurance money.

Vernon comes up with the idea of Trading: you fight to the death with each participant putting up an equal stake. You double your money each time and bury the body of your opponent, each having taken turns digging the grave beforehand. Literally survival of the fittest. Harry excels and racks up the kills and accumulates capital. Ken (Barry Keoghan),an eighteen year old combatant complicates the story as criminals attempt to move in on the business. Orla (Nika McGuigan) is Vernon's neighbour and unrequited love interest but now Harry gets involved. But nothing is ever quite straightforward in this quirky Irish thriller which is veined with very dark humour.

A macabre take on the aftermath of the Crash in Ireland, never before has Dublin looked so desolate nor have so many bleak burial sites been located. I a particular irony, abandoned building sites are the arenas for many of the combats and also supply the grave sites. Good acting all round particularly from Scott, Bradley and Keoghan. Co- Directed and written by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy this sharp thriller was under-appreciated on it's release. 8/10

After getting downsized from high paying jobs two employees have different ideas to survive. Harry Fox (Killian Scott) becomes a data entry technician for 24K a year, not enough to pay for his apartment. Vernon Stynes (John Bradley- poor man's Jonah Hill) decides to become a web designer with enhanced search. Vernon doesn't fair to well, living with mom, opts to open a page on the dark web where people down on their luck, sell everything they own, and gamble the money on a death match with someone with the same amount. Vernon calls it "Trading." The first fight is Vernon vs Harry. Vernon nearly gets killed as harry spares him and nurses him back to heath. Meanwhile Harry sets up fights as his funds run low.

One of the nice things of the film is that it had a unique plot making it unable to predict where it will go. On the down side is Killian Scott's character. the lead character, had no personality making the film unnecessarily boring when it should be exciting.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. While this is an Irish film, the accents are not thick.