Wasteman

"A bold new vision of life inside."

2026 1h 31m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 95

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Taylor's hopes for a fresh start post-parole are jeopardised by cellmate Dee's arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.

“A bold new vision of life inside.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

David Jonsson
Taylor
Tom Blyth
Dee
Alex Hassell
Paul
Neil Linpow
Robby
Paul Hilton
Browning
Corin Silva
Gaz
Layton Blake
Maxi
Jack Barker
Cook up Prisoner

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Cal McMau
Writers: Eoin Doran, Hunter Andrews
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Cal McMau, shot by Lorenzo Levrini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Forest Swords. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James A. Demetriou shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Jonsson and Tom Blyth and Alex Hassell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A bold new vision of life inside.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt29028515 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Cal McMau directs. Lorenzo Levrini behind the camera. Forest Swords scores. James A. Demetriou cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
3Directed by Cal McMau, shot by Lorenzo Levrini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Forest Swords. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor James A. Demetriou shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6David Jonsson and Tom Blyth and Alex Hassell carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A bold new vision of life inside.".
8IMDB entry: tt29028515 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "prison", "male friendship", "addiction", "drug dealing".

The technical file

Cinematography: Lorenzo Levrini
Original score: Forest Swords
Editing: James A. Demetriou
Production design: Phoebe Platman
Costume design: Lauren Miller
Makeup / hair: Bianca Simone Scott
VFX supervisor: David Horsburgh
Sound: Jules Woods
Stunt coordinator: Arran Topham
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $1,205,018
Return: 100% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Wasteman (2026)

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-03-06
★ 7/10
“Taylor” (David Jonsson) has been told that early release might be in the offing if he can keep his nose clean for a few more weeks in prison. He generally keeps himself to himself, and offers the floor’s drug pedlars a short back and sides now and again in return for a supply of pills. When the newly arrived “Dee” (Tom Blyth) is put into his cell, the pair quickly seem to strike up a sort of friendship as the enterprising newbie sets up a shop trading everything from chocolate to drugs. Needless to say, the established traders don’t take kindly to his new business and so set about restoring their preferred equilibrium. Whilst that might work for them, though, it puts a great and perilous strain on “Taylor” whose chances of parole could well be compromised by the behaviour of his now very angry and vengeful cell-mate. This is a quickly paced and authentic looking prison drama that shows us a dog-eat-dog world at it’s most violent. The prison officers are plentiful enough but seem incapable of stemming the regular drone deliveries or of stopping the gang warfare that prevails amongst inmates for whom law and order is defined more by a survival of the fittest mentality. Jonsson offers us a calm and measured character who is understated and ostensibly just biding his time til he can rejoin his son; Blyth on the other hand presents a much more blatantly aggressive and manipulative character and Cal McCau manages to blend the two together convincingly as this story heads towards a denouement that I felt clever, unexpected and really quite fitting. It’s one of those films that showcases jail as little more than a zoo for society’s undesirables, but this time there is a man with some semblance of integrity and shrewdness behind the bars who is playing a game of his own - and it’s well worth ninety minutes.

Production companies