IT'S always good watching films you haven't heard of, so you can approach them with no preconceptions.

Which is great if the film is a previously unheard of yet brilliant work of art, yet not quite so enjoyable if the reason the film was unheard of is because it doesn't merit anyone talking about it. Dear Wendy is one of these. It tells the tale of a group of young outcasts who form their own club, the Dandies.

The club revolves around guns, yet also the idea of pacifism. The group become increasingly caught up in their guns, and the rules and regulations of their secret society they all believe is helping them move away from being outcasts, until - predictably - it all ends in tears.

The worrying obsession the young people develop is fairly powerful and the tragedy at the climax of the film is moving. But unfortunately, Dear Wendy cannot be considered gripping and is more strange than anything else. It is hard to empathise with the "losers", and leader Dick (Jamie Bell) is probably the least convincing character in the film, along with the stereotypical town sheriff, played by Bill Pullman.

Director Thomas Vinterberg uses an interesting style, mixing some fun animation with the traditional screenplay but this potentially interesting technique just doesn't gel with the film.

Dear Wendy has been dubbed "Fight Club with Guns" and you can see how that parallel has been drawn but it's just not in the same league at all.

ECB