 bank clerk sheila marianne jeanbaptiste has decided it s time to start dating again it s been a while and it will get her out of the house where her son is busy with his sadomasochistic girlfriend gwendoline christie calling a lonelyhearts ad in a newspaper she soon agrees on a rendezvous with the promisingsounding adonis time to get herself something nice to wear a trip to dentley soper s trusted department store soon becomes a shopping experience like no other there s something not quite right about the staff here from the disconcerting sales talk to their unsavoury nighttime trysts and as for those dresses in fabric is as wildly perversely imaginative and visually thrilling as we have come to expect from director peter strickland he follows the duke of burgundy by venturing even further to the outer reaches of the erotic macabre finding pleasures in everything from shop mannequins to the sound of someone listing washingmachine parts a potent mix of design and spooky intrigue the film is bolstered with lashings of oddball humour steve oram and julian barratt s double act is a particular treat and a hot synth score from cavern of antimatter essential viewing for fashion addicts and those who dig their ghost stories kinky peter strickland bfi london film festival 