ALL OF THEM WITCHES.

FILM ETC.

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REVIEW: 100 BLOODY ACRES (2012)

The debut Australian feature film from Melbourne brothers Cameron and Colin Cairnes, 100 Bloody Acres (2012) rose to notoriety as being one of the most illegally downloaded films of 2013. The driving force behind this movement was most notably its lack of a wide release, not to mention the films impressively gory theatrical trailer. Set in rural South Australia half way between the bush and nowhere, the film features resident horror regulars, John Jarratt and Angus Sampson. The film follows the plight of an unwitting threesome who’s party pans come unstuck when their car breaks down and they receive assistance from a begrudging local.

Reg (Damon Herriman) and Lindsay Morgan (Angus Sampson) are two brothers struggling to keep their family run blood and bone fertilizer business afloat. From hokey local radio ads to removing corpses from car crash sites, the pair is desperate to drum up more sales whilst struggling to maintain their demanding customer base. However complications arise amidst a tangled love story and a bizarre drug induced escape attempt from an unlucky yet deserving British backpacker, Wes (Jamie Kristian). As the brothers compete with one another for control their handle on the situation begins to unravel, one unfortunate event at a time. 

Lending itself more to the black comedy genre than horror, the films dialogue does little to create dramatic tension and focuses more on laughs. The character of Wes causes disruption to the whole cast through his jarring actions and intolerable personality, unfortunately his drug-induced death comes far too late in the narrative. Sophie (Anna McGahan), the country girl turned city slut uses her looks and wit to narrowly escape death by forming a unique bond with Reg based on a common rural heritage. For the most part, the characters are fairly two-dimensional, as the narrative does not call for more exploration.

Derived from the geographical location of the films setting, the title 100 Bloody Acres refers to the size of the farm inhabited by the brothers. For the majority of Australians living in suburban clusters along the coast of the country the concept of 100 acres is almost unfathomable, whilst simultaneously evoking ideas of the rural idyll. The films comedic sentiment draws upon the unsophisticated redneck stereotype portraying the brothers and the town’s inhabitants as people from a simpler time and place. 

Despite early promise, 100 Bloody Acres fails to deliver by relying too heavily on comedic content and focusing less on horror genre tropes as the films narrative progresses.  An earlier incident involving “The Salvo Seven” is an area that could have easily exploited in order to establish a stronger back-story for the recently deranged brothers. Unfortunately the Cairnes brother’s horror comedy fails to recreate the same dramatic tension that Raimi effortlessly weaved in his 1981 debut, Evil Dead. It is evident that two genuine horror enthusiasts have created their own fictional rural escape where societies conventions often fail to operate, creating space for the horrific and the absurd to take place.

Fannie Sutcliffe 2016

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REVIEW: RAZORBACK (1984)

Set in the satirical dark heart of the Australian desert, Russell Mulcahy’s 1984 film Razorback stuns audiences with its heavily stylised imagery and quintessential Ozploitation approach to homegrown cinema. The dusty red outback town plagued with unexplainable disappearances is inherently eccentric and threatening to visitors. Steeped in the gothic and eco horror, the mutant boar is symptomatic of the ecological issues associated with the introduction of species and their ability to transform the landscape and threaten its inhabitants. The rural idyll has been obscured; there is no safety in the barren treeless landscape, the only solace is alcohol and firearms.

In keeping with Australian horror tradition, both the outsiders and the unfortunate are laid waste to by the unrelenting wildlife and harsh conditions of the outback. Set in the fictional rural mining township of Gamulla, 600km from Sydney, a sense of lawlessness pervades as the locals take the law unto themselves and enact their own brand of poetic justice. Tensions between animal right advocates and local game hunters arise, when American reporter Beth Winters (Judy Morris) attempts to report a story of little worth, and as a result becomes embroiled in a much larger issue engulfing the town. Equally annoying as his wife, American Carl Winters (Gregory Harrison) comes in search of the closure and manages to discover a marginal amount of morbid truth whilst shacking up with one of the only females in the entire town.

The landscape plays an overarching role in Mulcahy’s outback, equally as violent and threatening as the mythic boar, unable to be contained and limitless in its powers. Most of the films characters are two dimensional or overt caricatures embodying the worst that Australia has to offer, in keeping with the Ozploitation movement of the era. However this not need deter you as the antics of crazy old Jake Cullen (Bill Kerr) and his attractive scientist sidekick Sarah Cameron (Arkie Whiteley) provide enough balance to keep the narrative action flowing. Whilst the most important character by far is the murderous boar, endowed with a level of intelligence unprecedented in its fellow counterparts; it has evolved into a super being capable of wreaking havoc and seemingly calculated murder.

Skulls and bones adorn the harsh desert landscape, a large moon hangs high and bright in the sky night after night, as colours and sounds seamlessly meld together to create a feverish spectacle. People, cars and buildings alike are all coated in a layer of red earth, the mark of the Australian desert. The landscape influences the lifestyle and behaviour of every living thing within its reaches. Beer and guns rule the desert; masculinity reins supreme overthrowing all common sense. Sarah Cameron’s property is symbolic of a desert oasis where science and civility is employed in an attempt to track and monitor the movements of the wild boars.

Whilst Mulcahy’s film touches on post-colonial anxieties such as European settlement, it does little to add to the public discourse. Much like horror films of the 1980’s Razorback teeters on the brink of style over substance, however any misgivings are quickly forgotten due to the visual feast brought to the screen by Mulcahy and accomplished cinematographer, Dean Semler. Unlike Wake in Fright (Dir. Ted Kotcheff, 1971), Razorback exercises a much more lighthearted yet no less depraved outlook on desert life and its bizarre inhabitants.

Fannie Sutcliffe, 2016

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REVIEW: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

Wes Craven’s 1984 fantastical horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street was the front runner for highly stylised teenage slasher films to shock audiences in the 1980’s. The basic premise of the film involves the plight of four high school friends over the course of a week as they fight against an invisible attacker, capable of invading their dreams and turning their deaths into an unfathomable reality. As Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) slowly picks off each of the defenseless and beguiling teenagers, a dark secret slowly emerges to reveal the killer of their subconscious. The only character capable of combating the evil is the plain as day, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp), a timid girl on the brink of mental collapse.  The characters in Craven’s Nightmare are as two dimensional as the dialogue, however a few unexpected twists keep the audience interested throughout the 90-minute narrative. Somewhat conservative yet consciously depraved, the suburban setting of the film yields to a pervading darkness that expresses itself through a number of the films characters. Most notably, Nancy’s excessively tanned and alcoholic mother, Marge (Ronee Blakley), confesses to her preppy daughter how the parents of the town collective burned alive a serial child killer. On the contrary Nancy’s stoic father, Lieutenant Thompson (John Saxon), is completely absent in both his paternal role and ability to keep the town safe.  Nancy, as the final girl, famously states to her dopey eyed boyfriend that she is “into survival”, this throw away comment is lost on Glen, played by an equally vapid Johnny Depp.

The dreamscape narrative laden heavily with elements of body horror lends itself to a Cronenburgian style state of abjection. Whilst the action is largely confined to inside the Thompson’s house and consequently, inside Nancy’s head, this does not prevent Craven from presenting a true spectacle of horror for his audience. Each murder is as fantastical as the next. The thin yet succinct plot development allows for a smattering of suspense as Nancy fights her way through her dreams in order to overcome Krueger.

In Nancy’s final attempt to catch Krueger she cautiously enters into another dream in order to bring justice to her fallen friends. It is here that Craven’s stylisation techniques are most impressive seamlessly blending Nancy’s vision of reality with his very own vision of Hell. Krueger’s boiler room is synonymous with this, the steam emanates from its very core with flickering flames casting threatening shadows as an ominous red glow pervades the screen. Reality has become interchangeable with her ongoing nightmare and is often difficult to distinguish between the two. Complete with a sci-fi soundtrack of synthetic stabs and animated glimpses into Krueger’s haunting nightmarish version of reality.

Craven carefully teeters on the brink of style over content in his much revered film that looks and sounds like the 80’s. The hyper visual and audio techniques employed are restrained just enough to create a stunning yet slightly silly slasher film. Although Nightmare on Elm Street does not enter into laugh out loud territory, it certainly is entertaining and lighthearted compared to contemporary suspense filled torture porn genre films.

Fannie Sutcliffe, 2016