Director: Addison Heath, Jasmine Jakupi
Year: 2023
Country: Australia
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After getting free from prison, a group of hoodlums decides to revert back to their old ways and score a handful of drugs from another local hoodlum and decide to hold up in an isolated farmhouse to let the heat die down, but when they realize that a maniacal killer is hunting them must get away alive.
Review:
This was a decent enough if somewhat problematic slasher effort. Most of the films' positive features are based heavily around the stalking and slashing present which is pretty well-handled. The giallo influences here leave quite a strong impression not only with the ability to utilize the classic disguise for the killer but also show a ton of influence in how the stalking scenes are handled. Featuring the killer's POV for the majority of the scenes showing him sneaking up on unsuspecting and unassuming victims while featuring the ever-present tactic of the killer's weapon-holding hand coming up behind them during the sequence, it creates some solid ambushes amidst the sea of indie-style confrontation scenes of random nameless victims being taken out in graphic fashion. That goes along with some of the revelations that come about in the finale where it has some fun with where it ends up going, giving this some enjoyable elements at times.
There are some negative factors within this one that bring it down. Among its main detriments is a wildly discordant and jarring storyline that tends to go off on odd tangents introducing scores of characters without really tying them together early on. Getting the pieces laid out but not doing much with them due to the randomized nature we originally get introduced to the hoodlums going around stealing drugs from others or the strange family dynamic that goes on between the guy and his niece that they eventually stumble into while on the run from everyone. This all comes together rather awkwardly to the point it's possible not to realize it's truly a genre film until nearly an hour in when it opts for bloodshed completely due to the need to try to make the cringe-inducing criminals seem funny. These can make it feel slightly longer than it really is due to not getting us on board with who they are due to this, but otherwise, that's what holds it down.
Overview: **.5/5
A solid enough slasher but let down by its other elements, this one comes off quite nicely when it stays as a genre effort but those crime-film elements are enough to bring this down overall. Give this a shot if you're a hardcore slasher fanatic or are curious about it while those that are turned off by the drawbacks of this one should heed caution.
Comments
Post a Comment