Australian horror

[slayrrr666]

Got another one down, Primal, where a group of friends touring the Outback looking for Aboriginie cave art find themselves trapped with a voracious predator that's one of their own reduced to a primal state by a parasite in the area.

Absolutely fantastic film here, I really don't have a whole lot to really bad-mouth against it. From the absolutely amazing set-up, from the pool to the claustrophobic cave, filled with it's cramped spaces, darkened surroundings and the film's biggest surprise waiting in the bowels of the location, to the frenetic and vicious attack scenes that rely a lot more on the set-up of their being reduced to an altered state and deformed along the way to match it physically makes for some good times. It's also pretty brutal and gets in some amazing gore gags that look really nasty and vicious, helping to sell it even more. A short pace that never lets up steam, some decent comedic attempts that showcase an actual group of friends ragging on each other without going overboard and a great sense of suspense all make this a highly enjoyable entry.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Razorback
3. Howling III: The Marsupials
4. Outback Vampires
5. Cut
6. Rogue
7. Dying Breed
8. The Ferryman
9. Perfect Creature
10. Road Kill
11. Nature's Grave
12. Wolf Creek
13. Saw

[slayrrr666]

Got another one down, The Lost Tribe, where a group of friends are stranded on a island with a long-lost species of human evolution still inhabiting the area and must get away before they're all killed off.

This was a pretty enjoyable and entertaining effort. A great premise here with a lot of rather good things about it, mainly from the species portrayed within which is rather enjoyable. They're rather cool all around, with a great look, impressive social structure and cool abilities that make for some wonderful stalking scenes in the jungle where it all takes place. The location is fantastic, taking place in the square jungle filled with lots of large trees, huge bushes and lots of rocky outcroppings that allow for lunging out of the darkness, hiding and the like, making for some fine suspense scenes as well as a great place of combat during the last half when they go on the offensive. The gore is great, with lots of savage kills and wounds making for a well-rounded part of the film. Suffers way too much from stupidity-to-remain-in-peril and poor decision-making, but none of that is too detrimental.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Razorback
3. The Lost Tribe
4. Howling III: The Marsupials
5. Outback Vampires
6. Cut
7. Rogue
8. Dying Breed
9. The Ferryman
10. Perfect Creature
11. Road Kill
12. Nature's Grave
13. Wolf Creek
14. Saw

[slayrrr666]

Got one more last night, The Reef, where after getting stranded in a remote section of water while on a cruise, a group of friends find their journey to sanctuary interrupted by a large rogue shark intent on stalking and eating them one-by-one and must try to get to safety before they all fall victim to the shark.

This was a massively dull and overblown film that never really made an impression on me one way or the other. The main problem with this one is the fact that it's just got way too many scenes of the friends looking into the water with their goggles and not seeing anything, effectively making it seem like ninety-percent of the film has nothing happening. By taking so long to have them stranded and then taking what seems like an eternity to get them into the water away from the wreck, it even gives off the feeling of a suspense/thriller over a full-on horror film which is a massive mistake and a total let-down almost as much as the utterly disappointing method of the attacks as it's edited in such a way as to make it impossible to tell what happened, who got hit or what was done, and then to have all the attacks finished off-screen is just a huge waste, leaving off the gore which is a real hurdle to get over. That there's some suspense derived from these attack scenes is the only real positive point really doesn't do much to help the film, and overall this was a massive let-down.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Razorback
3. The Lost Tribe
4. Howling III: The Marsupials
5. Outback Vampires
6. Cut
7. Rogue
8. Dying Breed
9. The Reef
10. The Ferryman
11. Perfect Creature
12. Road Kill
13. Nature's Grave
14. Wolf Creek
15. Saw

[slayrrr666]

So, time for an update as there's another one for the list, Strange Behavior.

A string of strange deaths in a small-town lead the sheriff to a rather obscure mystery he was involved with years earlier that has resulted in several youths running rampage over the residents that may have a more ghastly ulterior motive.

Not really too sure what to make of this one, as there's a lot to work with that really shines through. The initial part of the murder mystery is pretty decent with a couple fun and admittedly enjoyable stalking scenes that definitely give off a tense vibe from time-to-time, and the finale offers some pretty interesting revelations that are definitely unnerving, but the fact that the film is just so slow-going and dragged-out that it really loses a lot of it's steam just by dragging out the investigation and doing nothing with what should've been a tense scene beforehand. Add to that a low number of kills which result in a tame amount of blood, a lot of broad comedy that really isn't funny and shouldn't be in the movie and a far more complex plot that normal really doom this one significantly.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Razorback
3. The Lost Tribe
4. Howling III: The Marsupials
5. Outback Vampires
6. Cut
7. Rogue
8. Dying Breed
9. The Reef
10. The Ferryman
11. Strange Behavior
12. Perfect Creature
13. Road Kill
14. Nature's Grave
15. Wolf Creek
16. Saw

[slayrrr666]

So, time for an update as there's another one for the list, Bait 3D.

Trapped together in a flooded supermarket after a devastating hurricane strikes the town, a group of survivors find their escape attempts impeded by a vicious, man-eating shark trapped with them that has a taste for blood and must stop it to get out alive.

This one turned out to be quite an enjoyable effort and really redeems Australia after the debacle of their last killer shark effort, The Reef. One of the better elements at work is the fact that the escape attempts being made are handled quite realistically, with the group's attempts at getting away being hindered naturally and giving themselves to the shark to tear them to pieces, which creates an effective atmosphere and suspense when combined with the fact that being in the water at any point means that there's potentially going to be an attack, creating even more worry. That the attacks are brutal, vicious and extremely bloody, while still remaining logical as to how a shark would go about doing this, makes for even more fun with it's cool gore and continuous pacing that never really lets it get too bogged down and boring. While this is absolutely ludicrous-looking in 2D since it doesn't need 3D at all, the only other flaw is the pain-inducing and atrocious CGI used, which is plain wrong and doesn't belong here, but otherwise this was an outstanding offering.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Bait 3D
3. Razorback
4. The Lost Tribe
5. Howling III: The Marsupials
6. Outback Vampires
7. Cut
8. Rogue
9. Dying Breed
10. The Reef
11. The Ferryman
12. Strange Behavior
13. Perfect Creature
14. Road Kill
15. Nature's Grave
16. Wolf Creek
17. Saw

[slayrrr666]

It's not enough to merit more than a passing mention here since the film is a co-production with the US, UK and Hungary but being that Australian was among them, the film Nine Miles Down deserves a mention, almost like an honorary list or something but since I don't know how to handle the co-production side on something like this (since there's four countries involved rather than a two-country offering) as well as the fact that Australia is listed last so their contribution must be the smallest, all I'm going to add on the matter.

[slayrrr666]

Time for a more traditional update for the list in a true Australian effort, Inhuman Resources.

Awakening to find themselves bound together in an office building, a group of people learn they're being held by a vicious killer to a crime they're all involved in and uses deadly means to force them to find the real killer in the case.

This one turned out to be quite an interesting blend of efforts that never quite gets to where it wants to go. The fact that it starts off with the typical Torture Film genre set-up of the people chained together in a singular, dim location with a madman amongst them forcing them to play along in a demented game of his makes for a cliche opening that quickly appears to derail interest early on, but the fact that it then turns into a dark comedy about him forcing the gathered group to partake in crime solving on the case that sent him to prison that they were all involved in getting him tried on the charge, makes this one's rapid shift in tone quite unappealing when he's using far more vicious methods of forcing them along than what had happened to put him away yet continually claims innocence the whole time, a fact that's pointed out and glossed over with no real deterrence at all. While it gets a lot more enjoyable when they get loose and are stalked through the office building in the final half, forcing in some pretty brutal gags and blood-splatter along the way, it's not nearly enough to compensate for it's wacky opening.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Bait 3D
3. Razorback
4. The Lost Tribe
5. Howling III: The Marsupials
6. Outback Vampires
7. Cut
8. Rogue
9. Inhuman Resources
10. Dying Breed
11. The Reef
12. The Ferryman
13. Strange Behavior
14. Perfect Creature
15. Road Kill
16. Nature's Grave
17. Wolf Creek
18. Saw

[slayrrr666]

Based on last night's viewing, another update for the list, Needle.

After inheriting a strange box following his parents' death, a teen and his friends are the victims of a series of grisly and brutal deaths by unseen figures and realize the box is being used for revenge against the friends.

This turned out to be rather flawed and an overall disappointing effort. Despite this being based around an incredibly enjoyable concept, the main storyline here is so off that it really does the film far more harm by being the way it is, which is all due to the way this plays out. The main killer's motive for targeting the friends is so inherently lame that it's laughed off if heard in real life, and the characters in the film react as such by being unable to take it seriously since it's never once treated as something other than a comical joke when the reasons are revealed so this makes for quite a difficult time adjusting to things if the characters themselves don't take what happens seriously. As well, this ends up making the film's final half come off even more lame and disappointing by subjecting the motivations for the rampage at this section of the film as the reasons for why they're being targeted is never explored at all and it really tends to focus so heavily on this section that the rest of the film is a long, drawn-out series of bland sequences that have nothing to do with the killer's rampage against them as it instead focuses on the strained-brothers angle for the majority of the running time. None of these segments end up doing the film any favors in finding out crucial information about anything here, as the killer is forced to explain their hilariously illogical motivations at the end and the central box itself is such a mystery that the majority of the fear it's supposed to garner is squashed by only one semi-literate sequence where they explain the history and legacy but in such brief, passing tones that it's impossible to really get a handle on what this is and why it's to be feared. Each of these flaws ends up hurting the film quite heavily because there's some rather engaging potential on display, most notably in how the deaths are meted out which are incredibly bloody and gory and offer up quite a lot of carnage that's quite effectively rendered. The bloodshed is made more potent by the fact that the mystery box is capable of striking anywhere so these early sequences leading up to the death are truly chilling and suspenseful and really go a long way towards making this something to be feared. However, the majority of this is so flawed that these segments don't do this much good.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Bait 3D
3. Razorback
4. The Lost Tribe
5. Howling III: The Marsupials
6. Outback Vampires
7. Cut
8. Rogue
9. Inhuman Resources
10. Needle
11. Dying Breed
12. The Reef
13. The Ferryman
14. Strange Behavior
15. Perfect Creature
16. Road Kill
17. Nature's Grave
18. Wolf Creek
19. Saw

[slayrrr666]

Based on last night's viewing, another update for the list, Lake Mungo.

Following a teenager's accidental drowning, a family's slowly-unfolding attempt at forging on is disrupted with the gradual unraveling at her dark past leading up to the incident and how they lead to her final fate.

This turned out to be such a boring effort hardly anything about it is enjoyable. The really disappointing part about this is that, despite this being based around an incredibly enjoyable concept, the main storyline here is so off that it really does the film far more harm by being the way it is, which is all due to the way this plays out. The film is based on the revelations of the family after-the-fact about what caused her death and how digging into her past lead to much darker secrets than they ever anticipated, but yet the documentary-like nature of the film manages to make it feel like what happens is not that scary or chilling at all. From the start, with the photographs and her appearance in them to the neighbors' video footage finding her on them to the consultations with the paranormal experts and all this, it's never given any sort of imposing nature about being terrified of what's going on, as it's all about being done after it's already happened because it's a documentary about what happened instead of letting everything unfold in real-time. There's a lot of potentially-creepy manners and actions that happen through these actions through the family's drama but yet none of what happens is given any sort of feeling like it's scary or chilling and it really makes the film just trod along so lifelessly that it's hardly all that enjoyable the way it's presented here. Even all the gradual reveals that happen in here, from the infidelity with the neighbors to the paranormal dealings and the final revelation about her past are given any sort of truly creepy feel about what's happening and that makes this a really lifeless ordeal. Because none of this is given out to any sort of kills or supernatural attacks that would've resulting in some blood-letting or action to take place, this is a lifeless, bloodless barely-there horror effort.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Bait 3D
3. Razorback
4. The Lost Tribe
5. Howling III: The Marsupials
6. Outback Vampires
7. Cut
8. Rogue
9. Inhuman Resources
10. Needle
11. Dying Breed
12. The Reef
13. The Ferryman
14. Strange Behavior
15. Perfect Creature
16. Road Kill
17. Nature's Grave
18. Wolf Creek
19. Lake Mungo
20. Saw

[slayrrr666]

Another new update for the list, Patrick: Evil Awakens.

Signing up to work at a mental health facility, a nurse finds the growing attachment of a brain-dead patient with her is causing him to lash out with his supernatural powers at those around her and forces her to stop his deadly games.

This turned out to be quite an enjoyable and overall entertaining remake. What really works for this one is the fact that so much of what happens here comes off as genuinely freaky and quite chilling, as the completely comatose person laying there gives off an utterly freaky look here that never really looks normal yet is given quite a large amount of happenstance to prove otherwise. From his initial reactions around her that aren't quite right yet perfectly within the realm of realism which happens to make their continued time together all the more creepy by how far it veers off into that kind of dangerous territory. From the inconsequential marks of how he warps into her life by stealing away all the different parts of her to force her to keep coming back, it takes the sudden use of technology of how he communicates to get the point across that something's really wrong and that sets up the fine final half here which is all sorts of fun. With the action coming from his manipulation of not only the objects around him but also possessing people to continue his bidding, it makes for quite the frantic series of events here with tons of fantastic encounters trying to get past the possessed minions, playing his deranged games to save everyone and finding all the charred bodies and extremely graphic kills first hand makes for a truly enjoyable, thrilling series of events to really end this one on a high. As well, the general sleaze and depravity here makes for a much nicer watch than expected with a bit more going for it in that regard than would normally be the case here which altogether causes this a lot of fun and more than enough to hold off the few small problem areas. The biggest issue to overcome here is the completely bland and banal backstory given here that's supposed to make us side with him and his obsession with her yet does nothing in terms of making him into a sympathetic figure. Showing the treatment from his mother isn't so much a sympathetic ploy but instead one that completely justifies his condition by being such a deranged lunatic, and one that also never manages to account for his supernatural powers here which is quite shocking since that's such a major part of the story that never gets fully solved. The last problematic area here is the rather lengthy amount of time here before any kind of supernatural activity manifests itself, since this is so based on that it tends to lose focus for the first hour or so here by letting the storyline develop yet it doesn't really give off much of a hint about it's supernatural origins for much of the time in doing so which lets this wander along until finally coming out with such scenes at the end. While this isn't too bad as these first half scenes are quite watchable without stumbling too badly, it is noticeable here.

The list now reads:

1. Primal
2. Bait 3D
3. Razorback
4. The Lost Tribe
5. Patrick: Evil Awakens
6. Howling III: The Marsupials
7. Outback Vampires
8. Cut
9. Rogue
10. Inhuman Resources
11. Needle
12. Dying Breed
13. The Reef
14. The Ferryman
15. Strange Behavior
16. Perfect Creature
17. Road Kill
18. Nature's Grave
19. Wolf Creek
20. Lake Mungo
21. Saw