Directed by: Jamie Blanks
Starring: Nadia Fares, Robert Taylor, David Lyons, Mathew Wilkinson, John Brumpton
I finally got around to watching this film last night, and man was I surprised. Out of all of the Australian horror films I've seen this is definitely one of the few that stood out. The storyline isn't anything new, just the typical 'city slickers lost in the middle of nowhere' scenario but it was unique in its own way.
Rob and Pia (Taylor and Fares) are a husband and wife who embark on a nice relaxing fishing trip just off the coast. Eventually a storm begins to roll in but instead of turning back and heading to shore, Rob decides to keep going a bit further and they end up lost (somehow) on a secluded island. Darkness has fallen and the weather is too bad to try and get back, so they try to seek shelter in a seemingly abandoned house. But of course it isn't abandoned and soon the occupants (three of them in this case) come home. And they're not happy.
At this point it's obvious that the couple aren't going to get out of this easily, especially after Rob has seen what they have in the shed out the back...
As the sadistic Brett (Wilkinson), Jimmy (Lyons) and Poppy (Brumpton) get increasingly aggressive and violent, Rob and Pia realise a fear worse than any they've known.
The movie starts off pretty slowly and for a while there I was worried about the lack of gore (especially since I was watching the 'Extreme Edition') Thankfully however, those fears were soon put to rest. The acting was great and the characters cast perfectly, but I did have a small problem with the writing. Hearing Brett refer to Rob as 'Slick' and 'Volvo' (you'll see what I mean) for the thousandth time had me pretty annoyed. But it didn't ruin the experience.
The second half of Storm Warning has enough violence, blood and gore to satisfy most horror film fans. Most prominently the fishhook scene, Pia's "personal security" device scene and of course the climactic fanboat scene. I really enjoyed this film and can only think of a few other Aussie horrors that better it. Definitely a must see.
