STORAGE 24 (2012) Review

Directed by: Johannes Roberts

Starring: Noel Clarke, Colin O'Donoghue, Antonia Campbell-Hughes

It’s been a while since I last saw a really good movie involving aliens, well not really that long I suppose since last year’s SUPER 8 was pretty damn impressive. I never understood what the big deal was about ATTACK THE BLOCK though, but here we have another alien movie from the UK; STORAGE 24. Will it fill the void?

The title refers to where the movie takes place, a 24 hour storage facility. You know those places with rows and rows of locked storage rooms which you can hire and fill with all of your crap. Anyway, right at the start of the movie there is a plane crash, but not just any ordinary plane. This is a military plane and we all know what that means right? Obviously it was carrying some type of top secret cargo which in this case comes in the form of a vicious bipedal alien. After escaping from its container it makes its way into the storage facility to hide out. Electrical problems due to the plane crash are causing the storage facility to have some problems and soon all of its occupants find themselves trapped inside.

Inside the facility we have three friends who are sorting through Shelley’s (Campbell-Hughes) stuff after a break up with her boyfriend. Boyfriend Charlie (Clarke) and friend Mark (O'Donoghue) show up and there’s some whining and bitching (mostly from Charlie) about why they broke up and what went wrong and blah blah blah.
But of course soon they discover that they’re not alone in building and that whatever is after them is fast, cunning, deadly and not human. Now they have more important things to worry about rather than their relationship woes, thank fuck.

You’d think that putting a small group of people in a confined space with a vicious alien would make for good cinema, but I guess it’s not always the case. Firstly the characters are so annoying or bland that you don’t care one way or the other whether they live or die. Secondly the opportunity to create some mood and tension has been completely wasted here and instead we are treated to a lot of pointless arguing and running around as the alien picks these people off one by one.

All of the attack sequences for some reason are filmed in close-up and I found myself just begging for a nice medium shot just so I could actually see what was going on.

Thankfully there is a bit of blood and gore and it’s the good old fashioned practical kind, and the alien itself looks pretty menacing. But the fact remains that too much of the movie is taken up by these annoying characters (mostly Charlie; it’s no wonder your girlfriend dumped you, you whiny little shit) and their stupid relationship subplot. And the ending. Oh the ending. Is that really the best they could come up with? I could not think of a more predictable finish to the film. But at least it fits with the rest of the movie which is also predictable, bland and void of any tension or atmosphere. What they've done here is take an interesting location, a nice, simple premise with plenty of potential and they've just wasted it. As far as alien movies go this year I would rather watch MEN IN BLACK III again, at least it had some laughs and entertainment value.

MONSTER BRAWL (2012) Review

Directed by: Jesse T. Cook

Starring: Dave Foley, Art Hindle, Robert Maillet

Creature mash-ups are always an interesting concept and have been around since way back. From FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN  to ALIEN VS. PREDATOR and even the Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic books. But MONSTER BRAWL is quite possibly the biggest monster mash of all.

Presented like a televised wrestling or boxing match, MONSTER BRAWL brings an array of movie monsters together (Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman, a zombie and a witch among others) and pits them against each other in a series of fights until only two remain to brawl for the Heavyweight championship. As far as story goes that’s about it. In between matches there are short introductory sequences for each creature but they aren't much more than just filler.

I will admit that after I read the synopsis for this movie I thought it sounded pretty fucking badass. I had mental images of the combatants tearing each other open, dismembering each other, beating their opponents to death with their own disembodies limbs and other such graphic delights. 

So when the first fight was about to begin, I sat in anticipation of the imminent violence… and was extremely disappointed. 

The fights are incredibly unspectacular, which is a shame because they’re the whole concept on which this movie is built. If the fights were as good as I was expecting then I could have easily forgiven MONSTER BRAWL for some of its other shortcomings. But no, each match seemed to be just as dull as the one preceding it. Even the final heavyweight championship bout (which you would expect to be the climax of the film) was decidedly anticlimactic. That’s not to say that there weren't some interesting and clever moments (the mummy using his sun-god amulet to burn his vampire foe’s flesh for example) but they were few and far between. On a more positive note, there were a lot of neat looking make-up and practical effects and there is a little gore although I would have loved to see more.

One interesting aspect I have to mention is the use of Lance Henriksen’s voice. When the opening credits revealed his voice would be involved I thought he may have been commentating the fights, but instead he provides brief comments in a Mortal Kombat style which are peppered throughout each of the fights.

All in all MONSTER BRAWL is just big, stupid fun. It’s easy to sit down with a few beers and be entertained but it is a shame that the scenes which make up the core of the film (the fights) are not nearly as spectacular as they could have been. And let’s be honest, when you sit down to watch a movie about mythical creatures fighting it out in a boxing ring in the middle of a cemetery, you’re not going to expect groundbreaking cinema. MONSTER BRAWL is a fun concept but ultimately flawed in execution, nevertheless it’s entertaining enough to check out if you’re a fan of creature features.

BAIT 3D (2012) Review

Directed by: Kimble Rendall

Starring: Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Julian McMahon

Sharks in a supermarket. If you don't like the sound of that sentence then quite simply you aren't going to like BAIT 3D at all. But if this kind of high concept shark attack idea is what gets you wet between the thighs then you are probably going to have a very enjoyable time indeed.

Without going into the characters too much (the film doesn't bother so why should I?) I'll just lay out the basic plot. A freak tsunami hits a coastal Australian town without warning, and we watch as the flood waters rush into a supermarket (which incidentally was in the middle of a holdup) where unsuspecting shoppers are now trapped by the slowly rising water. But of course the robbery and the flood are nothing compared to what happens next. These shoppers realize that they are trapped inside the flooded supermarket with a 12 foot Great White Shark.
At the same time the underground car park is also flooded and has a few people trapped inside their cars. Their cars which seem to be completely water-tight for some strange reason.


BAIT 3D has compiled a mostly young cast made up of Aussies who have made the transition to Hollywood. Xavier Samuel (TWILIGHT), Sharni Vinsen (STEP UP), Julian McMahon (FANTASTIC FOUR), etc. Although this may help the movie in terms of gathering an international audience, it also hinders the film because half of the cast seem to spend their time slipping in between Australian and American accents which I found quite distracting. One thing which was a pleasant surprise however was the way that BAIT takes itself quite seriously. It may not make the situation seem any more realistic but it does add a different dynamic compared to your usual shark b-movie cheese-fest like TWO-HEADED SHARK ATTACK.

As much as I loved the concept of BAIT, the way it played out left a lot to be desired. Plenty of chances to create tension have been overlooked and I found the characters to be simply a bunch of annoying stereotypes, not caring about which ones lived and which ones were munched up by Mr. Shark.
And speaking of the shark, I have to mention the CGI which was used for some of the scenes and of course looks horrible. There are also shark scenes using practical effects and while they aren't that impressive they still beat the hell out of the digital shit.
Overall the practical effects were pretty good, but I did find it a little strange that so soon after the tsunami hit some of the dead bodies and body parts already seemed to be in an advanced state of decay.
And as you might expect the 3D seemed to be used simply to throw as much crap at the screen as possible.

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012) Review

Directed by: Drew Goddard

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Jesse Williams

Since THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is one of those movies where you're better off going in knowing as little as possible, I won't say too much and so this will be a pretty short review.

The movie starts off in possibly the most cliché way imaginable. Five young friends are preparing for a trip to a cabin deep in the woods, to get away from everything and basically chill out. The characters represent what you might expect to see in any of the FRIDAY THE 13TH films, there's the amorous couple, the stoner, the nerdy nice guy and the shy 'virgin'. On their way to the cabin they come across a run-down, backwater gas station where they are met by a run-down, backwater man. Vague and ominous warnings are of course ignored and they continue on their way. They finally arrive and get settled in, but once the cellar door is flung open, shit starts to get crazy.

As I said this will be a short review because I know if I say too much it could easily spoil the movie.First of all I'll say that this is definitely not what you're expecting. It starts out cliché as fuck, but soon everything is completely flipped on its head. It's not a particularly scary movie although it is absolutely full of elements you would find in just about every horror movie you've ever seen. Parody, cliches and stereotypes are all used here but they are used in such a way that brings a really different vibe to the film.

There's a nice blend of horror, sci-fi and comedy here, and lots of surprises to be had. You'll also undoubtedly see lots of references to other horror films along the way. And if you look deep enough you may even get a clear view of the metaphorical, philosophical side of the film. This actually hit me a couple of days after initially watching it, and it is honestly really, really clever.
As for the technical side of the movie, it's actually pretty damn good. It looks great, it sounds great, the acting and writing are both good and the pacing is nice. Makeup and practical effects look awesome although there is a sudden burst of CGI which I could probably have done without.
The best part about it though is that it's something new. Something different. And that's as good a reason to go see it as any. Highly recommended.

CELL COUNT (2012) Review

Directed by: Todd E. Freeman

Starring: Robert McKeehen, Haley Talbot, Christopher Toyne

There were two reasons I decided to check out CELL COUNT. The first is that I thought the poster looked pretty badass and the second is that I heard it being compared to films like CUBE and Cronenberg's RABID. I still like the poster, but while I can see certain similarities between this and Cronenberg's work, this movie just doesn't come close. It has a very promising premise but before long it falls apart thanks to some lousy writing and incoherent plot.

Russell Carpenter (McKeehen) has to make an important decision. His wife Sadie (Talbot) is dying in a hospital bed from an undisclosed disease and her only chance of getting better is for her to be shipped off to an experimental facility where Doctor Victor Brandt (Toyne)  promises that she will be completely cured. However if Russell wants to be with his wife, he will also need to travel to the facility and partake in the experimental cure. When the couple awaken in the prison-like clinic and find themselves with a handful of strangers, bizarre things begin to happen. Could this cure be worse than the disease?

First I'll get to the good stuff. CELL COUNT was made on a relatively low budget, however great care has obviously been taken to make it look as good as possible. The lighting is good, the scenes are crisp and clear, the location is suitably cold and sterile, and the practical effects and make-up look great.

As I mentioned earlier, the premise for the film is an intriguing one. When Russell makes the decision for himself and his wife to take part in this experiment they are unaware of the risks and even seem to have no idea what the experiment will entail. Obviously the only thing Russell cares about is the fact that Dr. Brandt has promised she will be cured. But at what price? At no point does he say that she will be 'healthy' or 'back to normal', just that she will be completely free of the disease. What exactly is he hiding?

And what's up with this medical facility? It's vast, open and seemingly empty apart from the half dozen or so patients. The doctor communicates to them via a P.A system and rarely visits the patients personally.

Something is obviously not right here. This sense of mystery and foreboding has been handled really well and is enough to hold your attention - for a while at least.

CELL COUNT ambles along at a reasonably slow pace which at first is ok. But before too long I found myself hoping that it would pick up the pace or at least break it up with some action sequences. Unfortunately the slow pace continues throughout the film, peppered with little action, but on the plus side it does throw a few unexpected surprises at you.
The writing here isn't exactly what I would call great, and it has characters making stupid decisions and uttering unimportant and useless dialogue at times.
While the practical effects were done really well, there was is scene which incorporates some terrible looking CGI, and while it may have been the only way to achieve such a scene, it was still off-putting.

And finally we come to the end of the film which was a sudden and inconclusive stop. I can appreciate movies which leave you with unanswered questions while the credits roll, but I think CELL COUNT could have benefited from a more conclusive ending. I have heard possible talk of a sequel so maybe this is why the film ended as it did.

V/H/S (2012) Review

Directed by: David Bruckner, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, Ti West, Adam Wingard, Radio Silence

Starring: Calvin Reeder, Joe Swanberg, Adam Wingard

I love a good horror anthology, and it's been quite a while since I've seen one so I was pretty damn excited when I finally got a chance to check out V/H/S. With an impressive list of directors including Ti West, Adam Wingard and the collective Radio Silence, V/H/S was bound to be impressive. At least I hoped so.

V/H/S is broken up into 6 segments, 5 of which make up the bulk of the anthology while the 6th binds them all together. The list of segments is as follows:

'Amateur Night' - David Brucker
'Second Honeymoon' - Ti West

'Tuesday the 17th' - Glenn McQuaid

'The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger' - Joe Swanberg

'10/31/98' - Radio Silence

All of these 5 segments feature within the 6th (Adam Wingard's 'Tape 56') as footage compiled on separate VHS tapes. Tape 56 shows a group of misfits who have been hired by an undisclosed third party, to break into a home and steal a certain VHS tape. When they arrive however they find more than they expected. A dead body, a bank of television sets and dozens of VHS tapes which they will need to sort through in order to find what they are looking for.

I won't go into each individual segment very deeply however I will say that they are quite varied in content (which is great) and as with every anthology some segments are better than others. My personal favorites were 'Amateur Night', 'The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger' and '10/31/98' but as for the other two segments and even 'Tape 56' in which they are all wrapped up, I thought they were much weaker. 

'Tuesday the 17th' (as you may have guessed) pays homage to FRIDAY THE 13TH with four friends who travel to a lake where a number of murders have taken place. 

'Second Honeymoon' follows a couple on a road trip across America as they see the sights until one night they have a mysterious visitor at the door of their hotel room. 

I was particularly disappointed with the latter because Ti West did such a great job with THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL but here he has created something which just basically seems (to me at least) pointless. The same can be said for the former segment, they both have no real meat on their bones. They just kind of happen and didn't leave me with any impression at all.

Fortunately the offerings from Bruckner, Swanberg and Radio Silence made up for the weaker segments, and I found all three of them to be original, surprising and entertaining. Overall there is a nice mix of tension, supernatural stuff, gore and creatures. Basically something for everybody.

I really liked the whole concept of V/H/S and I thought that it was a very interesting idea to put found footage inside a found footage movie. But is that too much found footage? At around 2 hours long V/H/S is made up entirely using this POV style and by the end of it I was honestly over it. If they had halved the film's length it probably would have been alright but 2 hours was just too much for me. Adding in some webcam style in Swanberg's segment almost helped to break this up but not quite. And (although it's probably already obvious) if you're not a big fan of this shaky style of filming then you definitely will not like V/H/S. The filming in 'Amateur Night' alone is some of the most wobbly, disorienting, all over the place filming I have ever seen.
I can enjoy a good found footage film if it adds to the atmosphere or the story, but 2 hours was just too much for me. Add to that the fact that the segments are a mixed bag of good and bad, and V/H/S turned out to be an above average anthology, but ultimately still a disappointment.

PIRANHA 3DD (2012) Review

Directed by: John Gulager

Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, David Koechner

PIRANHA 3D was quite simply a bad movie but at least it was entertaining and had some semblance of plot. This sequel however is not just bad but terrible, it has the thinnest of plots and unlikeable characters.
Obviously PIRANHA 3DD is not supposed to be some high class horror movie and I understand that, but this movie was completely unnecessary and brought nothing new to the table.

In the aftermath of the Lake Victoria incident in the first film, the once hot tourist destination is now a ghost town. But at least the piranha are gone right? Well no, it seems that they're back and this time they are out to terrorise the newly opened water park The Big Wet. The Big Wet is an adult oriented water park with sleazy tag lines and lots of nude females. Even the lifeguards are strippers! Entrepreneur Chet (Koechner) has poured all of his money into creating this park and he has big plans for its opening day. Unfortunately his stepdaughter Maddy has discovered that there is a real threat that piranhas could get into the water park and create a bloodbath. Chet isn't put off by this though and so goes on with the grand opening. Obviously the piranhas enter the park and everything goes horribly wrong.

PIRANHA 3DD promises 'twice the terror, double the D's' and it certainly delivers on the latter. There are enough wet, bouncing breasts here to make any 14 year old boy jizz in his pants. When it comes to terror however, the movie is seriously lacking and the blood and death scenes are actually a step down from the previous film. Another thing PIRANHA 3DD has tried to add is humor, from Ving Rhames' shotgun prosthetic leg to David Hasselhoff's cameo. Unfortunately all of this is just cheap laughs and quite frankly I didn't find it funny at all. I also fail to see the reason for the movie being presented in 3D, other than to lure teenage boys with the promise of big breasts bouncing around in three dimensions. There were only a couple of real 3D moments and they just seemed cheap and tacked on. 

AREA 407 (2012) Review

Directed by: Dale Fabrigar, Everette Wallin

Starring: Abigail Schrader, Samantha Lester, Melanie Lyons

After watching APARTMENT 143 recently I thought I was completely over these found footage type films. I had to give this one a chance though because it promised something new, in the form of dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs. Could this finally be the movie to restore my faith in the found footage genre? Well it turned out to be a little better than I had expected, but a lot worse than I'd hoped.

Two sisters are boarding a plane from New York to Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. A camera (in this case a Canon DSLR with uncharacteristically good audio quality) is used to introduce them and then the rest of the key characters as they make their way down the aisle to their assigned seats. For some reason all of the passengers (well except for one) seem to be a little too happy. In my experience it seems pretty hard to find a happy passenger on a plane, but whatever. The younger sister Trish (Schrader) who is controlling the camera seems to be hell-bent on annoying as many people as she can, waving the camera around in their faces and asking a barrage of questions. One of the passengers seated directly behind them turns out to be a photojournalist. What a coincidence! So obviously he has a whole bag full of camera equipment and lights etc.

After the passengers count down to midnight (gee this is a long flight) the plane hits turbulence and finally crash lands.

The survivors gather together and try to figure out what to do next. When no rescue crew shows up and they start hearing inhuman noises out in the darkness, they realize that something is very wrong.

I didn't realize this while watching the movie, but according to its IMDb page AREA 407 was filmed in only 5 days and all of the actors' dialogue was ad-libbed. If this is true then I have to give props to the actors because most of the dialogue did seem pretty genuine and realistic even if it wasn't very consistent.

The low budget showed in two big ways. Firstly is the fact that it was shot found footage style, which is fine. But the other way it showed was in the creature effects, even though you didn't really see a lot of them. What you do see though is pretty lame but at least (for the most part) they didn't use any CGI.

Most of the film post-crash is composed of the dwindling survivors running around in the dark, screaming and arguing a lot. The argument scenes where everybody is trying to yell over the top of everybody else got on my nerves a bit, but I guess it's realistic as you would probably find it extremely difficult to remain calm in such a situation.

Thankfully however, there was enough action and tension to help counter these negative aspects at least a little. And the ending was actually really good, if not a little predictable All in all it was a nice movie with a good, original concept but it just came up a little short in most departments. Worth seeing if you're a found footage nut, but otherwise I probably wouldn't bother. I have to give kudos to the film-makers for trying something new within the sub-genre but I don't think I'll be revisiting this one again.

CREATURE (2011) Review

Directed by: Fred Andrews

Starring: Mehcad brooks, Dillon Casey, Serinda Swan, Sid Haig

I'm not really sure where this film came from or how it ended up in theatres this month, but after watching it I honestly think that CREATURE probably should have been a straight to dvd deal. I can think of dozens of other horror films that deserved to make it to theatres than this one. Despite the title, the movie actually plays out more like a slasher, and a pretty generic one at that.

CREATURE follows a group of young adults on a road trip through Louisiana. They stop at a seedy looking gas station for a bit of a pee break and a little chat with the locals. The inside of the store is a kind of recreation of Captain Spaulding's from House of 1000 Corpses, complete with oddities and even Sid Haig himself.

Oscar (Casey) seems to have a keen interest in all of this folklore crap, and asks the store owner Chopper (Haig) about 'the house that Grimley built' which is part of a local legend involving inbred hillbillies and a strange alligator/human hybrid creature. So Chopper draws them up a map and sends them on their merry way. They find the house, and decide to set up camp and stay the night. Of course not long after nightfall, all sorts of bad shit starts to happen. They find themselves stalked by a terrible creature from the swamp.

There are a couple of little sub-plots involving an ancient ritual and some incest in there too, but basically that's the story.

I was actually a little excited when I first started watching, because in the first minute of the film there is some gratuitous full frontal nudity and I was hoping that this would be a bit of a throwback to those classic monster movies. And it kind of is, except for the fact that there is very little gore. I know that gore doesn't always make a good horror movie, but in a slasher like this there really should be a lot more. Most of it happens off screen, and all you really see is the end result.

The creature after which the movie is named, looked a little ridiculous in my opinion and wasn't very entertaining at all.

I'm not really sure what else to write about. I guess the acting was pretty good, but nothing fantastic. But I didn't find CREATURE to be a particularly original or entertaining film. If you don't see it, you're not really missing out on much at all. If you want something similar but more entertaining you might want to try Hatchet.

SHARKTOPUS (2010) Review

Directed by: Declan O'Brien

Starring: Eric Roberts, Kerem Bursin, Sara Malakul Lane

They say that first impressions are so important. And since this was my first SyFy movie experience, I think it's safe to say that I will be keeping away from them from now on.

I'm not completely stupid, I mean I didn't prepare to watch a movie called SHARKTOPUS and expect it to be a masterpiece. But even with my low expectations I still didn't think that it would be as bad as this. And not just in a couple of areas either, but right across the board. Bad acting, bad writing, bad editing, bad shots, bad special effects and so on. In fact, pick any aspect of this film and I bet you it's bad.

I knew that SHARKTOPUS was going to be horrible, but I was hoping that it would fit into that 'so bad that it's good' category. It didn't. Anyway, I'll try to stop using the word 'bad' now (it's hard) and just get on with the review.

Nathan and Nicole Sands (Eric Roberts & Sara Malakul Lane) are a father/daughter team working for a company called Blue Water, who have been contracted by the navy to genetically engineer a new kind of weapon. Somebody has had the bright idea of creating a shark/octopus hybrid or as they refer to it 'S11'.

But while testing the Sharktopus, it's control system is damaged and it goes rogue. So Nathan recruits the young Andy Flynn (Kerem Bursin) to head out with his daughter on a tiny fishing boat and attempt to catch the enormous creature.

So basically after the creature escapes it decides to head on down to Mexico and go on a killing spree. The bulk of the movie is just a series of death scenes. The Sharktopus eats everybody from beachgoers to bungee jumpers, while Nicole and Andy chase after it in their undersized boat and eventually defeat the beast.

Do yourself a favor. Don't see SHARKTOPUS. That is all.

THE DESCENT (2005) Review

Directed by: Neil Marshall

Starring: Shauna McDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Alex Reid

I was pretty excited to see this movie. I'd read plenty of positive reviews and it was written and directed by Neil Marshall who was responsible for one of my favorite werewolf films Dog Soldiers. Unfortunately The Descent didn't really do it for me.

A group of female friends get together for an annual adventure vacation. Sarah (Shauna McDonald) has been lured to the United States along with her friend Beth (Alex Reid) to go on a caving (or spelunking, if you prefer) trip with their old friend Juno (Natalie Mendoza). After explaining that the cave is an exceptionally easy and safe descent, they arrive to find that Juno has lied. It turns out that the cave is actually unmapped and as far as everybody knows, unexplored. But they decide to go anyway.

Not long after the enter the cave though, there is a rockfall and they find themselves trapped with no map and limited supplies. But that isn't the worst part. It turns out that they're not alone in the cave, and the other inhabitants are hungry...

If you've seen Dog Soldiers, then you'll know the general outline. The film starts off with a couple suffering a traumatic event, (in this case a car accident) then the film flashes forward to a group of people in a remote location (although this time it's women and they are in a cave) and then they soon find that they are facing a terrible non-human enemy (not werewolves this time). But that is where the similarities end. Not only do the women have to battle monsters, but they also have conflicting personalities which causes trouble. Juno is the strong fearless leader type, whereas Sarah is a traumatized woman trying to get her life back together (how ironic).

The cave sets the right kind of atmosphere for a horror film, dark, claustrophobic and creepy (I found it to be a little too dark at times). The acting is fine, but nothing spectacular. There is plenty of tension. All round it is a good solid horror flick, but I think after all of the hype it just seemed to fall a bit short of my expectations. It's definitely worth a watch but don't expect too much.

RAZORBACK (1984) Review

Directed by: Russell Mulcahy

Starring: Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr

Before he directed the cult classic Highlander, Russell Mulcahy adapted this Australian wildlife horror film from a novel by Peter Brennan. 

Gregory Harrison plays Carl Winters, a man who travels to the Australian outback seeking answers about the mysterious disappearance of his journalist wife who was investigating a story on the poaching of kangaroos. Upon his arrival he meets Jake Cullen (Bill Kerr), a man who is obsessed with hunting a giant razorback boar which killed his grandson. Although he was acquitted of his grandson's murder, he is the only person to have seen the monster pig and therefore the rest of the community thinks that he is making it up.

When it becomes apparent that Carl's wife was also a victim of the razorback, he teams up with Jake and farmer Sarah Cameron (Arkie Whiteley) to track down and kill the beast. They follow it to the local dog food factory where they encounter two psychotic workers who have been feeding the giant pig and thus increasing it's size and appetite. 

Basically it's Jaws but with a pig instead of a shark, and a few twists thrown in. The atmosphere of the Australian outback is one of the most impressive facets of this movie, and makes for a stark and frightening backdrop. The acting is solid but nothing impressive. A lack of CGI means that you don't get to see a lot of the pig throughout the film, but this helps rather than taking away. The finale in the dog food factory is a very tense and enjoyable scene and caps off the movie perfectly. 

Although the movie has aged a lot since it's release in 1984 it still stands up fairly well today and is a better than average entry into the killer animal/revenge genre. And as an Australian horror film it is a must see.

ROGUE (2008) Review

Directed by: Greg McLean

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, Mia Wasikowska

Australia isn't very well known for producing great horror films. In fact if you look at Australian films in general, they're mostly average with perhaps a handful of greats. But one thing Australia is well known for is it's deadly wildlife. Snakes, spiders, baby-eating dingoes and of course crocodiles. 

From director Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) comes this classic killer animal movie set in the remote Australian outback. It follows a group of tourists on a sightseeing tour down a river in the Northern Territory. Among the group are the American travel writer Pete (Vartan), a couple with their young daughter Sherry (Wasikowska) and some other less important characters. Then of course there is the tour guide Kate (Mitchell)

After a seemingly normal tour down the river (apart from a run-in with a smartass Sam Worthington and his mate) the group is all set to turn around and head back. But of course something comes up. A distress flare is spotted by one of the tourists, and as the boat's captain it is Kate's responsibility to investigate.

Eventually they find an overturned, half-submerged boat and everybody is starting to get a little creeped out. This is of course, the moment when everything goes wrong.

The group end up marooned on a tiny island when their boat is wrecked by a monster crocodile. And (surprise, surprise) the radio doesn't work! Well damn, I sure didn't expect that...

They soon realise that the croc is hunting them and won't leave until everybody has been killed and eaten. In the ensuing panic, mistakes are made and people die, and I noticed a couple of moments where I had to stop myself from yelling at the stupidity of some people. Fortunately those moments were not frequent enough to put me off however.

The performances are great all-round, especially those from Radha Mitchell and Michael Vartan. And Sam Worthington does an impressive job of playing an asshole. Thank god he doesn't have to fake an american accent in this movie. The scenery is great and the special effects are top notch, with McLean showing very little of the beast until the end, thus forcing your imagination to fill in the blanks.

Unfortunately however, there is only so much you can do with a group of people stuck in the same location. Eventually it changes from survival horror to man vs beast, with Vartan's character taking on the monster head-on. 

Although Rogue follows a predictable formula, there were a few unexpected moments and I think that overall it is a great addition to the killer animal genre and an extremely fun film to watch.