From go to whoa, Crush is retro without any aspect of pastiche, and while relatively inoffensive, it offers a pedestrian tour through standard genre territory.
26 • Metro Magazine 164 Fatal distractions: australian horror beyond national cinema
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas looks at the state of Australian horror filmmaking, and finds that, for the most part, recent features come up wanting.
ince PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (Peter Weir, 1975) marked the intersection of a blossoming Australian national film culture and the strange and the spooky, hopes for the broader film industry have often been pinned upon shadowy cinemat- Sic ventures. Mark Hartley’s documentary Not Quite Hollywood (2008) summarised the most recent manifestation of this dark ambition for post-Wolf Creek Australian horror, declaring that Greg Mclean’s 2005 international success story had triggered a new wave of locally produced genre film.
Without wishing to dwell on the obvious, it is clear that the oth- er films lauded in Hartley’s documentary – Jamie Blanks’ Storm Warning (2007) and Long Weekend (2008), and Mclean’s own Rogue (2007) – did not quite set the world on fire. This is not to suggest that there has been a total absence of quality material produced within the generic confines of horror since 2005 in Aus- tralia, as a film such as Steven Kastrissios’ ultra-violent revenge tale The Horseman (2008) so poignantly demonstrates. But five years after Wolf Creek, and in the wake of its much-discussed success, horror appears to have become a natural choice for aspiring local filmmakers to make their mark. Four titles alone – Prey (Oscar D’Roccster, 2009), Crush (Jeffrey Gerritsen and John
Metro Magazine 164 • 27 V. Soto, 2009), Coffin Rock (Rupert Glasson, tions) have been involved in talk of an Amer- filled the same role. its adult subject matter 2009) and Bad Bush (Samuel Genocchio, ican remake.1 One can only speculate that places it far above horror’s assumed teen- 2009) – debuted in the last half of 2009. if this happens, the revisionism required by age realm, the painstakingly fetishised win- local critics to embrace this neglected hor- try Australian coastal locale is beautifully The number of horror films that are funded, ror gem will be as rigorous and vocal as it is shot, and the performances of its main cast produced and distributed in this country hypocritical. (particularly Lisa chappell in the lead role of therefore raises key issues for debate. But Jessie) cannot be faulted. On these counts are we asking the wrong questions? Or, at The case of Thirst suggests that local criti- alone, Coffin Rock should be a satisfying least, are the questions we are asking too cism has pushed Australian horror to a viewing experience and a likely contender narrowly focused on these films’ status as point where it is dominated by an untenable to carry the Wolf Creek baton. Australian films alone? As the multitude either/or: the choice is between being uber- of positive non-Australian reviews of Wolf Australian or anti-Australian. On one hand, But, as films ranging from Night of the Liv- Creek testify, Mclean’s debut made its glo- the self-conscious drenching of local horror ing Dead (George A. Romero, 1968) to Par- bal impact not only because of its ‘Austral- with gratuitous ‘McAustraliana’ comes at anormal Activity (Oren Peli, 2007) suggest, ianness’, but because it was also a bloody the cost of developing a less contrived na- high production values are far from essen- good horror film. That it so eloquently cap- tial to a successful horror film. Big names tured a truly Australian sensibility was, for may have pulling power in terms of funding non-Australian audiences, merely a bonus. Coffin Rock wears its and marketing, but a brief look at some of So should Australian analyses of locally debt to Fatal Attraction the biggest horror releases over the last ten produced horror hinge upon their status as on its sleeve, but its years shows as many new names as famil- ‘Australian films’ first and ‘horror films’ sec- surface twist of swapping iar ones. From Dracula and Frankenstein to ond, or is it more important that they func- Glenn Close’s iconic The Fog (John carpenter, 1980) to The Blair tion primarily as engaging horror films first bunny-boiler with a Witch Project (Daniel Myrick and eduardo and foremost? baby kangaroo- Sánchez, 1999) and beyond, environment bashing Irish often plays a crucial role in horror, but the Wolf Creek tells us that a combination is adolescent male seemingly obligatory ‘porning’ of the land- ideal: being both a good Australian film and is never addressed as scape in Australian horror ignores just how a good horror film is not and should not be anything more than a vital it is aesthetically as well as themati- impossible. This is demonstrated in non- superficial variation on a cally to films like Wolf Creek and Picnic at Australian national cinemas, most notably theme. Hanging Rock. by the explosion of the internationally popu- lar J-Horror phenomenon in the 1990s. But even rising above its self-conscious Aus- the mollycoddling much Australian horror tional identity, while also impeding the de- tralianism, then, Coffin Rock has more po- has received from critics with little interest in velopment of a healthy, natural and organic tential to alienate a horror audience than to the genre suggests that the current equation expansion of capital-A, capital-H Austral- please it. The most immediate issue is its is loaded perhaps a little too heavily towards ian Horror. But on the other hand, many lo- title: coffin Rock is already a familiar name the national at the expense of the generic. cally produced horror films appear to be to horror fans as it was where the zeitgeist- And in the worst-case scenario, this means trying to consciously transcend paying this defining The Blair Witch Project was set. it that local audiences miss out on enjoying re- sort of lip service by overtly de-contaminat- is either through arrogance, coincidence or ally fun horror films that the rest of the world ing themselves of any Australian themes or flagrant disinterest that the Australian Cof- might embrace despite their country of ori- motifs in the hope that they will be able to fin Rock dismisses any associations with its gin. A case in point is Rod Hardy’s 1979 film stand up abroad.2 is there a step forward? namesake. in fan circles at least, it could be Thirst. On an intrinsic level, this Melbourne- is there a way to attain Wolf Creek’s careful assumed that writer/director Rupert Glas- produced vampire film is a sophisticated, balance between being an ‘Australian film’ son’s lack of interest and knowledge of hor- self-referential exploration of local paracin- and a ‘horror film’, despite the nebulous- ror render him little more than a ‘genre tour- ema, as its female protagonist tries to fight ness of both of these terms? Or do films ist’ attempting to cash in on horror’s current the temptation of an imported phenomenon like Coffin Rock, Bad Bush, Prey and Crush mainstream acceptance.3 to retain her ‘true identity’. Like most hor- suggest that rather than opening the neural ror fans, she gives in to the visceral thrills – floodgates, Wolf Creek was nothing but a There are concerns that rise above the pe- imported or not, national loyalties pale next flash in the pan? culiarities of horror fandom, however. Coffin to the gritty perversions of exploitation. The Rock follows the story of a married couple dismissal of and disinterest in Thirst locally The usual suspects desperately trying to conceive a child. The has curiously not altered the fact that it po- increasingly frustrated wife, Jessie, has sex tentially retains an international audience: ru- Of all four films, Coffin Rock stands out with the strange young irish newcomer evan mours were still circulating in 2008 that cult from the others on a number of counts. its (Sam Parsonson), while drunk. After finding horror directors Joe Dante (Gremlins I and II, highly polished production values tran- herself pregnant, Jessie realises that evan’s The Howling, Innerspace, Twilight Zone: The scend the budgetary constraints under infatuation has evolved into a violent, stalk- Movie) and Mick Garris (the mastermind of which it was made, and producer David ing rampage as he terrorises the couple. the successful Masters of Horror television Lightfoot’s name brings in an explicit as- Coffin Rock wears its debt to Fatal Attraction series and a slew of Steven King adapta- sociation with Wolf Creek, on which he (Adrian Lyne, 1987) on its sleeve, but its sur-
28 • Metro Magazine 164 face twist of swapping Glenn close’s iconic bunny-boiler with a baby kangaroo-bashing irish adolescent male is never addressed as anything more than a superficial variation on a theme. Despite its surface concern with gender and power, then, this film is funda- mentally disinterested in engaging with ei- ther, and it appears to deliberately avoid the very real issues that hinge upon its often concerning assumptions. Aside from the confusing necessity to make the villainous evan a racial Other,4 that Jessie clearly asks evan to stop during sex establishes a com- plex and sophisticated ideological web that the film fails to address outside of the barest of melodramatic terms. This rape becomes ambiguous in the film’s ethical construction of Jessie: as a problematic morality tale that appears to be teaching the dangers of mon- strous-thirty-something-women-who-will- do-anything-to-conceive, the film is explicit Previous Page, clockwise from toP that Jessie is the one for whom the lesson is left: Crush – AnnA (emmA lung); phil intended. cheat on your husband, and irish (kAne mAnerA); wesley (christiAn teenagers will cause you grief. But what if an clArk); juliAn (christopher egAn); irish teenager rapes you? The suggestion of logAn (jennA lind), phil And clAre (Brooke hArmAn) this Page from toP: rape only makes sense if – disturbingly – it juliAn And AnnA, Crush; jessie (lisA has been employed solely to ‘soften’ Jessie chAppell), Coffin roCk enough so that spectatorial alignment is not totally alienated from her. Unlike other recent horror films that tackle motherhood, con- he begins a passionate fling with the vampy ception and pregnancy – Grace (Paul Solet, Anna (emma Lung), whom he believes is 2009) and Inside (Alexandre Bustillo and Ju- the owner’s niece. When Anna discovers lien Maury, 2007) in particular – Coffin Rock her feelings towards Julian are not recipro- fails as both a satisfying genre film and in its cated, she retaliates with violent repercus- attempt to engage with the complexities of sions, and Julian makes some shocking gender and fertility. discoveries. if Crush feels like cV filler for expats, then that is because that’s precisely what it is. Best described as High School Musical christopher egan is clearly the drawcard Video stores across the country are packed meets The Ring meets Fatal Attraction, of this film, and Crush feels like little more to the rafters with precisely this sort of Crush also reworks the infidelity/stalker than a vehicle to capitalise on his increas- movie: competently executed and banal scenario, but with a distinctive teen demo- ing visibility in the United States. now in equal measure, there is nothing particu- graphic in mind. Outside of its too-frequent based in Los Angeles, Sydney-born egan larly ‘Australian’ about this film on any real mentions of Perth and the accents of its is familiar to Australian audiences primarily symbolic level, yet ironically it is perhaps its support cast, there is little to suggest that due to his three-year stint as nick Smith on country of origin that grants it its only abil- the country of origin is of any real signifi- Home and Away. But his international ity to stand out from the literally hundreds cance to the action that takes place. From exposure has been on the rise since his of titles of its ilk that are produced across go to whoa, Crush is retro without any as- appearance in Resident Evil: Extinction the world each year. if either egan or Lung pect of pastiche, and while relatively inof- (Russel Mulcahy, 2007) and Eragon (Stefen makes an impact internationally, then this fensive, it offers a pedestrian tour through Fangmeier, 2006), and is only set to con- film may retrospectively prove to be an standard genre territory. tinue with television series such as Kings. interesting early-career curio. But when With a name befitting an upcoming scream viewed with Coffin Rock, the only current The film follows Julian (christopher egan), queen, Logie-winning emma Lung has significance is the strange local interest in an American exchange student and tae also appeared in the British/Australian the Fatal Attraction formula. is it a case of kwon do champion who moves to Perth horror co-production Triangle (christo- Australian horror thundering into the 1980s, after an underage drinking scandal. Set- pher Smith, 2009) (in which she co-stars or is there something more intrinsically tled into university life, he has a job as a with Melissa George), and is rumoured to symptomatic at stake? Retrospect alone house-sitter and is in a relationship with fel- be starring in Cradlewood (Henry Wein- might provide the answer. low student clare (Brooke Harmon). He is mann) in 2011 with The Vampire Diaries’ ian asked on short notice to look after a man- Somerhalder. sion in the Perth suburbs, and it is here that
Metro Magazine 164 • 29 The unbearable lightness of Bereft of tokenism, lead, and local papers on the new South trash Bad Bush neither Wales central coast published a range of fetishises nor stories detailing the director’s search for an Less of an enigma is the public and critical re- distorts the look of unknown to star opposite Home and Away ception of Prey. it was written by the co-direc- the bush: it shows rural and Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities actor, tor and writer of Crush, John V. Soto, whose Australia how it knows chris Sadrinna.7 Settling on newcomer Viva work seems to speak of a visible distaste for rural Australia to be. Bianca to play protagonist Ophelia, Bad the type of token ‘Australianism’ that marks Bush lacks the polish of Coffin Rock, the films like Coffin Rock. And while this may be a teenybopper hooks of Crush and natalie concern for those whose sole interest is in the beach on a surfing trip. A précis of the plot Bassingthwaite’s cleavage. it is raw, it is state of national cinema in this country, it also is difficult beyond this point, but it appears tacky in places, and it is truly independent proves problematic for those of us interested that a malign mystical figure who was re- in the sense that it clearly lacks the indus- in genre: there is a distinctly ‘trying too hard’ sponsible for deaths twenty years ago has try savviness of competing titles in terms of air to both Crush and Prey in their determi- struck again, killing the current batch of inter- promotion and presentation. But bereft of nation to reject anything less than universally lopers one by one. And interlopers they are: tokenism, Bad Bush neither fetishises nor utilitarian genre tropes, motifs and themes. So with clumsy and frenetic exposition attempt- distorts the look of the bush: it shows rural focused on accessibility are Crush and Prey ing to explain why most of the six people Australia how it knows rural Australia to be. that they fail to focus on the basic mechanics speak with American accents, Prey is gar- that dominate successful horror. bled in more ways than one. its weirdly ran- Bad Bush is both charming and a lot of fun. dom mysticism smacks of inherent racism, The story is simple: Ophelia takes her baby But while Crush may be considered at least but it is so incomplete and incoherent that to visit her sister in the bush, but the sister perfunctory, Prey is an arrogant and messy to articulate where this sense comes from vanishes and leaves Ophelia stranded with disaster from beginning to end. Receiving is in itself impossible. Just as problematic is Weaver (Sadrinna), a flaky hippy who grows less than positive reviews almost unani- natalie Bassingthwaighte’s performance: so and sells pot to a local bikie gang. Ophe- mously – even from the usually optimistic much of this film hinges upon her supposed lia soon discovers that Weaver’s darker side Andrew L. Urban5 – Prey was clearly im- star power, but her sexual presence (particu- is a product of his use of his own produce, peded by the departure mid-production of larly in the desperately promoted so-called and this provides the cat-and-mouse stalker director George T. Miller; it was ultimately ‘lesbian’ moments) has all the sensuality and structure that is in place for the rest of the released with ‘Oscar D’Roccster’ credited sophistication of a one-alcopop-too-many film. Aside from a real love of old-fashioned as director. That the ordinarily vigorous on- suburban nightclub tragedy. ghost-train-style frights and a gift for creat- line horror fan forums are bereft of informa- ing tension (the Monopoly scene is particu- tion about D’Roccster is telling and adds Bassingthwaite’s involvement in the project larly noteworthy), Sadrinna’s Weaver cleverly to suspicions that the name is probably an is clearly an attempt to capitalise on her begins engaging with traditional bushman alias. With Wikipedia claiming the film had broader celebrity status, and for this the iconography, but introduces to it what can diabolically grim opening weekend takings Prey team cannot be condemned. Most in- only be described as Michael Hutchence- of $342,6 it seems that even the presence stantly, this recalls Paris Hilton’s appear- esque sleaze. Whether Sadrinna and Genoc- of pop star and ex-Neighbours starlet na- ance in films like House of Wax (Jaume chio deliberately aimed to subvert this rarely talie Bassingthwaighte proved incapable of collet-Serra, 2005) or Repo! The Genetic articulated but readily identifiable Australian attracting an audience interested in horror. Opera (Darren Lynn Bousman, 2008). But iconography is unclear, but it works. Just as these films, at least, placed their token ce- Wolf Creek’s Mick Young perverts Crocodile As cult classic Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977) lebrity in a role clearly intended for a token Dundee’s Mick Dundee, so too is Bad Bush’s demonstrates, a cohesive and engaging nar- celebrity – the weight of these films did not Weaver a hyperactive and excessive subver- rative is far from essential in horror, and with hinge solely on Hilton’s presence, and in sion of the late inXS frontman’s trademark its supposed ‘outback’ filmed in a ware- fact, she is diegetically (de)valued with a sexuality. Where Hutchence winked, flirted house in Melbourne, there is a synthetic, deep sense of irony in both films, as her ce- and gyrated his way into the popular memory, almost pantomime-like aesthetic quality to lebrity persona so obviously transcends the Weaver extends this to its absolute extreme: Prey that alludes to the italian horror classics bare-bones characterisations demanded by he is sexually aggressive, psychologically of the 1960s and 1970s. But the overtly con- the films themselves. But even if Bassingth- manipulative and physically uncontrollable. trived nature of Prey’s mise en scène sug- waite had played her part less as a Milla gests a failed attempt at verisimilitude rather ‘Resident evil’ Jovovich wannabe and more Bad Bush is unlikely to garner the atten- than a conscious engagement with camp or in the spirit of Hilton’s really fun but really tion of Australian cinema scholars in the avant-garde traditions. While far from inter- silly forays into horror, Prey would still have same way as Wolf Creek, and for many it esting, at least technically Prey shows some had some serious flaws to contend with. will be an easily forgotten, if not eager, en- attempts at creativity, however unsuccessful. if Prey has an immediate lesson for fellow try into the annals of locally produced hor- But it is a combination of the performances Australian horror filmmakers, it is to not ror. The twist at the end is not surprising, and the script itself that causes the bulk of misinterpret the value or misdirect the utility but – like the best Roger corman films – it the film’s problems. of ‘celebrity’ in a horror context. leaves the viewer in a thoroughly pleasing state somewhere between an eye-roll and Prey follows three couples that end up Samuel Genocchio’s Bad Bush takes pre- a handclap. it is precisely films like this that stranded in the ‘outback’ on their way to the cisely the opposite approach to its female will give the world the next Wolf Creek: it
30 • Metro Magazine 164 will be a film with an honest and uncynical Dante inherits the Thirst from Mick Gar- ers’ in his replies. See ‘Coffin Rock: Writ- glee in the processes of genre filmmaking, ris’, Cinematical, 1 April 2008,
Metro Magazine 164 • 31