This Sundance-acclaimed film has a deeper kind of horror on its mind, as a family's encounter with a couple of thugs in the wilderness unexpectedly uncovers a dark, hidden past.
"Later on, when you're looking back at this occasion, I think that right there's going to be the moment you wish you'd done something."
First-time feature director James Ashcroft was formerly artistic director and CEO of Māori theatre company Taki Rua Productions. They waste no time making their larcenous intentions known: The keys to the Mercedes-Benz quickly become the first of the encounter's casualties."Alright, everybody playing happy campers," instructs Mandrake, the muzzle of his rifle butting into Maika's back.
Immediately after the van disappears from view, comes the film's first and most decisively brutal act of violence — Mandrake's prophetic words proving self-fulfilling — particularly shocking for it being unprompted . In doing so, they evoke Michael Haneke's brattishly cruel Funny Games , in which two kid-gloved psychopaths — one of whom responds, resentfully, to the name "Tubby" — inflict a unique program of psychological and physical torture on a bourgeois family holidaying at their lake house.
After the movie's success at Sundance, Ashcroft was offered the opportunity to direct a crime thriller in the US.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'A long time coming': Grand US Confederate statue removed and cut into pieces in VirginiaConstruction workers lift the massive statue of Robert E Lee from its pedestal after years of protests from locals that intensified after the murder of George Floyd.
Read more »
Oil and gas sector ‘losing appeal’ even as prices recoverRising prices are lifting the fortunes of Australia’s gas shippers, but doubts about fossil fuels and merger plans are tempering investors’ enthusiasm. | NickToscano1
Read more »
'A long time coming': Grand US Confederate statue removed and cut into pieces in VirginiaConstruction workers lift the massive statue of Robert E Lee from its pedestal after years of protests from locals that intensified after the murder of George Floyd.
Read more »
Domestic violence arrest after man allegedly found outside Adelaide home armed with knifeAn alleged domestic violence perpetrator is arrested after he was found armed with a knife on the front lawn of a home where a woman was assaulted, police say.
Read more »
13 hurt, 78yo restrained by police after violent incident at aged care homeA woman in her 90s and two others were hospitalised after the apparent assault, while 10 others, including a staff member, were treated at the scene.
Read more »
WAG blasts Nadia for breaking lockdownModel Tahlia Giumelli has spoken out and condemned Nadia Bartel’s actions after she was filmed snorting a white powder at an illegal Melbourne gathering.
Read more »