Red Hill (2010)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

It starts off as though it's going to be a good thriller involving the mental town locals but then turns out to be a classic revenge thriller. Classic might sound as though I am praising it, trust me I'm not. The amount of 'why didn't he just..' moments in this film is unreal. Most of these guys actually allow this madman to kill them. There is even a scene when one of the town 'guards' is aiming down his scope ready to fire then the villain 'Jimmy' actually spins and shoots the guy square in the forehead. You couldn't make it up. And where on earth does the panther fit in? I've actually took time out of my night to tell everyone not to waste their lives on this movie. I'd actually give it 2 for the laugh I got at some points (I can assure you it was not meant).

Red Hill is written and directed by Patrick Hughes. It stars Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E. Lewis and Claire van der Boom. Music is by Dmitri Golovko and cinematography by Tim Hudson.Young city cop Shane Cooper (Kwanten) gets a transfer to Red Hill, a place he hopes is a quiet enough town for himself and his pregnant wife to successfully raise a family. But his arrival at work coincides with the escape from prison of aborigine Jimmy Conway (Lewis), who is heading into town with revenge firmly on his mind.Jimmy Conway has escaped and he's bringing hell into town.Utterly splendid Neo-Western out of Australia. For his feature film debut, Patrick Hughes has crafted a loving homage to the Western genre whilst also imbuing his film with its own suspenseful blood. Blending Ozploitaton thriller values with Western genre staples of the past, Red Hill unspools on narrative terms as a gritty and rugged revenge piece.Red Hill the town is fronted by gruff sheriff Old Bill (Bisley), he leads a pack of scuzzy characters who consider it their town and god help anyone who stands in their way. Into this maelstrom comes fresh faced Shane Cooper (yes the name is Alan Ladd and High Noon purposely spliced together), a genuine and honest copper harnessing a tragedy as well as a moral code that's not for shaking.After quickly finding out that Old Bill is lacking in human graces, Shane finds himself coming face to face with Conway, who is all the horsemen of the apocalypse rolled into one. Face badly scarred and adorned with weapons and duster, Conway seems to have supernatural resources to go with his expert tracking skills and knowledge of the surrounding outback terrain (so think High Plains Drifter & Chato's Land then).How come, though, that as he callously goes about killing off members of the scuzzy crew, each time he meets up with Shane, who is in full tilt survival mode, Conway refuses to kill Shane? And just what is that symbolic Panther doing stalking the edges of the landscape? One and the same, perhaps? It will of course all be revealed, and in truth it's no great surprise, the beauty is in how Hughes has toyed with our perceptions about Conway, this in turn makes for a cracker-jack finale.Performances are superbly in tune with the material, Cooper, Lewis and Bisley really manage to steer their respective characters away from being histrionic or cartoonish. Musically it features stabs of delightful grungy rock blending in with Golovko's mournfully ironic score. The widescreen photography is most interesting, in that there's often smart shifting between a washed out palette to emphasise the remoteness of the setting, to opened up capturing of the beautiful vistas (filmed on location in Omeo, Victoria). The Blu-ray is a must for anyone interested in the film.The sparse location is matched by sparse dialogue, there is no need for extraneous conversations or pointless filler, Hughes knows what he is doing. It's made with love and respect to one of the finest of film genres, and hooray to that! 8/10

SPOILERS SPOILERS First, I would like to say 2 things: - I really love revenge movies. I really do. They are one of my favourite plots in movies. -I am super lazy about writing reviews. I really am. This is my first review. Why am I writing it so? Because THE MOVIE IS JUST TERRIBLE, one of the worst I've ever seen. I wont criticize the plot, or the acting, or the soundtrack. They are kind of OK. But jeez, they are some scenes that are AWFUL. So if u hate movies where silly things happen and no one cares, just don't watch this film. The panther scene (I get the point of the director, but cOme on); the revenge guy being some kind of Mexican ninja (with boomerang included, impossible to kill, with superpowers (I guess one of them is to make the people around him retarded, because come on, why no one can shoot him properly?)... It is all stupidly unbelievable and childish. But, OVER ALL, what the hell is the scene with the main character cover full of blood, in his house, and the wife asking him "did u cut your face?" "No, its only a scratch". And the guy half, dead, pouring blood, like a zombie. COME ON!!!! I really thought that the wife was blind and I missed this point in the beginning of the movie. But not, she is not. I guess her husband comes every night cover with blood from job and it is alright. Whatever... REALLY, HORRIBLE MOVIE, Don't WASTE UR TIME, IT IS SHAMELESS

A very likable film with good acting but it does have some believability issues. When it adds drama to the story a shooter can't miss. And then when it adds drama to the story a shooter can't hit someone right in front of them or wont even take the shot that might save them. The story also starts off with the relocating police officer misplacing his gun in the move. These along with a mountain lion that is unnecessary to the story just result in too many distractions. A great movie will keep you so engrossed and free of distractions that you forget you are watching a movie. That Red Hill had a chance at being great if not for these shortcomings still says a lot though. It was otherwise very well done and entertaining with a very rewarding plot.