100 Bloody Acres (2012)
Directed by: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Written by: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Starring: Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan, Damon Herriman, Jamie Kristian, Oliver Ackland
100 Bloody Acres (2012): In UK cinemas October 11th
(15) Running time: 91 minutes
Directors: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Writers: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes
Cast: Damon Herriman, Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan, Oliver Ackland, Jamie Kristian
100 Bloody Acres is Australian horror comedy at its bloody best: a simple set up, terrific sense of humour, savage violence and a great sense of being able to laugh at their own clichés and habits. We get two friends Wesley (Kristian) and James (Ackland) who are heading to a music festival and all is well: James and Sophie (McGahan) are a couple, and Wesley is joining them for a weekend away, but all goes wrong when their car breaks down. They manage to flag down Reg Morgan (Herriman) of Morgan Brothers Blood and Bone fertiliser, and he reluctantly agrees to take them to the festival. However, he and his brother Lindsay (Sampson) run the fertiliser company (we’re not psychos, we’re small business operators), and they have just figured out that adding humans to their mixture makes their product work much better.
Reg has bodies (human roadkill) in the truck, and hides them before giving the friends a lift. The two guys sit in the back of the truck, while Sophie sits up front, and Reg flirts with her after almost calling her a “City Slut”. Learning that she is 100% Aussie and not some tourist, the pair from a bond as they listen out for the ‘Morgan’s Organic’ radio advert and sing along to local songs. The guys, however, discover the dead bodies, panic and ask to be let off, but this prompts Reg to panic, and he instead takes them home with plans to add them to his fertiliser (to be fair, the orders are stacking up!). His sinister and bullying brother is more than happy to oblige the new ingredients, and the friends are tied up and readied for grinding up. The film then simply plays out as a hilarious comedy yarn as the friends try everything they can to escape, and the brothers deal with obstacles (like Aunty coming round) that get in their way. All the while everyone seems to fight over the affections of Sophie.
Wesley has taken acid, and doesn’t deal with being tied up well and this leads to some truly hilarious moments. An attempt at escape with a knife delivers all sorts of comedy moments, especially when it is flicked up into the air and lands on Wesley’s leg. With the acid now fully kicked in, he finds it both hilarious and painful, and you will find the laughter starting to hurt by this point. The dialogue is superb too, with Sampson delivering much of the good stuff. He doesn’t say much, but lines like “what the fucking fuck have you done” are hilarious, especially in his deep, dark Australian accent. His brothers high pitch almost whiney voice is the perfect opposite, and when the brothers bicker it is terrific stuff. Lindsay is the nasty one who is very close to his Aunty (you’ll know what I mean when you see it), while Reg is the quiet, shy one with a conscience. He hilariously tries to save an earlier victim by pulling him out of the meat grinder, getting only his legs and blood all over his face!
100 Bloody Acres is fast, well scripted and doesn’t hold back on the violence when it wants to. For such a simple set up, directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes expand the story and throws in a number of brilliant set pieces. A literal ‘trip’ to ‘Fairyland’ is one of the highlights that has to be seen to be believed, while an encounter with the law brings all sorts of awkward moments for Lindsay. This is a film which knows its limits, and knows itself and exactly what the audience will find funny. Bizarre Australian songs are added in here in there for added hilarity, and the film’s sense of laughing at itself makes it almost adorable. Big script moments like a hilarious speech which uses the word “do” over and over could only have worked in the brilliant Australian accent, and the outback setting adds a touch of authenticity and charm.
This film is impossible to dislike, and you couldn’t hate it ever if you tried. There is way too much fun to be had, the characters are incredibly likeable even when half of them shouldn’t be. The violence is harsh but great, and the sense of humour is so full on you’ll be smiling for hours after. 100 Bloody Acres is a horror comedy dream come true full of wit, violence, great characters and superb simplicity. The film requires no input from you, no effort, but I would suggest a few beers to go with it (maybe Fosters!) but careful not to piss yourself laughing. This film is (dons strong Australian accent) a rip roaring bloody comedy yarn me old mucka, so toss another steak on the barbie would ya fella and watch this for some real Aussie enjoyment, crickey!
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