Girl from Nowhere

If you're okay with a flick that is "fairly good" and "almost works" then you might give this one a shot. It's a simple set-up, super low budget with only three actors in one setting (and some driving scenes) and for the first two thirds is where it qualifies as "fairly good". With only three actors it's a shame when one of them struggles more than the others, but one of them is pretty good so it balances out. The location is visually striking although the director doesn't really take advantage of it, and it held my interest for the most part. The weak link was definitely the screenplay. The characters aren't consistent (which only makes sense for one of them) and the dialogue is spare and rather bland. There's not enough being said or done to make a truly gripping psychological thriller, it more or less just plods along. But I kept watching, waiting to see where it would go, but unfortunately it completely falls apart at the end. Basically the script doesn't really do anything with it's set-up and then everybody starts behaving stupidly just so there can be an actual climax. For two thirds of this short little flick it couldn't commit to being a mystery, or a character piece, and then in the last ten minutes tries to be all of the above, plus maybe a thriller, maybe a crime flick, maybe a supernatural thingy, maybe a symbolic representation on the impossibility of truthful relationships. It was a 6.5/10 until the climax then I have to drop it down to a 4. But you might be more tolerant.

A general rule of the thumb in South Africa (where I lived for 12 years is never pick up hitchhikers because you never know who you are inviting into your life. So its surprising when Cape Town couple, Katherine and Hugh learn this lesson the hard way when they pick up a young girl carrying a rucksack, hitchhiking along the road to their mountain getaway. Wearing "Daisy Duke" denim hot pants and an air of confidence Liza entices them both down the path of temptation leading to disastrous consequences. What is this beautiful soul robber doing, standing all alone in the natural wilderness that surrounds her? Where has she come from? A lot of questions need answering. Things begin to come clear when Liza tells them that she's from " nowhere" and that walking's been a"blast" with sarcasm but that changes when she finds out who they are and what they do as they head to their weekend getaway home set amidst the Cederberg. Girl from Nowhere is Mark Jackson's first full-length feature is South Africa's first attempt to follow the genre of "The girl..." with lots of saucy "bits" and plenty of tension. With this being an indie-erotic thriller, naturally there's going to be a lot of flirting, though Kate and Hugh are oblivious to the danger they've brought into their lives. This story involves 3 people and a gun. Kate (Tamryn Speirs), is looking for for a change of life in life. She is a movie producer working on a script that Hugh has written, with Hugh as a star. Kate becomes fascinated with Liza, despite being jealous of her infatuation with Hugh. Hugh (Scot Cooper), on the other hand is a young aspiring actor in TV commercials (with rather narcissistic traits), who's told his wife he's filming in the area, and wants to get ahead in the game, no matter what the costs. The trio is rounded off by Liza (Christia Visser), South Africa's answer to Lolita perhaps? She is a feisty, manipulative, quick witted girl who has trouble on her face from the minute you meet her. She'd actually been in one of Master actress Tamryn's classes and identified as a potential star. Tamryn introduced her to Mark, who then gave her this, her first movie part while she was still at acting school. Watching her in action, it's easy to see why. This movie, with it's super gritty South African soundtrack by Nicholas Turner and Jonny Blundell cost Mark Jackson 4 years of his time. It was filmed open ai in the beautiful Cederberg region of the Western Cape of South Africa without almost any help whatsoever. It was shot in 13 days on a budget of less than R400,000, $300,000 (@ R1= 0.73c. 11/2/19) but spent three years in post production. Brian Carruthers

A couple from Cape Town traveling to their desert getaway (Scot Cooper & Tamryn Speirs) picks up a beautiful girl curiously hitchhiking the remote highway (Christia Visser). They invite her to their hideaway, but might regret it.

"Girl from Nowhere" (2017) is an Indie psychological drama from South Africa costing $203,000 (converted). Aside from the mental dramatics, it proficiently focuses on the beauty of the South African desert wilderness and that of Liza (Christia Visser) mixed with quality eclectic folk/rock reminiscent of stuff by the likes of Orenda Fink and Ane Brun.

It explores the same theme addressed in "Afternoon Delight" (2013), the spellbinding power of a beautiful woman who might be a devil within. Liza has a body sculptured by God himself, and this is a highlight of the flick, but her attitude is a big red flag, not to mention a turn-off.

The acting isn't great, but it's serviceable for a low-budget Indy. The positives noted above made me appreciate the flick, but the last act is too freestyled, like director/writer Mark Jackson & the cast made a lot of it up as they were shooting. Nonetheless, the ending makes a powerful point that's true to reality.

The film runs 1 hour, 25 minutes, and was shot in Cederberg, Western Cape, South Africa, about 2 hours' drive north of Cape Town.

GRADE: B-/C+

The story, pacing... everything except the cinematography is terrible. Nothing ever happens but the filming location is nice. So bad.

It's rare that I encounter an utterly useless film with no redeeming qualities to justify spending valuable time on it. Bad acting, bad script, bad ending, bad everything. Amateurish filmaking at its worst. I don't even know why it's on Amazon Prime.