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I am so happy that Google exists, because after 15 YEARS of fruitless searching (including on IMDb, sorry!) I've found this movie again. Images like the swim through the underground cavern and the older couple (?) being horrified by the rabbit masked man have haunted me to the point I thought I had imagined the whole thing. The fairly low-fi quality of the film makes it all the scarier, classic HBO 80's fodder. The fact that I watched it as a pre-teen made the fight for survival of the woman and the children all the more real. The setting of the Outback made their situation seem really perilous, for if there is so much open, empty space around you, it seems you have fewer places to hide (and I think may have sparked my latent fear of kidnapping and lack of hiding places). Excellent (as it stuck in my mind all these years, I guess it had to!)

I loved watching this movie growing up as a kid, and every time I watched it I was freaked out yet I couldn't get enough of it. I knew the movie was based on a true story, and the country school setting reminded me of a place where I used to go camping. I haven't seen it in years but remember the whole movie back to front.

Set in a small country town, a class of students comprising the entire school and their teacher are kidnapped. The kidnappers wear masks that the viewer will remember forever. The teacher and kids are left to try and plan an escape from their captors.

Hardly anyone in the world is going to see this movie, and they are all missing out. See if you can find it, it's pretty good.

In the countryside of Australia, the schoolteacher Sally Jones (Rachel Ward) and her nine pupils are kidnapped by four violent men wearing masks. They are locked up in a cave, but Sally finds a way to escape underwater a lake. However, they are hunted down by the criminals and Sally is forced to organize a defense with the support of the students.

"Fortress" is an Australian thriller with Rachel Ward in the lead role of a teacher kidnapped with her students at school by criminals. The plot is simple, engaging and full to action. The children are amazing and have nice performances. The conclusion recalls "Lord of the Flies", when the innocent children need to fight for their lives. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Fortaleza" ("The Fortress")

This movie stays with you. I think about it at least a couple times a year, every year for the last 17. It really makes you think "how would I react under similar circumstances?" The performances by the kids are great as is that by the teacher. But the best scene of all is the way they close the movie - it's very dis-"heartening".

I had the same experience other members had with this film. I saw it on HBO when I was eight and it's since become part of me. Like them, I Googled, queried, etc. Unfortunately, my memory failed on the major points and I came up empty-handed. Finally, another member of IMDb came through. Anyway, this film is a lost jewel. It scared the hell out of me as a kid and I hope to see it again if I can find a used copy of the VHS somewhere. The premise is pretty simple. A group of Aussie thugs take a young teacher and her charges hostage, their escape and subsequent fight for survival turns bloody at the end. I still recall holding my breath during the underwater cave scene and never quite being able to hold it long enough. If you get a chance to watch this flick do so. Its ultra-rare and unforgettable.