Contagion

A surprisingly good movie!

It begins with an aerial shot over a road with a growling voice-over that seems to be quoting from some revelatory text. A wire is strung across the road, and a motorcyclist garroted.

A female hitchhiker is picked up by a trucker, and a man is sent on a business trip. He meets her on the road in the dark after the trucker kicks her out, and she's dragged into the woods. After debating the matter, he decides to go after her, and is himself attacked and raped by strange bums living in the scrub. He escapes and is found by a well-dressed blonde who leads him to a mansion inhabited by another fancy blonde, and a wealthy old man. They make him promise to return.

The man, Mark, grows increasingly obsessed with the people and the house, and the possibilities for sex and wealth. He decides to follow their three-fold path.

While the movie could be called a slasher, it is more than that. It's a strange, overlooked movie that deserves to find some new viewers.

Offbeat Aussie horror oddity Contagion stars John Doyle as real estate agent Mark, who is driving to a business deal at night when he spots a female hitch-hiker being attacked in the woods by a man. Stopping the car and getting out to investigate, Mark finds himself falling victim to a trio of hicks, one of whom rapes him before tying him up. Luckily, Mark is able to escape, and stumbles upon a mansion occupied by financier Roderick Bael (Ray Barrett), and two attractive young women, Helen (Pamela Hawkesford) and Cleo (Nathalie Gaffney), who tempt him with the promise of sex and great wealth. All Mark needs to do is to prove himself worthy by displaying courage, determination and ruthlessness… by killing those who stand in his way! Meanwhile, Mark's girlfriend Cheryl (Nicola Bartlett) is understandably curious about her boyfriend's behaviour and decides to investigate.

As with Kubrick's The Shining, I'm in two minds about the true nature of Contagion: are Roderick, Helen and Cleo malevolent ghosts or simply figments of Mark imagination, the guy having completely lost the plot after his harrowing assault? It's never made absolutely clear either way, but that doesn't prevent the film from being an effective little chiller, made all the more entertaining by a smattering of nudity from Hawkesford and Gaffney, and, towards the end, a spot of gore, including a severed finger and a pitchfork through the neck. Some may be put off by the film's off-kilter atmosphere, but those who enjoy their horror a little off the beaten path should find enough to enjoy about this obscure '80s flick to make it worth seeking out.

Mark is driving late at night through a desolate wooded area when suddenly his headlights shine on a young female hitch hiker being assaulted by an unknown assailant.Stopping to help,Mark finds himself being abducted and chased by a group of backwoods rednecks.Mark believes he has found escape when he stumbles upon an old mansion which is inhabited by a strange old man and 2 mysterious women.They promise him great wealth.. for a price.Soon Mark is caught in a web of madness and murder,but is everything as it really seems?Is Mark going insane or was this chain of events already planned out for him?"Contagion" is an overlooked Australian supernatural slasher full of surprising plot twists.There is also a bit of nasty violence and graphic nudity thrown in.The film is incredibly rare and very hard to find,which is a shame.8 out of 10.

I have no words for how bad this is. Well it was 1987 and there was a lot going on, but this one, proved this it ended some careers before they even started.

"Contagion" is an obscure and sadly overlooked Aussie horror gem from the late 80's that – and I'm pleased to read that the select few other reviewers around here wholeheartedly agree with me – honestly deserves to be wider known amongst fans of the genre. It's Australian and from the 80's, so it's actually too bad that it wasn't included in the near- brilliant 2008 documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!". If so, perhaps it could have been a much wanted cult item for collectors to purchase already, like so many other titles highlighted in the documentary. "Contagion" is an intriguingly weird mix of styles and sub genres. It's atmospheric as well as exploitative, sleazy as well as sophisticated and suspenseful as well as gratuitous. It's actually a backwoods road-movie slasher with supernatural elements and melodrama influences. How's that for a plot description? Mark is a traveling real-estate manager on his way to settle a new deal when he witnesses a young hitch-hiker being assaulted by two backwoods hermits on dark forsaken highway at night. His rescue attempt fails miserably and he as well gets captured and viciously male-raped in the woods. Mark manages to escape, however, and ends up at a luxurious mansion at the edge of the forest, where he's warmly welcomed by two blond vixens and a Hugh Hefner look-alike who drivels endlessly about power and money. Mark can share their success, but then he will have to make personal sacrifices and be prepared to get rid of competitors in murderous ways. Mark becomes more and more caught in a web of greed and sexual power, but naturally loses his grip on reality and moral values. "Contagion" benefices from a marvelous sinister ambiance and the desolate Aussie filming locations. The story might be a little hokey and incoherent, but the wholesome strangely makes sense when approaching the climax. The first couple of murders are a bit tame and unexciting, but the film contains quite a number of grisly images and gruesome moments during the finale. The voice-over prologue and epilogue are ultimately macabre, but sadly not all too relevant. The acting performances are adequate overall. Although I fail to see why all the women are so desperately craving for him, John Doyle does a good job at portraying the troubled protagonist Mark. Nicola Bartlett (as his steady girlfriend Cheryl), Natalie Gaffney, Pamela Hawkesford (as the two delusional blond mistresses Cleo and Helen) and Jacqueline Brennan (as his secret crush Trish) are all very likable as the female love-objects.