Coffin Rock

I rented this film expecting a good thriller but I almost turned it off after an hour because nothing thrilling had happened! To give it its due, it did improve at that point but, as has been mentioned in other reviews on this site, it was too predictable.

For me, the first hour was dull and could've been condensed to about 10 minutes and the final half an hour didn't do enough to rescue it. It was acted well enough but I didn't believe the relationship between Jessie and Rob - they just didn't seem like a couple (maybe it was their looks, I don't know).

Anyway, I certainly wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for an "edge of the seat" thriller that'll keep you guessing 'til the end cos they'd be sorely disappointed.

Liked this movie, kept me interested and intrigued. Good to see some new Aussie talent. Well edited. Believable story and excellent continuity. Had some really gruesome scenes but believable, nice location, nice film work and well acted. Sam Parsonson (Irish lead part) is one to watch out for in the future. Well done to Rupert, David and Aysha. Should do well at the box office. Location sensational. Story about a woman who is trying to be pregnant, meets a young Irish traveler and 'does the wild thing'. The Irish boy becomes obsessed, the woman becomes pregnant, the husband thinks its his child, the manic Irish traveler thinks it's his. The Irish traveler has delusional ideas that the woman loves him and he becomes obsessive to the point of obtrusive. Some serious delusion happens to the young Irish boy, it ends all kind of scary but happy. Some magnificent acting along the way, and some expert direction. Has a fatal attraction feel, but more realistic. Worth a look for the untouched Aussie talent portrayed. Sam Parsonson is outstanding in this role.

Not tense or thrilling, Coffin Rock mixes some well rounded drama with ridiculous and laughable "horror". The Oirish madman has some delightful hilarious monologues as he slips into comic madness. The idea of the couple trying to conceive is interesting, and it could have made a great thriller. If only it hadn't revealed the loony's intentions so soon. It should have built upon a fairly absent character, rather than showing us a vicious Kangaroo beating to begin with. Anything after that just seemed tame by comparisons. This is the danger of making a simply serious film on such a low budget. Had it some comical moments, or quirkier scenarios, the entertainment could have made up for the shortcomings. Not exactly worth your time.

"Coffin Rock" starts out pretty interesting and slow. A couple unable to get a child and building up some relationship problems because of this goes to an Invitro Clinic to try solving their problem. The man gets his sperm tested but unfortunately the woman catches the attention of a strange young guy working at the clinic. The guy decides to follow the woman and make her fall in love with him and this is the first point the viewer wonders about motivation because it seems pretty random and is barely hinted at. The guy, Evan, follows the couple to their home in Coffin Rock where he starts working in a cray business and lives in a trailer just to try to get near the woman.

From here on you pretty much know where its going... the woman gets in a one night stand with Evan after having trouble with her husband who is afraid to read the results of his fertility test and starts acting strange. The woman immediately regrets her drunk misjudgment and realizes that Evan is a little coo-coo and clingy... but to top it off the next pregnancy test is positive. From here its kind of like the Horror Version for "Fatal Attraction" with the roles reversed. The man gets to know about the pregnancy and starts celebrating while his woman is busy trying to hide the truth. Of course Evan gets stranger and invades the privacy of the couple until everything leads to disaster.

"Coffin Rock" builds up tension with moody music, beautiful landscape shots and the slow rising dread around Evan whose past is hinted at in obscure telephone calls to his dad. The acting is superb and helped a lot to get the viewer through the first hour of the movie which is taking damn long for the plot to unfold. Problem is that there is now reward for the viewers patience. The more Evan shows his maniac face the more ridiculous the movie gets and at all times its pretty tame on the violence. Its pretty obvious that "Wolf Creek" was an influence on the lingering dread and atmosphere, the depiction of a kind of cynical and at times joking madman and of course the dozens of cool landscape shots. Anway this movie falls flat because most of the things Evan does are stupid and you are left in the dark about his motivation to follow right this woman and his strange fixation on her child. Except for some fast flashbacks to his dad who of course is dead by now nothing is clear. If you think that around 80 minutes you saw a lot of ludicrous scenes just wait for the finale because they really went overboard with Hollywood clichés there. The last 20 minutes of the movie seem so incredibly forced and yet still as boring as the opening of the movie I really wonder what happened. If you like moody slow thrillers watch "Coffin Rock" for 70 minutes and leave the rest to your imagination. The acting of Evan and the lead woman is great and the creative cinematography and music are also pretty good but the plot is a total mess and pulls everything down.

I had no idea what this would be like when finding this on the shelf in blockbusters. The reference to wolf creek got my attention (same producer).

With no real expectations I was thrilled shocked and entertained. This has all the elements that I need in a film..... good acting, great script and the right 'atmosphere'.

The lead two characters were superb. The menace of Evan (Sam Parsonson)grows as the film develops in parallel with Jess's (Lisa Chappel) anxiety, guilt and horror.

Do yourself a favour forget the latest same old same old Hollywood blockbuster and rent this one.