Visitors

A confident young Australian lady Georgia Perry is attempting to sail around the world solo (although her cat Taco is there for the ride too) on her 38-foot-yacht Leander. But the wind has fallen and now she's stuck adrift in a foggy stretch of the Indian Ocean. It's against the spirit (and rules) to use the engines. So she keeps herself occupied by using her two-way radio. However several days have past and her situation is the same, but Georgia's deprived mind is starting to play tricks on her. Where dreams turn into delusions and emotional scars of the past seem to plague her aboard the ship. From talking to her cat to encountering pirates. Now she's trying her best to depict what's a real threat and what's not.

Richard Franklin's "Visitors" is a broodingly ambitious exercise, but because of a terribly flawed Everett Deroche's screenplay (which mixes a variety film's premise together), it becomes one hell of a bumpy sea ride on calm waters. The film plays out like a psychological mood trip, where the alienation of the lone protagonist is beautifully illustrated and manipulated by Franklin that it brings us into her universe (or mind-set). In doing so it makes the ever-increasing delusions and stark reality hard to distinguish. Now who's real? Was it in her head? Or was she payed a visit by spirits? This ambiguity is never quite cleared up. Franklin being a true fan of Hitchcock manages transport that factor to the screen with slick finesse and good timing by stacking one sudden, but effectively subtle jump after another that heavily relies on the anxious intensity and implied sounds. However at times the unnaturally forced script (mostly the family / love life drama side of the story) is hard to digest and can take away from the ominous build up with poor inclusions that only muddle or hinder the atmosphere and narrative. The fear and feelings that are cooked up in the jerky material can be an up and down experience. It just lacks some bite and becomes incredibly too light within its cleansing context that its leads to a blandly unfulfilling payoff.

It's tautly penned out and unpredictably captivating in spots, but it's the arresting visions, Nerida Tsyon-Chew's hauntingly melancholy music score and a suitably acute lead performance by Radha Mitchell that does the job. Mitchell manages to capture all the emotions and portray them in a well-balanced and visually genuine performance that creates empathy. Susannah York who plays Georgia's mother has some striking scenes and manages to give a thoughtfully well layered, but quite chilling performance. Ray Barrett brings a lot hear to the role of Georgia's father Bill. Another well-done element was Ellery Ryan's effortlessly novel cinematography that set up the atmosphere and disorienting air exceptionally well. Even the screeching sound effects and shadowy dark lighting adequately comes together in certain jittery set pieces.

Simply an okay feature highlighted by some impressive aspects and its eerie tone, but with a stronger screenplay it could've been a promising foray rather than a scratchy one.

This Australian horror caught me by surprise, what I mean by that is I'd never heard of it so my expectations were low and doubly the type of horror movie it is rarely manages to entertain.

It tells the story of Georgia Perry a 25yr old Australian girl intent on sailing around the world solo. It stars Radha Mitchell and Dominic Purcell and is actually really quite good.

Mitchell carries the movie well considering she makes up the bulk of the film. It is well structured, genuinely tense and though not scary it certainly makes up for it in other areas.

It looks great, the cast do a solid job and despite the ropey ending I walked away suitably impressed.

The Good:

Highly original

Well written

Great setting

The Bad:

Questionable ending

Not for everyone

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Dominic Purcell looks weird with hair

A proper horror film with the same setting could be terrifying

"Visitors" has got a strong and likable lead. Being a fan of `Pitch Black' I decided to check this one out at the Fantasy Filmfest. The premise is promising and the atmosphere on the isolated sailing boat comes across nicely. At the theatre the surround sound is very effective because mysterious noises come from different directions. The film isn't boring but it isn't new and original either. The ending is disappointing so my rating is a solid 5. I expected a tense psycho thriller, but it isn't very exciting. You've seen everything in other and better films before.

Georgia Perry is an ambitious and independent minded Australian woman determined to sail solo around the world. The first several weeks go off without a hitch but as the weeks of loneliness take their toll so do the strangeness. All matters of weird goings on occur such as having conversation s with her cat and dead relatives. But is this just a case of cabin fever or is their something else at play here, maybe something otherworldly?

I'll give the authors credit for coming up with an original SciFi / Drama / Thriller hybrid that works on several levels. The direction and photography is pretty dynamic considering that 90% of the running time takes place on a sailboat. On a film like this the lead actor is a core part of the film since they will be the one holding the ship together and Radha Mitchell fits the bill perfectly. She takes us through all the emotions, from familial tragedy to terror; she does a bang up job. Surprisingly there are even some good tension and a boo or two.

"Visitors" is an excellent mostly-drama that stays interesting and engaging due to a good script and an excellent lead performance.

Georgia Perry (Radha Mitchell) is a determined woman who sets out to sail solo around the world. Along the way she's plagued by what could either be hallucinations or ghostly visitations. Georgia finds herself up against pirates, hordes of enormous spiders, and the specter of her insane mother (Susannah York).

All this, while Georgia carries on a two-way conversation with her cat.

This is one bizarre movie. Ms. Mitchell carries it all herself, and does an admirable job. Her character must face not only various phantoms, but also personal demons and debilitating guilt.

While the ending is rather hokey, it's an exhilarating ride getting there...