Crush

Crush brings a war hammer to the table when it comes to the idea of 'hitting every single part of the youth demographic'. It's a thriller featuring tae kwon do championships, house sitting in a Panic Room mansion, a sexy mystery girl and a brand new rockin' song on the soundtrack in every second scene. The actors are young and glamorous and so is the Perth scenery. The trouble is that all of this rollicking-in-theory content is at the service of a story and film-making which continually nudge at the borders of dumbness, and which ultimately make a leap right into its crazy heart.

Julian (Chris Egan) can no longer compete in his beloved tae kwon do on his USA home turf after a minor underage drinking scandal, so now he has to slum it in Australia while studying architecture. With his next big tourney approaching, Julian figures he'll get a bit of R&R in while carrying out his new temp job of housesitting the mansion of a rich family who are about to holiday in Paris. The dad has installed a Sliver-like system of security cameras throughout the house, and warns Julian that his niece might drop over while the family's away to use the mansion's swimming pool.

Before you can say "Fatal Attraction", Anna (Emma Lung) materialises by the swimming pool in a red bikini. She is well sultry, and about five minutes later Julian is already having understandable fantasies of her licking his face. This immediately creates a ton of problems – he's already got a girlfriend (Brooke Harmon), plus Anna apparently has keys to the otherwise secure house, plus Julian is supposed to be taking it easy before the big fight.

Development in these thrillers about obsession needs to be craftily ratcheted up by degrees in order to keep things believable. Crush is very shaky in this respect, moving alternately in extreme leaps or underwhelming shuffles. Anna's behaviour as she hangs around the house is pretty inscrutable. One scene begins with the decent threat of the lights suddenly going out. It ends with Julian 'rescuing' his girlfriend from a slightly regurgitating toilet.

Julian frequently has flashbacks to scenes which occurred just five seconds earlier, another omen of bad film-making. He is seen with his university friends in authentically Australian campus computer labs, but his two mates are scripted and acted far more like American college frat boys than Australians, even though they occasionally say "mate". Combined with Julian's nationality being American, this feels like further slight desperation to play to the international market, which I wouldn't mind if this film was better.

Unfortunately, at the moment of potential maximum intrigue concerning Anna's origins, a revelation occurs whose proportions are so ludicrous that any viewer remotely cynical at this point (which I believe will be the majority of viewers) will topple completely offside. I then experienced the film's conclusion as dumb and embarrassing.

Chris Egan does okay as Julian, and Emma Lung wrings a few good moments out of an impossible, ridiculously scripted part as Anna. The film's glamour, high production values and unpaid-off hints of intrigue actually make it pretty easy to watch, even through some overbearing faults and naffness, but the finale is irredeemable. I think the real reason Crush invites derision is that it goes all out to be a rousing cross-market genre piece, yet for all its heavy-handedness, doesn't pull it off, and ends up prompting jokey cynicism instead.

Please ignore "Craig" from Canada, this stupid guy is a thief -- the film hasn't been released in the US or Canada, so he's clearly watching a pirated version. Someone should forward his details to the Canadian authorities! Nexus 6 Films?? you there??

I thought the film was good and I'm standing up for it! (no, I have nothing to do with the people that made it, although I live in Perth)

A lot of other people really enjoyed the film - here is some feedback; Andrew L. Urban: This occasionally erotic supernatural thriller has one big thing going for it: it knows its audience, the young male market, and goes after it. Not only does it have a website (natch) the film has a presence on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter as well as YouTube. It's commercial, genre film-making - privately financed - and it features a soundtrack that resonates with its market, with the likes of Silverchair, Papa Roach, Something for Kate and Pacificer among others.

Awareness in its target market is essential, and young star Chris Egan (playing uni student Julian) will help drive curiosity. But it's Emma Lung who delivers the film's most haunting performance as the obsessive Anna, a femme fatale who won't take no for an answer. Lung builds her characterisation with magical subtlety as Anna's escalating obsession reveals itself to us in its final ghastly form. Egan is also tops as he charts Julian's downfall, and Brooke Harman is likable and credible as Julian's girlfriend, Clare, who is a dispensable part of Anna's plot.

Although the film is admirably economical and short, it lacks pace in the first two acts, but is saved by attention to the supporting characters; Julian and Clare's uni friends, as well as by some adroit editing by Jason Ballantine - who cut Wolf Creek and Rogue. Another horror alumni, Jamie Blanks of Urban Legend fame, is here the composer of the score.

Direction, by writer John V. Soto and Jeff Gerritsen, is confident, and the screenplay has enough texture to make it interesting as a story, not merely a series of devices to try and cheat the audience. Also in its favour is a naturalistic tone that many Hollywood films in this genre shy away from; the result is a fresh take and a clear Australian stamp.

Louise Keller: A variation on the Fatal Attraction theme, Crush is a taut and eerie psychological thriller that makes a startling U-turn just when you think you know where it's heading. John Soto's writing and directing debut is effective, delivering an assured and slick film filled with chills, scares and the alluring sense of the unexpected. Central to the film's success are strong performances by Chris Egan and Emma Lung, who create push-pull tension throughout. The film looks good too and Jamie Blanks' creepy music and soundscape is superb.

'It's only for three months,' Chris Egan's Julian is told, when a stint as house-sitter comes up on the eve of his anticipated title fight. There are other things in Julian's life that are also at risk – his relationship with girlfriend Clare (Brooke Harmon), his University studies and his residency status on Australia. All these things start to unravel, when he meets Emma Lung's mysterious Anna, the girl in the red bikini, who appears on Day One at his new home. But what seems like 'the life' – the mansion with sweeping staircase, art on the wall, beer in the fridge, pool, comfy lounge and sophisticated security system – quickly becomes a nightmare, as Anna's provocative banter and a night of passion becomes a claustrophobic web.

Soto creates tension by unexplained doorbells, blackouts, locked doors and dark shadows. Julian's mind isn't the only mind that is being messed with. We are on the edge of our seats waiting to see what happens next. By the time the story takes a sharp turn, we are deeply involved and from then on, we are freefalling, just like Julian. This is an excellent genre film and one that is deserving of a wide audience.

ENJOY!!

Well, I am from Perth & IMHO the only honest review on this page is from the much maligned 'Craig in Canada'.

I won't reinvent the wheel; Craig hit the nail on the head. That anyone could describe this cast in such glowing terms, much less the plot & scriptwriting is beyond me.

Within seconds of Egan opening his mouth, I was cringing at his awful accent. And as has been pointed out, that he is supposedly American adds nothing to the plot, so why torture us?

The frat boy friends are a complete mystery. And as for the supposed 'can't see it coming from a mile off' ending....spare me. Saw it coming from about 10 minutes in.

I'm all for encouraging good local film making. But this is most definitely NOT it! I can't see anyone independent of the production company who made this lemon holding the glowing views that have been expressed here. And the endless references to Nexus by name pretty much confirm that to be the case.

If you're missing your dose of bad Australian soapie in the off-season, then maybe this will take the edge off. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

I've been following this film since early '08 (found on IMDb) and i couldn't wait to finally have my copy of Crush on DVD!! First of all it's nothing like Swimfan which was predictable, Crush had me glued to the screen from start to finish-Chris did a good job on his American accent but the real star was Emma Lung as the obsessed Anna who seriously has a future in this industry, can't wait to see more of her in more roles. Nexus six has done a great job at employing who's who of next generation of Australia's actors- Christian Clark, Brooke Harman, Jenna Lind and Kane Manera- well done and i can't wait to see more nexus six films!

CRUSH – TRASH IT ( D ) I knew from the promos that Crush is an average thriller so, sometimes these average thrillers becomes quite entertaining because of Sex, Glamour and fear. Unfortunately, here they had the perfect young cast but they didn't utilize them well and in the end it became a mediocre Mixture of Thriller/Horror and Supernatural. Nasty Dish! The most Annoying & laughable scenes in the movie were the Sex scenes. I don't know what the director was thinking? Just tell me guys who has Sex with clothes On? No one in Real world But here they had! LOL :-D what a Shame! Chris Egan is a young Australian actor and the major reason I saw this movie in first place, as I loved his work in "Letters to Juliet". He is quite inspiring even in this mediocre Trash he kept me going. Emma Lung looks Stunning in Red Swim suit but otherwise she looks old N weird. Brooke Harmon was an average blonde both in talent & beauty. So, Simply Trash this One!