Out of the Body

Probably the last thing the world needed in 1989 was another misogynistic slasher with a supernatural twist. Luckily, this one is directed by Aussie veteran and workaholic Brian Trenchard-Smith! His name doesn't necessarily guarantee good cinema, but at least you can rest assured it'll be entertaining, action-packed, gory and unhinged! Everyone who saw "Blood Camp Thatcher", "Dead-End Drive In", or "Night of the Demons II" knows what I'm talking about.

Stylish, prominent women are brutally getting murdered in Sydney, but it's clear from the very first kill the culprit isn't human. Weirdo David Gaze is somehow linked to the murders, because he witnesses the crimes when his mind leaves his body whilst sleeping. It's a paranormal concept called astral projection, ... or something. David is also clumsy and unsubtle enough to draw all suspicion towards him, because he knows half of the victims and stalks the other half.

Not a whole lot in "Out of the Body" makes any sense, to be honest. The overall plot is far too insane to take seriously, and the supernatural elements constantly undercut the tension. The kills are excellent, though, notably the nasty first murder in a back alley, and the grisly murder of the TV anchorwoman in her own house.

You know, I didn't get paid for sitting through this garbage, so there must be something wrong with me; what kind of a masochist would watch a film like "Out of the Body" for free? A man "has visions of murders". The cops "don't believe him" and "think he committed the murders". He is "possessed by an evil spirit". A tired, senseless script, combined with the strangely amateurish work of an experienced horror director (Brian Trenchard-Smith) and a completely unengaging lead, produce a pathetic time-waster. Not to mention the heavy Australian accents or the poor audio, which make much of the dialogue hard to understand. (*)

Nothing else in the film beats the sudden opening death, and mood setting in Brian Trenchard-Smith's Australian supernatural-horror (which was filmed on Sydney locations). The above quote is the response of one the investigating police detectives to the aftermath of the first kill. 'Out of the Body' is entertaining when it goes against logic, relishes in its lead's exaggerted performance of his character's decaying head space and sprinkles in some dark humour within bizarre situations. But you can say it's an up and down affair, which grows stranger, yet less effective as it goes along.

The story doesn't break new ground, where an unlucky music university student begins to have premonitions when alseep of POV shots of some unnkown killer stalking/murdering women by removing their eyeballs. So the added twist to the well worn premise is that it's primely supernatural in the way the victims are killed and those being targeted seem to be professional, headstrong and independant women. So what's the link. Well, lets just say expect there to be more questions than answers by the end of the film. There are certain story arches that feel like they're leading up to something of importance, but go nowhere with it. So the plot is incredibly disjointed, inconsistant and quickly moves through "nobody believes me, especially the cops, so I better save the day myself" routine which drives our protagonist to astral travel/specteral vampires mode without any sort of basis. Actually those moments are enjoyable, because they're so silly in their hsyterics which undermines whatever tension and an intensely jittery Mark Hembrow amusingly over-does it when fighting his confusion and desperation to save these women.

There's a otherworldly vibe to its atmosphere, especially during the night dream sequences as the cinematography glides and music creeps in. Smith also tries stylise alot of the night time set-pieces with lighting, shades of red/or green/or blue. Nothing over-the-top, but it was noticable, sometimes oddly placed, but typical 80s flair.

Here's another one from those score of dreadful Oz horror's, courtesy of the CBS Fox, video collection, and this one's pretty bad. Hembrow in not the best of leads (this is his only lead movie) plays a young music composer, who is suddenly having really bad premonitions. Victims, mostly female are being elevated to great heights by an unknown psychic force, and their eyes removed. He starts going crazy, and is seen as a cuck (nutter) by authorities, and others, where soon, things get more serious for him. This is so stupid, especially in the end, with a unimpressive after ending, or twist, which would even make less sense. The film has loads of dreadful dialogue, and some real ridiculous moments of overacting, that has to be seen to be believed, not just on Hembrow's part. The classy middle aged American woman, who's killed early in the peace, was unbelievably bad (watch the part, where she's screaming in the backyard of her Sydney villa at night, just before her demise). A "WTF" or Are you fu..ing kidding me" moment. Like the other terrible CBS FOX '87/'88 Oz horrors here, a lot of dots in the story don't add up. We can be thankful for one thing here- John Ley (aka: Dodge, I'd recognize that voice anywhere) as a young oversexed detective. He's the only redeeming thing in this piece of s..t. Even some of the responding dialogue, and it's pretty bad ("Shoot to wound", a little Turkey Shoot joke line of familiarity, attached too) doesn't even fit, as if suddenly the actor horribly improvised. And with this, comes laughs, trust me, (oh, the other enjoyable quality in this film). This one, out of that sh..ty video collection, is the most unforgettable film. Simply dreadful, need I say more. What? Was the writer having an outer body experience, when he wrote it?

When David Gaze (Mark Hembrow) falls asleep his spirit leaves his body to go on astral jaunts around town during which he witnesses a series of murders.

Australian B-movie/exploitation director Brian Trenchard-Smith might not be a true cinematic auteur, but I've never been disappointed by his work as far as pure entertainment goes. Out of the Body is admittedly a very silly effort, and one that careens wildly out of control in its final act, but it certainly isn't boring, and as far as I am concerned that is more than half the battle won.

With numerous supernatural murders, a sex scene that turns into a nightmare, the brutal slaying of an innocent pet cat, a possessed car, and an outrageously over-the-top performance from its star, quite how anyone can feel short-changed by this film is completely beyond my comprehension. Trenchard's direction isn't without style either, the out of body sequences making great use of strong coloured lighting and smooth POV camera-work.

In fact, the film is worth a watch just to witness Gaze waking from one of his nightmarish astral journeys to find himself throttling the cat—it's absolutely hilarious!