You Can't Stop the Murders

This movie is so laid-back it's like a female contortionist. The sort of movie which could only be made in Australia; laconic in the Croc Dundee style, yet not so emphatically dinkum aussie as in "G'day mate" jargon. Professional film critics may give it one-and-a-half stars, but I'd give it a good three. Then maybe I'm easily pleased. I found it entertaining and amusing - if you're not too critical. You get a lot of chuckles and also some real laughs. I can imagine off-duty police seeing this picture, because it centres on the relationship between two local cops in a small town, and how their lives are fairly humdrum - until the murders start. A serial killer is loose, and the clue to his/her identity is in the occupation of the victim, and the symbolism of the corpse. The plot seems mainly a vehicle for sight gags and other humour, in Jacques Tati manner (Mon Oncle; M.Hulot's Holiday; Jour de Fête); yet there is an underlying tension due to apprehension as to who's going to be next victim. It's good to see perky Kirstie Hutton again (remember her from "Bullpitt!" on TV?), and all the lead actors are interesting characters; with an able and varied supporting cast. I think this movie should have popular appeal, at least in Australia, and might prove more successful than some would anticipate. ====================================================

When going to their movies, I used to actively search out the Aussie films. These were often low budget wonders with iconoclastic/individualistic qualities. They often had a single uitlander(non Australian) somewhere in the cast ( e.g. MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER with Kirk Douglas, PRISCILLA etc with Terence Stamp) with the up and coming burgeoning talents like Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Toni Collette amongst others.) And you were pretty much guaranteed an interesting time.

And then they discovered that they weren't actually making bad little movies. And got vain. And instead of careful nurturing we get more randomly thrown together product. Product as opposed to craft. And it ends up looking like this.

This started with a cute little idea; It's set in a small town, West Village( a play on Go west and Greenwich Village) somewhere in Oz where the most exciting thing that usually happens is a dog runs away). And then people start being murdered in a style reminiscent of the Village People. Could've been great.

And is unremittingly awful. Written by three alleged comedians from somewhere in the comedic basements of Australia, it doesn't know what the hell it is. There's a bit of a Miami Vice pastiche, some line dancing and omni present confusion. Great direction makes you want to know about the characters and where they are going within the story arc. Poor direction makes you wonder why you're there. Thank god popcorn doesn't fly otherwise screens around the country would be saturated.

The problem occurs when you get stand-up comedians trying to up their exposure outside of their usual 15 minute routine. It is populated with friends of friends and relatives instead of talent. According to the director, Anthony Mir (not short for Mirth) the original story started as a two minute sketch for TV. Why in god's name did they let it get longer? Should've been stopped at birth.

When I first saw the trailer I though to myself 'hey...nice idea'. However i was sadly disappointed with the overall product. Gary Eck, one of the writers and main character, wrote a winning 'Tropfest' entry in 2002 ('Tragic Love'), and in comparison to this short, 'You Can't Stop The Murders' just becomes a parody of itself. 'Tragic Love' was amusing and enjoyable because although the overall idea was absurd, it was played out in complete seriousness. If the same could be said for Y.C.S.T.M then I'm sure it would have made it a much more enjoyable film. However, with that all said and done. I'm sorry to use Gary as an example, and I'll continue the review.

The film overall is quite well make for Australian standards, especially on what I would assume was a small budget. The acting is an interesting mix characters and performers bound together through this interesting variation of the murder genre.

The 99 minute running time perfect for the story to progress. And the cinematography was an altogether different and refreshing view at yet another bland Australian landscape.

This film is okay - not amazing funny but has some nice touches.

For a low budget film it has a very polished look and all in all I think it is far better than most of the comedies currently rushing into production in Australia.

What is also nice about this one is that it is so obviously a labour of love by the three stars who are also the main creative team (director and writers)

It's a nice little film which will perfectly suit a video night with some friends.

Can't Stop the Murders probably is Australia's worse movie. It's a comedy that has all these stand up comics who cant get a gig but are all put in a film for no particular reason. The script is full of cliches and fails to capture the real comedy of The Castle.