Kadaicha

Plot: Residents living on land built on an ancient burial ground die after finding strange stones.

Kadaicha started off looking very promising but as time went on, didn't seem to go anywhere at all. It started to meander too much and take too long to reach the conclusion. The acting was very good for this type of movie (compared to most low budget horror flicks), but the deaths weren't very gory and the ending was rather dull.

Overall I feel this film could have been much more interesting as the storyline itself was quite good. Sadly it's just too boring - I wouldn't recommend seeking this out unless you're a collector.

4/10

Low-budget Oz shocker mostly delivers what it promises as the teenage inhabitants of a residential estate run afoul an ancient Aboriginal curse.

Ideal for the teenage video market, whilst the cast are obviously older than the school-age students they depict, this isn't anything unusual and certainly doesn't detract from the otherwise tense mood. Sometimes resembles an MTV video, the make-up effects are gory and the killing devices are imaginative albeit the body count is relatively limited.

Likeable cast features Zoe Carides becoming increasingly concerned by the actions of her father (Oldfield) after she learns that the commercial development he oversaw lies above an ancient Aboriginal burial ground. Supporting cast is an all-Aussie affair with Tom Jennings (who was prominent in 'Sons & Daughters' around the same time), Natalie McCurry ('Chances') and Deborah ('not happy Jan') Kennedy as the sage school teacher whose knowledge of the ancient stones' meaning heralds the subsequent danger. Some viewers might also recognise Anthony Ackroyd in a blink-and-you'll-miss it part as a police constable sickened to discover the mutilated corpse of one of the curse's hapless victims, whilst Sean Scully, Alan Lovell and Steve Dodd are also potentially familiar faces to local audiences.

Plenty of colourful dialogue, garish 80s wardrobe and superfluous musical numbers, whilst another reviewer mentioned a Brisbane setting, this looks more like New South Wales landscape & housing (and vehicle regos).

Aside from the final act which feels a little unresolved, it's a decent exploitation effort with committed performances, contemporaneously a little less eerie than 'Spook' but just a little more professional than 'Houseboat Horror' and worthy of an Ozploitation film aficionado's burgeoning collection 😊

Nowhere can cinema claim a monopoly on tried and true horror tropes: a cast of teen characters, including a musician, a nerd, a randy couple, and so on; a curse on land held sacred by indigenous people, which was subsequently developed by white people; an onslaught of violent death for those teens, living on that developed land; black magic, an even darker local history, capitalist greed, and so on. 'Kadaicha' is very upfront about all of this, and the formula is so intact that, not necessarily through any fault of this title, there are no thrills or surprises to be had - unless, perhaps, you've never seen any similar title before, which would be impressive indeed. By all means, this 1988 flick is still enjoyable in and of itself for those who appreciate genre fare for more than just the visceral reactions they may inspire - just don't go expecting a revelation.

This may not be breaking any ground, but it's still well made. The cast give earnest, commendable performances, and I find no faults in the writing that imparts a complete, duly compelling story, with some welcome little details. There's a nice bit of variety in the death scenes, and all the stunts, practical effects, and special makeup look terrific. Bolstered by Peter Westheimer's music, the picture is even able to manifest a measure of uneasy atmosphere, and a couple scenes are especially striking (such as Gail in the bathroom). The filming locations are fantastic, and the art direction is nice; between James Bogle's direction and Stephen F. Windon's cinematography, 'Kadaicha' is shot well. Really, this is well made all around, and even as the tale walks a familiar path there are no especial flaws here - save, perhaps, for that the one thing that the feature can't do is achieve a spark of vitality to make any of the course of events strike a major chord. It's fun, but kind of flat.

Very simply, what it comes down to is that for anyone who has spent any amount of time exploring the horror genre, we've seen this film before. It's still a suitably good time, but there's no reason to go out of our way for it, and it's best left as something fairly light for a lazy day. I admire the work that all involved put into it, and I'm glad I watched it; I just don't anticipate ever feeling the need to do so again, and I wish this carried itself with more vibrant energy. Ah well. Not every flick needs to be a revelation, and this is decent enough as it is.

Australian horror Kadaicha is a little bit Poltergeist and a little bit A Nightmare on Elm Street, but - and this probably goes without saying - it is not as good as either of those classics.

The film opens as a teenage girl wakes from a nightmare to find a strange crystal in her hand. At Kangaloola High, her teacher identifies the stone as a Kadaicha, which was given by Aboriginal shamen to people condemned to die; sure enough, the girl is found dead soon after, seemingly attacked by a wild animal. Other students share similar inexplicable fates, leaving Gail Sorensen (Zoe Carides) to try and find out how to stop the curse before she becomes the latest victim.

It eventually transpires that the Kangaloola estate was constructed on the site of an ancient Aboriginal burial ground (that old chestnut), Gail's father, the developer, having ignored the discovery while building was in progress. This lack of originality is matched by the lack of suspense and absence of genuine horror, the death scenes being rather unimaginative and light on gore (if the film had matched the creativity of A Nightmare on Elm Street's inventive kills, it would have been a lot more memorable).

The rushed and underwhelming finale sees Gail recruiting a local Aboriginal magic man to fight the power of the Kadaicha in an unremarkable battle of good against evil.

3.5/10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.

Residents of a small housing development are being butchered off after finding strange rocks on themselves. Seems that the houses were built upon an old graveyard. Low budgeted flick has an interesting enough premise, but falls very short of its goals mainly due to an extremely low budget, shoddy camera work and a weak, below par cast. Rated R; Violence.