Two Heads Creek is a witty, hilarious take on Ocker culture and Australia's immigration policy that employs an outsider's point of view (courtesy of Jordan Waller's intelligently observed screenplay) to show us ourselves as we would perhaps rather not be seen. The second feature for director Jesse O'Brien and director of photography Samuel Baulch after 2016's arty science fiction epic Arrowhead, it ramps up to an even higher standard of film craft and further confirms that these two film makers are a team to watch.
Jordan Waller and Kathryn Wilder give sparkling performances in the lead roles as twins who travel to outback Queensland to reconnect with their long lost birth mother (played with a wicked turn by Kerrie Armstrong). They discover that the town has developed a taste for human flesh and are involved in a conspiracy with the Department of Immigration to supply them with a food chain of migrants. 'Don't stop the boats! Send em here so we can eat their brains!' In league with their long lost mum and sister Daisy (played with a touchingly wide-eyed innocence by Madelaine Nunn) they team up to overthrow the system in a gloriously bloodthirsty final act. In addition to those already mentioned there's a top notch ensemble cast including such Aussie luminaries as Gary Sweet, Helen Dallimore, and Kevin Harrington to add to the mayhem. Gregory J Fryer as Indigenous bus driver Apari provides the much needed perspective that all of us white fellas, recent migrants or not, are 'bloody foreigners.' Special mention also to Stephen Hunter as immigration officer, Clive, David Adlam as twisted tank top wearing Eric and the legendary Don Bridges as pommy hater Uncle Morris.
The soundtrack is studded with Aussie rock classics with a heavy dose of early 60s Normie Rowe. The musical centrepiece is an hilarious hard rock arrangement of Skyhooks' Horror Movie courtesy of composer Ryan Elliot Stevens that showcases Helen Dallimore's vocal chops and provides the setting for the climactic battle sequence with a cornucopia of hilarious dismemberments so OTT that they evoke more laughs than horror.
The whip smart writing and comedic timing make Two Heads Creek an hilarious crowd pleaser. Certainly the audience at the Monsterfest premiere responded with great enthusiasm to the laughs, the gore and the incisive social commentary. Destined for an initially limited general release, if it comes to a screen near you, please get out to see what could well become an Aussie comedy classic. You won't be disappointed.
