Locusts

An unexpected gem - a punchy, suspenseful outback flick with some neat twists and turns. So many Aussie films are cut from the same old cloth of political correctness, it's refreshing to see a film that ventures outside that stereotypical mould.

Fantastic Aussie crime thriller with Jess McNamee and Ben Geurens as a fish out of water who finds himself up to his neck in crack dealers and hustlers in a rundown mining town. Not exactly an advertisement for Australian tourism, but a dark dusty suspenseful take on the age old city-boy-lost-in-the-outback story.

We need more Aussie films like this!

Go back to the 70s and Australian film making, This movie in line with those. The scenery is fantastic it's pretty much true to Broken Hill, I should know because I live there. As for the movie it's typically slow and not much going on but it is what it is, watch it for for it is.

Or the adventures of a tenderfoot in the outback. I expected far more from this Aussie film. Far more. At first, I thought it would be some kind of STRAW DOGS scheme, at least more or less, where a well educated man from the big city fighting against local rednecks. Actually, it is, but not as I imagined. We can however appreciate the character, from the typical soft tenderfoot to a tougher one But it is not Dustin Hoffman in STRAW DOGS, nor Jack Lemmon in COWBOY. That remains a good thriller drama, very well acted, well made, but with a predictable and run of the mill ending. Most of the film is saved by the magnificent settings, the Australian landscape is always the main, lead character, the trademark of Australian film industry.

For a low budget independent Aussie B-grade film, this was surprisingly and impressively entertaining!

This is novice director Heath Davis' third full length film, and he did not disappoint. And considering this is amateur writer Angus Watts' first ever dabble in filmmaking, his screenplay was better than some seasoned writers work I've seen lately. Cinematography was on point, with excellent landscapes. Casting and performances were great, and Jessica McNamee was certainly easy on the eyes. The editing needed some work, and the score, albeit fitting for the genre, was way too loud, I could barely make out the dialogue in some scenes. The pacing was a little slow, but bearable with the short and comfortable 85 min runtime.

This certainly isn't no big budget Hollywood blockbuster, but for a low budget indie film put together by newb filmmakers, it is undeserving of of anything under a 5 - new filmmakers have to start somewhere and should be rated based on their experience. Sure it's no 10 either, but it is very deserving of my 8/10. To see more of my 800+ reviews and 1000+ ratings, click on my username.