User reviews

I first remember seeing this after finding the novel in my local library. I would have been around 13, and it was in the 99p rental section of my local video store. The film scared the pants off me and my brother, and at the same time made us marvel at how ingenious and brutal the kids and the teacher could be when pushed to the edge. It made us both learn how to make candles from coke cans, and lethal home made arrows (which my dad confiscated). For those who watched Aussie shows at the times, there were a few familiar soap faces as well as Rachel Ward. This cross between Lord of the Flies and Walkabout is a true slice of thriller movie making. An Aussie gem! Oh and what they do at the end...burrer (shiver!).

What we have here is a fairly obscure little made for Australian TV movie that takes a common plot (kidnap) and moulds an interesting little morality tale around it. The theme seen in this film was previously seen in classics such as The Virgin Spring, and later The Last House on the Left, except here it arguably more shocking (though much less visceral) as there are children involved. The question that the movie asks is whether or not it is OK to "do unto others as they do unto you", though it never actually makes a judgement on this and the audience is left to decide - which makes the film instantly more interesting than morality tales that preach to the viewer (recent Oscar winner Crash is a good example of how badly that can turn out). The plot focuses on a school teacher and her class. Their ordinary day is ruined when men with guns decide to take them all hostage and hold them for ransom. They manage to escape the kidnappers, but find themselves running out of steam as every escape attempt is thwarted. They soon realise that the best to get away from the villains may not be to run, but to stand and fight...

This film works because the plot is kept simple and this allows us to focus on the important points that the story has to make. The characters we are introduced to are all likable and believable also; and this again helps to convey the film's message as we can understand why they have been lured into the situation that they find themselves in. The acting in the film is decent considering it's a TV movie. Rachel Ward plays the part of the school teacher well, and definitely seems to have a rapport with the children. A Problem that often befalls films like this is that the child actors tend to be annoying; but surprisingly, this film manages to avoid slipping into that pitfall as even the kids manage decent performances! The first half of the movie doesn't feature a lot in the way of excitement, but things really hot up in the second half and the ending is certainly worth waiting for. I can't say that this is a great movie, but it's certainly a very good one and one that fans of horror/thrillers will certainly want to check out!

In the countryside of Australia, the schoolteacher Sally Jones (Rachel Ward) and her nine pupils are kidnapped by four violent men wearing masks. They are locked up in a cave, but Sally finds a way to escape underwater a lake. However, they are hunted down by the criminals and Sally is forced to organize a defense with the support of the students.

"Fortress" is an Australian thriller with Rachel Ward in the lead role of a teacher kidnapped with her students at school by criminals. The plot is simple, engaging and full to action. The children are amazing and have nice performances. The conclusion recalls "Lord of the Flies", when the innocent children need to fight for their lives. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Fortaleza" ("The Fortress")

I am so happy that Google exists, because after 15 YEARS of fruitless searching (including on IMDb, sorry!) I've found this movie again. Images like the swim through the underground cavern and the older couple (?) being horrified by the rabbit masked man have haunted me to the point I thought I had imagined the whole thing. The fairly low-fi quality of the film makes it all the scarier, classic HBO 80's fodder. The fact that I watched it as a pre-teen made the fight for survival of the woman and the children all the more real. The setting of the Outback made their situation seem really perilous, for if there is so much open, empty space around you, it seems you have fewer places to hide (and I think may have sparked my latent fear of kidnapping and lack of hiding places). Excellent (as it stuck in my mind all these years, I guess it had to!)

Kidnappers bite off more than they can chew when they abduct a teacher and her class from a remote school in the Outback. Escaping from the cave in which they are held hostage, Sally Jones (Rachel Ward ) and her pupils must fight for survival against their captors.

This surprisingly well made film, based on a true story, is an exciting, gritty and disturbing tale which shows how the the human instinct for survival can turn even the most innocent of people into savage killers. Sally and her class, pushed to the limits, revert to an animalistic state which, by the end of the film, sees them wildly stabbing and tearing at their attackers in a frenzy of blood-lust.

Director Arch Nicholson develops the story well, at first having the children bickering with each other, but eventually seeing them teaming together to beat a common foe. There is plenty of tense action and a few surprisingly gruesome moments, and the talented young cast give some great convincing performances.

As made for TV fare goes, this one is well worth a viewing.

I loved watching this movie growing up as a kid, and every time I watched it I was freaked out yet I couldn't get enough of it. I knew the movie was based on a true story, and the country school setting reminded me of a place where I used to go camping. I haven't seen it in years but remember the whole movie back to front.

Set in a small country town, a class of students comprising the entire school and their teacher are kidnapped. The kidnappers wear masks that the viewer will remember forever. The teacher and kids are left to try and plan an escape from their captors.

Hardly anyone in the world is going to see this movie, and they are all missing out. See if you can find it, it's pretty good.

A couple month ago my daughter was in my private room where I store my Movies's collection, when she reachs at suspense spot, she said "Dad you have the Fortress, this picture is rare and fantastic" I'd a Bootleg copy, after that come out officially a box that had includes this picture, watching it at once, it seems a fine Aussie picture, telling a kidnapping story in a small town, all upcoming facts on the cave and how they escape from there is great, leading by the a fearless female teacher, all children has their hero's moments to tell aftermaths, the Duke, the Cat, the Mouse and the evil Father Christmas is true haunting, the final acting at second cave, actually the Fortress as the title implies, is bit shallow to believe, however the bloody killing changes the status of the picture, as suggest in early premise as children production, it quickly becomes a cult movie along the time!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

Point blank this movie flashed me back to 3rd grade spring time or 4th grade fall of 1985. Vividly I remember sleeping over my friends house and telling him about this movie Fortress that I had just seen and he was eager to see it after I went on and on about it. Something was magical that night because about an hour later he turned on HBO and the movie was just starting. I remember we watched it and we both loved it. All through the years growing up it was our little inside laugh.....we would talk about Father Christmas......haha. I thought about the movie frequently growing up but never ever ever saw it again on TV or any channels such as HBO or Cinemax or Showtime. About two weeks ago while looking through my Comcast cable at 3 in the morning I came across Fortress coming on the next day on HBO and I set my DVR to record it and just watched it last night. I felt like a kid again.....and I couldn't believe how my memory flashed back and I knew pretty much everything that was coming up before it happened. I'm 29 years old and haven't seen that movie in 21 years. Wow!!!!!!!! Still Fantastic as it was when I was a child.......... Hope I didn't bore you to death.....maybe some others can relate to my little story and feel the same way about this movie.

Tommy New Jersey

Schoolteacher and class of rural bumpkins get kidnapped by cartoonish bunch of thugs, brought to the forest, try to escape, get caught, repeat, until they finally bond as a group and give the kidnappers a taste of their own medicine.

My, the savage nature of the human animal! Sweet little children acting so viciously! Give me a break.

The movie is corny, the children are annoying, the soundtrack is silly, and all that without taking into account the embarrassingly corny, "Yeah, group!" type moments. The only interesting part was the ending, but considering its ineffective buildup it didn't carry much emotional weight.

If you are intent on seeing a portrayal man-as-beast, go for "Lord of the Rings" instead and let this one gather dust.

I had the same experience other members had with this film. I saw it on HBO when I was eight and it's since become part of me. Like them, I Googled, queried, etc. Unfortunately, my memory failed on the major points and I came up empty-handed. Finally, another member of IMDb came through. Anyway, this film is a lost jewel. It scared the hell out of me as a kid and I hope to see it again if I can find a used copy of the VHS somewhere. The premise is pretty simple. A group of Aussie thugs take a young teacher and her charges hostage, their escape and subsequent fight for survival turns bloody at the end. I still recall holding my breath during the underwater cave scene and never quite being able to hold it long enough. If you get a chance to watch this flick do so. Its ultra-rare and unforgettable.

It would be very easy to pick "Fortress" apart by challenging everything that is not dripping with logic. If you do that however, you will be distracted from a highly entertaining movie. The film is atypical, and difficult to classify. Part kidnapping gone wrong, part hunted in the wild, part revenge flick, "Fortress" is the sum of all these. Rachel Ward bravely adapts to the situation and rallies the children in their quest to survive. Featuring not one, but two separate caves, an escape swim through an underground stream, along with some savage retributions against the masked tormentors, "Fortress" delivers enough entertainment that the plot holes are best forgiven. - MERK

I remember watching this movie every Saturday on TV why my mom cleaned the house. I remember it freaking me out. I love this movie. I was probably 8 at the time. I was talking to people randomly about the movie and people thought I was crazy because no one remembered it. My sister didn't even remember it. Finally two years ago a girl that I worked with was like yeah I know the movie you are talking about. However we didn't know the name of the film. It took me 15 years and a NICE NICE guy from Austrialia (that I meet on in a chat room) to help me find the name of the movie. I also want to say thanks to Amazon.com for being fantastic. I love this movie...I recommend it to anyone. Rachel Ward gives a Fantastic performance as well. Plus this movie is based on a true story.

A recurring theme in Australian movies seems to be the closeness of pristine wilderness, of land not fit for man nor beast to modern technological civilization. That the struggle for survival is never very far away.

This movie captures that perfectly as a kidnapped school class turns from fleeing victims into tribal warriors. I liked it a lot and will tape it next time I catch it on cable (which is all too rarely).

Sally Jones (Rachel Ward) is a teacher in rural Australia. She and her students are kidnapped for ransom. Four masked gunmen come to the school and stuff them into a van. An early escape is abandoned when they threaten to kill one of the kids. They are sealed up inside a cave. With ingenuity, they escape the cave but the masked gunmen are not letting them go that easily.

It's a fair action thriller TV movie. It's got a simple compelling story. Director Arch Nicholson does a solid job with the different setups. Rachel Ward leads this as the teacher. She does a generally good job but there is a few overacting moments. The kids keep talking and she never tells them to be quiet. Some decision by some of these characters don't necessarily make sense. The finale is a bit silly in a Ramboesque sort of way. It's very watchable until the end.

I started out watching this because I thought it was a repeat of Fortress 1993 (have digital cable here & couldn't sleep last night). I had already looked up Fortress (1993) up on IMDB before watching it earlier this morning, so I knew the basic plot of this movie. So naturally, I figured this would be another corny 80's after school special type movie. Boy was a I wrong!! This movie was better & shocked me more then Fortress (1993) did. I recommend this movie to everyone & give it a 10!, cuz it fooled me, it wasn't predictable or 80's campy.

A somewhat interesting film with a lot of subtext. Pretty good work by the lovely Rachel Ward. The child characters were often quite annoying, but quite realistic. A previous commenter called it a mash-up of "Lord of the Flies" and "Last House on the Left". That seems fairly apt, at least for the third act.