Out of the Blue

Sarkies does a brilliant job setting up the feel and mood of a small New Zealand seaside town in a slice of life style, giving us a brief but sufficient set up into the lives of those involved prior to the massacre. Then, as the title suggests, out of the blue comes the dark and unexpected. Sarkies doesn't shy away from the violence and terror, nor does he glorify it. His method of storytelling via following the first affected family, to the first initial killings with Gray then onto the first (and only) officer on the scene is extremely effective in showing how tense and unpredictable David was, and how the town had a night of horrific terror. The acting is superb, the music effective, and the location beautiful (as it was shot at a neighbouring location to the actual town involved). Stand out performances by the two leading actors, although the rest of the cast (relatively unknown) perform exceptionally too.

On November 13 1990, David Gray, an unemployed recluse, shot dead 13 people in the small coastal hamlet of Aramoana near Dunedin.

There was much conjecture about whether it was a good idea for someone to make a film about this tragic incident but it has been made and, for the most part, it has been made well.

Robert Sarkies, in a return to form after his well received first feature Scarfies, has created an amazing work of art. The opening shots of Aramoana are breath taking, and the cinematography throughout the film follows suit. The beauty of the scenery only serves to juxtapose the ugly events which take place over those 22 hours of terror.

Using Bill O' Brien's book Aramoana, Sarkies and co-writer Graeme Tetley have crafted a screenplay which focuses on subtlety and nuance. Sarkies intelligently uses these subtleties in several scenes involving Gray. Blurred camera work when Gray is on screen not only show his blurred take on reality, but also reflects his reportedly poor eyesight.

The cast is above average but two actors stand apart. It would have been inappropriate to have displayed Gray as anything but a monster, but Matthew Sunderland is able to give Gray a certain sense of pathos. His portrayal of the paranoid schizophrenic shows the killer to be a shell of a man, who has been overtaken by a terrible disease. We find him chilling and repugnant, yet one cannot help but sympathise with a person who has become so inhuman he appears more animal than man.

The other standout performance comes from Karl Urban as policeman Nick Harvey - one of the first officers on the scene. His eyes display the mixture of fear, confusion and disbelief at what lay before him at Aramoana. Watching him cradle a young girl in his arms, desperately trying to comfort her after she has been shot, is perhaps one of the most touching scenes in a movie crammed full of profound moments.

It is strange to have such a beautiful film made about such a terrible moment in New Zealand history. However, the sensitivity and emotion shown to the tragedy make the film an important commentary on the horrors of modern society. Even in a place like Aramoana, seemingly untainted by the rigours of modern life, can the harsh realities of the world be found and in these moments the human spirit is tested. The people of Aramoana and the emergency services sent to help them are testament to the fact that in the end love and compassion will prevail over the hate and disgust of sick individuals like David Malcolm Gray.

I was lucky enough to attend a preview screening of Out of the Blue at the Embassy theater. As the final credits rolled and the curtains closed I realized I had finally found the meaning to the word 'masterpiece'. This is unquestionably one of the best films I have ever seen. Period.

The portrayal of David Gray is haunting in every meaning of the word. Matthew Sutherland is an expert as his craft. I despised him throughout the film but at the same time felt pity; for what he was going through mentally was almost as scary as what he was causing the town to go through.

Robert Sarkies has proved to us that he has a genuine eye for directing, and that he is loaded with talent. Although he has already worked on several other New Zealand films/series, I believe that this could be his calling card for getting into the big-budget pictures.

The acting is incredible, and I really admire Karl Urban for returning to NZ and doing this low-budget film. Every single performance in this film is nothing short of spectacular. I have never felt as though I actually knew a bunch of people in a movie until now. It was genuinely the most scary thing I have seen when the town goes to hell.

I wish that this movie could get a wide theatrical release, although I am almost certain it wont because its story wont really effect anyone outside of New Zealand. However, if you live in New Zealand you must see this film when it is locally released in cinemas. In fact no; everyone should go see this film. Everyone. Twice.

10/10 This is what happens when you get a bunch of people together who love what they do to make a movie.

On November 13, 1990, the peace and quiet that once reigned over the picturesque coastal village of Aramoana, New Zealand was forever shattered when one of its residents, a 38-year-old madman, went on an extended shooting spree, indiscriminately massacring more than a dozen of his fellow citizens and neighbors - innocent men, women and children alike.

Artfully directed by Robert Starkies, "Out of the Blue" is most notable for the matter-of-fact way in which it portrays the events of that day. The movie spends the first half hour or so focusing on the townspeople as they go about the business of their daily lives, blissfully unaware of the grim fate that awaits them. It's an unnerving reminder of just how fragile a thing life is, as it can be taken away without warning. Without a hint of sensationalism or phony theatrics, "Out of the Blue" plunges us deep into the heart of a real-life nightmare, staying true to the ordinary folk - both the victims and the survivors - who suffered through the ordeal and to the innate randomness of the event itself.

For obvious reasons, we don't get to know the characters all that well before they fall victim to the killer, but that's in keeping with the near-documentary nature of the film. And once the shooting starts, the focus shifts almost exclusively to the local law enforcement officials who are frankly ill-trained and poorly equipped to handle an emergency of this magnitude. Yet, out of the ugliness and chaos, acts of extraordinary heroism, self-sacrifice and kindness are born.

Beautifully photographed and exquisitely acted, "Out of the Blue" is a thriller in the truest sense of the term, made all the more gripping by its adhering so closely to life as we know it. Hollywood movie makers could learn a thing or two from this film.

New Zealand docudrama about the massacre that occurred in Aramoana when an angry gun nut opened fire on his neighbors and severely reduced the population.

Slow to start, I thought that this was going to be a typical story of a shooting with its pleasant vistas and the get to know the participants set up scenes. However once things got going things spiral out in ways that they can only in real life. The violence, which we know is coming, is at first explosive and in its way out of left field. Then as the neighbors and soon to be targets attempt to figure out what the "fireworks" are things becoming darker as the random acts of violence begin to pick up. What do you do when a nut job begins to open fire? Here's the answer.

Though far from perfect, its a tad too clinical for my tastes, this film really packs a punch, especially in the final scenes where there are a few decidedly haunting images that not only drive home whats happened but also turns so of what we've seen on their ear (The swat team in slo mo).

I thought it was quite good. However I'm not particularly pleased with the Weinstein company who is its distributor. No ads for the film in New York. Sure you screened it for critics, but no add other than in the general ad for the IFC center where its playing. Clearly you don't want anyone to see it or know it existed.(I caught it on IFC on Demand cable service.) I only gave it a shot because I saw the title in the Time Out New York film reviews. Clearly they don't know what they are doing since here's a film they should promote but don't, yet other things like... Doogal...they promote like mad even thought it belongs in the bottom of a charnel house's fire pit.

If you get a chance to see it do so, its too good not to be seen.