100 Bloody Acres

'100 BLOODY ACRES': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Brothers Cameron and Colin Cairnes make their feature film debut writing and directing this Australian horror/comedy film about brothers who run an organic fertiliser business that's dependent on dead bodies (as it's secret ingredient) to make it work so well. One of the brother's comes across three partygoers, on their way to a music festival, and brings them home to introduce to his big brother (and the family business). The movie stars character actors Damon Herriman and Angus Sampson as the brothers and the beautiful Anna McGahan as one of their captured victims. The movie is full of dark humor and twisted gore. If you like dark Australian comedy and horror this is the movie for you.

Lindsay Morgan (Sampson) and his brother Reg (Herriman) have been running a successful organic fertiliser business for some time, that's finally getting it's first radio add, but the only problem is it's dependent on dead bodies, ran through a meat grinder, to make it work so well. The Morgan brothers have been collecting car crash victims to supply this 'secret ingredient' to their fertiliser and as the film opens Reg has just found another body at a crash site. While he's hauling the body home though he comes across a young woman, Sophie (McGahan), and her two male friends (Oliver Ackland and Jamie Kristian). Due to the lack of dead bodies recently he decides to take them home, to his brother Lindsay, to use as the fertiliser ingredient instead (in an attempt to impress his bossy older brother). Things don't go as planned though as Reg develops feelings for Sophie.

If you couldn't tell the movie is part romance as well (twisted romance). It's definitely not for the faint of heart though (or for those who become sickened by the site of blood and gore) but as a dark comedy and horror film it really works. OK, it mainly just works as a dark comedy (as it's neither scary nor very disturbing) but it is gruesome. It also surprisingly has a lot of heart. The Reg character is actually pretty likable and Sophie is one of the coolest and most ideal women a guy could hope for. I love films like this; their great as long as you don't take them seriously.

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This movie is well acted with just the right amount of humour to offset the dark theme.

Everyone plays their parts well and the story never gets boring.

A great cast and great direction.

Recommended.

I saw this film at the Brussels fantastic film festival 2013 (BIFFF). It was announced as a Horror movie, but you are mistaken if you want something sinister. Everything happens in broad daylight. On the other hand, there was sufficient blood&gore to let it fall under the Horror category. Still, I found it more of a Comedy rather than anything else.

The plot elements were cleverly employed, like the use of human bodies (from travel accidents, at first) to "improve" the fertilizer that the two brothers produce. They have a lot of success with it, and demand is rising. Due to the latter, any human body that is found along the road that does not move, is carried away without proper medical review. That is where the story starts, soon involving three hitch hikers who pose an imminent danger to their secret operations. They thus become potential ingredients for their fertilizer production process. Though the cutting up of bodies is only shown once and not very directly, you can expect an abundance of blood sprayed around, tainting most of the bystanders who have every reason to assume they are next in line. Those movie lovers fainting on the sight of blood, are better off when they avoid this one.

The real secret ingredient of this film, however, is the humor that is incorporated all over the story, and works very well in hiding there is no real story to tell. Things happen in a logical sequence, though, but different from what we expected upfront. That is precisely the most important feature of this film. It is a Comedy rather than a Horror movie, is my conclusion, with the blood&gore only as binding element.

All in all, I found this Horror very enjoyable. I usually try to steer clear of blood&gore movies, but this time it is not the central theme that binds the scenes, unlike some other movies with no recognizable story line other than providing for reasons to miserably end other people's lives. In other words, the blood&gore is more entourage here than anything else. The relationship between the two fertilizer making brothers is much more important, as is the hasty and uncoordinated way they try to cover their tracks when the darker side of their business might be exposed. Along the line we witness various ways in which the younger brother tries to show initiative, in an attempt to outsmart his brother who obviously has the lead in everything. And the people who are so unlucky to get involved in their "factory", mostly fail to survive the encounter with all limbs intact, or even to escape alive for that matter. Hilarious scenes throughout, in spite of the darker aspects of the plot.

"100 Bloody Acres" is a very entertaining little horror comedy from Oz. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, except that I enjoyed it.

The set-up is that three people are travelling to some music festival, where they flag down a truck driven by a guy in the fertilizer business, played by Damon Herriman, who recently played Charles Manson. They don't know that the origins of this famous fertilizer sold by Herriman and his brother - unlikely Aussie sex symbol Angus Sampson - is ground up human flesh.

We get some pretty typical scenes with people tied up, trying to escape, but the movie really sings with the scenes with Sampson and Herriman. Sampson's portrayal as the gruff, intimidating brains behind the evil operation is the movie's strong suit.

The movie has a few quite violent moments, but at least it spares us the tedious torture porn rubbish we get in so many horror flicks these days.

As a horror comedy, of course the movie is never scary or suspenseful, but nor is it really laugh out loud funny. However, it does manage a light, humorous tone throughout that keeps a smile on your face.

Entertaining enough to keep your attention. some laughs,some blood.worth wasting an hour and a half. 7 out of 10