One of the most effective of all horror films!

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2007)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this was possibly the scariest damn movie I've seen. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is close on my list. Audition, perhaps. The Shining was more about a creepy atmosphere, but I personally wasn't scared by it's grotesque imagery, twin sisters, child voices, blood flooding, etc. It was a great film, but too surreal and technical to pull the correct nerves. Jaws really freaked me out when I was a kid, but now I watch it with nostalgia and amusement, as with the Exorcist. Again, movies like Friday the 13th and Pet Semetary were pure terror for kids, but now they play like camp slap comedy. Scream was a joke. And never mind the slew of slasher teen horror films that followed, and more recently Japanese horror remakes and ultra-violent trash released on in a wave the past few years, a la Hills Have Eyes, Hostel, Wolf Creek.. So with these all firmly implanted in my memory bank, I went into the theater with very low hopes for this little known Australian film. And it really messed me up! It was a great theater experience, and the director really knew what worked, what to tweak, what to modulate, all to heighten the effect on the viewer. First, and most importantly, he set up a story that was believable, with characters that you care for, and females that are (gasp) intelligent, and none are readily disposable bimbos, removing a chance for a "Which blonde will die first?" guessing game in the first half hour. Second, time manipulation. Much like 'Jaws', the director makes you wait, and carefully builds the tension like a great musical piece. Third, story manipulation. It begins a tense, claustrophobic disaster story, then, when you think you're safely confined in the flow of a narrative *BAM!* it makes a sharp unexpected turn for the worst. Fourth, it plays on our deepest shared unconscious fears: claustrophobia, darkness, isolation, heights, intruders... Finally what greatly contributes to the experience is the editing and sound design. Cuts are very carefully made to shock, and the sound is amplified to maximize every small movement a character makes. I really can't recommend this enough, best to see it without any foreknowledge of the story line, because a certain 'entrance' it is quite a surprise!