Reviewed by Carol Sullivan
Genre: Thriller
Rating: Not Rated
Director: Jon Hewitt
Starring: Danny Baldwin, Holly Baldwin, Harley Bennick, Michael Dorman, Sue Dwyer
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
|
|
I had heard some recent rumblings about the Aussie import, Acolytes, and they had peaked my interest. Quite often, Australian horror movies are either horrible and get tons of good press; or they are terrific and no one ever hears of them. Acolytes, nicely Directed by Jon Hewitt, actually had a healthy budget to work with; some of it even coming from the Australian government, of all places. A psychological jumble of horror, mystery and drama, this film is really worth a look.
The movie begins as we meet three teen friends, Mark (Sebastian Gregory), Chasely (Hanna M. Lawrence) and James (Joshua Payne). Like many bored suburban teenagers, their days are full of school, the latest music and the occasional bit of marijuana. But when a local teenage girl goes missing, the trio of young friends suspects a thug named Parker (Michael Dorman) may be responsible. Parker is just out of jail and would love nothing better than to resume his torment of young people. But these kids are about to meet someone far nastier than Parker.
One day, they come upon a strange man burying something in the woods. Assuming it to be drugs or maybe cash, the friends go digging and find a girl's body. Soon, they find that this strange man is living in an upscale neighborhood and they are intrigued that this family man could be a serial killer. Deciding that they have found the perfect way to rid themselves of Parker for good, they make a really bad choice; their highly-flawed plan is to blackmail this serial killer into murdering Parker.
But these foolish kids are playing cat and mouse with a psychopath.
I found Acolytes to be a twisted and entertaining treat. While it can be a bit slow at times, it is beautifully filmed and surprisingly well acted by the young cast. Written by S.P Krause and Shane Armstrong, the upsetting and complex story line keeps you guessing right up until the end. A couple of times I wondered who killed who!
All that being said; I couldn't help but feel that the editing gurus had cut-out some integral parts of the film that might have helped it be more concise and make more sense. What you end up with is a film that you really have to watch closely to catch all of the details.
All in all, Acolytes is a tense, disturbing mystery-thriller and makes for a good rental.
Overall Rating: 2 1/2
|
|
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 04 August 2009 09:23 )
|
