Hey folks, Harry here... Sounds like this film THE LOCALS is the real deal... original quaility low-budget horror film! AWESOME! Knowing the way the Horror market is these days... I imagine Lion's Gate is all over this sucker and we'll here an announcement about them acquiring it any day now. They seem to pick up all the good low-budget horror films... well, the good ones that is. They seem to let the crap seep through to other distributors... notably Outhouse of the Dead. (Love Quint's name for that flick!) Anyways, here's Dimnix...
Hi Harry,
this is dimnix...you've probably seen me in the chat. I live in Wellington, New Zealand, land of the hobbits, and have a review of the latest kiwi film to hit the big screen: a horror film called The Locals. The film hit cinemas a week ago, but I'd already heard alot of buzz about it. Magazine articles, posters, you name in. Plus, I saw the trailer quite a few times. The trailer was a bit odd...it was edited a bit strangely. The actual footage in the trailer looked very promising, but something about the way it was all cut together made the film look so-so.
But I still planned to see it, especially after I read the review of it on AICN which described it as "genre defying" and it sounded really great. So, today, I went with some mates to the film. I saw it a few hours ago, so it's all sunken in, and I can safely say that this movie is really awesome. I wouldn't yet describe it as fuckin awesome, but it is close.
The film is written and directed by a famed kiwi music video director who goes by the name of Greg Page. The story is as follows: Two early-20's kiwi guys from Auckland (I'd refer to them as jaffas - a bit of kiwi slang) are going on a surf trip down to the west coast. Although I can't remember their names (...I know one of them starts with P) they're pretty typical characters: the nice, caring sensitive but tough guy with short, dark hair...his girlfriend has just dumped him and he's not really in the mood for a road trip. But his friend, who's more of a funny sort of guy, wont have any of it and forces him to come. So they head off in their subaru, and when the sun has set they're in the farming region of the Waikato. After deciding to take a shortcut, they meet up with 2 young girls who appear to be on their way to an 80s themed party (bright colours, big earrings). They tell the guys to follow them to the party, "if they! can keep up". These 2 guys, hoping to get laid, speed on after the girls, until they have an accident and end up on the side of the road with their tires stuck. And the girls are nowhere to be seen. Story sound typical? Yeah...it's been done alot of times before, that "car gets stuck in small dodgy town" story. But this film isn't interested in being a rehash of other films with similar set ups. From here on, this film has moments of pure originality. The 2 characters (obviously) head off down the dark road looking for help. When they find a house, they see what appears to be a tall, freaky looking farmer murdering his wife. They are spotted, and from then on the film never slows down.
I dont want to go into too much details here...I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum. The story has alot of things in common with american "small town crazy hicks" movies, but has a distinctive kiwi style to it. This is truly a New Zealand horror film. You couldn't just change the setting and have it work. This works because it IS New Zealand. All the characters are full on kiwis, especially the 2 main characters who act much like me and my mates do. For me, the scenery was INCREDIBLY effective in making the film creepy for me. I've driven through the waikato, and places that look just like this. I've seen creepy looking farmers, car wrecks, run down cemetaries. I've wandered in areas like that at night, not really being worried about it all. That brought a sense of reality to the film. I can picture myself in these situations, making it all quite terrifying. Even with the evil farmers and other da! ngers, the scenery keeps this this scary. The Waikato is truly a character in this film.
The horror aspects of the film are done very well. The scenes after the guys have been stranded often just show them standing there on the road, the only light coming from their torches. No scary score, no quick cuts...just 2 guys in the dark. And it's scary. Because the film is serious (although, with a fare share of comedy) scenes like this feel real. The sense of danger is always there, never letting audience members calm down. But ofcourse, sometimes the horror is much more in-your-face. Scenes involving the two characters running as fast as they can through the bush with tall, mysterious and terrifying farmer-characters slowly lumbering after them may resemble things seen in slasher films, but here it actually feels urgent. The "posse" of farmers are a real treat, cruising around in a big farm pickup truck with shotguns in hand. Their leader, Bill, has a wonderful presence. There are also times the horror ! can be just plain gross, including a scene with one of the characters dragging a rotting skeleton out of a grave while at gunpoint, and at times just plain horrifying, such as a scene involving a car exploding and it's occupants screaming as they burn to death. Gore is handled well...there is a fare share of blood, but is never over the top.
The film does have supernatural elements, and thats where the story took a big twist. Yes, this film does have a twist. It doesn't come at the end, but more around the middle. It is a big twist kinda like what you see in From Dusk Till Dawn - the film changes from a thriller into a full on horror with a very interesting supernatural story and a cool mythology behind it (which the film never really indulges in). There are characters who aren't exactly alive, but unlike the other reviewer I dont consider them zombies. This is not a zombie movie. These things are...well, I dont want to spoil it. They have their own thing going on. It's a terrying, fascinating, and tragic fate that they all suffer from.
So now that I've got that out of the way, howabout the technical aspects? The direction is top notch...Greg Page seems like he'll definetely go on to big things. As for the writing, it is VERY clever, although at times the dialouge is a bit unrealistic (the scene involving a character talking to a skeleton was a bit...off, and the slight romance seems a bit forced). The pacing is great, never slowing down. The film feels the exact right length - neither finishing early, or going on longer than it should. The acting is great, especially the two main characters and their nemesis Bill. Whoever plays Bill will always be known for this role. He's a very iconic villian. All characters in this film feel very real. The two girls, even in their ridiculous outfits, are also very good in their roles. The cinematography is amazing - it looks exactly how it does in real life, although with a more sinister edge to it.&! nbsp; Great colours, beautiful aerial shots...a really good job. I dont know who does the score, but it fits the film perfectly. The movie also includes all the biggest kiwi bands (often ones who have worked with the director Greg Page). It was nice to hear it all on the big screen.
So, I guess I've writen quite a bit....hope I've given enough of my opinion for you to decide whether or not you want to see it. I definetely recommend the movie, and hopefully if enough internet hype is created people in North America wont have to wait too long to see it. It's not the greatest horror film ever, but it is a damn good movie which is alot more memorable than most films I've seen this year. It's far from a perfect film, but it is horror done RIGHT. Cabin Fever was great, but also very tongue-in-cheek...this film takes it's horror seriously. I hope alot of you get to see it...it really is a treat. And I'm sure this film will be the first in a big career for Greg Page.
Anyway, I'm dimnix, and that was my opinion on The Locals.
See ya,
~dimnix
