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melbourne-underground
Reviews
The Horseman (2008)
Bring it on
Great revenge flick. This is a throwback to the 70's and 80's exploitation films. Moody brooding man wants revenge against a bunch of bad dudes. Nothing too intellectual, but that's not something you really want or sign up for when you are looking for a healthy dose of vigilantism. Think Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood, then you know what I mean. The action is small, but the fight scenes are well executed, and it feels fresh and quite realistic. Not as good as a Dead Man's Shoes by Shane Meadows, or a Harry Brown by Daniel Barber, but it is still definitely worth a watch if you like a good revenge flick. We Aussie's don't tend to do many revenge/vigilante films, so I really commend Steven Kastrissios for a great effort into the annals of exploitation. Well done.
Instant Karma (2001)
Simple and tense
I loved this film. It is kinda like a low budget A Simple Plan by Sam Raimi, or Fargo by the Coen Brothers. If you like these types of films then you know what I mean when I say, even though you might not agree with what the characters are doing, or how they are going about doing what they're doing, you still get caught up in the tension of their actions and their plight, almost wishing you could effect the outcome and maybe change the ending, which you know is probably heading for disaster. Like suspense films from the 1950's and 60's, this is largely set in and around a single location with a small cast of players, but this doesn't at all hold it back from capturing the interest and telling a very entertaining and engrossing story. It is obviously low budget as I can't remember seeing any of the cast in anything else, but in some ways I think it actually helps with the tension and the telling of the story as I bought into the characters lives without any previous preconceptions.
This is a great Aussie movie.