Spooked (2004)

A thriller loosely based on Ian Wishart's book The Paradise Conspiracy, about the mysterious death of a New Zealander who happened upon international banking records after purchasing a used computer.

Director:

Geoff Murphy

Writers:

Geoff Murphy (screenplay), Ian Wishart (book)

Stars:

Cliff Curtis, Chris Hobbs, Andrea Kelland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cliff Curtis	...	Mort Whitman
Chris Hobbs	...	Kevin Jones
Andrea Kelland	...	Office Clearance Girl
Ian Mune	...	Dave Johnson
John Leigh	...	Jimmy Blick
Mark Ferguson	...	Bill Roberts
Greg Johnson	...	Jonah Levine
Kevin J. Wilson	...	Mike Taylor
Alison Bruce	...	Sheila Miller
Vincent Ward	...	Bill Thorpe
Raybon Kan	...	Lester Albright
Paul Barrett	...	George Drake
Geoff Murphy	...	Fred
Merata Mita	...	Fred's Wife
Miriama Smith	...	Ruby Elder

Storyline

Investigative journalist Mort Whitman is onto the story of his lifetime, the most important story in the nation. It was huge involving a big pay-off from a multinational bank to a second-hand computer dealer Kevin Jones. Tracing the days leading up to Kevin's suspicious death, Mort reveals Kevin's increasing paranoia and erratic behavior through the eyes of his best mate Jimmy Blick and girlfriend Ruby Elder. What dangerous secrets had he stumbled upon? Did the forces - private security, police, SIS or CIA - that increasingly menaced his life, kill him? Or did he simply drink too much and crash his car? Mort is determined to get to the bottom of it, if it kills him.

---

Plot Keywords:

based on novel | 

---

Taglines:

These people play by their own rules.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

Inspired by the death of Paul White, who purchased some old Citibank computer hardware in June 1992 and was killed in unusual circumstances in September (as related in Ian Wishart's non-fiction bestseller "The Paradise Conspiracy").

User Reviews

disappointing paranoia thriller...

Rather than drag himself into the 21st century, film maker Geoff Murphy seems content to remain in some no-man's land of a bygone era. 'Spooked' is reminiscent of those early years in New Zealand cinema when movies were plagued by bad writing and characters that seemed to perpetuate the perception that New Zealand is full of boring half-educated blokes raised on rugby, beer and "gidday mate". Here Murphy assembles a bunch of his pals to make a tediously out-of-touch paranoia thriller and one can hardly fathom how this film expected to find an audience. Perhaps Murphy should stick to Steven Segal sequels for Hollywood, or throw in the towel. Quite easily one of the worst New Zealand movies to see the light of day.

Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 2005 (New Zealand)

Filming Locations:

New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

NZD300,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,460

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ora Digital, Capital Pictures, NZOA

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1