Review of Arrowhead (2017) by Karen H — 04 Jun 2017

Arrowhead is an ambitious independent film from young Australian filmmakers with heart. As the first feature for writer/director Jesse O'Brien it shows tremendous promise. In part it's an homage to great sci-fi classics (Alien, Star Wars, Pitch Black, and the lesser known Enemy Mine) but it also sparkles with originality.

The narrative thread doesn't quite hold together and I'm told this was partly due to budget and production pressures where crucial scenes could not be shot on the day. So there are gaps in the story that lead to some confusion.

But there are so many compensations, you won't really mind. The cinematography from Samuel Baulch is stunning and the locations including Coober Pedy in remote South Australia are a visual treat. The acting performances are uniformly strong with Dan Mor and Aleisha Rose giving standout performances.

Aussie comedy legend Shaun Micallef has a playful voice part as computer Re3f. The original score by Ryan Stevens (who is also responsible for costume and set design) is also a very impressive debut. There is an old school sensibility at work here where CGI is only used with a light (and effective) touch while preferring practical effects wherever possible.

Five stars may seem too generous but resourceful home grown talent like this deserves to be encouraged and rewarded. This is the kind of film that deserves awards and even though (due to contractual obligations) it did not get a cinema release I hope it won't be overlooked come awards season.