Review of Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Johnathon W — 30 Apr 2018

Haunting mystery/horror that is more disturbing with the questions that are answered than the ones not. The cast is solid across the board, with Annie-Louise Lambert standing out as Miranda, whose otherworldly looks gives a hint at something more about her.

Behind the camera, Peter Weir adapts Joan Lindsay's book superbly, maintaining the 'possibly true' nature of the story from the opening crawl, along with the examination of a society when something utterly unexplainable happens (how the school girls act to the one that returns is horrifying).

Weir also makes great use of Hanging Rock itself, catching it at just the right angles that you swear it has faces and is looking at you. Most daring is the ending, which my frustrate some but lives up to what H.

P. Lovecraft said, "The greatest fear is the unknown". A true classic in Australian cinema.