Review of Red Hill (2010) by Gimly M — 25 Nov 2013

Dear Red Hill. I like you. Fondest wishes, Gimly... Ahem, just thought I'd make my opinion pretty straight forward from the get go.

It's Australian, so points. It's got tonnes o' blood and night skies, so points. An Aboriginal with a half a face actually kills someone with a boomerang (there you go Luke, apparently it is possible!), so points. There's lots of fire, but no explosions, so points. The executive producer is Greg McLean (the kid behind Wolf Creek and Rogue) so points. Plus, it's entertaining!

And I mean come on, Steve Bisley's in the damn thing! (the guy who played Goose in Mad Max, as well as starring in Summer City, Newsfront, A Town Like Alice, Silver City, The Flying Doctors, Water Rats). Ryan Kwanten (The Knights of Badassdom, Griff the Invisible, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Don't Fade Away, Dead Silence, Flicka, Water Rats, Spellbinder: The Dragon Lord, Tru Calling, Rake, True Blood) and Tom E. Lewis (above - The Proposition, Crocodile Dreaming, The Flying Doctors, The Naked Country, Robbery Under Arms, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith) make their presence known as the protagonist and antagonist respectively.

It's a little crazy, some sort of... Horror/Crime/Thriller/Western hybrid with a couple of comedic moments. Not that it's a comedy, or cheesy, just a bit funny once or twice... Like! There's this one bit where... Nah, better not ruin it. It's good though! Fuckin' watch it, alright?

The score's great, one of the better I've heard lately. Though some of the more extreme Western elements bothered me (like quick-draws, horseback cops and white cowboy hats, etc.) I was more than willing to forgive these, after all, we as Australians are not yet in a position in the film industry where we can afford not to pander to the Yanks.

First time Director Patrick Hughes certainly is somebody I'll be looking out for in the future, if this first effort is anything to go by. Red Hill is imaginative, clever, bold, no-nonsense and entirely watchable film that I'm more than happy to have in my collection. I wasn't blown away, it was no fresh new thing I'd never see coming, but Bisley's screen presence and the general non-stop awesomeness makes Red Hill it one of the better productions we Australians have unleashed onto the world.

76%.

-Gimly.