Review of Red Hill (2010) by Josh T — 30 Aug 2011

Extremely silly and cliched Australian Western-thriller that despite a fairly predictable plot and some woeful editing, manages to remain relatively engaging thanks to excellent performances from Kwanten, Bisley and Lewis and some fine, very violent, set pieces.

Hughes debut film initially feels like a blackly comic, small town drama, with Kwanten and Bisley sparring wonderfully, the former a superb actor (familiar to any fans of the excellent HBO show True Blood) who plays his hero with a nice, humble, naive charm at first, and later with an honest gumption and resolve that keeps him compelling through to the films flame grilled conclusion. Tonally, it sprawls wildly at the best of times, but with one tongue firmly in cheek, and with a genuinely interesting villain haunting the town of the title, Hughes creates a convincing throw-back to the Oz-ploitation cinema of old, complete with a panther and an excellent Boomerang death scene.