A teacher and her class are kidnapped in a remote country town by four ruthless nasties who shut the group in an underground cavern and wait for pay day. However they never reckoned with a bunch of tough Aussie kids and a feisty young mistress.
Performances are quite strong, especially from Rachel Ward as the schoolmarm who is thrust headlong into danger and must think and act not only for herself but for all her young charges. The kids themselves are never outdone though, and all impress, including Sean Garlick and Rebecca Rigg as the two older ones upon whom much responsibility also falls. Cinematography is eye catching, capturing the rugged Australian bush very well.
The interesting thing is the plot, adapted from Gabrielle Lord's novel by Everett De Roche. Early on the story unfolds carefully and compellingly, with director Arch Nicholson building tension and swaying our emotions with some skill. By the halfway mark we are his for the taking, then the film heads off on a slightly different tangent. The last third of the film takes on a feeling and atmosphere almost comparable to "Lord of the Flies", with the children becoming a bit scary. In fact the finale is like something out of the occult.
Not that any of this ruins the movie though, even if it is somewhat surprising. Yes Nicholson loses his grip towards the end, yet this is still enjoyable, occasionally unnerving fare.
Saturday, November 30, 1996 - Video
Performances are quite strong, especially from Rachel Ward as the schoolmarm who is thrust headlong into danger and must think and act not only for herself but for all her young charges. The kids themselves are never outdone though, and all impress, including Sean Garlick and Rebecca Rigg as the two older ones upon whom much responsibility also falls. Cinematography is eye catching, capturing the rugged Australian bush very well.
The interesting thing is the plot, adapted from Gabrielle Lord's novel by Everett De Roche. Early on the story unfolds carefully and compellingly, with director Arch Nicholson building tension and swaying our emotions with some skill. By the halfway mark we are his for the taking, then the film heads off on a slightly different tangent. The last third of the film takes on a feeling and atmosphere almost comparable to "Lord of the Flies", with the children becoming a bit scary. In fact the finale is like something out of the occult.
Not that any of this ruins the movie though, even if it is somewhat surprising. Yes Nicholson loses his grip towards the end, yet this is still enjoyable, occasionally unnerving fare.
Saturday, November 30, 1996 - Video