69 reviews
Turkey Shoot is an Australian remake of the classic (And many many many times adapted) The Most Dangerous Game (1932) and in this guys estimation is not only the best adaptation but better than the original.
It twists the original tale by making it about a world where "Deviants" are sent to a glorified penal colony. To entertain the wealthy they are set off into the wilderness with a 3hr head start hunted down and killed.
Personally I liked this angle, not only did it work in theory but it worked in practice as well. Instead of playing the suspense and tension card like the others it becomes a full on action film and surprisingly (Considering I'm not an action guy) it very much works in the movies favor.
Turkey Shoot is a fantastic piece of Australian cinema and had it not been for a couple of unfortunate flaws could have been a true classic.
The Good:
Interesting twist on the classic tale
Very well paced
All round likeable movie
The Bad:
Looks and sounds very dated
Couple of spots fell flat
It twists the original tale by making it about a world where "Deviants" are sent to a glorified penal colony. To entertain the wealthy they are set off into the wilderness with a 3hr head start hunted down and killed.
Personally I liked this angle, not only did it work in theory but it worked in practice as well. Instead of playing the suspense and tension card like the others it becomes a full on action film and surprisingly (Considering I'm not an action guy) it very much works in the movies favor.
Turkey Shoot is a fantastic piece of Australian cinema and had it not been for a couple of unfortunate flaws could have been a true classic.
The Good:
Interesting twist on the classic tale
Very well paced
All round likeable movie
The Bad:
Looks and sounds very dated
Couple of spots fell flat
- Platypuschow
- May 3, 2019
- Permalink
Set in a totalitarian future society, this film has a bleak but quite vividly drawn vision of the world...for its first 20 minutes or so; then it turns into a straight action-chase adventure. The uncut 90-minute version is extremely gory, but some of the effects are rather lame. Nevertheless, it's a fast-paced, trashily entertaining film, and the actors are adequate for the little they're asked to do. (**)
Ozploitation. Exploitations colloquial cousin. During a period Ozploitation films where popular and Turkey Shoot is a notable success amongst some of the trash of the Australians attempts at exploitation films. It's fairly controversial 'The Most Dangerous Game' approach has helped it gain a fair amount of cult following over the years and all though it doesn't hold up in the slightest to later films with the same honourable human hunting intentions such as Battle Royale and more recently Exam it still holds up nicely as the definitive Australian approach to the subject matter.
Turkey Shoot takes place in a dystopian future, now past, where 'social deviants' can be re-educated and returned to society through concentration style camps. The films narrative starts by following the lives of three newly arrived inmates and their view upon the extreme violence and toil prisoners suffer throughout their stay, mostly beatings and depravity by a hugely entertaining large bold Australian with a handlebar moustache. In the second half of the film the camps owners, safari British style hunters, round up five one-dimensional, to the extreme, characters (we have whore, rebel, rebel mark 2, bad guy and vulnerable) and force them to participate for their possible freedom in a human hunt, staring themselves, called Turkey Shoot. When faced with the dilemma of what to do when hunted each character uses their own personality to forge different ways of dealing with the situation and in true exploitation style extreme violence bordering on hilarity ensues.
Brain Trenchard-Smiths direction is riddled with plot holes but the right ingredients are there; i.e. gore, nudity and some kind of circus freak werewolf guy. What makes the film and its direction good is that it doesn't treat itself seriously, there is no character development or even some kind of message or lesson learnt by the end of the film. It just wants to exist to entertain its audience and being a film exploiting violence make money. All the factors that would bother audiences in drama films don't matter in Turkey Shoot and can be disregarded as its honesty in being a technically bad film tells the audience that it wasn't made to win awards or be visually or musically stunning.
Naturally the acting is bad. But as all the characters only have one characteristic for the actors to act in the characters are appealing as comical relief from the films serious, even if not shown in the film, underlying story. The English actors are great in playing their roles as the bad guys in typical posh ascents to stress that they are 'better people' than the Ausies. The person that stands out most however is Roger Ward as Chief Guard Ritter, his enthusiastic approach to the violent sadistic character fits perfectly creating a highly memorable giant Australian with a handlebar moustache. This along with the werewolf placed in the film just to chew peoples toes and such are probably the most imaginative parts of the film and make it memorable over many other films in its genre.
Visually and musically there is little going on. The film is shot and edited nicely enough but sometimes its conventional style makes you think that the director could have done so much more. The aspect that saves its dull camera work comes from the variety of lush Australian landscapes ranging from the sandy concentration camp style centre to woods, fields of long dry grass and beaches. This helps the film as a whole always capture your interest and I'm in no doubt that without this kind of variety in the sets landscapes the film might seem very boring indeed. Overall Turkey Shoot holds up as an entertaining popcorn flick and with its blend of extreme violence and lovable characters (for the most part, villain-wise anyway) makes a entirely watchable exploitation movie. If you are a fan of the The Most Dangerous Game style situations it might boost itself to a must watch.
Turkey Shoot takes place in a dystopian future, now past, where 'social deviants' can be re-educated and returned to society through concentration style camps. The films narrative starts by following the lives of three newly arrived inmates and their view upon the extreme violence and toil prisoners suffer throughout their stay, mostly beatings and depravity by a hugely entertaining large bold Australian with a handlebar moustache. In the second half of the film the camps owners, safari British style hunters, round up five one-dimensional, to the extreme, characters (we have whore, rebel, rebel mark 2, bad guy and vulnerable) and force them to participate for their possible freedom in a human hunt, staring themselves, called Turkey Shoot. When faced with the dilemma of what to do when hunted each character uses their own personality to forge different ways of dealing with the situation and in true exploitation style extreme violence bordering on hilarity ensues.
Brain Trenchard-Smiths direction is riddled with plot holes but the right ingredients are there; i.e. gore, nudity and some kind of circus freak werewolf guy. What makes the film and its direction good is that it doesn't treat itself seriously, there is no character development or even some kind of message or lesson learnt by the end of the film. It just wants to exist to entertain its audience and being a film exploiting violence make money. All the factors that would bother audiences in drama films don't matter in Turkey Shoot and can be disregarded as its honesty in being a technically bad film tells the audience that it wasn't made to win awards or be visually or musically stunning.
Naturally the acting is bad. But as all the characters only have one characteristic for the actors to act in the characters are appealing as comical relief from the films serious, even if not shown in the film, underlying story. The English actors are great in playing their roles as the bad guys in typical posh ascents to stress that they are 'better people' than the Ausies. The person that stands out most however is Roger Ward as Chief Guard Ritter, his enthusiastic approach to the violent sadistic character fits perfectly creating a highly memorable giant Australian with a handlebar moustache. This along with the werewolf placed in the film just to chew peoples toes and such are probably the most imaginative parts of the film and make it memorable over many other films in its genre.
Visually and musically there is little going on. The film is shot and edited nicely enough but sometimes its conventional style makes you think that the director could have done so much more. The aspect that saves its dull camera work comes from the variety of lush Australian landscapes ranging from the sandy concentration camp style centre to woods, fields of long dry grass and beaches. This helps the film as a whole always capture your interest and I'm in no doubt that without this kind of variety in the sets landscapes the film might seem very boring indeed. Overall Turkey Shoot holds up as an entertaining popcorn flick and with its blend of extreme violence and lovable characters (for the most part, villain-wise anyway) makes a entirely watchable exploitation movie. If you are a fan of the The Most Dangerous Game style situations it might boost itself to a must watch.
- Tortoisemogwai
- Aug 11, 2009
- Permalink
'Turkey Shoot' makes me proud to be an Aussie! There is something so gloriously stupid and cheesy about this movie that it utterly fascinates me!
Set in a future police state, the movie begins with three new prisoners being taken to a "rehabilitation" centre. They are Steve Railsback ('Helter Skelter', 'The Stunt Man'), Olivia Hussey (Zeffirelli's 'Romeo and Juliet'), and Lynda Stoner (err, 'Cop Shop'). The place, of course, is a seething hot bed of brutality, sexual frustration and yellow jump-suits. Pretty quickly we find out that our three newcomers are going to be hunted for sport by the Camp's leader, the enigmatic Thatcher, his sadistic colleagues, and a werewolf in a dune buggy.
I won't say any more as to not spoil your enjoyment of this long forgotten sci fi thriller. Australians will get more out of it than other viewers, as they will fully appreciate the supporting cast of soap stars, 70s TV personalities, and at least two 'Mad Max' actors. In fact, I cannot go without singling out the unknown, unsung hero of Australian cinema, Bill Young, who plays Griff here, and was also in another underrated Aussie trash classic 'Body Melt', AND 'The Matrix' AND 'Chopper'! If this guy has a fan club, sign me up!
'Turkey Shoot' - If you haven't seen this one you just don't know what you're missing!
Set in a future police state, the movie begins with three new prisoners being taken to a "rehabilitation" centre. They are Steve Railsback ('Helter Skelter', 'The Stunt Man'), Olivia Hussey (Zeffirelli's 'Romeo and Juliet'), and Lynda Stoner (err, 'Cop Shop'). The place, of course, is a seething hot bed of brutality, sexual frustration and yellow jump-suits. Pretty quickly we find out that our three newcomers are going to be hunted for sport by the Camp's leader, the enigmatic Thatcher, his sadistic colleagues, and a werewolf in a dune buggy.
I won't say any more as to not spoil your enjoyment of this long forgotten sci fi thriller. Australians will get more out of it than other viewers, as they will fully appreciate the supporting cast of soap stars, 70s TV personalities, and at least two 'Mad Max' actors. In fact, I cannot go without singling out the unknown, unsung hero of Australian cinema, Bill Young, who plays Griff here, and was also in another underrated Aussie trash classic 'Body Melt', AND 'The Matrix' AND 'Chopper'! If this guy has a fan club, sign me up!
'Turkey Shoot' - If you haven't seen this one you just don't know what you're missing!
It is no coincidence that "Turkey Shoot" a.k.a. "Escape 2000" has a prison camp warden named Thatcher. For whatever reason the film played big in Margaret Thatcher's England. A nice assortment of women and men political prisoners are brainwashed and routinely tortured in Prison Camp 97. Although apparently an attempt was made to market this as "black comedy", it is really some sort of hybrid women in prison, hunted in the jungle combination. It has the required nude shower scene, along with lots of meaningless shooting and explosions. The actual turkey shoot pits armed evil types against unarmed resourceful prisoners. Although the whole thing makes little sense, there is plenty of over the top action, and for some unknown reason "Turkey Shoot" is strangely entertaining. - MERK
- merklekranz
- Nov 27, 2010
- Permalink
Last week when I stepped into my local DVD rental store, its proprietor (a film-buff friend of mine) gleefully approached me and said that he had just acquired something that would definitely appeal to my cinematic tastebuds. He proceeded to show me a DVD sleeve in German for a film starring Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey and Michael Craig which, while I didn't immediately recognize, its lurid poster promised that goofy fun was to be had by watching this flick. Even when I held the sleeve in my hand and discovered on the keepcase's insert that the film's original title was TURKEY SHOOT, it rang few bells at the time but, apart from that cast, it was the fact that (from what I could make out) the film was yet another adaptation of that horror/adventure perennial "The Most Dangerous Game", that was the main element which made me rent it immediately. While looking up the film on IMDb as soon as I got back home, I realized that what I had acquired was ESCAPE 2000 a cultish Australian sci-fi film which I knew had been released on R1 DVD by Anchor Bay and was awarded the lazy BOMB rating from our good friends, Mr. Leonard Maltin et al
Anyhow, the film starts with a credit sequence showing real news footage of various street conflicts which had occurred in various parts of the world over the years being passed off as the ongoing riots sparked by the dictatorial rule of some anonymous totalitarian state. The subsequent flashbacks introduce us to the three major characters Railsback, Hussey and luscious blonde Carmen Duncan and shows how they came to be herded off to the island colony lorded over by the white-haired sadist Thatcher (Craig); indeed, another alternate and ludicrous moniker for the film was BLOOD CAMP THATCHER (no prizes for guessing the reason behind the choice of just that surname being accorded to the main villain of the piece)! This prison camp contains every dissident known to oppose the current reigning regime but we only really get to meet two other prisoners and a handful of 'eccentric' wardens. In any case, it soon transpires that Craig and his four associates a high-ranking officer of the ruling party, a lesbian lady with a penchant for shooting exploding arrows, a fey excavator-driving young man and his (I kid you not) wrestler-werewolf lackey-cum-pet!! organize the occasional hunt for a quintet of their own prisoners through the nearby jungle for sport and relaxation purposes. Speaking of the sexual orientation of two of these aristocratic predators, maybe the director was attempting some kind of political message here (given that homosexuality is itself forbidden by law in this society and prisoners are dubbed 'deviants') but all this did for me was add to the already high camp quotient of the film!
Being more of an exploitation than a sci-fi piece, it follows that gore and nudity feature in the film's ingredients: the latter mostly makes itself felt inside the prison walls with the wardens leering over the naked girls banded together while taking forced showers but the former is more to the forefront with one of the hunted prisoners having his back broken by a moving vehicle, the werewolf being accidentally torn in half (literally) by his own keeper's excavator, the latter gets his own come-uppance by a machete blow to the head which splits his skull in two, the lady having one of her own exploding arrows shoved into her throat and capped by her head being blown off, Thatcher expiring in a hail of machine-gun fire which ludicrously tears him to shreds, etc. Apparently (and unsurprisingly), this film has been endorsed by Quentin Tarantino of late since its British director earned a "Special Thanks" in the credits of the latter's DEATH-PROOF [2007]) but looking through his filmography, it's clear that this was his only claim to fame (and a very relative one at that). The rest of the film crew, however, is more interesting in that it includes executive producers David Hemmings and John Daly (who, incidentally, has just passed away) and composer Brian May (of the MAD MAX series, rather than popular rock band Queen's curly-haired guitarist).
While the film can't hope to dispel the memories of the original 1932 Merian C. Cooper-David O.Selznick production of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, its solid remake from The Boulting Brothers RUN FOR THE SUN (1956; with Richard Widmark and Trevor Howard) or Cornel Wilde's similar human-hunt opus THE NAKED PREY (1966), I have to admit to being entertained by it and, in view of the "Special Edition" nature of the Another World DVD I rented which includes the director's audio commentary, alternate title sequences and a host of trailers for other exploitation movies like PATRICK (1978) and THE NEW BABRBARIANS (1982; which promises to be an even bigger hoot than the film under review) I have subsequently added the bloody, goofy thing to my collection!
Anyhow, the film starts with a credit sequence showing real news footage of various street conflicts which had occurred in various parts of the world over the years being passed off as the ongoing riots sparked by the dictatorial rule of some anonymous totalitarian state. The subsequent flashbacks introduce us to the three major characters Railsback, Hussey and luscious blonde Carmen Duncan and shows how they came to be herded off to the island colony lorded over by the white-haired sadist Thatcher (Craig); indeed, another alternate and ludicrous moniker for the film was BLOOD CAMP THATCHER (no prizes for guessing the reason behind the choice of just that surname being accorded to the main villain of the piece)! This prison camp contains every dissident known to oppose the current reigning regime but we only really get to meet two other prisoners and a handful of 'eccentric' wardens. In any case, it soon transpires that Craig and his four associates a high-ranking officer of the ruling party, a lesbian lady with a penchant for shooting exploding arrows, a fey excavator-driving young man and his (I kid you not) wrestler-werewolf lackey-cum-pet!! organize the occasional hunt for a quintet of their own prisoners through the nearby jungle for sport and relaxation purposes. Speaking of the sexual orientation of two of these aristocratic predators, maybe the director was attempting some kind of political message here (given that homosexuality is itself forbidden by law in this society and prisoners are dubbed 'deviants') but all this did for me was add to the already high camp quotient of the film!
Being more of an exploitation than a sci-fi piece, it follows that gore and nudity feature in the film's ingredients: the latter mostly makes itself felt inside the prison walls with the wardens leering over the naked girls banded together while taking forced showers but the former is more to the forefront with one of the hunted prisoners having his back broken by a moving vehicle, the werewolf being accidentally torn in half (literally) by his own keeper's excavator, the latter gets his own come-uppance by a machete blow to the head which splits his skull in two, the lady having one of her own exploding arrows shoved into her throat and capped by her head being blown off, Thatcher expiring in a hail of machine-gun fire which ludicrously tears him to shreds, etc. Apparently (and unsurprisingly), this film has been endorsed by Quentin Tarantino of late since its British director earned a "Special Thanks" in the credits of the latter's DEATH-PROOF [2007]) but looking through his filmography, it's clear that this was his only claim to fame (and a very relative one at that). The rest of the film crew, however, is more interesting in that it includes executive producers David Hemmings and John Daly (who, incidentally, has just passed away) and composer Brian May (of the MAD MAX series, rather than popular rock band Queen's curly-haired guitarist).
While the film can't hope to dispel the memories of the original 1932 Merian C. Cooper-David O.Selznick production of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, its solid remake from The Boulting Brothers RUN FOR THE SUN (1956; with Richard Widmark and Trevor Howard) or Cornel Wilde's similar human-hunt opus THE NAKED PREY (1966), I have to admit to being entertained by it and, in view of the "Special Edition" nature of the Another World DVD I rented which includes the director's audio commentary, alternate title sequences and a host of trailers for other exploitation movies like PATRICK (1978) and THE NEW BABRBARIANS (1982; which promises to be an even bigger hoot than the film under review) I have subsequently added the bloody, goofy thing to my collection!
- Bunuel1976
- Nov 9, 2008
- Permalink
Brian Trenchard-Smith's Turkey Shoot is a typical 80's Aussie horror film, that is, you should not watch this expecting a masterpiece of the genre! You should expect, however, a brainless blood and boobs-fest with dodgy acting and story. And there is a story, surprisingly, although it reeks of George Orwell (a not very good Orwell though). Basically, civilians are sent to concentration camps (in the near future) to be turned into model citizens. Paul Anders (Steven Railsback), Chris Walters (Olivia Hussey) and Rita Daniels (Lynda Stoner) are sent to a camp run by Charles Thatcher (Michael Craig). Of course, this is a cruel camp with a sadistic Chief Guard (Roger Ward) and zany people. Thatcher decides to create a game, a "turkey shoot" in which a few nutcases select prisoners to hunt for sport. As to be expected, our three heroes are selected, along with the resident loon and the tough escapee. What follows is an onslaught of blood and gore which is incredibly enjoyable and odd at the same time.
The lead up to the hunt is a tad slow, but some nudity and random violence helps the pacing. The two leads, Railsback and Hussey are pretty good, as is Ward but most others are terrible. None of the characters are that likable, and the werewolf circus freak was so incredible random! But with a film like this, all you can do is sit back and watch the body count rise and the bras come off! This is not great film making, but for an exploitation it is fun while it lasts (it is also one of the best Ozploitation flicks out there).
3½/5
The lead up to the hunt is a tad slow, but some nudity and random violence helps the pacing. The two leads, Railsback and Hussey are pretty good, as is Ward but most others are terrible. None of the characters are that likable, and the werewolf circus freak was so incredible random! But with a film like this, all you can do is sit back and watch the body count rise and the bras come off! This is not great film making, but for an exploitation it is fun while it lasts (it is also one of the best Ozploitation flicks out there).
3½/5
- LoneWolfAndCub
- Nov 29, 2008
- Permalink
Certainly something for it's time, this guilty trashy little pleasure, is great for you gorehounds, thanks to those score of sickeningly and memorable scenes in the R version. Disliked by most of it's cast, who excel in the acting states, really giving their characters what they deserve in a 10/10 effort, Turkey Shoot is like The Running Man, except it's shot in the tropical balmy forests of Cairns, Australia. Made the same year as the Kiwi sci fi future pic, Battletruck, set in post 1994, here this stories set in 1995, a great year, especially for movies if I do say so myself. Deviants: the good guys, rebels, basically a conflicting party who are trying to expose the truth, about the evil forces of dictatorship, who rule with an iron and ruthless hand, are caught and are sent to this sort of torture prison camp, which they must earn their freedom, which of course will never be given. To pass the time for entertainment value, a score of deviants are chosen, where they are let loose in the forest, half an hour between each other, and are hunted down by our bad dudes, led by the merciless prison director, Thatcher (a fine Michael Craig, who like every other performer, impresses and never slacks). Of course the freed score are really just sitting ducks, yes, defenseless as turkeys, set up for their own demise, all in the name of sick entertainment, so the suspense and thrill factor is minimal through the whole hunt. The baddies just appear and take out their objectives. Carmen Duncan, especially, is a nasty piece of work, as a femme fatale, sadistic lesbian hunter, deadly with a bow an arrow. Trivia note: Actress and environmentalist, Lynda Stoner who plays sexy prisoner Rita, wouldn't each raw fish, so fake fish had to be brought in. Pity we didn't see her in other films, as she had the goods, to further her career, and attracts the likes of Hollywood, may'be. Of course, being an exploitation movie, we aren't surprised by the familiar names associated with it, including the actors. This is total trashy junk for the mind's eye, a popcorn flick, just as we love em, where the over top violence adds extra topping to what some people would consider one of the worst Oz films made, period, while many others have developed a cult liking for it, as with Trenchard's other great other set piece The Man From Hong Kong, and to a lesser extent, Dead End Drive in. The truth be known, I love all these flicks, but their all so bad/good popcorn movies, only this one is particularly bad, despite it's tight script of some bloody great dialogue, but the violence is sickeningly ugly, where other moments are just ugly, at the hands of some of the vile dictators, Roger Ward's performance I'll never forget, as also the disguised Steve Rackman as a half human, half monster badarse, looking like Mr Hyde, in those old drink driving ads, you know the one where his eyes light up with emerald green. Each actor is just as great as each other, truly and our two American imports are fantastic too. Just take Turkey Shoot for what's it worth, a mind numbing trashy cinema delight, yet one BLOODY bad movie too.
- videorama-759-859391
- Aug 1, 2014
- Permalink
This was so mindlessly entertaining, you forget about the constant weird inconsistencies in the script. Primarily people show up out of nowhere, even though, well, it SEEMS to be a big compound, wherever they are. Anyways, it's 1981 or so, and the people are so out of control they hold people in camps. One of the camps have decided to control it's prisoner population by holding hunts, featuring prisoners as game. It attracts a lot of big game hunters looking for the kill! Steve Railsback (!!) and Olivia Hussey (?!?!) are two of the prisoners in the game, and they and 3 others (we can pretty much assume their fate) run run run away from the hunters. The hunters seemingly have no problems finding them apparently (which is slightly strange... how did they do that?) and so they must fight to stay alive! Exploding arrows, deadly all terrain vehicles and, yes, mutant werewolf men are used! It's all pretty strange and goes along in a pretty wild pace. I'd highly recommend anyone who likes their movies bloody, fun, and cheesy.
- Spuzzlightyear
- Mar 21, 2012
- Permalink
Citizens labelled "deviant" are sent to a prison camp, where the motto is "Freedom is obedience, obedience is work, work is life." The regime is brutal and the only chance of release is by taking part in a "turkey shoot" in which inmates are the prey and the camp governor plus a few cronies are the hunters. The camp scenes reminded me of the many Naziploitation flicks such as Ilsa movies that were churned out in the 1970's, the hunt part has obvious comparisons with "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932). Turkey Shoot is considered to be an Ozploitation movie. In the UK the movie was originally released heavily cut under its original title but in 2003 Vipco released it uncut on DVD as Blood Camp Thatcher. This movie contains a lot of violence. On one hand a male guard savagely beating a female inmate was quite nasty but on the flipside some of the gore is quite laughable. A man has both of his hands cut off but the shape of them is clearly visible through his sleeves. One of the weapons used against the "turkeys" is a half-man half-wolf freak, played by wrestler Steve Rackman. This is one of those movies in which certain characters appear immune from machine gun fire, it is all very trashy but fun too. Amongst the international cast is Olivia Hussey, she starred in the horror classic "Black Christmas" (1974) and it sounds like they pinched a scary musical chord from that movie, only it sounds completely out of place here. Turkey Shoot is no classic but like one character says it "beats the hell out of network television". It sure does!
- Stevieboy666
- Nov 5, 2021
- Permalink
- the_wolf_imdb
- Nov 12, 2011
- Permalink
This film is pretty similar in theme to Japanese Battle Royale but Escape 2000 (akas: Blood Camp Thatcher, Turkey Shoot) is far more violent and exploitative and it has some nice trash elements.
The film opens with huge riots in cities and soon we learn that the whole futuristic society is collapsing and individuals are nothing to faceless state and corporations. People are taken to camps which try to teach them to become decent citizens. "Freedom is obedience, obedience is work, work is life." as the camp leader says but the true nature behind those camps is something different and it deals with human hunting games for the pleasure of sadistic wardens and the staff at the camp..
The film is pure exploitation but it is not all empty in message and theme and I think it tries to say something about future and where the mankind is going. It is not as artistic and philosophic as Battle Royale which isn't exploitation at all. But Escape 2000 is far more violent, shocking and disgusting because the violence is only there to shock the people. Also, there is one stupid character/non human who makes this film a turkey which is pretty hard to take seriously despite those "social issues" mentioned above.
I can't recommend this to anyone else than hard core horror/trash fans so if you think you're one, try to get a copy. Many versions are butchered to pieces but the uncut one contains brutal violence and attempted rape so many won't stomach all that. Even I myself was little amazed about the film's brutality even though I'd seen pretty much when I watched this. Also, I have to mention that the female character played by Olivia Hussey is extremely beautiful and incredibly sexy and I just couldn't keep my eyes off her beautiful face and nature.
As a turkey film in its own genre, 7 out of ten.
The film opens with huge riots in cities and soon we learn that the whole futuristic society is collapsing and individuals are nothing to faceless state and corporations. People are taken to camps which try to teach them to become decent citizens. "Freedom is obedience, obedience is work, work is life." as the camp leader says but the true nature behind those camps is something different and it deals with human hunting games for the pleasure of sadistic wardens and the staff at the camp..
The film is pure exploitation but it is not all empty in message and theme and I think it tries to say something about future and where the mankind is going. It is not as artistic and philosophic as Battle Royale which isn't exploitation at all. But Escape 2000 is far more violent, shocking and disgusting because the violence is only there to shock the people. Also, there is one stupid character/non human who makes this film a turkey which is pretty hard to take seriously despite those "social issues" mentioned above.
I can't recommend this to anyone else than hard core horror/trash fans so if you think you're one, try to get a copy. Many versions are butchered to pieces but the uncut one contains brutal violence and attempted rape so many won't stomach all that. Even I myself was little amazed about the film's brutality even though I'd seen pretty much when I watched this. Also, I have to mention that the female character played by Olivia Hussey is extremely beautiful and incredibly sexy and I just couldn't keep my eyes off her beautiful face and nature.
As a turkey film in its own genre, 7 out of ten.
In a totalitarian country, any subversives, undesirables and "deviants" are sent to a prison camp to be rehabilitated and reeducated. The camp is run in fascist fashion, with guards torturing and killing prisoners for sport. Their pinnacle of the guards oppression is an event where a select band of prisoners are set free in the surrounding bush, to be hunted by the guards and special guests for sport - the Turkey Shoot.
Quite trashy with very low production values, but you know this going in - this is, after all, a B-grade exploitation movie. However, Turkey Shoot is pretty bad even by that genre's standards.
Basic, lame plot. Really not much too it. There is some intrigue about how the prisoners escape their ordeal, but it becomes quite predictable, quite quickly.
Some incredibly stupid, implausible scenes - the writers and director weren't even trying to make things seem realistic. For example, man has his legs crushed by a bulldozer. Blood magically starts gushing from his chest and mouth. Now I'm no doctor but that seems medically impossible.
Then there's the performances. They're largely of the ultra-hammy variety, with the actor who played the whip-cracking chief guard particularly bad.
However, Olivia Hussey puts in a good performance, especially considering the script and direction she had to work with, and is about the only good thing about the movie. She looks distinctly out of place in this movie, being a decent actor and having starred in movies like Romeo and Juliet and Death on the Nile. Her career must have been in a massive slump for her to agree to appear in this.
Quite trashy with very low production values, but you know this going in - this is, after all, a B-grade exploitation movie. However, Turkey Shoot is pretty bad even by that genre's standards.
Basic, lame plot. Really not much too it. There is some intrigue about how the prisoners escape their ordeal, but it becomes quite predictable, quite quickly.
Some incredibly stupid, implausible scenes - the writers and director weren't even trying to make things seem realistic. For example, man has his legs crushed by a bulldozer. Blood magically starts gushing from his chest and mouth. Now I'm no doctor but that seems medically impossible.
Then there's the performances. They're largely of the ultra-hammy variety, with the actor who played the whip-cracking chief guard particularly bad.
However, Olivia Hussey puts in a good performance, especially considering the script and direction she had to work with, and is about the only good thing about the movie. She looks distinctly out of place in this movie, being a decent actor and having starred in movies like Romeo and Juliet and Death on the Nile. Her career must have been in a massive slump for her to agree to appear in this.
Despite watching Turkey Shoot (Escape 2000) whilst I was drunk i can admit that all Australians should be proud of this film. If the world can remember Australia for one thing it should be TURKEY SHOOT, brilliant acting from Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey and a fantastic storyline about the future and how humans are used for sport in an insane game. I am suprised and frankly yes shocked this film did not win at least one award, for shame.
- DeckardB2364
- Oct 12, 2002
- Permalink
- hwg1957-102-265704
- Nov 5, 2021
- Permalink
This may have been a 20 minute short. But they stretched this farce to feature length. Every scene groans along at a snails pace, action sequences feature gunfire after gunfire, crossbow shot after cross bow shot, MISS MISS MISS for the later half of the movie. This could have been a hoot but it was a dull premise and the characters were all rubbish. Obviously they had a cast of extras available for one days shooting the rest of the time the film is filled with about 7 people all of them not terribly clever walking through various parts of Australia's bush and magically managing to track each other. There's the usually late 70s - early 80s Orwellian plot about big brother ruling everything and no freedom. Yawn. We watched the whole thing because this was in fact one of those rare movies you can't stop watching because it is so unbelievably bad. You want to see what more bad, bad cinema will come with each scene. Save your money or enjoy a really, really awful movie. This dog won't hunt.
Set in the near future, the world is dominated by a strictly malevolent society that throws 'social deviants' who don't conform with these rules into maximum-security behaviour modification camps. The latest arrivals to the camp warden Thatcher's terror camp are the spirited fighter Paul Anders, the uneasy Chris Walters and the game Rita Daniels. Things are tough going and gruelling cruel, but they are given a chance of freedom. That's if they take part in a survival hunt called the "Turkey Shoot", where they would be released if they survive the twenty-four hours.
The Australian production "Turkey Shoot" was a complete hoot (or for some a shocker)! This unsparingly cheapjack action exploitation crossed horror / sci-fi fare only has one thing on mind - crass entertainment. Everything about it is on the fast track and there's hardly any thought of letting up. Despite being a ultra-campy and sadistically violent variant of "The Most Dangerous Game" and George Orwell's "1984" theme, the deranged premise is downright silly as they seem play it straight. There's nothing really to work off it as it rather one-dimensional material. The cheekily black subject matter isn't much of a satire (which from the original script sounded like it could've been), but its hokey dialogues, ghastly splatter and outrageously impulsive actions make this schlock highly watchable. Especially one worthy head explosion!
The array of performances were suitable for this type of film. Olivia Hussy looks mopish, but definitely petrified (she wasn't just acting if you watch the DVD extras), but fits the bill. Steve Railsback is rather intense in the heroine role and buxom Lynda Stoner makes the most out of her character. A classy Michael Craig is strikingly serviceable as the strenuously cold-blooded camp warden Thatcher. Roger Ward is superb as the devilishly brutal right hand Chief Guard Ritter and Carmen Duncan is terrifically vindictive with that crossbow as one of bloodthirsty hunters. Noel Ferrier, Bill Young and a twitchy John Ley make up the rest of the support cast. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith boldly goes all out and throws caution to the wind with snappy pacing, truck-load of pyrotechnics and flair to boot. He does an exceptional job with the hassles and pressures that shaped and lurked on this hazarded product. The picture perfect location (shot in the North Queensland) of the vast sprawling landscape adds another element to the mixture and Brian May's uncannily throbbing electronic music score gels with on-going scenes and moods.
Hearing all the troubles that disrupted this project (like budget chops, the film's production time being cut short, the opening part of script being erased and uncomfortable actors) it could have been some thing of decent quality. Anyhow you can only do with what you got and its welcoming trash that's not trying to be anything else. That's the best way to take this diverting turkey.
The Australian production "Turkey Shoot" was a complete hoot (or for some a shocker)! This unsparingly cheapjack action exploitation crossed horror / sci-fi fare only has one thing on mind - crass entertainment. Everything about it is on the fast track and there's hardly any thought of letting up. Despite being a ultra-campy and sadistically violent variant of "The Most Dangerous Game" and George Orwell's "1984" theme, the deranged premise is downright silly as they seem play it straight. There's nothing really to work off it as it rather one-dimensional material. The cheekily black subject matter isn't much of a satire (which from the original script sounded like it could've been), but its hokey dialogues, ghastly splatter and outrageously impulsive actions make this schlock highly watchable. Especially one worthy head explosion!
The array of performances were suitable for this type of film. Olivia Hussy looks mopish, but definitely petrified (she wasn't just acting if you watch the DVD extras), but fits the bill. Steve Railsback is rather intense in the heroine role and buxom Lynda Stoner makes the most out of her character. A classy Michael Craig is strikingly serviceable as the strenuously cold-blooded camp warden Thatcher. Roger Ward is superb as the devilishly brutal right hand Chief Guard Ritter and Carmen Duncan is terrifically vindictive with that crossbow as one of bloodthirsty hunters. Noel Ferrier, Bill Young and a twitchy John Ley make up the rest of the support cast. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith boldly goes all out and throws caution to the wind with snappy pacing, truck-load of pyrotechnics and flair to boot. He does an exceptional job with the hassles and pressures that shaped and lurked on this hazarded product. The picture perfect location (shot in the North Queensland) of the vast sprawling landscape adds another element to the mixture and Brian May's uncannily throbbing electronic music score gels with on-going scenes and moods.
Hearing all the troubles that disrupted this project (like budget chops, the film's production time being cut short, the opening part of script being erased and uncomfortable actors) it could have been some thing of decent quality. Anyhow you can only do with what you got and its welcoming trash that's not trying to be anything else. That's the best way to take this diverting turkey.
- lost-in-limbo
- Feb 1, 2007
- Permalink
- DAVPROC2002
- Jun 14, 2005
- Permalink
Deviants are held at a rehabilitation fortress until they are set into a deadly game of survival, in the hopes of returning to world society.
Recently, I watched the director's "Dead-End Drive-In" for the first time. While it was alright, it was not quite the Ozploitation classic I hoped it would be. "Turkey Shoot", on the other hand, has everything you could want: humans hunting humans, an intense shower scene (with both men and women), and some sort of societal commentary.
Whether there is such a thing as Ozploitation in the sense that all the exploitation films in Australia have a similar feel, I don't know and rather doubt it. But there are a few gems in there, and this is certainly one of them. In a way, it almost seems like a precursor to "Battle Royale", and is clearly a companion film to "Dead-End Drive-In" with its focus on deviants and outcasts.
Recently, I watched the director's "Dead-End Drive-In" for the first time. While it was alright, it was not quite the Ozploitation classic I hoped it would be. "Turkey Shoot", on the other hand, has everything you could want: humans hunting humans, an intense shower scene (with both men and women), and some sort of societal commentary.
Whether there is such a thing as Ozploitation in the sense that all the exploitation films in Australia have a similar feel, I don't know and rather doubt it. But there are a few gems in there, and this is certainly one of them. In a way, it almost seems like a precursor to "Battle Royale", and is clearly a companion film to "Dead-End Drive-In" with its focus on deviants and outcasts.
What's good about ESCAPE 2000 is that it has virtually nonstop action. Which is bad, too, because the tortures and attacks are same and redundant plenty of times. Same thing for the gore. There's no reason to check this out if you've seen every other movie that has jailbreakers playing the survival game. The real difference here is the appearance of a big ugly "werewolf" beast breaking toes. At least this flick introduced a brand new sport called "tankball". Skip it entirely and you'll know that Y2K won't exactly be like this.
Oh, man! If I ended up in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world, you can bet your bag that I'd have a hermaphrodite ape-man as a sidekick, so when a guy turned up on Turkey Shoot with some sort of toff Wolfman as a buddy, this film had me truly sold.
It's kinda slow at first, this one, but once it kicks into gear its Ozzie magic all the way...
In the future or something folks that don't agree with the government get sent to correctional camps to get slapped around a bit by grinning guards. Only in this particular camp, see, the head guy likes to gather together people that like hunting other people. Basically the film builds up to this hunt and then the gore begins! People are cut in half, folks have their hands removed, and in one particularly great scene, someone is shot so much they just give up and explode...It's not overly gory, but entertaining in a way. Daft, too. You can't whack a bit of daft gore - just ask Sky News! It took me ages to find this one and your not getting a copy...
It's kinda slow at first, this one, but once it kicks into gear its Ozzie magic all the way...
In the future or something folks that don't agree with the government get sent to correctional camps to get slapped around a bit by grinning guards. Only in this particular camp, see, the head guy likes to gather together people that like hunting other people. Basically the film builds up to this hunt and then the gore begins! People are cut in half, folks have their hands removed, and in one particularly great scene, someone is shot so much they just give up and explode...It's not overly gory, but entertaining in a way. Daft, too. You can't whack a bit of daft gore - just ask Sky News! It took me ages to find this one and your not getting a copy...
- BandSAboutMovies
- Aug 26, 2018
- Permalink
...NOT !!! TURKEY SHOOT is an action-comedy-adventure set in the (near?) future when a totalitarian society demands that "deviates" (people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, as far as I can tell) be imprisoned in "camps" for some attitude re-engineering. Good premise - but most of the film relates to the title, as the camp director and authorities let a small group of "deviates" loose and then hunt them down. Tip: if you're going to watch this at all, make sure you don't get the watered-down "M"-rated version - the film was originally classified R18+ for extreme violence and gore which simply doesn't appear on the family-friendly (not quite) version. Rating: 4/10.
- ksaelagnulraon
- Feb 2, 2002
- Permalink