Not bad for a man hunt movie... but not really good either. It was a bit too drawn out and the acting was weak although not abysmal. But the protagonist had a motivation other than just surviving because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and although at times he was kind of stupid he was not just a clueless twit like so many 'victims' are in such movies. The "bad guy" was fairly well played, and at one point when he is injured, he plays it consistently which is nice. There is also one of the neatest little minor characters about half way through which i enjoyed. If you watch the movie you will know what I mean. In fact I didn't see any completely unforgivable incongruities, so all in all I say give it a watch if you have the time and nothing better to do.
11 Reviews
A good-looking low-budget that could have benefited more from better writing
TheLittleSongbird11 August 2014
Not a terrible movie but not a great one either. The Backpacker in its favour is a very good-looking movie, one of the better low-budget movies I've seen recently, with rural Australian scenery so striking and authentic in atmosphere and for low-budget it's very atmospherically lit and stylishly edited with no signs of trying to be too flashy. The photography is impressive and really makes the most of the beautiful scenery. The music score has a real spooky element to it, helped by the impressive sound quality, the movie has its heart in the right place and gives off the sense that it knows what it's trying to do and be and Vincent Stone while going overboard on occasions does strike fear in one's heart. The rest of the actors are not really to his level however, Nathan Waring did come across as wooden and never makes you believe that his character is part of the military and Laura Andersen doesn't strike much enthusiasm either. You never really get to know much about the characters let alone care properly for them, like with Ben Cross you know that he is part of the military but that's pretty much it for him, we know Malek is calculating and out for revenge but his motivations are a bit vague otherwise and it's not clear why Nina would willingly go with somebody she'd literally only just met. The story is well-intended but was too drawn-out and lopsided, the first half-hour was basically just throw-away filler and it was at that point when the movie started to get going. Albeit not ever quite with enough momentum or tension, the latter of which was dissipated by some of the action that would have made things nail-biting being off-screen. The dialogue is rather stilted and could have been structured much more tightly with parts lacking any kind of expression. Overall, looks good but not as involving as it could have been. 4/10 Bethany Cox
must have lost his way....
adrossan13 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very odd movie.
Technically it is near perfect - beautifully lit, well shot, sound is great, very well edited, and yet.....
While the filming is so good you can practically smell the Australian bush, the scenery spectacular, the script is, well, rubbish.
The lines are delivered in a monologue style, dull and expressionless, weakly spoken and at a strange, high pitch.
Knowing one of the actors personally, I can attest to the fact his voice is nowhere near as weak and high-pitched as it sounded on screen.
The film comes across as a project for a film school, one that should attract high marks for technical ability and direction, but not for mainstream or commercial release.
With a good script and strong acting, this film would have been a gem.
Technically it is near perfect - beautifully lit, well shot, sound is great, very well edited, and yet.....
While the filming is so good you can practically smell the Australian bush, the scenery spectacular, the script is, well, rubbish.
The lines are delivered in a monologue style, dull and expressionless, weakly spoken and at a strange, high pitch.
Knowing one of the actors personally, I can attest to the fact his voice is nowhere near as weak and high-pitched as it sounded on screen.
The film comes across as a project for a film school, one that should attract high marks for technical ability and direction, but not for mainstream or commercial release.
With a good script and strong acting, this film would have been a gem.
"An Insult to One's Intelligence"
elliottecarter24 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
So much necessary criticism to level, so little space.
At the top of the list of things wrong with this film is that it was made in the first place: In the absence of a sensible, coherent script, there is no excuse for this film ever getting off the ground or attracting finance.
Second, it was actually released: In the absence of any pride in one's work or respect for one's audience, those involved should NEVER again work in this industry.
In equal third place are the oh so numerous problems within the film, which, to detail, would require touching on every single scene. Every single scene! We ain't wasting that much time here.
But, to give some sort of impression of the level of 'bad' we're talking about, this is a film where a stalker/hunter gives his victim/prey a mobile phone so they can "stay in touch" (as you do), with which the idiot victim never once uses to call the police -- or anyone for that matter.
And if keeping in touch via phone is not enough, the hunter tracks his victim -- not with a GPS, or radio-wave, or any sort of credible technology -- but with a wait for it a volt-meter.
A volt-meter. A volt-meter? Yes, a volt-meter.
There is NOTHING redeemable in this film. EVERYTHING is poor: script, direction, acting, dialogue, characters, story, logic and believability.
There is no possible future for these film-makers -- and I use that term loosely -- nor should there be. And, being an Aussie myself, this woeful attempt at film-making does Australia a gross disservice.
At the top of the list of things wrong with this film is that it was made in the first place: In the absence of a sensible, coherent script, there is no excuse for this film ever getting off the ground or attracting finance.
Second, it was actually released: In the absence of any pride in one's work or respect for one's audience, those involved should NEVER again work in this industry.
In equal third place are the oh so numerous problems within the film, which, to detail, would require touching on every single scene. Every single scene! We ain't wasting that much time here.
But, to give some sort of impression of the level of 'bad' we're talking about, this is a film where a stalker/hunter gives his victim/prey a mobile phone so they can "stay in touch" (as you do), with which the idiot victim never once uses to call the police -- or anyone for that matter.
And if keeping in touch via phone is not enough, the hunter tracks his victim -- not with a GPS, or radio-wave, or any sort of credible technology -- but with a wait for it a volt-meter.
A volt-meter. A volt-meter? Yes, a volt-meter.
There is NOTHING redeemable in this film. EVERYTHING is poor: script, direction, acting, dialogue, characters, story, logic and believability.
There is no possible future for these film-makers -- and I use that term loosely -- nor should there be. And, being an Aussie myself, this woeful attempt at film-making does Australia a gross disservice.
Yeah nah.
johnsutto30 April 2023
If you can get past the opening scene with the locals then you can get through the rest. The locals playing pool top the ham awards for me. The movie was watchable but only just. When you shoot a movie in rural Australia you have nothing to rely on but the script and the actors. The scenery was okay but you have to question why these people are there to start with, especially an educated ex vet who can't even organise transport to their destination. I don't think it would have taken the actors long to learn their lines because there wasn't that many of them with the scenes drawn out a little bit long without conversation. The script was there but it was hard to swallow. A decent director could have made it better.
Stay off the back roads
nogodnomasters29 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Military veteran Ben Cross (Nathan Waring) and his girlfriend Nina (Laura Andersen) decide to hitchhike/ backpack across rural Australia, visiting small rural bars that play death metal music. There are posters of missing people in the area. "Stay off the back roads" is written on a restroom mirror.
In spite of the warnings our couple decide to break up and hitchhike as Nina claims "Hitchhiking is a girl's game," so Ben takes her on her challenge. Eventually this turns into a human hunting game with a guy named Vincent (Vincent Stone) who has a French accent and camouflage make-up.
This is not the best in genre. Ben is a minor league Rambo, which makes him more believable. Most of the action takes place off screen. When a person is head butted with a rifle, we never see the blow to the head. Even simple face slapping to done facing away from the camera.
A film likes this appeals to people who want to see the violence, not just the results. If you decide you are not going to show the violence, then we need an "A" plan with better stars and plot.
Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity. Off screen rape?
In spite of the warnings our couple decide to break up and hitchhike as Nina claims "Hitchhiking is a girl's game," so Ben takes her on her challenge. Eventually this turns into a human hunting game with a guy named Vincent (Vincent Stone) who has a French accent and camouflage make-up.
This is not the best in genre. Ben is a minor league Rambo, which makes him more believable. Most of the action takes place off screen. When a person is head butted with a rifle, we never see the blow to the head. Even simple face slapping to done facing away from the camera.
A film likes this appeals to people who want to see the violence, not just the results. If you decide you are not going to show the violence, then we need an "A" plan with better stars and plot.
Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity. Off screen rape?
Very Low budget thriller
torstensonjohn22 August 2018
For an Aussie film this is pretty cheesy, BUT not half bad for the low budget. A cat and mouse game between a serial killer and army vet. Supposedly set in the bush but had my doubts of where it was filmed. It was entertaining with the scenery and the chase. Not great BY any means but workth a 4 out of 10.
Poor, very poor...
kaffeekurier31 December 2019
Even with a low budget it could have been much better...
taklsuxx21 January 2022
Low budget is no excuse for poor writing and production. The intended storyline is more than enough meat to construct a quality segment with. That said ... this has to be the worst trained soldier in the history of training soldiers. He is more like a high school tight end than a well trained soldier. Get snuck up on, falls asleep while on watch, fails to secure prisoner when has a chance to, no sense of direction, no sense of survival skills ... how can this story be based on such a false character... the female ... is scripted to be even dumber than the soldier. Sorry, this is a poor effort to support such a storyline. Please do not make anymore films for the public. Practice with shorts, very short shorts and rebuild your approach. Investors beware of these types of producers, they give real film makers a bad stigma and expose the industry to excessive risk. Films can be very lucrative and well made, even if a modest budget is involved. This gets a single star for the attempt. And negative stars for the execution.
Nice piece of home grown cinema
larryhaman4 June 2011
Really refreshing to watch an Australian low budget action/thriller with a believable twist! Took my girlfriend to this flick as we had heard about it on the radio, really got a shock at this little beauty. The bad guy really gets you going, he plays bad very very well. The guy playing the soldier is good as he really is like a soldier, I would know as I was in the service for awhile. You could hear a pin drop at times, the tension was on the screen and in the cinema helped along with a really solid soundtrack. If you get a chance this film is worth viewing, real eye-opener for how to do a really low-budget film and get away with it.
This low budget thriller hit the mark
crowe-stan26 February 2011
It's always a funny thing going to see low budget (I'm talking micro micro) films, you're never sure what you're going to get. I was in Canberra last week and my mate and I were approached by 2 sexy girls in red shirts giving out fliers for The Backpacker, a film I'd never heard of.
The film's a thriller, set in the Aussie bush and I was blown away by how great the story was. Having been out of the country for a while it was refreshing to see a home grown flick made for next to nothing that satisfied both of us. The story wound out nicely and I could never tell what was going to happen next.,
The music blew the film along and the guy who played the psycho Malek was awesome. There's a few bits and pieces that could have been tighter but overall we came feeling like we'd be on a pretty cool ride. Good one guys.
The film's a thriller, set in the Aussie bush and I was blown away by how great the story was. Having been out of the country for a while it was refreshing to see a home grown flick made for next to nothing that satisfied both of us. The story wound out nicely and I could never tell what was going to happen next.,
The music blew the film along and the guy who played the psycho Malek was awesome. There's a few bits and pieces that could have been tighter but overall we came feeling like we'd be on a pretty cool ride. Good one guys.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
