The acting is really poor here - there are a couple of good scenes but for the most part it just seems to fake and unreal. The plot is just useless - it starts off good and I was hoping for a good movie but as it continues you realise that the script is like something a bunch of kids put together - and that is how it ends. Do not waste your time on this movie. The CGI is third grade/ low budget. Its a B class movie - and they haven't been able to pull it off. The script could do with a much better plot and a more scarier story as opposed to three women needed to complete the cycle - really? I liked the dog the most - really expected better.
38 Reviews
mixture of all genres sadly it doesn't work
trashgang27 January 2017
How stupid can you be, I mean, promoting this flick via reviews, common you can see where you're living and it's Australia. Guess the production has written all over IMDb. But I thought to give it a try.
The first thing I noticed is that this horror clocks in at almost 2 hours. That's long so you have to give the viewer a lot to keep him attracted to the screen. And it's there things go wrong. After 1 hour the only thing you see are two red spots in the woods, a lot of noises but not in the style of Blair Witch that doesn't deliver the heebie-jeebies. So in the first hour you will meet Rebecca (Jessica Green) the slut of the gang seducing everybody but even there it goes wrong. The focus lays on her voluptuous juggs but honest. Walking around in your bikini in the woods, how stupid and making love with your bra one, just dump the b*tch.
And oi far I have been writing about everything except the fact that this should be a horror. It's in the last 50 minutes the possessed eyes come in as did the monster. For a minute. I get it, this is more an action thriller in stead of a horror. But even there it lacks action...just the last 20 minutes this action turns into a CGI horror.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5
The first thing I noticed is that this horror clocks in at almost 2 hours. That's long so you have to give the viewer a lot to keep him attracted to the screen. And it's there things go wrong. After 1 hour the only thing you see are two red spots in the woods, a lot of noises but not in the style of Blair Witch that doesn't deliver the heebie-jeebies. So in the first hour you will meet Rebecca (Jessica Green) the slut of the gang seducing everybody but even there it goes wrong. The focus lays on her voluptuous juggs but honest. Walking around in your bikini in the woods, how stupid and making love with your bra one, just dump the b*tch.
And oi far I have been writing about everything except the fact that this should be a horror. It's in the last 50 minutes the possessed eyes come in as did the monster. For a minute. I get it, this is more an action thriller in stead of a horror. But even there it lacks action...just the last 20 minutes this action turns into a CGI horror.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5
It really is that bad
browchay1 September 2016
Absolutely dumbfounded as to how this is getting anything higher than 3 - 3.5 stars
As one of the previous reviewers suggested, it does look like it was made by Uni students during their lunch break. There are a number of painful scenes where the actors really are unsure of what they're supposed to be doing or how they should be acting.
Also, with regards to CGI, if you don't have the budget to do it well, don't do it at all. It was laughable. We didn't really need to see as much as we did, it would have been better leaving more to the imagination.
Wooden acting at best with lackluster direction. The idea and potential could have been great with thorough execution but this just left us all feeling like we wanted 2 hours of our lives back.
The dog was great.
Funny thing with some of the other 10/10 reviews.... check the profiles, one gold coast actor (supporting his friends in the industry) the others all created recently and only reviewing this film ... I smell a rat! ;-)
As one of the previous reviewers suggested, it does look like it was made by Uni students during their lunch break. There are a number of painful scenes where the actors really are unsure of what they're supposed to be doing or how they should be acting.
Also, with regards to CGI, if you don't have the budget to do it well, don't do it at all. It was laughable. We didn't really need to see as much as we did, it would have been better leaving more to the imagination.
Wooden acting at best with lackluster direction. The idea and potential could have been great with thorough execution but this just left us all feeling like we wanted 2 hours of our lives back.
The dog was great.
Funny thing with some of the other 10/10 reviews.... check the profiles, one gold coast actor (supporting his friends in the industry) the others all created recently and only reviewing this film ... I smell a rat! ;-)
Appalling!
herodotus200730 January 2017
What begins as a promising premise, and remains so is immediately hampered by Dan Ewing and Tom Pockock's meeting. These ex-"Neighbours/ Home & Away" actors, and I use the term 'actor' loosely, undo any hint at danger in this dreadfully written script. The photography is good, the music quite good, but the 'acting' is absolutely appalling. Seriously, these guys and gals need to take some acting lessons or better still, spend some time on stage in the theater where actors learn how to act, not just pose for the camera. If they are graduates of established drama schools like NIDA or WAPA, then these schools have failed and should be treated as "Soapies feed factories. They sure as Hell don't teach acting skills. Dreadful script predictable to the end; characters so 2D they don't need to open their mouths; acting - just appallingly bad. what an abysmal entry that could have been so much more. Alas, it is a SyFy Channel movie transplanted to Australia at best. To think Dan Ewing is considered "an up and coming star". If he is, we're in trouble. He cannot, I repeat cannot act to save himself....or indeed this film.
Really Awful
baziz-4534025 August 2016
The idea that "just because an Aussie made it -- It MUST be supported" is rubbish -- this really feels like a university student film with a high school plot - the online PR is promoting that this is Australia's first CGI film... ummm ... so what?!?! Using CGI doesn't equal a good film. In fact the CGI is below average. Everything in this film is clichéd to the point of embarrassing. The story is predictable. The actors are soap calibre. The link to ancient culture is forced & ill-conceived. There is no horror. No thrill. Nothing new. This is naive film-making at it's worst. The whole exercise looks like a marketing survey aimed at the lowest common denominator.
Good idea. Poor script.
dr_spider_man26 August 2016
This film is such a shame. It had everything going for it, decent production values, visually interesting and a unique idea. All of this gets turned into a missed opportunity by a poorly executed script full of cliques, casual misogyny and lazy dialogue.
The main problem is that main characters (the brother) are just boring. The film doesn't give you a single reason to like or care for them. They're not unlikable people but they're far from being interesting or emotionally engaging enough for you go on this journey with them. Nor are they cool or charismatic enough for you to live a power fantasy through them. On top of this, all the minor characters are totally interchangeable and forgettable (which the expectation of the goofy girl).
The main plot (until the monster plot takes over) is about the leads working out whether or not to sell their family farm. Something you don't really want for a film that's touting it self as as 'the biggest Australian action film of 2016'. I'm guessing they didn't catch the absurdly silly 'Gods of Egypt'.
You would think that this plot would just be a mcguffin so a family drama can unfold between the brothers but nope. And this's the problem. Internally, you have no idea who the two leads or what they really want. Don't get me wrong, characters in these type of films needs to be too deep but they do need some dept. Even Max is the 'light on plot' 'Fury Road' had internal desires and motivations. I.e. testing if he could trust and connect with humans again. These characters are just uninspiring cliques who spurt plot points until the monster turns up.
The first two acts just have too many 'talking head' scenes that could have been edited right down. But in its defense, the third act is pretty good. It's where all the action, CG and set pieces are but by the time it came around, I'd I'd stopped caring.
To be honest, the film really didn't bother me too much. We've all seen bad films. What inspired the review was the Q&A after the film in which the director spend the entire time attempting to humble brag about how great he and his film is. He used every opportunity to mention that it was a "Good, fun action film" It's really not. It's a technically sound, bloated film with a bad script.
It also made it perfectly clear he's an 'independent filmmaker and not Hollywood". I think that was clear to everyone from all the actors from 'Home and Away'.
And he really going to leave his mark on the Australian film industry; not with scripts like this he isn't.
The film fails at it's aspirations of being a light and fun popcorn film. Everyone clearly has talent and were trying there best. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but there are so many other great Australian genre film you really should be watching before this.
The main problem is that main characters (the brother) are just boring. The film doesn't give you a single reason to like or care for them. They're not unlikable people but they're far from being interesting or emotionally engaging enough for you go on this journey with them. Nor are they cool or charismatic enough for you to live a power fantasy through them. On top of this, all the minor characters are totally interchangeable and forgettable (which the expectation of the goofy girl).
The main plot (until the monster plot takes over) is about the leads working out whether or not to sell their family farm. Something you don't really want for a film that's touting it self as as 'the biggest Australian action film of 2016'. I'm guessing they didn't catch the absurdly silly 'Gods of Egypt'.
You would think that this plot would just be a mcguffin so a family drama can unfold between the brothers but nope. And this's the problem. Internally, you have no idea who the two leads or what they really want. Don't get me wrong, characters in these type of films needs to be too deep but they do need some dept. Even Max is the 'light on plot' 'Fury Road' had internal desires and motivations. I.e. testing if he could trust and connect with humans again. These characters are just uninspiring cliques who spurt plot points until the monster turns up.
The first two acts just have too many 'talking head' scenes that could have been edited right down. But in its defense, the third act is pretty good. It's where all the action, CG and set pieces are but by the time it came around, I'd I'd stopped caring.
To be honest, the film really didn't bother me too much. We've all seen bad films. What inspired the review was the Q&A after the film in which the director spend the entire time attempting to humble brag about how great he and his film is. He used every opportunity to mention that it was a "Good, fun action film" It's really not. It's a technically sound, bloated film with a bad script.
It also made it perfectly clear he's an 'independent filmmaker and not Hollywood". I think that was clear to everyone from all the actors from 'Home and Away'.
And he really going to leave his mark on the Australian film industry; not with scripts like this he isn't.
The film fails at it's aspirations of being a light and fun popcorn film. Everyone clearly has talent and were trying there best. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but there are so many other great Australian genre film you really should be watching before this.
Bewildered!
khalidemam-eg29 December 2016
It was one of the worst things "not just movie" I've ever seen. How this movie has got a rating of 6.5 is beyond me!! I don't want to waste any extra words on this shitty movie but because it is compulsory to write a minimum of 10 lines I would have to apologize for the following.
Awful Awful Awful.
I beg of you if you are reading this review not to waste two hours of your life watching this movie.
I don't normally write reviews but I feel it is my social duty to try and warn as many people as I can from watching this horrid thing.
Awful Awful Awful.
I beg of you if you are reading this review not to waste two hours of your life watching this movie.
I don't normally write reviews but I feel it is my social duty to try and warn as many people as I can from watching this horrid thing.
Passable.
caseyhalsey25 February 2021
An extended action episode of home and away
billy-094323 January 2017
I had high hopes of this flick as Australian creature features of the past such as rogue and razorback were well constructed. This however fell dry and flat with scheduled cliché Aussie songs and slang sayings. The generic character stereotypes were spot on the money for this sort of movie however they were mostly all overacted and generally unbelievable at best. as a fond fan of the horror genre this movie seemed to cross over to the action genre after approximately 50 minutes of boring character building. There were no scare scenes nor shock factor moments. There were no real comedic moments which are usually familiar within Australian films however I did find myself having a giggle at the terrible creature effects and the unrealistic script. The one star for this movie is attributed to the stunning Queensland scenery and most of the outdoor backdrop shots. To conclude, this could have been an extended episode of home and away which may have had a better reception among those viewers.
Not bad at all.
shellsyoung25 February 2021
Australian fun packed sci-fi thriller
jenanning25 February 2021
Absolute Garbage!
pub-214 June 2019
I give it two stars only because I watched it to the end.
Plot, Acting, Sets, Editing, in fact everything is terrible. Absolute Garbage and waste of time.
Unbelievable that those involved allowed their names on the credits, I would be too embarrassed!
Plot, Acting, Sets, Editing, in fact everything is terrible. Absolute Garbage and waste of time.
Unbelievable that those involved allowed their names on the credits, I would be too embarrassed!
Tries to be two movies - didn't work
robertemerald3 October 2019
I'm upset about how bad this movie is. As an Australian I worry for Australian sci-fi. Much like Occupation (2018), that other awful Aussie sci-fi, the cgi and camerawork was good, but the story, and particularly the script, was unnatural and difficult to bear. Red Billabong may have worked if this were about a reunion of two estranged brothers (no unexplained horror). Or, Red Billabong may have worked if this were solely about two brothers, not estranged, battling an unexplained horror. I'm not kidding, the mish mash of two estranged brothers battling each other and an unexplained horror was just plain irritating. The theme may sound familiar, and others may argue that relationship colour alongside adversity is a common and highly popular theme. I'll grant that, but for me, it seemed that the script had been written by a 13 year old with no real experience of what he/she was writing about. I'm not kidding, there are unrealistic stereotypes, sexism, male bitchiness, horrible initial portraits of young women, loads of cliches, potty mouths throughout, and way too many attempted classic lines. It's awful. At a certain point about 50 mins in a young man with a beanie appears and converses casually with one of the brothers. This beanie guy has appeared from nowhere in the forest, and is not seen again, nor was he seen previously in the movie. I actually clicked on all the pics above to try and figure whom the hell he was! Awful and irritating. Please Australian film, please check your work better!
Typical Of The Sad Times We Live In
parkkelp3 June 2019
Airhead actors, crap lifestyles and of course drugs, right down to the useless breed of dog! This is standard of what has become a once great country to live in, I am 5th generation Aussie and am ashamed of this crap, Watching this movie (loose term) I wished it were real and everyone in it would die a gruesome death. Better off watching old tv shows like Cop Shop, etc...
A few minutes of Jessica Green in pink dresses and bathing suits are not worth going through this
siderite30 June 2023
This is a two hour movie about an Aboriginal monster in which nothing happens for more than an hour. Then everything comes crashing down, but without any sense or reason. Has no one read the script and realized that the guy from the beginning could have explained and solved everything before anything bad happened? Also there were so many details in the beginning of the movie that went nowhere. Honestly the first half of the movie could have been 15 minutes. I can confidently suggest you skip to 1:15 and watch the film from there.
The acting is pretty bad, too. You can immediately tell Felix Williamson is the only professional actor there. The others weren't terrible, but the entire film feels like a student experiment.
Being a low budget film I didn't expect much in the way of special effects and in that regard they did a decent job, except the fight at the end which was ridiculous.
Bottom line: I have no idea why I chose to watch this movie, but I can tell you it was a bad decision :) This film has almost nothing redeemable. And sorry about making fun of Jessica Green, she's really cute and was decent in Outpost, but she is just an extra here.
The acting is pretty bad, too. You can immediately tell Felix Williamson is the only professional actor there. The others weren't terrible, but the entire film feels like a student experiment.
Being a low budget film I didn't expect much in the way of special effects and in that regard they did a decent job, except the fight at the end which was ridiculous.
Bottom line: I have no idea why I chose to watch this movie, but I can tell you it was a bad decision :) This film has almost nothing redeemable. And sorry about making fun of Jessica Green, she's really cute and was decent in Outpost, but she is just an extra here.
Australia's 2016 Movie-Hit
glen-a-collins25 August 2016
How do describe this movie would be: Terrific. It's difficult making films, let alone in this country. Whatever the they had or didn't have, Red Billabong was well thought out and executed on-screen reality. Taping into the ideas of; Creature- Feature, Mythological, Conspiracy, Adventure and Action, in an Aussie version is rare and should be tried more often. What's on screen tells a story of how it is made, and I see the right thoughts for local entertainment and excitement. It involves camera movement, GCI, in-built humour, character types, and heart. Also, no matter the quality of the film, it's strikes me as this years hit. So I take my hat of to these guys for the choices they've made for this movie and to the next.
Awful effects. Pretty good story
max-6205120 October 2018
I'm not a critic, I'm a fan.
clintonspearrr25 February 2021
Original plot.
gathanas-1081811 October 2018
2 stars for the dog
Spoonmagic22 June 2019
Please don't watch this, if you somehow make it past the first 50 minutes of "character" development you are hit with some of the worst cgi you are likely to ever see.
The overacting is pretty over the top and the ending will leave you wondering why any of this was worth watching (spoilers, it's not).
I'm not sure how some people gave this 10/10 but I suspect they worked on the movie.
Even if you feel the need to support Australian made movies there are much better ones deserving of your attention.
The overacting is pretty over the top and the ending will leave you wondering why any of this was worth watching (spoilers, it's not).
I'm not sure how some people gave this 10/10 but I suspect they worked on the movie.
Even if you feel the need to support Australian made movies there are much better ones deserving of your attention.
Solid movie
paulblack-7968517 March 2021
Impressed is an understatement.
patrickblk25 February 2021
Hello Tim Pocock!
nicole_phillips15 March 2021
Easy viewing.
tonydylan-7658826 February 2021
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