Long Weekend

Long Weekend (1978)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Colin Eggleston

Starring: John Hargreaves, Briony Behets

From: The Australian Film Commission/Dugong Films/Victorian Film

For years I've known of this famed Ozploitation ecological horror film but it was just last night that I tracked down a copy and watched it. I was hoping I would enjoy the flick; I can delightfully say that this exceeded my expectations and was actually very good.

I knew going in it was about two A-holes who end up in the rural Australian bush right by a beach and do a lot of harm to Mother Nature before Mother Nature fights back. It's true, but there's a lot more to it than that. For most of the runtime we only follow Peter & Marcia (no, not Brady), a married couple whose union is on the rocks. The movie is patient and takes its time; it's not for a long while before we find out why their marriage is troubled. It's just them and Peter's dog Cricket. It does not take long for the both of them to be terrible to nature... they litter, use pesticide against ants, & kill random animals for little reason. Once they're in the middle of nowhere, you often feel like some sort of animal is watching them, ready to do something. Those creatures are heard at random times, and the more often it happens, the more you (and the protagonists) feel unsettled. Really, the film is always creepy as hell.

Thankfully both John Hargreaves and Briony Behets did a great job in their roles; if not, this definitely would have suffered as we spend so much time with these two. You can decide who is or isn't responsible for their union to disintegrate, but it is easy to hate them for how they act against nature so it's easy to root for nature. Peter act like he's the next Bear Grylls but he's actually a city slicker putting on a front, while Marcia hates being out in nature and won't budge from her position. To clarify, while our leads are poor human beings, that does not mean the movie is an insufferable watch; I was always captivated to see what happened next and just how exactly the marriage will further fall apart. A spine-tingling score matches the gorgeous visuals and the story pretty well.

I know there's a 2008 remake with Jim Caviezel and I'll just presume it's not as good as this. I am glad I was pleasantly surprised by this as the movie is more layered than I expected and some things can be interpreted several ways. This is a gem worth seeing.