The Weekend Horror Double Bill: Gone Camping
The weekend horror double bill returns and to mark the occasion we’re going on a camping trip. Hope you’ve packed the essentials - sleeping bag, torch, food and of course a homisidal maniac…
The Long Weekend (1978)
This low budget ’70s Australian film is something of a lost treasure and shows that sometimes having no money can almost be a blessing. There are no make-up or special effects to hide behind and this seems to have made all involved up there game to compensate.
The film only has two characters - Peter and Marcia, a married couple whose relationship is on the rocks. In an attempt to save their marriage they take a weekend break to a secluded beach and it’s their experiences there that make up the bulk of the film. Strange sounds at night and a mysterious shape in the water are just some of the terrors they encounter and, rather than bring them closer, their trip serves to drive them even further apart.
It gradually becomes clear that Peter and Marcia are the villains here, not just attacking each other but the idyllic beach environment as well and Mother Nature isn’t happy. The characters are brilliantly realised but you don’t sympathise with them - rather you observe with a sense of revulsion as their history of infidelity and abortion unfolds.
Given the assured direction, you expect director Colin Eggleston to have ascended to the heights of his fellow countrymen Peter (Picnic at Hanging Rock) Weir and George (Mad Max) Miller. Sadly, though, this is his career highlight - but what a highlight! He makes the environment a living thing. What you can’t see is usually far more effective than what you can and this is true here, where most of the time you don’t see anything; instead you hear sounds that turn the woods into an alien world full of unknown threats. He also shows a gift for character as he cuts open Peter and Marcia’s marriage and lets us see its dark innards.
As Peter and Marcia, John Hargreaves and Briony Behets are completely convincing. The structure of the film is such that you’re not sure who you’re supposed to be rooting for (Peter? Marcia? their marriage?) and the script gives them both the chance to be good and bad, not to mention downright ugly.
Also worthy of mention is screenwriter Everett De Roche. Patrick is probably one of the most well known Australian horror films of the ’70s and that to came from Roche’s pen and was made the same year. This film, though, is more of a character study, with Roche dissecting the couple’s relationship. Rarely do horror films have such keenly observed characters; these aren’t the usual stereotypes but real people, shown to us warts and all.
It’s a real joy when you discover a film as rewarding as this one and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Fans of ’70s horror owe it to themselves to check it out.
Wilderness (2006)
There is a new wave of British horror directors making films that are as good as (and often better) than anything produced across the Atlantic. Leading the pack is Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) and hot on his heels is Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance). Wilderness’ director Michael J. Bassett isn’t so much tagging along behind as being dragged. His first film Deathwatch attempted to merge the horror and war genres with less than spectacular results. This time we get a blend of Dog Soldiers with that old chestnut, The Most Dangerous Game.
A group of juvenile prisoners are taken to a small island on a camping trip after a fellow prisoner commits suicide. Why do they get the pleasure of this little holiday? Simple, because the plot requires them to be on the island. The plot also requires that a group of young female offenders be camping there as well just so we can have a few cross gender confrontations and a (none too explicit) sex scene. Then people start dying and it’s clear someone else is on the island, someone who thinks the unwitting campers are fair game.
Wilderness is trying for a group dynamic similar to that of the squaddies in Dog Soldiers but without that film’s inventive, not to mention humorous, script. Sean Pertwee is even on hand as the prison guard responsible for the boys and the part is a virtual carbon copy of Harry Wells, the sergeant he played in Dog Soldiers. Sadly Pertwee’s character is taken out far too early and it’s left to the inexperienced young actors to carry the film, something they fail to do.
It’s not fair to blame them however. This film’s failure rests squarely with Bassett, who manages to create zero tension. Clearly bereft of original ideas, he relies on gore to keep the audience watching, and while there is plenty of ketchup splashed about, it’s not enough to take your mind off the flimsy plot and cringe-worthy dialogue.
Then of course we have the identity of the killer, a plot device so contrived as to beggar belief. Still by that point you’ll have given up hope and quite possibly the will to live. Avoid.
