© FAKESHEMP.NET
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About

SCARE CAMPAIGN

26/11/2015

 
Picture
2015 / Directors. Cameron & Colin Cairnes.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.

Disclaimer: Scare Campaign had its world premiere at Monsterfest on November 26, 2015. The following review is of the cut which screened on this night. It does not reflect any subsequent cuts that the filmmakers may undertake prior to the official theatrical release in 2016.


The Cairnes brothers announced themselves to the world with their cheeky little 2012 gore-fest 100 BLOODY ACRES. It was a tidy film with an insanely effective production design and a wacky script to boot. They proved themselves to be an exciting new voice of Australian cinema and the anticipation for their follow up was huge.
​
With a much darker story and complex script, they return with their brand new assault-on-the-senses; SCARE CAMPAIGN. Set in an abandoned lunatic asylum the film chronicles the production of a reality TV series called 'Scare Campaign'. Much like the actual TV series SCARE TACTICS from the early 2000s, which the Cairnes brothers must have taken cues from, the concept of the show features elaborate practical jokes being played on unsuspecting “stooges”. The gags are horrific in their nature and push the perceptions of reasonable entertainment and viewer expectations to their limits. Of course when the show takes things too far in an effort to maintain ratings, things take a gnarly turn for the worse and a brutal onslaught of terror begins.

To elaborate on the storyline would give away too much and deprive you from experiencing the film's often clever and intricate narrative. Cameron and Colin Cairnes clearly had a specific direction they wanted to take and there are moments of greatness laced throughout this unexpected nasty. They have distanced themselves from 100 BLOODY ACRES effectively and demonstrated their ability to flex widely within 'genre' filmmaking.

The assembled cast is impressive and boasts a billing of seasons players including Ian Meadows, Cassandra Magrath, Jason Geary, Olivia DeJonge, Josh Quong Tart, Meegan Warner, John Brumpton, and Sigrid Thornton.. They all add weight to the film and deliver solid turns. But I need to draw particular attention to Patrick Harvey and Steve Mouzakis; two performers I am enamoured with. I have been a fan of Harvey for years and when he stepped away from his prominent role on NEIGHBOURS I continued to watch his theatre work with great enthusiasm. It's wonderful to see him back on the screen and I hope that this is a sign of things to come. Mouzakis, on the other hand, is still relatively new to me. He has been a familiar face for several years but it was his performance in last year's incredible THE SUICIDE THEORY that captured my attention. We awarded that movie with the “Best Australian Film” at last year's FAKESHEMP.NET AWARDS and his screen presence is destined for global recognition (it's only a matter of time).

The film plays out like a classic slasher film and creeps its way into the torture-porn sphere thanks to some amazing make-up and special effects from Australia's wizard of gore, Justin Dix. He delivers blood by the bucket-load and throws some truly outrageous and creative kills at the audience with the glee of a child pinging on red cordial. The film's strengths lie within his creations and he ought to be applauded.

Where the film falters, as far as I'm concerned, is in its drama. By all means the horror plays out nicely and the final act features some truly terrifying moments, however the drama that ought to have bolstered the horror is less restrained. A film such as this demands a high level of suspended disbelief and for a faux reality TV concept like 'Scare Campaign' to be convincing the environment around it requires a strong heightened reality. Unfortunately the realistic settings of the old sanitarium, as stunning as they are, hinder the concept by being too large in scope for what should be a tightly contained story. It would seem that the excitement for their concept and the accessibility to such a profound facility may have clouded some creative judgements.... but I digress....

Nevertheless SCARE CAMPAIGN is a brand new Aussie horror film that slops on the gore and delivers creative, original and terrifying new boogeymen that will be sure to plague people's nightmares. Horror fans will lap it up. 



Picture

Comments are closed.

    OUR WRITERS
    GLENN COCHRANE
    JARRET GAHAN
    SHAUN CRAWFORD
    ALEX MAYNARD
    CHRIS THOMPSON​
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010

    RSS Feed

© 2018 FakeShemp.Net    All rights reserved.  FakeShemp.Net Illustrations by MJ Barros. 
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Good Movie Monday
    • WTF was that?
  • MEDIA
    • Videos >
      • Photos
  • GLG
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • About