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DVD 100 Bloody Acres
 Run time: 91 min Rating: 5.9 Genres: Comedy | Horror Director: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes Writers: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes Stars: Damon Herriman, Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan |
| Storyline The use of dead car crash victims in the Morgan Brothers’ “Blood and Bone” fertiliser has been a huge boon to business. But it’s been months since their last find and an important new customer is waiting on a delivery. When Reg Morgan, the junior partner in the business, comes across three young people stranded on a remote country road, he sees a radical solution to their supply problems, and a way of finally gaining the respect of his bossy big brother, Lindsay. But things don’t quite go to plan when Reg starts forming an attachment with one of their captives, Sophie. Reg must now make a decision: go through with the plan and finally win Lindsay’s approval, or save the kids and destroy everything the brothers have worked for. They’re not psycho killers… they’re just small business operators. Written by Colin & Cameron Cairnes |
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| Plot Keywords: brother, meat grinder, cunnilingus, masturbation, dog | |
| Details: Country: Australia Release Date: 1 August 2013 (Australia) |
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| Box Office Opening Weekend: $3,419 (USA) (28 June 2013) Gross: $6,248 (USA) (30 August 2013) |
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I saw this film at the Brussels fantastic film festival 2013 (BIFFF). It was announced as a Horror movie, but you are mistaken if you want something sinister. Everything happens in broad daylight. On the other hand, there was sufficient blood&gore to let it fall under the Horror category. Still, I found it more of a Comedy rather than anything else.
The plot elements were cleverly employed, like the use of human bodies (from travel accidents, at first) to "improve" the fertilizer that the two brothers produce. They have a lot of success with it, and demand is rising. Due to the latter, any human body that is found along the road that does not move, is carried away without proper medical review. That is where the story starts, soon involving three hitch hikers who pose an imminent danger to their secret operations. They thus become potential ingredients for their fertilizer production process. Though the cutting up of bodies is only shown once and not very directly, you can expect an abundance of blood sprayed around, tainting most of the bystanders who have every reason to assume they are next in line. Those movie lovers fainting on the sight of blood, are better off when they avoid this one.
The real secret ingredient of this film, however, is the humor that is incorporated all over the story, and works very well in hiding there is no real story to tell. Things happen in a logical sequence, though, but different from what we expected upfront. That is precisely the most important feature of this film. It is a Comedy rather than a Horror movie, is my conclusion, with the blood&gore only as binding element.
All in all, I found this Horror very enjoyable. I usually try to steer clear of blood&gore movies, but this time it is not the central theme that binds the scenes, unlike some other movies with no recognizable story line other than providing for reasons to miserably end other people's lives. In other words, the blood&gore is more entourage here than anything else. The relationship between the two fertilizer making brothers is much more important, as is the hasty and uncoordinated way they try to cover their tracks when the darker side of their business might be exposed. Along the line we witness various ways in which the younger brother tries to show initiative, in an attempt to outsmart his brother who obviously has the lead in everything. And the people who are so unlucky to get involved in their "factory", mostly fail to survive the encounter with all limbs intact, or even to escape alive for that matter. Hilarious scenes throughout, in spite of the darker aspects of the plot.
Co-writer/directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes, in their feature film debut, successfully deliver all the essential elements needed to both make you laugh & squirm in their new black comedy "100 Bloody Acres". A story of two unscrupulous brothers, Reg(Damon Herriman) and Lindsay Morgan(Angus Sampson) and their quest to be the unrivaled top dogs of the local fertilizer industry, a status that they will stop at nothing to achieve. After a tragic accident claims six lives in town, the two swipe the bodies from the scene and after adding them to their special "mix", they become the champions of the fertilizer biz.
Our story starts out with Reg, while out driving one day he encounters a trio of kids, Sophie(Anna McGahan),James(Oliver Ackland) and Wesley(Jamie Kristian) who happen to have the bad luck of having car trouble and are looking for a ride into town to attend a local music festival. At first Reg resists, but after some thought & a little nagging, he reluctantly welcomes James & Wes into the back of his cube truck & Sophie up front to ride with him. Any good intentions soon vanish as the guys discover the body of a man Reg previously collected from an accident scene. Thus the film descends into a quite comical & altogether gory fight as the trio does their best to remain "unprocessed" at the brother's fertilizer factory.
While the plot consisted of conventional & somewhat clichéd ideas it used those elements to their maximum potential. With fine acting from the entire cast, skillful gore effects and proper production values, the film managed some serious laugh out loud moments while also delivering a few bona fide quirky uncomfortable scenes of horror, all of which were delivered in fun, as it stayed mainly on the black comedy track. If you don't mind gore and have the urge for a hilarious Aussie dark comedy, I absolutely recommend it.
–^–7.4/10–^–
At the Festival I saw this, many compared it to "Tucker & Dale", but I think that is not an accurate assessment. Both are comedies with horror elements if you will (or the other way around), but the way they are presented is more than different. Not to mention the facets of the characters involved here.
Tucker and Dale is simpler, which is not supposed to be a judgment, I loved the movie. I'm just saying that I thought this is great in its own right too. The comedy has different, sometimes uneven, but therefor darker tone. It's a movie you have to be in the mood for I guess and I totally was. Thought almost every joke worked in this and the changes in pace were nice too (changes in genres too sometimes).
'100 BLOODY ACRES': Four Stars (Out of Five)
Brothers Cameron and Colin Cairnes make their feature film debut writing and directing this Australian horror/comedy film about brothers who run an organic fertiliser business that's dependent on dead bodies (as it's secret ingredient) to make it work so well. One of the brother's comes across three partygoers, on their way to a music festival, and brings them home to introduce to his big brother (and the family business). The movie stars character actors Damon Herriman and Angus Sampson as the brothers and the beautiful Anna McGahan as one of their captured victims. The movie is full of dark humor and twisted gore. If you like dark Australian comedy and horror this is the movie for you.
Lindsay Morgan (Sampson) and his brother Reg (Herriman) have been running a successful organic fertiliser business for some time, that's finally getting it's first radio add, but the only problem is it's dependent on dead bodies, ran through a meat grinder, to make it work so well. The Morgan brothers have been collecting car crash victims to supply this 'secret ingredient' to their fertiliser and as the film opens Reg has just found another body at a crash site. While he's hauling the body home though he comes across a young woman, Sophie (McGahan), and her two male friends (Oliver Ackland and Jamie Kristian). Due to the lack of dead bodies recently he decides to take them home, to his brother Lindsay, to use as the fertiliser ingredient instead (in an attempt to impress his bossy older brother). Things don't go as planned though as Reg develops feelings for Sophie.
If you couldn't tell the movie is part romance as well (twisted romance). It's definitely not for the faint of heart though (or for those who become sickened by the site of blood and gore) but as a dark comedy and horror film it really works. OK, it mainly just works as a dark comedy (as it's neither scary nor very disturbing) but it is gruesome. It also surprisingly has a lot of heart. The Reg character is actually pretty likable and Sophie is one of the coolest and most ideal women a guy could hope for. I love films like this; their great as long as you don't take them seriously.
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