Being featured in the Film 4 Frightfest back in August was enough recommendation to bring me to the Greg (WOLF CREEK) McLean produced neo-Western RED HILL.
Set in the titular town, an out of the way backwater perched on the edge of an Aboriginal heritage site, Ryan Kwantan plays the new police constable who is quickly thrown into the unusual day to day life of the remote outpost dealing with the rumpled of a prowling panther feeding on livestock and the escape of the towns most famous criminal an Aborigine wife killer who is hellbent on avenging himself against the towns overbearing Inspector and his posse of gun wielding yokels.
RED HILL is more a revenge thriller than a horror and it's darker tone is mired at some points by the likely unintentional levity brought about by the western inspired sequences and some occasional squirm worthy dialogue delivery ("I know the law"). It also lacks character development pinning all hopes on rooting for the lead and plays its cards too early leaving no suspicion regarding the killers motivation. Overall it just falls a footstep short of being a cool revisionist western and what is with that panther sub plot?
So a bit of a semi but mostly floppy for RED HILL.
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