Snowtown
Anonymous
fter being sexually abused by a local child molester, 16-year-old Jamie Vlassakis (Lucas Pittaway) is taken under the wing of John Bunting (Daniel Henshall), a man whose unorthodox views on sex offenders resonate with much of the community. Bunting’s warped conviction appears to offer a solution to Jamie’s problems, but before long he’s inescapably drawn into a malicious world of bigotry, self-righteousness and murder.The actions carried out by Bunting’s gang between 1992 and 1999 remain Australia’s worst serial killings. As a result, Justin Kurzel’s debut feature reflects a deeply unsettling portrait of one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history, which, from the outset, offers little in terms of a reprieve from its bleak outlook. Snowtown’s looming threat of violence is unremitting, eventually building to a disturbing climax that makes for extremely distressing viewing. Paul Weedon 2 3 3
oland Emmerich’s film pivots on that hoary old theory that Shakespeare was a fraud. Anonymous presents the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans) as the true author of the plays; Shakespeare himself (Rafe Spall) is a drunken and illiterate buffoon. The ‘anti-Stratfordian’ argument has a long history, but this silly film does its adherents few favours, spinning as it does a preposterous tale of political conspiracy that has the young Elizabeth I (Joely Richardson) bearing Oxford’s illegitimate child, whose claim to the throne is pressed obliquely by the pseudonymous dramas. All this wouldn’t matter much if the film were remotely entertaining. It isn’t. Notwithstanding a stately turn from Vanessa Redgrave as the elderly Gloriana, Anonymous is hamstrung by its own earnestness. You’re left hankering for the sort of lightness of touch displayed in John Madden’s far superior Shakespeare in Love. David Evans 3 1 1
Magic Trip
Demons Never Die
ffectively a collage of footage shot by author Ken Kesey during one of his many psychedelic excursions across America with Neal Cassady and their band of Merry Pranksters in the mid-1960s, Magic Trip serves as a fitting homage to an era immortalised by its legendary drug culture. On their travels over the years, Kesey and his friends amassed hours of footage which until now had remained unedited and largely forgotten about. Pieced together for the first time by directors Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood, their reels are meticulously reconstructed to provide a vision of America all but lost to the passing of time. Mixed with a combination of archive materials, radio interviews and audio recordings, today Kesey’s images take on a whole new meaning, forming a vivid picture of 1960s drug-addled America. Paul Weedon 4 3 3
ith a brilliant opening tracking shot that recalls Donnie Darko’s ‘Head Over Heels’ school sequence, debut writer/director Arjun Rose stylishly sets up a group of suicidal teens – including Misfits’ Robert Sheehan as a Darko-esque loner; Hollyoaks’ Emma Rigby as a bulimic model; and Shifty’s Jason Maza as a wide-boy nutter – who find themselves stalked ’n’ slashed by a masked killer. Truth be told, Demons Never Die never gets that good again. But if it’s not inventive or scary enough to cut right the bone, Rose’s Brit horror stretches its microbudget to the max with a ton of ambition. From the pre-credit Scream prologue to the night-vision shaky-cam finale, Rose goes on a whistle-stop tour of slasher stylistics while his talented young ensemble find moments of truthfulness in their schoolyard stereotypes. Lots of promise. Jonathan Crocker 3 3 3
Directed by Justin Kurzel Starring Lucas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall, Bob Adriaens Released November 18
Directed by Alex Gibney, Alison Ellwood Starring Stanley Tucci Released November 18
Directed by Roland Emmerich Starring Rhys Ifans,Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson Released October 28
Directed by Arjun Rose Starring Robert Sheehan, Jennie Jacques, Ashley Walters Released October 28
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