Written by Tyrone BruinsmaAustralia's iconic filmography is extensive. From franchises like Mad Max, Happy Feet, Crocodile Dundee and Babe, classics like Picnic at Hanging Rock, Muriel's Wedding and Moulin Rouge!, and genre works like Wolf Creek. But within this majesty of culture, are often some forgotten works that while known to the few-are beloved. Here are 10 Underappreciated Australian films you absolutely should seek out. 10. Razorback [Dir. Russell Mulcahy]The most well-known film on this list (eliciting praise from Quinten Tarantino), Razorback is essentially and Australian version of Jaws with a giant pig. Directed by music video director Russell Mulcahy (future director of Highlander and Resident Evil: Extinction), Razorback is a visually stylish horror and creature feature experience set in the wild Aussie outback. After an American journalist covering kangaroo slaughter goes missing, her New Yorker husband comes looking for her and instead finds madness and monsters of all kinds. While the animatronic pig has been criticized, it's still an impressive beast to see perform feats like smashing through a house or tears the side of a building off. The cast is delightfully colorful and/or deranged, but its Mulcahy's visuals that stand the test of time. From the first scene, Razorback's visuals evoke a dark, surrealist dreamlike atmosphere straight out of a Salvador Dali painting. While the film isn't scary on an "edge of your sit" thriller way, it is visceral and intense with some gruesome moment. It's an absolute must-see for lovers of Ozsploitation cinema or great creature features. (Note: avoid the similar 2018 film Boar) Further viewing: Exploring Razorback - The Best Looking Movie About a Killer Pig (youtube.com) 9. Mary and Max [Dir. Adam Elliot]Australian animation (whether tv or film) ranges from obscure oddities like 'Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers' or The Magic Pudding, to global hits like Bluey and Happy Feet. Mary and Max is a dramedy about the respective characters Mary (A young girl in Australia) and Max (and older Jewish man in New York City) and their unusual friendship as penpals. Produced in gorgeous and expressive stop motion by Adam Elliot, the film explores issues of mental health, societal problems and philosophical beliefs through its well-developed characters. Whilst the film contains Aussie icons like Barry Humphries, Toni Collette, Eric Bana and Ian "Molly" Meldrum-its best voice actor is that of the late and legendary Philip Seymour Hoffman in his only animated movie performance. The movie is touching, emotional, deeply human and while it is acclaimed, not well-known enough as it should be. 8. Rogue [Dir. Greg McLean]After directing the globally recognized Wolf Creek, Greg McLean was given a bigger budget for a more ambitious Australian horror film that's sadly not as well-known as Wolf Creek. While many killer crocodile films existed before Rogue like Lake Placid, Alligator and Australia's own Dark Age-Rogue is the absolute best of the sub-genre. From its genuinely haunting music that incorporates Aboriginal vocal and instruments, numerous name actors like Sam Worthington, Radha Mitchell, John Jarratt and Mia Wasikowska; and its expert use of its big monster crocodile. It genuinely does the best job at emulating Steven Spielberg's Jaws with minimal use of the beast until the thriller conclusion. Sadly, it was a box office bomb back in 2007-but if you can watch this film anywhere, you're in for a treat. 7. Turkey Shoot [Dir. Brian Trenchard-Smith]Director Brian Trenchard-Smith is mostly known (depending on the country) either for directing The Man from Hong Kong and Nicole Kidman's first big film BMX Bandits, or Leprechaun 3 and Leprechaun 4: In Space. But, one of his best films that's often forgotten about is his sci-fi action survival Ozsploitation film Turkey Shoot (or Escape 2000 in the US and Blood Camp Thatcher in the UK). The film is about a totalitarian authority that rule over Australia and disobedient citizens are imprisoned to be "re-educated" and also used as sport for rich elites. The film is essentially The Most Dangerous Game combined with political jabs at the likes of right-wing political entities like Maragret Thatcher, considering one of the villains is named after her. Steven Railsback and Olivia Hussey are great as the designated Hollywood leads, while the Australian team create some fun visuals, action scenes and a nutty climax. Absolutely recommend for loves of genre films and exploitation cinema. 6. Dying Breed [Dir. Jody Dwyer]Dying Breed is essentially an Australian mix between Deliverance and The Hills Have Eyes as a redneck/backwater horror film in Tasmania. What makes this film more unique is that this film is inspired by not only the extinct Tasmanian Tiger, but a real convict criminal from Australia's settler days who was rumored to be a cannibal. The film is this tense, often voyeuristic experience where you're just not sure what's going to happen, who its going to happen to or who/what is doing it. Sure, it's feeding a bit of the popularized torture porn genre Saw and Hostel established, but considering Saw actor/screenwriter Leigh Whannel is in this film-I'm not surprised. It wasn't particularly well liked by Aussie critics when it first released, but it's worth seeking out if you love horror. Also, honorable mention to the much better (and more well known) The Nightingale by Jennifer Kent which covers a more historically accurate setting of this story. 5. Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan [Dir. Kriv Stenders]Krvi Stenders is best known for his family friendly Australian classic Red Dog released in 2011, but I'd argue his best and more impactful film is this story of Australian soldiers in Vietnam. While Vietnam War films have been made in America basically since the war began, Australia's role in that brutal conflict is rarely depicted. Australian soldiers and American soldiers had completely different tactics, and so capturing that on screen is a joy to watch. Starring Aussie acting royalty like Travis Fimmel, Richard Roxburgh and Lincoln Lewis-the film ignore Hollywood level spectacle and bravado for a purely human story of the titular battle that is engaging, heartbreaking and thriller. While it lacks the iconic scenes of Platoon, The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now and We Were Soldiers-it absolutely deserves to a part of that pantheon and Stenders' directorial abilities shine here. 4. Carnifex [Dir. Sean Lahiff]The most recent film on this list is no less deserving of a place as it's a classically made, terrifyingly executed most film by Aussies that not enough have seen. To explaining the threat of the film would give the game away as you really should go in blind, but let's just say it plays on Australian prehistoric megafauna and turns what's often a joke in Australian terms into a terrifying beast. The film is seriously well done in terms of production, kills and performances so you really should just see it. 3. Wake in Fright [Dir. Ted Kotcheff]This is the only film on this list that isn't directed by an Aussie, instead directed by Canadian filmmaker Ted Kotcheff-known more for the British drama Life at the Top, the original Fun with Dick and Jane, action films like Uncommon Valor and First Blood, and the iconic comedy Weekend at Burnie's. Wake in Fright is arguably the most Australian film ever made by a non-Australian as it captures the behavior and environment of our nation-while contextualizing it from a foreign perspective. The film is a surreal, dream-like experience that honestly resembles the Silent Hill video game franchise or David Lynch's Twin Peaks more so than typical Aussie films. It deals heavily with themselves of masculinity and alienation, things Australians are still dealing with to this day. While acclaimed, the film was actually lost for some time until being restored in the 2000's and now remains a beloved Australian cult-classic. 2. The Boys [Dir. Roman Woods]In recent years, Australian filmmakers have become very fixated on real life crime incidents; with works like Snowtown, Nitram, The Stranger or the entire Underbelly franchise leaving an (not-always regarded) impact. But in 1998, Rowan Woods beat them all with a genuinely uncomfortable and all too real crime story based on the perpetrator behind the murder of Anita Cobby in 1986. The film has no glorification, with its camera merely an observer of some incredibly disturbing, bad sadly human people before and after they do something horrible. David Wenham might be known better for his roles in Hollywood films like The Lord of the Rings films, Van Helsing, 300 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales-but he plays his best role as a human monster here. And Toni Collete makes herself one of the rare bright sparks in this dark film. The Boys is a truly excellent film that won't kindle joy in your heart, but is arguably the best in Australia's true crime film pantheon. 1. Lake Mungo [Dir. Joel Anderson]While Australia has had found footage works like The Tunnel and There's Something in the Pilliga, none have been so beloved and acclaimed like Lake Mungo. While much of the found footage genre capitalized either on supernatural jump scares like Paranormal Activity and Grave Encounters or shock value like Cannibal Holocaust and The Poughkeepsie Tapes-Lake Mungo attempts neither. Instead, the film genuinely feels like a real documentary about grief and tragedy, rather than feeling just like random footage recorded by idiots. The film covers a family dealing with the loss of their daughter, who supposedly see the spirit of their daughter in eerie photos. I won't delve further because this movie knows how to tell horror through drama, mystery and escalation in a small scope. What I find so compelling about the film is how the story evolves throughout and gives layers to very human feeling characters before giving us one of the most existentially horrifying moments ever put on screen.
I consider it Australia's most underappreciated film as due to its execution, it's not the most accessible film and the fact that its director Joel Anderson has rarely done more work for the industry. While he was a script-editor on the Netflix mini-series Clickbait and an executive producer on Late Night with the Devil that's currently doing the rounds in cinemas, that's work he did a decade after he released this small masterpiece. You'd think any film company would see the brilliance of Anderson and let him make something more commercial, but apparently not. The film's traction has largely been due to YouTube creators like Ryan Hollinger, Chris Stuckmann, Dead Meat and other lovers of Horror giving it attention. Further viewing: The Saddest Horror Movie You've Never Seen (youtube.com) Lake Mungo - Movie Review (youtube.com) Lake Mungo (Dead Meat Podcast #131) (youtube.com) Even if you're not a lover of the horror or found footage genre, I HIGHLY recommend this movie as it is an emotional journey of film similar to that of the original Dark Water or The Exorcist as far as raw human feeling. And in my option-it is not only the most underappreciated Aussie film, but one of the BEST Australian horror films I've ever seen.
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