Inspired by the terrific new documentary Not Quite Hollywood, the Screengrab is proud to present Ozsploitation!, our own survey of the golden age of Australian drive-in movies. Pop a tube, throw another shrimp on the barbie and try not to chunder.
This one surprised me. The tagline, as you can see on this poster, is “Their crime was against nature…and nature found them guilty!” This led me to expect a sort of Outback Day of the Animals, complete with vicious dingoes and bloodthirsty kookaburras. Long Weekend is something altogether different: an elliptical and unsettling creepshow that defies easy categorization.
Peter (John Hargreaves) and Marcia (Briony Behets) are a suburban couple hoping to work out their marital difficulties with a camping trip. (Actually, Peter is the one set on the camping; Marcia would just as soon spend the long weekend in a luxury hotel.) From the beginning, director Colin Eggleston sprinkles ominous hints indicating that the trip is probably not such a great idea. We overhear a television news broadcast reporting an avian attack straight out of The Birds. We see Peter peering at Marcia through the telescopic sight of his rifle. The folks at the gas station claim they’ve never heard of the beach Peter and Marcia are looking for, even though it’s only five miles away.
All the while, as they make their way to their remote destination, Peter and Marcia bicker. He hits and runs over a kangaroo, the first episode in an emerging pattern of disrespect for the natural world. Later, he’ll toss his empty beer bottles on the beach or into the woods. She’ll shatter an eagle’s egg against a tree in anger. He’ll shoot and kill an innocent sea cow, thinking it’s a shark.
There’s a brief reconciliation, once they’ve finally reached their destination and set up camp. Still, nothing feels right, and it’s never clear where the threat is coming from. There’s a van parked down the beach. Unfamiliar animal cries pierce the night. Peter may be crazy – or maybe Marcia, or maybe both. The abstractions create a tension that pushes Long Weekend out of the realm of run-of-the-mill exploitation into unexpected, disturbing territory. The least satisfying reading of the film is a simple “nature strikes back” interpretation; although that’s one explanation for the fate that befalls Peter and Marcia, it doesn’t feel adequate when weighed against the movie’s enigmas. This is exactly the sort of buried treasure I’d hoped to dig up when I launched this foray into Ozsploitation, and that’s certainly worth four Foster’s.
Bonus attraction: Perhaps the best animal actor I’ve ever seen as the couple’s dog Cricket. This cute little fella can do both comedy and horror, and I hope he was well compensated with Snausages.
Postscript: Long Weekend was remade this year by director Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend). I haven’t seen it, but I’m given to understand it’s one of these “shot-for-shot” dealies. For your consideration, here are the trailers for both Long Weekends.
Previously on Ozsploitation!:
Turkey Shoot
Razorback