Very well executed

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

I have to say that I love John Jarratt. His appearance as the bad guy in the WOLF CREEK films has given him a cult following, and this infamy led him to make SAVAGES CROSSING, a low budget thriller written by Jarratt and his wife, starring Jarratt and his real-life son, Charlie. It's a bit of a family affair, but sadly one that turns out to be distinctly average and rather a let down compared to the intensity of the WOLF CREEK movies.The light plotting sees a group of characters assembled and stranded at a remote diner during a stormy night where the torrential rain has made the only road going in or out impassable. The characters are largely uninteresting here, but Jarratt holds the attention as an ex-con who has unfinished business with his estranged wife and kid. What follows, though, despite best efforts, is strictly routine, and there's little of the suspense you'd expect from the premise; no edge of the seat stuff. It's also surprisingly tame.It goes without saying that Jarratt is hugely entertaining, as is ever the case, and he's well matched by NEIGHBOURS star Craig McLachlan who is a welcome presence as the square-jawed heroic type. But the story seems to go on forever, repetitively going back and forth while depending on the characters making dumb decisions to spin things out a bit further. It tests the patience instead of testing the viewer's nerves.

A flash flood in Australia cuts off a small handful of people in a remote roadside diner . A man called Phil enters and threatens his estranged wife Sue and the stranded drivers realise they're in a desperate struggle for their lives This is a low budget Aussie thriller with a very small cast and a limited number of sets . This isn't enough to condemn the film as a failure of course but if you're making something along the lines of THE OLD DARK HOUSE then you'll need to make sure you're bringing something new and appetizing to the table and this is where SAVAGES CROSSING fails to a very large extent . What happens for most of the time Phil played by John Jarrat swaggers around over acting to high heaven telling people if they don't tell him where his wife is he's going to have to kill them Another minor annoyance is Craig McLachan as the hero of sorts Mory . McLachan was once a household name in Britain and Australia twenty years ago due to his starring roles in NEIGHBOURS and HOME AWAY while like so many Aussie soap opera stars had a side line as a pop singer and he does the incidental music here on a soundtrack that is rather intrusive . He doesn't make much of a hunky hero either in a film that feels something of a wash out which is appropriate since it revolves around a flood

Savages Crossing is a micro-budget horror flick written by John Jarratt and his son and it really is just an exercise in vanity. Jarratt had a fleeting glimpse at resurrected stardom with Wolf Creek and so he's essentially written himself another psychopathic lunatic role in a similar vein. But hey, the movie works. The first 10 minutes are woeful (and unnecessary) as its shot in day light and the lack of budget shows, but once night falls and the rain pours, Savages Crossing has a great atmosphere and performances. Craig McLachlan is actually really good as the 'take- no-sh!t' country farmer and in my opinion he steals the show. Its not great by any means, but certainly worth a look.

My expectations weren't very high for this film... and quite rightly so. John Jarratt (from Wolf Creek, Django Unchained... and Play School... you heard me) writes and stars in this little independent Aussie flick about a man who immediately after being released from prison (or rehab... it's never really made clear) heads straight home to visit his wife and son so he can demand either his half of their house or $5,000,000 (yet again it's not really made clear... and the house is probably worth about $500,000 at the most). The wife and son head to the holiday home of a family friend where they believe they'll be safe and can hideout until the coast is clear. Halfway to their destination they find themselves stranded at a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere due to the flooding caused by a storm that has conveniently just begun. Even more conveniently, they left their address book open and the psycho patriarch figures out where they're heading just in time to find himself stranded halfway there at the very same roadhouse. On the surface it would seem that he wants half the house or $5,000,000, otherwise he'll kill his wife and his son AND anyone who gets in his way, including the other poor unfortunates who are also stranded at the roadhouse. There is a mild twist at the end, but you'll still be left thinking, "Really? Is that it?". The acting is of the same calibre you'd expect from an episode of Neighbours or Home and Away on a bad day. Judging by the cover you'd be expecting a brutal horror movie and you'll wind up sitting through a lame thriller with a very low kill count and very little tension. Craig McLachlan plays the hero of the piece... and with all due respect Craig... enough said!I apologise for the fact that my carefully worded and relatively well thought out review is essentially just one massive paragraph :DCheck out my IMDb List for some better suggestions. "HORROR/THRILLER: Obscure, Overlooked & Underrated" http://www.imdb.com/list/8QFZ78e4Ar8/ :)