TUNE IN JUNE: Fortress (1985)

Note: Here on Shlock to the System, June is TUNE IN JUNE, which is really just an excuse for me to catch up on some TV series I've been meaning to watch for a while. But I will also be watching a number of TV movies, particularly ones from the hey-day of the TV movie, the 70s and 80s.

Fortress (1985)
Director: Arch Nicholson
Starring: Rachel Ward, Marc Aden Gray, Rebecca Rigg, Sean Garlick
Format: AVI

Plot: In the Australian countryside, a school teacher and her students are kidnapped by masked men. She and the children fight for their lives and try to escape from their captors.

This Australian made-for-TV movie stars the beautiful Rachel Ward, who was fresh off a series of American big budget movies (SHARKEY'S MACHINE, DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID, AGAINST ALL ODDS), and a supporting cast made up mostly of children actors.

Teacher and children are the focus of the movie, from the moment they're snatched from their classroom and taken into the Aussie bush for ransom, through their escape from a cave, to another run-in with their captors and climaxing in a final, deadly showdown that sees the kids becoming feral warriors, ala Lord of the Flies, but with bad guys on the receiving end instead of other children.

The fact that this is a made-for-TV movie might suggest that the violence is muted. But remember, this is Australian TV, not American. Whereas American network TV is highly censored, that's not the case in Australia (or here in New Zealand). With a story like this, that's an important difference, because the violence is an important part of proceedings and doesn't have to be kept off-screen.

But in saying that, some of the violence is still quite shocking, being that it involves children. And not children as victims, but children as perpetrators. These kids are pushed over the edge and they fight back in a big way.

The kidnappers are kept faceless for all but a brief moment, and their masks really add to the tension. Like in a more recent move, You're Next, seemingly-friendly masks become instruments of terror. Here it's also animal masks, but the ringleader wears a Santa Claus mask, which is all kinds of twisted.

Ward carries the bulk of the acting load (as well as getting her kit off), but most of the children also do a great job of acting terrified and bewildered and then, towards the end, vengeful. None of the young actors went on to become a Heath Ledger or Naomi Watts, but for most part they've all kept working in TV and movies since.

Fortress is a prime example of a made-for-TV movie done right. At just short of 90 minutes it never feels overly-long. Unencumbered by the censorship issues of an American production, it doesn't pull any punches and weaves an entertaining and suspenseful tale which will have you cheering along as the kids mete out their justice.

July 10 - Death Cheaters (1976)

The cover of my VHS copy of Death Cheaters

Death Cheaters (1976)
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Format: VHS (Syme Home Video)

Director Brian Trenchard-Smith is a cult favorite when it comes to Australian movies. In the early 80s he helmed a couple of Ozploitation classics in 1980's Stunt Rock and 1982's remarkably offbeat Turkey Shoot (known in the US as Escape 2000 and in the UK as Blood Camp Thatcher), before turning to more family-friendly fare like 1983's BMX Bandits (starring a teenaged Nicole Kidman) and 1986's Frog Dreaming. By the 90s he had made his way to Hollywood, only to be stuck with dreck like Night of the Demons 2 and Leprechaun 4: In Space.

But before taking on any of the aforementioned films, Trenchard-Smith directed, wrote (and had a cameo in) this 1976 Australian actioner. Essentially it's a series of stunt set-pieces - car chases, abseling down inner-city buildings, furniture-destroying fistfights, guy getting run over, explosions, hang gliding etc - strung together by a flimsy plot.

Mustachioed Steve (John Hargreaves, LONG WEEKEND) and Rod (Grant Page, ROAD GAMES) are two Vietnam vet stuntman buddies who are hired by a spy named Culpepper (Noel Ferrier, TURKEY SHOOT) to go on a covert mission to the Philippines. They have to steal some secret papers or something of that nature.

Before that they undergo training (more excuse for stunt set pieces) and then catch a ride in a submarine. When they get to "The Philippines" (actually filmed in Australia) the action is restricted to some cliffs and a factory/mill, as they battle hordes of baddies, with plenty of nice, big explosions.

Everything is played tongue-in-cheek, with the two leads kidding around like they're in some kind of stuntman buddy movie. It works for the most part, just don't expect too much in the way of plot. The biggest problem is the lull in action that occurs midway through, but aside from that there's enough action to keep things interesting.

There are some unintentional laughs to be had - look out for the hilariously outdated gym equipment and the 70s fashions (Rod's array of pirate-like puffy shirts in particular).

But of course the high point is the stunts. Much of the credit for that falls to Grant Page, an experienced stuntman with 56 films under his belt. He was stunt co-ordinator for the first and third Mad Max movies.

Trenchard-Smith went on to create much better fare than this, but Death Cheaters is worth a watch to see this Ozploitation legend's early work.

June 27 - Contagion (1987)

The cover of my VHS copy of Contagion

Contagion (1987)
Director: Karl Zwicky
Format: VHS (CBS/Fox)

What starts off as a killer-in-the-Australian-outback flick in the style of Wolf Creek, with elements of Deliverance, soon turns into The Shining in the Australian outback, in this rare Ozploitation offering.

John Doyle (who according to IMDB went on to semi-fame playing a recurring character, Roy Slaven, on various Australian TV shows) is real estate agent Mark, who is driving along a deserted road one night when he sees a girl being attacked. He tries to intervene but falls foul of a group of feral bush people (which is where the Deliverance part comes in - even down to the butt-rape).

Escaping, Mark ends up at a beautiful mansion owned by eccentric multi-millionaire Roderick Bael (Veteran actor Ray Barrett, THE REPTILE, also the voice of John Tracey on the 1960s THUNDERBIRDS TV series). It is also home to a pair of alluring platinum blonde babes, both of which Mark ends up in bed with.

Soon Mark is promised wealth and all the naughty times he can wish for, but there's a price. To make his every wish come true, he has to start murdering the people in his old life.

His girlfriend (Nicola Bartlett) finds the "mansion" and tries to save her man, but is he victim to an evil trio of people, or something more supernatural? Or is Mark just plain going crazy?

The plot is different enough to be interesting from start to finish, kind of like an extended Twilight Zone episode, only set in the Australian outback. That setting makes for a great sense of remoteness, adding to the sense of dread, while director Karl Zwicky (best known for directing and producing Aussie soap operas) employs some excellent camerawork that adds to the suspense and intensity.

The acting is also excellent, particularly Doyle and Barrett. The women at the "mansion" are quite hot and get their kit off regularly. There are a couple of nice kills (including the use of a fire extinguisher) and enough blood and gore to keep most horror fans happy.

Previews on my VHS tape: War of the Roses, Nightwish, Nightbreed, The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover