UptownRox This isn't a run-of-the-mill horror film. It's a gem of subtle camerawork and slow-building tension heightened with some genuinely extreme and horrifying moments.The first director I thought this Aussie was paying homage or crafting his film after was Kubrick--with his menacing use of camera movement and perpetual, unforgiving environment, Kubrick was a master. This director and film don't achieve that level of craft, but it was a surprise and reward to see an unknown weaving together advanced camera and editing techniques to build some scary moments.The opening shot is something out of the helicopter shot following the car in The Shining. Not as long or nearly as technical, but with the added voiceover, the same tension of dropping down into this dark world is there.Many of the shot selections are subtly creepy and right on the mark. When the hitchhiking girl gets into the cab of the flatbed truck, we get a subjective shot from the driver's POV and never see the driver. This creates undeniable, yet subtle tension. And a few minutes later we learn why with an unreal payoff that made me question if Tom Ford watched this movie when writing Nocturnal Animals to have crafted the horror in his kidnapping scene.The eccentric soundtrack always seems to come in at the right moment, with the compositional themes of a nightmare opera. The composer plays on the minor keys, creating a subtly 'off' sound to match the story and camerawork.When the two women in the countryside come into the story I realized what type of film, tone-wise, I was finally watching. It's something like Scorsese's After Hours, but as horror. (or I suppose you could just call this early Peter Jackson.) The protagonist gets himself into these unreal, sometimes darkly funny situations, and we watch, gripping our armrest more and more tightly, seeing how far it will go.Sure, there are some messy plot-points: it's a bit convenient the hitchhiker is dropped off right where she is; and the nature behind the protagonist's condition isn't explored very well. But these are somewhat forgivable. As a whole, though, the story development--the ways the main character could've gone, to challenge his condition and be challenged-- is the weakest element, especially in the third act, and takes away from the film's greater potential, keeping it from achieving the completeness of the films I mentioned above. For the most part, the last thirty minutes aren't patiently built up with slow-rising tension, or leveled with the same amount of detail as the first hour. Though there are moments there, and it does end on a high note that lives up to the rest of the film, making it a gem worth checking out.

PeterMitchell-506-564364 John Doyle (Hg and Roy) pretty sure he plays Roy, pops up, in yet another video fizzer from the CBS Fox video collection. Undoubtedly one of the worst Aussie horrors, this one I've come to view, recently again, and asking myself that same question, what's the whole thing about, and what the hell is the three fold path. And what the hell is Ray Barrett doing, acting in this. The film starts off interestingly enough, with a roll of razor wire being strung across a lone country highway, the next unfortunate soul, a bikie buys it, in a scene too reminiscent to that fateful one in Stone. From here we follow Doyle, a real estate agent, who does a night call out in the sticks, in his trusty station wagon. The survivor of a bad accident, where the female occupant wasn't so lucky, he's aided by a beautiful blonde girl, Helen, who takes him back to this palace like house, that doesn't fit into the ordinary of houses out here in the bush. You can easily tell too they're two different shots. Here in this house of luxury, Doyle meets Helen's bitchy twin sister, Cleo, and a mysterious older guy Ronny (Barrett) completely wasted of his talent, the much better, if professional of performances. What the hell is this grumpy old sod, doing out here with these fine two lovelies. Are they somehow related? How did they meet? Barrett's a very successful money magnate, follows the money market, into trading. He is, what you could say, made of the right stuff, something this movie definitely isn't. Pity all these three characters are ghosts. At least Doyle gets to have some nice serves of sex later on in the flick. Doyle becomes so intrigued by this Ronny, brainwashed if you will. He stumbles back to his beat up station wagon, out there on the lonely road. He collapses, ends up in hospital, his girlfriend, a boutique owner, her head full of questions. They eventuate into more serious ones, as she notices changes in him. Yes our Mark (Doyle) has become a changed man, a stronger man, a better man. Obsessed, he returns to his lovelies and Ronny, where to complete this three fold path, whatever, or whatever the hell that is, he's asked to kill certain people, so their place and operation is kept top secret. Really, not much of this movie makes sense, nor does it's existence. It has some nasty, sick bits of violence here and there, minus a finger or two, and sometimes it appears, Doyle isn't even acting, that of a standard to an ANZ ad he did, mid 80's. Really Contagion is just a horribly horrible horror, some scenes pointless, as they are pathetic, as in other Karl Zwicky films. If you're a horror buff, and you actually think this movie's good, get a head check, seriously.

Coventry "Contagion" is an obscure and sadly overlooked Aussie horror gem from the late 80's that – and I'm pleased to read that the select few other reviewers around here wholeheartedly agree with me – honestly deserves to be wider known amongst fans of the genre. It's Australian and from the 80's, so it's actually too bad that it wasn't included in the near- brilliant 2008 documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!". If so, perhaps it could have been a much wanted cult item for collectors to purchase already, like so many other titles highlighted in the documentary. "Contagion" is an intriguingly weird mix of styles and sub genres. It's atmospheric as well as exploitative, sleazy as well as sophisticated and suspenseful as well as gratuitous. It's actually a backwoods road-movie slasher with supernatural elements and melodrama influences. How's that for a plot description? Mark is a traveling real-estate manager on his way to settle a new deal when he witnesses a young hitch-hiker being assaulted by two backwoods hermits on dark forsaken highway at night. His rescue attempt fails miserably and he as well gets captured and viciously male-raped in the woods. Mark manages to escape, however, and ends up at a luxurious mansion at the edge of the forest, where he's warmly welcomed by two blond vixens and a Hugh Hefner look-alike who drivels endlessly about power and money. Mark can share their success, but then he will have to make personal sacrifices and be prepared to get rid of competitors in murderous ways. Mark becomes more and more caught in a web of greed and sexual power, but naturally loses his grip on reality and moral values. "Contagion" benefices from a marvelous sinister ambiance and the desolate Aussie filming locations. The story might be a little hokey and incoherent, but the wholesome strangely makes sense when approaching the climax. The first couple of murders are a bit tame and unexciting, but the film contains quite a number of grisly images and gruesome moments during the finale. The voice-over prologue and epilogue are ultimately macabre, but sadly not all too relevant. The acting performances are adequate overall. Although I fail to see why all the women are so desperately craving for him, John Doyle does a good job at portraying the troubled protagonist Mark. Nicola Bartlett (as his steady girlfriend Cheryl), Natalie Gaffney, Pamela Hawkesford (as the two delusional blond mistresses Cleo and Helen) and Jacqueline Brennan (as his secret crush Trish) are all very likable as the female love-objects.

EyeAskance When a young man named Mark is driving through a desolate wooded area in the dark of night, his headlights espy the assault of a young hitchhiker. He stops to help the girl, but in the process becomes abducted by a group of dangerous backwoods heathens. By and by, he escapes to an incommunicado mansion where a strange tycoon and two mysterious blonde beauties promise him great wealth...at a cost. A killing spree ensues, and Mark spirals deeper and deeper into madness under the watchful eyes of the ghostly three.This is a genuinely creepy supernatural body-count film, and highly original stuff...why it has lingered for so long in relative obscurity is anyone's guess. 7/10