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Grant and Paul are two friends who decide to embark on
a surfing weekend. Deep in the country late at night they
meet Kelly and Lisa, two attractive girls who invite them
to a party. But following the speeding car, their own vehicle
slides off the road and becomes stuck in the dirt. The young
men go in search of someone to help them pull it out, but
as they approach a house they hear the sounds of an argument
and watch, horrified, through the window as a man slits the
throat of a woman...
The aggressor sees the onlookers and suddenly the boys are
on the run trailed by a pickup truck full of men. Splitting
up either side of the road, Grant encounters a man with a
rifle who appears at times to be a protector and at others
a straightforward madman with a gun. Paul comes across the
two girls again. They agree to drive to where the party is
being held and bring back help.
On
the way they see two men attempting to repair a car; there
is an accident involving inflammable liquid and the two men
are consumed by the flames. When Paul and the girls reach
the party venue no one is there, but as they search the place
the two dead men turn-up looking none-the-worse for their
ordeal. It is the first indication that something much more
than a simple murder and cover-up is going on. There are supernatural
occurrences at play here, and the location is not what it
seems. Time is having a strange effect, and for Grant and
Paul events turn increasingly more bizarre.
The Locals is one of those films which comes along
every so often where you're not expecting much and are pleasantly
surprised. In the early stages I found my opinion constantly
changing. At first it looks certain to be another teenage
horror flick, but then it steers towards Deliverance
territory, veers off to The Hills Have Eyes/Wrong
Turn, and finally arrives in a place we've never quite
been before.
There's
no way this obviously low-budget film should work: the acting
is not that good (but by no means dire), the handful of effects
shots are a little stuttery, and there's little sense of structure
for the locations or indeed the film itself. However, The
Locals offers an original slant on this scenario, and
the disjointed feel suits the strange style. It's rather clever
in a way; it's only at the film's conclusion that you realise
the reason for a multitude of anomalies, such as the girls
wearing 1980s clothes, the party venue being abandoned and
run-down, etc.
Writer
and director Greg Page is already well known in New Zealand
for his commercials and music videos; this is his first feature,
and he has to be congratulated for hitting the mark. After
all, keeping things simple is the name of the game.
Extras
include: music videos, a short behind-the-scenes, trailers
and a gallery, but by far the most worthy special feature
is the very enthusiastic commentary by Page. It's almost worth
the cost by itself.
Ty
Power
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