‘100 Bloody Acres’ (2012) Movie Review

Reg and Lindsay run an organic fertilizer business. They need a fresh supply of their “secret ingredient” to process through the meat grinder. Reg comes across two guys and a girl with a broken-down vehicle on their way to a music festival.’

CONTAINS SPOILERS

Stranded in the Outback sounds absolutely terrifying. My fear of being murdered in foreign lands grows exponentially, and it’s films like 100 Bloody Acres acting as the impetus. Colin and Cameron Cairnes paint an oddly endearing mash-up about a couple of Aussie brothers in the blood and bone fertilizer business. The pressure to bring superior product to market must be intense since it drives the little brother, Reg Morgan (Damon Herriman), to rob a roadside accident of its human victim. After nearly getting caught, Reg tosses the corpse in the back of his delivery truck among his manure and roadkill a la carte, and gets back on route with a spring in his step. He’s stealing a body in one scene, then singing along with the radio in the next. Herriman is wonderful at injecting life, warmth, and conflict into what could have been a boring, throwaway horror character.

This is a horror film, so we don’t expect Reg’s trip to be a leisurely one, and in due time, Reg discovers a trio of twenty-somethings stranded on their way to a music festival. After a little coercing, Reg (and his libido) let the kids on. Reg shares the cab with the lovely Sophie (Anna McGahan), inadvertently finding her fascinating. While they engage in witty banter and sing-a-longs, the boys, James (Oliver Ackland) and Wesley (Jaime Kristian), get the stankiest spot possible in the back of the truck. Resolute to not let this experience ruin the concert experience, James drops a few hits of LSD. The best time to discover the body in the back of the truck is when you have a head full of acid. The jig ends abruptly and big, creepy, bearded brother, Linday Morgan (Angus Sampson) enters the picture. For a guy ready to send a fellow human through a mouth of steel processing teeth, the guy sure uses his hair and beard nets when handling meat. There’s that Morgan Brother’s quality I mentioned.

100 Bloody Acres succeeds where dozens of similar films failed. The film is much more comedy than horror, but executes a fantastic sense of  balance, easily knowing when a joke is better than an arterial spray. The film’s biggest asset is clearly the Morgan Brothers and their murderous commitment to their craft. The message might be “It’s all in a days’ work!” Most likely, it’s “Get the fuck out of Australia.”  Herriman and Sampson play off each other like old pros, creating the best, most palpable moments of tension and terror. Energetic, clever, self-aware, and gruesome, there is no reason to miss 100 Bloody Acres. The film even has a cameo from Wolf Creek 2 star, fellow Aussie, John Jarratt. Read my interview with Jarratt and decide id he’s a killer in real life as well.

You can watch this wonderful film instantly on Netflix.