TrueStar Domains: REVIEW: 'Red Hill' Starring Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley and Tom E. Lewis

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

REVIEW: 'Red Hill' Starring Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley and Tom E. Lewis

By James Luxford on Monday 9th May 2011

Australian thriller hits Britain...

Photo by splashnews

While neighbours New Zealand may boast the Lord of The Rings movies, Australia itself is more present Hollywood than ever. Hugh Jackman, Naomi Watts, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman have all established themselves as Tinsel Town stars, and they even have their own superhero in Thor star Chris Hemsworth. So now we look to the country?s filmmakers, for Aussie made thriller Red Hill.

Hoping for a fresh start to raise his blossoming family, new policeman Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) moves to the town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife. Clashing with fearsome boss Old Bill (Steve Bisley), Shane thinks his day couldn?t get any worse until it emerges crazed killer Jimmy Conway (Tom E. Lewis) has broken out of prison, heading to Red Hill for revenge. With the criminal picking off his colleagues one by one, Shane must outwit the mysterious killer before he becomes one of his victims.

A movie that uses a myriad of genres for inspiration, this western-style thriller has as much of its influence in horror as it does cowboys. Feeling at times like a Robert Rodriguez movie, bullets fly, blood splatters and appendages soar across the screen. It is at time a little uncomfortable to watch, and doesn?t ever complicate matters too much beyond the basic ?hunter vs hunted? routine, but feels gritty and compelling even in its slower moments.

Some wonderful casting took place in Ryan Kwanten, known to US TV viewers as Jason Stackhouse in True Blood, playing Shane as a man with his own demons but looking to the future before he is thrown into the madness. Lewis is delightfully menacing as Jimmy, cutting a frightening figure particularly in the film?s bloodier scenes. Mel Gibson?s Mad Max co-star Bisley is the standout, however, with a gruff, fascinating and violent portrayal as the ruthless Bill.
Taking its inspiration from Assault On Precinct 13 then adding a pronounced Grindhouse flavour, Red Hill is uncomplicated, gory, but thrilling in places and featuring charismatic stars in Kwanten and Bisley. What it may lack in depth it makes up for in a rip-roaring final third, and makes for an entertaining, blood-splattered hour and a half.

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Tags: Ryan Kwanten , Red Hill