By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Jack Clark | Jim Weir
Starring: Ben Hunter | Clementine Anderson | Jack Bannister | Mackenzie Fearnley | Shabana Azeez
Year: 2024
Running time: 113
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20674132/reference/
Aaron says: “Aussies relish in a particular brand of genre movie with a nasty streak, from HOUNDS OF LOVE to YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME, but the latest addition, BIRDEATER, is a pretender that can’t break into the crowded field. From the start, something is off: Louie and fiancée Irene have a problematic relationship, but just how problematic is only revealed when he invites her to his bachelor party at a remote spot in the outback. In what should be fertile cinematic territory for a critique of toxic masculinity, directing team Jack Clark and Jim Weir don’t quite trust their own vision, resorting to a labored homage to WAKE IN FRIGHT (a poster of the 1971 film makes a prominent cameo). When briefly dipping into cringey social discomfort horror-comedy, BIRDEATER is incisive and wicked. But the film’s descent into gonzo debauchery can’t mask a larger problem: BIRDEATER has nothing new to say, and more damningly, doesn’t have the confidence to say it interestingly. 1.5 Cats“