Chris Odgers Movies

Recalling the absurdist bloodletting of fellow kiwi Peter Jackson, Glenn Standring's debut feature is a clever, gleefully ludicrous flick about demons, disembowelments, and bloody death. Auckland anthropologist Dr. Harry Ballard (Karl Urban), a noted foe of fringe religious cults, receives a video death threat from demon-worshipper and Anton LeVey clone Le Valliant (Jonathon Hendry). Ballard laughs off the missive but as he is trying to get into his car, he is abducted by a band of Satanist punks, shot full of heroin, and beaten within an inch of his life. Somehow he escapes from his prison, but when he relates his experiences to the police, they are more inclined to believe that Ballard's story is based on drug-induced hallucinations than fact. Later he discovers his girlfriend strung up with barbed wire and an incriminating message written in her blood. Panicked, Ballard flees into the streets where his sanity and his faith in rationality slowly starts to come apart. While being pursued by a slick-skinned demon, Ballard is saved by Benny (Katie Wolfe), a borderline schizophrenic angel of mercy who knows a thing or two about the dark side. As they try to save themselves in the city's maze of darkened back alleys, Ballard struggles to understand this new irrational world that yawns before him. This film was screened with the Midnight Madness program at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

David Swann directed this Australian Christmas comedy told from the point of view of bright 12-year-old Joey Dredge (Daniel Kellie). After the accidental death of his father, Joey resents Bruno (Peter Rowsthorn), the new boyfriend of his mother, Hilary Dredge (Susan Lyons), and he has an equal dislike for Bruno's son Angus (Christopher Chapman). Friction is certain to erupt when this group gathers for the Christmas holiday with Hilary's parents -- conservative Jack (Terry Gill) and Vi Hall Maggie King). Also present is Vi's sister, the vulgar, chain-smoking Aunt Dottie (Valerie Bader). Adding to the stress is the surprise arrival of Jack's elderly and long-estranged father, Albert Hall (Warren Mitchell), who did prison time. With scarce sleeping quarters available, Joey is dismayed to learn he must share the toolshed with Albert. However, a close friendship begins to develop between the boy and the eccentric old-timer. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This controversial drama (which earned an NC-17 rating in the U.S.) was a major box-office success in its native Australia, and it made an overnight star of its leading man, Russell Crowe. Hando (Crowe) is a member of a gang of racist skinheads who lash out with violence against the growing number of Asian immigrants settling in the country. While Hando and his partner Davey (Daniel Pollock) lead a bunch of brutal, half-bright thugs, they have convinced themselves that what they do is the noble work of saving Australia for Australians (or at least the white Australians who drove the aborigines into the outback). Into this milieu comes Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie), a troubled young woman who suffers from epilepsy and was raised in a sexually abusive environment. Gabe becomes something of a gang moll, dividing her time (and her sexual favors) between Hando and Davey, generating considerable tension between them. When the gang's favorite bar is purchased by a group of Vietnamese immigrants, Hando and Davey organize an all-out attack, little imagining that the Asians are ready and able to defend themselves. Romper Stomper was released in America in both its original, uncut form, and in an edited version that earned an R rating from the MPAA. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide