LONG WEEKEND

Married couple Peter (John Hargreaves, BLUE MURDER; CRY FREEDOM) and Marcia (Briony Behets, NIGHTMARES) organise a weekend break to some beach "up North".

It's evident from the start that the trip is designed as a form of convalescence for Marcia, who is recovering from some emotional episode that is revealed in titbits of conversation throughout the film.

It's also immediately obvious that said incident has put undue stress on the couple's relationship, and the break alone is intended as a chance to get things back on track. They certainly need to - we witness them bickering from the very start, over everything from whether to take Peter's dog Cricket with them, to whether or not they should have music playing in the car.

On their way to the beach Peter manages to set fire to a bush while discarding a burning cigarette, and mow a stray kangaroo down.

Once they arrive at their destination, Marcia is unsurprised to discover that Peter has smuggled his mutt into the back of their 4x4. What alarms her more is the dark narrow track they must drive down to reach the enclosed beach. Blanketed with ominous tall trees, the track seems never-ending ... and the couple are convinced they have passed the same tree at least twice. Seemingly lost, they decide to spend the night in their vehicle.

The following morning Marcia and Peter discover they are only a stone's throw away from the beautiful, secluded beach. They waste no time in setting up camp in an alcove, and Peter immediately begins hacking away at a nearby tree with his axe. When asked by Marcia why he is doing this, he simply replies "Why not?".

After making up on the beach with a bit of heavy petting (and a flash of Marcia's breasts), the couple largely spend their time apart. Marcia is bored in the tent for most of the time, masturbating herself while reading dirty books. Peter, meanwhile, wants the sun, sand and surf - as well as the chance to swig as much beer as he can and shoot his rifle aimlessly as often as possible.

But then, strange things start to happen: Peter's harpoon gun triggers itself, shooting an arrow that only narrowly misses Marcia's head; a dark shape is spied in the sea, chasing Peter as he swims; an eagle bullets into camp, attacking Peter in the middle of the day; and strange noises keep Marcia awake at night.

When she decides she has had enough (and suffered another row with her volatile husband), Marcia determines to leave him and travel back alone. Unfortunately, the 4x4 won't start. Stranded on the beach, the estranged couple bicker some more - oblivious to the fact that things are about to get a lot more creepy.

Although heavy-handed in it's 'message' about man disrespecting nature (eagle eggs getting smashed; the beach getting littered, trees getting axed; kangaroos run over, etc), Everett De Roche's screenplay does at least afford the lead characters some realistically confused reactions to the strange occurrences that emerge in LONG WEEKEND's eerie second half.

While well written, the dialogue could have so easily fallen flat were it not for strong performances from the two leads. They, along with Vincent Monton's stunning cinematography, are what make the film so strong.

Colin Eggleton's (FANTASM COMES AGAIN; CASSANDRA) direction is low-key but well-paced, building the tension nicely while allowing us to become absorbed in the concurrent soap opera surrounding Marcia and Peter's mysterious recent past.

The film succeeds in being genuinely creepy on occasion too, with nice touches such as the isolated locale, the widescreen shots of open emptiness, the eerie score and the haunting "crying" sounds heard in the night. It all combines to unease the viewer, along with our realisation of Marcia's loneliness and vulnerability as her situation becomes clearer.

For a film shot virtually in a single location with a cast of two, LONG WEEKEND sustains tension well and sticks in the memory afterwards as a satisfying "quietly" creepy yarn. Worth a look.

But, while the picture quality of Optimum's R2 release is grand, fans will undoubtedly want to seek out the superior R1 Synapse release.

As mentioned above, Optimum's release presents the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and it's been anamorphically enhanced for 16x9 TV sets. It looks great, with rich sharp images and vivid colours. There's no bleeding and precious little grain to be uncovered, in what is altogether a lovely print.

The 2.0 English audio track is nice and loud with no faltering.

Where the disc falls down is in its lack of additional material. Okay, it's the film that ultimately counts, and Optimum's presentation is great - but when all they have to offer is an anamorphic theatrical trailer, what's to dissuade the discerning genre consumer from snapping up the R1 release for the optional 5.1 mix, director's audio commentary track and a stills gallery accompanied by an audio interview with the late actor Hargreaves?

Definitely worth a look, but some may wish to consider their buying options first ...

Review by Stu Willis