Long Weekend review

LONG WEEKEND is a unique take on the “Do not mess with the environment: Humans vs. Nature” sub-genre. Released for the first time on DVD a few years ago, the Australian film from 1978 is a realistic horror-thriller with plenty of surprises and chills.

Peter (John Hargreaves) and Marcia (Briony Behets), trying to save their troubled marriage with a little camping trip along a secluded beach somewhere on the Australian coast, get more than they bargained for when their utter disregard for nature ends up having dire consequences. After lackluster examples of eco-friendly behavior (to name just a few things they do) such as littering with broken glass, killing wildlife and chopping down trees for no reason, nature and its inhabitants rebel and fight back… subtly but viciously. What follows is a pseudo-supernatural and bizarre nightmare for the two protagonists.

The story and script (from Everett De Roche) worked for me for these two main reasons:

1. By presenting us two very unpleasant characters almost impossible to root for. Peter and Marcia, painfully on the verge of divorce, are terrible to one another. Their banter is realistic and stressful. They have a secret which will surface. Just watching these two people make a heartless attempt to save a love for each other that no longer exists (maybe it never did) was riveting on its own.
2. By keeping things drenched in ambiguity and paranoia, not as black and white as things may seem. Nature may be retaliating but nature also can be a cruel, harsh place where certain behaviours and attitudes can set in motion a deadly contest of circumstances.

The occurrences that take place beg the question : Are these two hateful people destroying their environment as a means to destroy each other ? Or is karma taken things in its own hands by having nature fight back against its aggressors with the implied help of a supernatural force ?

Director Colin Eggleston makes this all unfold at a foreboding, slow-boiling, effective pace, highlighted by several scenes perfectly composed. A particularly haunting scene takes place when Marcia is crying in their vehicle on the beach in front of the water after being tormented by sounds and something she saw in the water. Without giving away too much, the last stretch of LONG WEEKEND is quite nerve-wracking as Peter seems to realize what is going on and takes action, all the while slowly losing his grip on reality.

I had never even heard of this film and was greatly surprised when it was thought-provoking and provided some good scares. LONG WEEKEND also displayed excellent acting performances, superb sound design and effective good old-fashioned wrangled animals. It was refreshing to see a nature & creature revenge movie that wasn’t campy, opting to provide realistic characters, threats and situations instead.

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