As celebrated in Mark Hartley’s recent, excellent documentary Not Quite Hollywood, the Australian horror genre has a gloriously schlocky history. A raft of outlandish movies from Down Under rocked the international scene in the 1970s and 80s, including films like Razorback, Patrick and Mad Max. One of this tribe was Colin Eggleson’s 1978 shocker Long Weekend, which starred John Hargreaves and Briony Behets as the city dwellers who mistreat a rural paradise at their peril.
The works of novelist Cormac McCarthy are proving to be something of a gold-mine for modern filmmakers. Back in 2000, actor-turned-director Billy Bob Thornton took on McCarthy’s Western All the Pretty Horses, and in 2007 the Coen Brothers found Oscar glory with their take on his thriller No Country For Old Men. Following in their footsteps is Australian director John Hillcoat, who breathes cinematic life into McCarthy’s unique Armageddon fable, The Road.
When the Earth’s crust begins to rotate around its molten core causing worldwide devastation, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) bundles up his fractured family and attempts to follow the privileged and powerful to safety.
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