100 Bloody Acres, the feature debut of the Cameron and Colin Cairnes, is the Fargo of the Australian independent horror scene. Which is about as good as it sounds.
The film follows the story of Reg and Lindsay Morgan (played by Damon Herriman and Angus Sampson), two down-home Aussie brothers who run a blood and bone fertilizer company. The brothers have managed to jumpstart their business by mixing human remains found in car crashes in with their normal roadkill. When Reg finds a few hitchhikers on their way to a music festival, he decides he's found an easy opportunity to supplement the stock. But when he starts to fall for the fetching red head Sophie (played by Anna McGahan), he reconsiders the wisdom of his life choices. Unfortunately, his ogre of a brother Lindsay doesn't believe in half measures.
100 Bloody Acress portrays rural Australia with the same love and care that Fargo did for the Midwest. Excellent Slim Dusty tunes abound, and the honest naivete of Reg and the other locals is quite funny. And oh, don't get me started on the radio ad jingle of the Morgan Brothers. A great recurring gag. The acting is pretty good, too"”the two brothers are both hilarious. They work well off of each other. Angus Sampson does dark humor very well and is a pleasure to watch.
The film is novel enough, and funny enough"”but the actual plot is just a bit lacking. No reasons are given for Lindsay being an asshole to his brother. He just moves from being a bully to deciding to kill his brother. He is a funny bully, to be sure. But not a rational one, which is important even for a comedy. The characters of the partiers are pretty unsympathetic, from the totally annoying Wesley (Jamie Kristian) to the skanky Sophie to the jealous James (played by Oliver), you don't want any of them particularly alive.
It's also a bit light on horror. There are few genuinely scary moments"”the whole thing is just sort of bizarre. I much preferred John Dies at the End and Cabin in the Woods if you are looking for absurd horror comedies.
Fans of the Australian indie scene might still find this an interesting flick for its clever gags and exceedingly wry humor. For horror fans, though, remember the tagline"”these guys aren't killers. Just small business owners.
