DVD Reviews

Red Hill – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Jan 27, 2011, 16:01 GMT

Constable Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten, TV\'s "True Blood") arrives in the small town of Red Hill in search of a quieter life. But, on Cooper\'s first day with the Red Hill Police Department, a convicted murderer escapes from prison and heads straight for Red Hill to kill the men who put him there. One by one, the townsmen fall until Cooper discovers the shocking truth about the convict, and must ...more

Red Hill is a film that straddles several genres, but does it with an Australian flair.  It also turns out to be an excellent film that builds up tension grandly and with flair. 

Constable Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) has chosen to be transferred to the small Australian town of Red Hill.  He chose this remote location because his wife (Claire van der Boom) is pregnant.  She lost their first child due to stress and Shane thinks that isolation of Red Hill is just what the doctor ordered for a successful birth. 

Things don’t exactly turn out that way… at least for Shane.  He meets the crew of the police station, but doesn’t make a good impression with the chief “Old Bill” (Steve Bisley) since he’s misplaced his firearm in all the unpacking.  Bill sends Cooper out on a menial assignment but when he returns he finds a group of residents abuzz and armed. 

Former Red Hill resident Jimmy Conway (Tom E. Lewis) has broken out of prison and is feared to be returning to take revenge on Bill and the men.  It seems that they were responsible for his fifteen year incarceration. 

Bill posts men at all the routes into town and assigns Cooper to an isolated road since he doesn’t think Jimmy will use the route.  However, Cooper discovers that the scarred, aboriginal Jimmy uses that route and he is drawn into Jimmy’s violent return. 

Red Hill is one of those films that is a delight to discover.  It’s a mixture of western, horror, revenge tale, and done with a foreign kick since its setting is the outback.  Kwanten, known for his role on True Blood, hits all the right notes as the doting husband and expectant father that finds himself drawn into a fiery conflagration. 

Steve Bisley, who played Mad Max’s partner in that movie, is also great as the gruff Bill (looking like a cross between Tim Curry and Robert Altman).  However, the real star of the show is Tom E. Lewis.  His Jimmy is a silent killing machine whose face is halfway burned off with an old scar that has a vaguely reptilian quality.  He strides into town and kills without uttering a word. 

Being aboriginal there’s also a mystic quality about him as well as a bit of the indestructible ala Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, or a certain drifter from the High Plains (hint, hint). 

The mystery becomes the motivations behind his spree, but Lewis has a stoic Charles Bronson quality that makes the character a standout.  It’s really a wonderful film that may be slow to start but amps up the tension as it progresses.  A great start from director Patrick Hughes and here’s hoping that more people discover the film so that he can step behind the camera again. 

Red Hill is presented in widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  The shame is that the only special features are a collection of previews for other Sony products.  For such an enjoyable little film it’s sad that they couldn’t have thrown a few shrimp on the barbie. 

Red Hill does run red by the time the credits roll.  This revenge tale cannot be hastily dismissed as the film is of a high quality although it hits on many genre notes but the symphony it produces is one that plays wonderfully on the cinematic ears. 

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