Australian cannibal film making people sick

Asia-Pacific News

Sep 16, 2009, 1:44 GMT

Sydney - Cinemagoers are literally being made sick by an Australian feature film that documents the descent into cannibalism of 1822 Tasmanian penal colony escapee Alexander Pearce, news reports said Wednesday. 'The vomiting thing was a real surprise to me,' said Van Diemen's Land director Jonathan Auf Der Heide. 'We had two people vomit in New Zealand and a couple of people have fainted during the first killing scene.' Pearce, who developed a taste for human flesh, became a folk hero after being hanged for murder in 1824 in Hobart. Auf Der Heide told Australia's AAP news agency that what was upsetting people was the unvarnished portrayal of the Irish convict tucking into his chums rather than the usual Hollywood blood-and-guts extravaganza. 'What people find so gruesome about it is that it's approached as authentically as possible,' he said. 'So there's no blood splatters or any of that stuff that we're used to.' Pearce, transported to the British colony for stealing six pairs of shoes, was tried for murder after being captured with human flesh in his pockets. Auf Der Heide said anyone starving to death would consider eating the flesh of a weaker companion. 'Stories in popular culture have made him out to be a monster, and I wanted to approach him as a regular guy who did what he had to do in order to survive,' the Tasmanian-born director said.

Your Talkback on this Story

Older Talkback

Similar articles

New Moon eclipses Harry Potter's Half Blood Prince in Australia
Australians give Australia the flick
Fourth time around for Mad Max
Australians give Australia the flick
Luhrmann's Australia trumped at the US box office

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

News from Other Sites

Asia-Pacific: Index

: News; Features

From Sites We Like

Latest Tech Herald News

New attack aimed at jailbroken iPhones
Creationists add 50-page intro to Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species'
AT&T finally welcomes the BlackBerry Bold 9700
Barnes & Noble: Nook deliveries delayed until January
iPhone set to arrive in South Korea

Latest from Fark

Citing huge demand and turnout, NYC health authorities happily confirm .00143% of the city was vaccinated against H1N1 this weekend [Dumbass]
Half of drivers age 18-34 admit texting on the road; the other half reponded with ;) [Obvious]
If you're going to hide a sex offender at your home, maybe you shouldn't work for the State Police [Fail]
Budget cuts, office closures, and staff reductions may mean that visits to the DMV won't provide the same joy-filled blissful escape from the everyday that they once did [Sad]
Not news: Transit police officer forces passenger's head into a reinforced glass window. News: Window shatters and cuts the passenger and the officer up. FARK: Passenger is charged with assault for cutting the officer [Asinine]

Latest Cinema Blend News

Video: James Cameron And His Ego Visit 60 Minutes
Zemeckis Auditioning John Lennons For His Yellow Submarine Movie
Clark and Ellen Griswold To Return In Super Bowl Ad
Kull Getting a Sorbo Free Reboot
Victoria Beckham Says No To Madagascar 3

In Monsters and Critics

: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Lifestyle; Movies; Music; News; People; Science & Nature; Sport; TV; Archives
Other Languages and Sites: Deutschland (Monsters and Critics); The Tech Herald; Free Games

Entertainment: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Movies; Music; People; Soundtracks; TV
Media: Celebrity Photos; Movie Pictures; Movie Trailers; Movie Posters; Theatre Stills; Celebrity Video; Music Video
Released this week: Movies - USA; Movies - UK; DVD - USA
Distractions: Online Games; Daily Crossword; Sudoku Classic; Daily Jigsaw

World News: US; UK; Americas; Europe; Middle East; Asia Pacific; South Asia; Africa; Business; Education; Health
Science and Tech: Science and Nature; Technology
Lifestyle: Autos; Fashion; Life; Travel

Corporate

: About; Advertise; Contact; The Team; Vacancies; Privacy; RSS; Site Map; Terms; Webmasters

The Fine Print

© 2003 - 2009 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. * Note M&C cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint

USA