LONG WEEKEND

From Jaws to Phase IV, Grizzly to Empire Of The Ants, cinema peddled many compelling reasons never to venture outdoors in the ’70s. This Australian eco-horror is one of the smarter entries in the Nature’s Revenge genre.

A suburban couple head to the outback on a camping trip, hoping to repair their fracturing marriage. Their car collides with a kangaroo on a dark road, inciting a karmic chain of cause and effect, as they’re confronted with a hostile, unforgiving wilderness that deepens the faultline in their relationship.

There are hints of Deliverance and Straw Dogs in the vibe of city vs country paranoia, but despite moments of pure schlock – when possums attack! – the film aligns itself more with the haunted Australia seen in Peter Weir’s movies. Helmer Colin Eggleston favours mood over straight thrills, deploying unearthly howls and black, inexplicable shapes in the surf to build a landscape that’s as much psychic as geographic.

Extras Commentary by exec producer Richard Brennan and cinematographer Vincent Monton; a roundtable with four film critics (24 minutes); uncut interviews with Monton, star Briony Behets, and the writer, conducted for Ozploitation doc Not Quite Hollywood (18 minutes); stills gallery with ’90s audio interview with star John Hargreaves (five minutes); trailer. Nick Setchfield