Thursday, August 12, 2021

Badass Bunyip


Director - Gerardo Chierchia (Dark Ditties from Down Under, Tales That Broke My Brain)
Starring - David Black (Horror House, Gruesome Discoveries), Anastasia C. Kouloukas (The Faceless Man, Dark Night of the Zomboogies), and Benji Wragg (The Danger of Dating, Blood and Glory)
Release Date - 2021
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "No rhyme.  No reason.  No chance"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):



     Work has been kicking my ass lately so my reviews have been lacking but I'm trying to focus as much free time as I can to get caught back up.  A few weeks ago I posted in several horror groups on Facebook looking for news to post to the site.   I was then asked by several directors, producers, and so forth to review their films.  One of the first films I was asked to review was produced and starred David Black.  Black hit me up to review the horror comedy Badass Bunyip.  I love a good horror comedy and quickly accepted his offer to review it.  Thanks for reaching out David!
     The film follows a man and woman who enter the Australian bush (if that is the correct terminology) to have a little Christmas fun day drinking and hiking.  However, their drunken trip awakens the bunyip and the two quickly learn that it is more than just a local legend.
     Badass Bunyip is Australia's answer to the wild horror comedies of Chris Seaver.  I love goofy horror comedies with characters that wouldn't fit in the typical serious horror films.  Badass Bunyip was a fun follow up to my Seaver marathon but at an hour and forty minutes long I found myself wishing it was a lot shorter.  The acting is fun.  The cast is relatively small but the film's two leads are great.  The characters are over the top and extremely entertaining.  Their chemistry together made the scenes very enjoyable and the humor seemed to always find it's mark.  I wasn't expecting this style of filmmaking and this type of characters but I was all for it.  The story for this one is stretched way too thin and runs longer than it really has to.  I enjoy a good ozploitation film and seeing a horror flick based on Australian legend was fun but the way this movie was done left plenty of room for improvement especially in the editing department.  The movie mostly consists of the two sitting around in the woods drinking and delivering their dialogue.  This is split up with scenes of the bunyip killing before the film reaches it's climax.  As much as I loved the characters we don't need an hour and forty minutes of them sitting around drinking and being funny.  So much fat could be trimmed down on this story.  Not only would it help hold the viewer's attention but it would make the story a little more effective.  Finally, the film has some blood and cheesy death scenes that made me laugh the first round but each death is pretty much the same.  Overall, Badass Bunyip is a funny ozploitation flick with a solid story and hilarious characters.  The movie is a bit too long and a one trick pony so to speak but I enjoyed it.  If you are looking for some goofy fun then you are in luck.  

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