Darkstar pictures present an 80’s Ozploitation revenge-thriller set in the Australian outback. Mario Andreacchio’s Fair Game features Jessica (Cassandra Delaney), a “vulnerable” woman relentlessly terrorized and hunted by a backward psychotic trio, (Ringo (David Sandford), Sunny (Peter Ford), and leader, Sparks (Garry Who). All equally pervy, obnoxious, and highly ignorant, ring leader Sparks is the most dangerous and obvious psychopath subtly lurking behind a cordial exterior.
Jessica’s first encounter with the trio forces her off the road and nearly off the edge of a cliff. This escalates to shooting animals in her wildlife sanctuary, one of which she later discovers dead in her car mounted in the driver’s seat behind the wheel. There is a tit-for-tat dynamic between Jessica and the antagonists after each encounter of disrespect. Jess attempts to get even, such as welding together the trio’s hunting rifles while they slept and attempting to steal their vehicle.
The intensity reaches a cataclysm when she is manhandled, stripped semi-naked, and strapped to the front of their truck “the beast”, driven for miles in the heat, and wakes from her ordeal on the grounds of her property. Cited as an inspiration for Death Proof by Tarantino it comes to mind in this scene. Dismissed by the law (Don Baker), she is pushed to the edge of her sanity and takes matters into her own hands MacGyver style. This is written by Rob George (The Battle for Jericho), and the cinematographer is by Andrew Lesnie (I am Legend).
This is described as a “wronged woman gets revenge” thriller. The “wrong” predictably references some form of sexual exploitation of a woman literal and/or symbolic, typical of the era and trends with a Mad Max, Road Games feel. Documentaries such as Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation (Mark Hartley) document this genre and its exclusion from Australia’s official film history. However, it’s something to watch, firstly, as a piece of film history documenting the trajectory of this genre and, secondly, to appreciate her resourcefulness as she wealds her brand of justice.
Movie Rating: 3 stars.
Movie Rating Guide
1 Star = Unwatchable
2 Stars = Cannot Recommend
3 Stars = Great for the Fans
4 Stars = A Solid Movie
5 Stars = Must Own (DVD/Stream Download)
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