Rippy - Das Killerkänguru

First off, the trailer is not really a good indication of what to expect from Rippy (aka The Red), which seems to imply it is a comedy horror movie (like 2014's Zombeavers), but in fact the material is played almost entirely straight. The closest film that springs to mind is another Australian film, Razorback from 1984 in which a giant boar terrorises an Australian community. Here, it's a zombie(!) Red Kangaroo that terrorises a small Australian mining town. Razorback is the better film.

Michael Biehn is hopelessly miscast (although at least he does not attempt an Aussie accent), and his apparent overacting (particularly during the first act) suggests he thought he was making a different kind of film. The lead, Tess Haubrich, who plays the small-town cop Maddy who lives in the shadow of her father's legacy, does the best she can with what she was given.

This is clearly a low budget film, and the dodgy cgi and practical effects could definitely have used some more money thrown at it. The movie tried but failed to bite off more than it can roo.

I must be honest, I didn't expect much going into 'Rippy', thinking it was going to be a cheap B-movie. It probably didn't have a big budget, but the film surprised me with good cinematography, good performances, and good make-up.

Maddy's dad was a local hero. Now she is trying to live up to his legacy, and she is put to the test when bodies start turning up - ripped to shreds. When Schmitty (Michael Biehn) tells her about a giant kangaroo, she doesn't believe him. But when more bodies turn up, and Maddy narrowly escapes an attack by the creature, she puts together a hunting party.

The back story about Maddy's father probably wasn't necessary, but I suppose they wanted a tragic back story in order for the viewer to root even more for our protagonist. 'Rippy' is a good old-fashioned creature feature with a simple premise. Although there are comedic elements, this is by all means a horror, with some creepy moments. Being such a short film (83 minutes) it was fast-paced and I enjoyed every moment.

'Rippy' gave me a sense of 'Razorback' meets 'An American Werewolf in London', and I had a bloody good time with it!

Actually the trailer tells you the whole movie.

And it is really about some zombie kangaroo who kills a lot of people in the Australian Outback.

It sounds like a hilarious, funny horror comedy you'd enjoy watching and have a good laugh at - but noooo.

The biggest flaw of that kangaroo zombie flick is that it totally wastes that opportunity and tries to be an earnest shocker movie.

But that does not work, because while the movie takes itself way too seriously and tries to scare you, it fails miserably because once "Rippy" the zombie kangaroo enters the scene you can not stop laughing at all. :)

And that's not only because the whole idea is so silly but because they used some very cheap and obvious CGI for "Rippy".

"Look - it's Rippy the zombie kangaroo out of my old computer I made with the help of the book "Cheap CGI zombie kangaroo for dummies" :)

The movie never gets any good it isn't even so bad it is almost good.

Unfortunately it isn't really worth watching.

I almost felt sad for poor ol' Rippy, who desperately tries to scare you, but you always end up laughing about it.

And I was really looking forward to watching a funny, braindead movie with the typical down under humor - but nooo - instead I got "Rippy" the serious serial killer movie about a zombie kangaroo.

Facepalm!

Where do I begin with this dreadfull pos?

Don't expect a comedy here. The movie takes itself seriously and the only laughs to be had are dumb plot scenes, oh and the God awful CGI that looks fresh out of 1997.

The plot should just be there is a giant killer kangaroo on the loose killing humans. So they fight back. That's all that should be needed. Instead it forces you to watch a pointless plot of the local cop whose father died and he was the towns hero zzzzzz. His daughter (the cop) is always going on about trying to live up to his legacy, or some stupid pointless thing, it bored me to death so much I just stopped paying it any attention and I dont know or care what the stupid outcome of it was in the end, because it was utterly pointless.

I heard toilets flushing when multiple times this cop ignores the peril dangers and just stops to worry about her dead father rather than the danger their in. Who wrote this (what gets flushed)?

Then there's the killer kangaroo in all its horrible CGI glory. What's even worse is this kangaroo changes size in every shot. One moment it looks average, then it's 8 feet tall, then back to 5. Whoever did the CGI is no professional, and I've seen amatuers do 1000 times better work on personal YouTube videos.

Mix all that in with side characters all muttering about things trying to make you feel for their past or something, and you've got a cocktail for the worst film out of Australia in years.

It'd have been better to use quick cuts, shadows, and off screen imagination with a couple of puppet close ups rather than try to sell this CGI disaster amongst pointless, and I mean POINTLESS dialogue between miserable characters and it's dumb plots.

The horror aspect falls completely flat. Never any sense of danger, nothing gripping, and not even any cool or memorable kill scenes. One moment a killer kangaroos after them, then they're casually walking home, then they're fearing the roo might be outside.... MAKE UP YOUR MIND writers.

My biggest question is how did they get Kyle Reese into this film, and why did he agree to be in it? I bet he regrets agreeing to it now.

I can't think of any reason to ever suggest to someone to check this film out. It's not even one of those 'it's so bad' ones. It just has NOTHING to offer, no redeemable qualities and I wouldn't even waste film students time saying this is a movie to watch as an example of how not to make a movie. It's just not worth anyone's attention in any way, shape, or form. It's just pathetic. Don't bother with it.

The bizarre tale of a zombie kangaroo terrorising a rural Australian village is told in Ryan Coonan's Australian horror film, which you may also interpret as a dark comedy. The movie, which is primarily set at night in the small town of Axehead, stars Tess Haubrich as Sheriff Maddy, a young police officer attempting to carry on her late father's legacy.

The townspeople are ripped to pieces by a string of horrific incidents just as she is beginning to feel overwhelmed by the demands of her work. Before it's too late, Maddy and her quirky Uncle Schmitty-played by seasoned actor Michael Biehn-must try to halt the zombie attacker. As they investigate, they find that Rippy, a massive undead kangaroo on the loose, is the real culprit. Hold on tight as we embark on this strange Australian journey into the mayhem of the outback with undead kangaroos.

The strange idea alone makes it worth seeing, but the uneven execution makes it unsatisfactory. Rippy the zombie roo can occasionally be legitimately unsettling and unsettling, but the slapstick required to strike a balance between comedy and horror can clash with heavier, more serious components. The mood is continuously changed by this schizophrenic technique, with differing results.

Coonan obviously did his research since Rippy captures the feel of rural Australia. The remote Outback location, complete with dusty country roads and dilapidated farmhouses illuminated by flickering porch lighting, feels genuine. But the erratic CGI is startling and takes us straight out of the eerie countryside. Rippy himself frequently looks more like a rubber Halloween costume than a realistic zombie. Any sense of menace is undermined by the floating fakeness when he punches or rushes with teeth and claw. It's also unfortunate because gore effects that use real makeup were not bad.

Gave it a half star extra for being an Australian film...