There's Something in the Pilliga

Horrible movie, complete waste of time. Wish I could give it negative stars. How does crap like this even get made?

So many filmmakers have me eating my words lately. I've been vocal about my distaste for the found-footage genre and yet over the last couple of years there have been some wonderful little films that have impressed the heck out of me... THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE PILLIGA is one of them. We follow two guys (Dylan & Jay) as they drive through a remote area in the northern regions of New South Wales. Dylan is a cameraman filming his mate Jay, who is a colorful, bumpkin trucker and they meet two drunk girls who agree to a late night new years eve adventure in the bush. Their escapade finds them venturing into the Pilliga National Park where things take a sinister turn and a local legend comes out to play. Director Dane Millerd has crafted his film with blood, sweat, tears and a hell of a lot of precision. While it presents itself as "found footage" the film actually evolves throughout its course and you become so enamored with the characters, particularly Jay, that you forget about the format. Each of the players deliver convincing and sincere performances and none more mesmeric than Brendan Byrne who plays Jay. This guy terrified me. At first I thought him to be more of a caricature of the Aussie "bloke" but as the film played out I kept having flashbacks to folks I've met in rural Australia over the years... and it's fair to say that this is no caricature. He might not be a villain in this story but his outback Aussie-redneck-tendencies make him one scary mother who could've easily been the love child of Mick Taylor and Chopper Read. The film's style, pacing and payoffs are all strong and Millerd effectively strings the first half of the story along at a meandering pace, allowing us to get comfortable with these characters so that when they are thrown into their hellish night of horror we are right there beside them. He also provides a believable reason for these people to venture out into the bush and avoids all of the contrived and clichéd tropes of the genre. THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE PILLIGA is a strong, formidable and welcome genre-film that toys with exploitation and unearths a folklore that has been screaming to be told. Wherever you watch this fantastic new film, do it right... IE a dark space with maximum volume and total engagement!!

Blair Witch meets Bigfoot (oh i mean Yowie) and much like blair witch, has some jump scares and a wtf moment, mostly generic as you would expect from this type of film, film doesnt close off some story which leaves you wondering about a few people no doubt to try and force a second movie, which would probably be just as bad.

If you want a cringy horror/comedy type movie then probably look on redtube, gotta be better than this.

There's Something In The Pilliga (TSITP) is a standout among found footage films. Minimal budget and many non-actors have helped convey a mood and theme that is desolate, dark and downright creepy. Imperfection is undoubtedly a gift in this case whether it be through the cinematography or in fact the acting - it simply works. It's also not hard to follow. Two guys meet two girls at a pub in outback Australia on New Year's Eve and talk them into a drive to see their friend in the woods. They arrive only to find the friend is missing. The fact it is also based on a true story is also downright creepy. Australia is a dangerous place and not very forgiving when you're out in the outback. It is no different this time either. When the four people try to find the missing friend they are stalked by a Bigfoot and one by one taken out. The fact you barely see the creature also works. Less is more in this case. On the whole it's easily in front of other found footage and Bigfoot films for many reasons. Leoni Leaver and Brendan Byrne's acting, the cinematography, the locations, the score has the story. It doesn't rely on the monster too much and uses the outback as a scary character. The outback is arguably to scariest character of them all! Easily a four star film, highly recommend it to any horror or found footage fan who likes suspense and subtle scares. If you didn't like it I'd say you need to watch it again because the more you do the better it gets as you learn more details. (TSITP) is real hidden Aussie gem!

This is more of a character driven, found footage creature-feature. Pretty entertaining and accomplishes nearly everything it set out to do. Except for scare... Which is kind of the point of a horror movie.

Thankfully though, it's well worth a watch and I was enjoying myself the whole time. The strength of this one is the redneck cast of Aussie townies. There are plenty of genuinely hilarious bits of dialogue and some pretty funny sequences.

The ending is fine. Sort of clever, but still not all that satisfying. Definitely above average though.

Give it a watch if you like found footage and want to see a group of characters that you don't usually get to see in a movie like this.