Ghosts... of the Civil Dead

I've seen a lot of prison films, ranging from the hopeful and optimistic, all the way to over-the-top shock and awe. "Ghosts of the Civil Dead" is certainly the most brutal prison film I've ever seen, but not in a way that suggests a lack of realism or a desire to shock or exploit. Although this film exists in a world that's not quite representative of actual life, the performances and depictions of a very specific type of human being are completely believable. John Hillcoat opts for a documentary approach here, and is very much successful in achieving a high level of convincing desperation.

The actors constantly feel like they're doing anything but acting. I never felt like I was watching someone who was anything but a prisoner or prison guard. Even with Nick Cave, who I was quite familiar with through his music, seems like he wandered in from another world. It takes a strong commitment to straight reality to ignore this many filmmaking conventions in a single film, and it means all the more when you've got this many brilliant actors behind you. This is a great film.

Manages to instill in the viewer a true sense of claustrophobia and unease. The violent scenes are some of the most graphic i've ever seen and especially the scene with the guard in the cage gives me the shivers of impending dread whenever i watch it. Also the use of tattoo as punishment is another horrible thought. Cave is brilliantly unhinged in his role and the scenes of him drawing on the walls in his own blood will be oddly believable to anyone who ever saw some of the more ferocious birthday party gigs of the early 80s.

A truly original movie that is only half the film that Cave's script was meant to portray........

The soundtrack (by Cave etc) is also brilliantly effective Can we have a DVD release please?

This film was screened on Australian TV when I was about 15. It's extremelly violent and psychological, a study in deprivation and pain. I mainly remember Nick Cave's performance (he co-wrote it). He plays a lunatic that get's moved to an already tense prison. His ranting and self-mutilation escalate the other prisoners sense of panic and chaos. Incredible acting and a very realistically frightening film. It's not fun, exciting or most things people look for as a distraction in modern day cinema, but if you're looking for something challenging and thought provoking it's well worth trying to find.

Stunning, almost horrific statement of the effect prisons have on the rest of society, Hillcoat has created a no-holds-barred, fabricated `report' on the inner-workings of an imaginary future prison that is worth seeing - if you can stomach it. There's certainly no doubting what writers Nick Cave and Gene Conkie think of prisons as Australian society's most corporal method of punishment and rehabilitation: although the on-screen activity is certainly shocking enough, what is perhaps even more so is what is not shown (perhaps because it didn't get past the censors?). Field's best role ever.

This film is definitely not for the faint hearted. Its subject matter is violent and brutal; the characters are bizarre; the film is graphic in its images, and pacing. At first sight this may appear just another film about violence in a prison. This, I suggest, is an illusion. Rather, the film helps us better understand the role that prisons serve in society. "Ghosts... of the Civil Dead" does not seem to be well known. I recommend it to those seeking thought-provoking movies : but be prepared for a real walk on the wild side!