Fair Game

This better-than-you'd-expect Aussie revenge thriller pits a young female wildlife refuge ranger against a trio of moronic imbeciles who terrorize her in a senseless cat-and-mouse game in the great outback. Some fairly effective scenes play out in this otherwise unexceptional and run-of-the-mill revenge yarn.

Good performances and interesting location filming highlight this, a take-it-or-leave-it indie film which could have benefited from more gratuitous nudity and violence...the final product,while not at all bad, seems rather lacking in the sleaze factors which fans of this type of film are generally looking for.

4.5/10...neither fish nor fowl, but definitely watchable.

Australia's answer to "I Spit on Your Grave"? Maybe, except this is actually a much better (and more watchable) film. A woman who owns an isolated vast wildlife reservation realizes that her Roos and other animals are being illegally hunted by some local hooligans. When she tries to set the perps (one of whom thinks he's Crocodile Dundee) straight, they start messing around with her. After a few days, things get out of hand and she finds herself their new prey on her own property. Dubbed an action/thriller by most, I was expecting this to be a cheesy laugh-fest. The only thing about it that resembles an 80s action/thriller is the often light-hearted score (which morphs into more appropriate horror music at times.) Otherwise, this is filled with tension and a humane heroine that you want to root for. This follows the typical rape/revenge formula of the 70s, but it isn't as difficult to watch. A totally fun flick that's one of Australia's better horror offerings.

Fair Game (1986)

* (out of 4)

Jessica (Cassandra Delaney) is a young woman who is working in a wildlife sanctuary in the Australian outback. She seems to have a terrific life until one day when she runs into some poachers. At first it seems the poachers are just having a little fun with her but before long it turns dark and forces Jessica to defend herself.

If you're familiar with films like THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE then you might eventually run into FAIR GAME, this Australian attempt to try and cash in on those genre pictures. I hadn't heard too much about this film but decided to give it a shot since I'm a fan of the "revenge" genre but sadly this film is pretty darn bad on many levels.

There are all sorts of problems with this movie but the biggest is the screenplay itself. It's clear that the filmmakers wanted to do a revenge picture but I just found this to be so poorly written that at times it became comical. I say that because the female character here constantly puts herself in more and more danger to the point where it turns deadly. In all honesty, I'd blame the female character here for allowing the events of the film to go where they do.

I'm not going to ruin anything in the picture but there were so many times where this character could have gotten away and moved on in life yet she kept going back for more. All of this got rather annoying as the picture went on but there are plenty of other problems including the male characters being deadly dull and boring. It also doesn't help that there's not an ounce of tension to be found and the entire film just has a very dull feel to it.

With that said, the look at the outback was wonderful and made for some terrific shots throughout the picture. I'd also argue that Delaney was quite good in her role and it's too bad that it wasn't better written. FAIR GAME has pretty much been forgotten ever since it came out and it's easy to see why.

Weak plot but great showcase for Cassandra Delaney. Also interesting Outback scenery and action. I enjoyed the rural Australian scenery; that was interesting to me; the remoteness helped give some credibility to the lawless villains. The setting was different and remote, giving some credibility to the lawlessness of the villains. A lot of the action was unique and haunting. The plot grew more and more predictable but I didn't mind. The plot seemed designed to showcase Cassandra's charms and, I confess, she won me over! Unfortunately, Casasandra later married John Denver in real life and turned to music...meaning she was only in about 5 movies. Too bad. I would go to a movie just to see her.

A woman in charge of a wildlife sanctuary in Australia is terrorized on the road by two men in a beastly pickup truck and another man in a truck with a shark painted on the back doors. They continue to harass her, and she keeps asserting herself against them, even fighting back. They're intent on killing animals and having cruel fun.

Some who've watched the movie think that if she left them alone, they would have left her alone. I doubt it. At a minimum they would have gone on killing more animals, which she would have found intolerable. But I think they were as intent on tormenting her as killing kangaroos.

The woman is played by the beautiful Cassandra Delaney (the future Mrs. John Denver!), who sadly has not done many other movies. She spends the first part of the movie barely dressed in a long shirt and belt and nothing else, or a wrap and belt. Hot outfit for a hot environment.

Essentially follows a rape-revenge sort of plot, although it isn't clear if they rape her. As the video box indicates, they strap her to the hood of their pickup and drive her around. She's later dumped and she takes a shower, so a rape could be inferred, but it isn't integral.

A well-made film, well acted, though not especially deep.