Just as David Michôd was the breakout Aussie filmmaker of 2010, this year belongs to Justin Kurzel -- if the overwhelmingly tense, pulsating and stunningly shot footage in the new trailer (plus the early fawning praise) for his debut feature Snowtown is anything to go by.
To be honest the film needs this sort of staggering praise, at least in Australia, to really take off and get past the massive controversy that has dogged it since it was announced.
After all, Snowtown is based on the horrific true story of John Bunting, the country's most notorious serial killer, and his role as ringleader of a group of young accomplices -- responsible for 12 murders in and around Snowtown, South Australia in the 1990s.
The film, which looks a cross between Michôd's Animal Kingdom and Rowan Woods' masterful 1998 debut The Boys, was directed by Kurzel and written by Shaun Grant and stars a bunch of newcomers -- although I'm sure I spotted Boxing Day's Richard Green with a mane of blond hair.
Check the new trailer out below...
The director of photography for this and Animal Kingdom is Adam Arkapaw. He's shot a lot of the successful movies coming out of australia over the last couple of years. Another one is the popular short film I Love Sarah Jane.
Can't wait for this movie. Already love the score just from the trailer. The subject matter is explosive: it's a rare case of a serial killer working with others, and a look into how this happened.
Very astute observation about The Boys. That film is hugely influential.
Am watching a show on ID Discovery as I type this about these events. Fucking scary shit.