A teen grieving for her mother volunteers for a spooky prank among her friends, but finds herself drawn in deeper than anyone expected.
Not totally satisfying, but an impressive Australian entry in the high-school dice-with-death genre. The first half is excellent, opening with a busy shocker of a prequel scene, before launching us into a world of adolescent rebellion and angst, where the energetic characters always react with frank humour or touches of sensitivity.
The performances are strong, helped by a script that balances action and dialogue just right, and the editing and direction keep the story unfolding at a good pace, with a couple of reversed plot-points to open up new areas of intrigue. The sound design has clever moments, and the lack of jump scares means it never has to go over the top. Plus the music is full of energy, including that Sia song everyone drunkenly sings along to without realizing its subject is the despair of addiction. Nice.
The second half narrows its focus and, while the tension does build, we lose touch with some of the complex characterization of the group in favour of a personal journey into madness. The balance between the psychological and the supernatural isn't quite right for me, I guess because the necessary weirdness and mystery is sacrificed for the sake of bringing on the climax and resolution. Compared to another recent Australian horror, the brilliant Run, Rabbit Run, it just lacks the sophistication to leave me open-mouthed in horror. But I ain't really complaining - it's still one of the best in the past couple of years.
Overall: Top of its sub-genre.
Not totally satisfying, but an impressive Australian entry in the high-school dice-with-death genre. The first half is excellent, opening with a busy shocker of a prequel scene, before launching us into a world of adolescent rebellion and angst, where the energetic characters always react with frank humour or touches of sensitivity.
The performances are strong, helped by a script that balances action and dialogue just right, and the editing and direction keep the story unfolding at a good pace, with a couple of reversed plot-points to open up new areas of intrigue. The sound design has clever moments, and the lack of jump scares means it never has to go over the top. Plus the music is full of energy, including that Sia song everyone drunkenly sings along to without realizing its subject is the despair of addiction. Nice.
The second half narrows its focus and, while the tension does build, we lose touch with some of the complex characterization of the group in favour of a personal journey into madness. The balance between the psychological and the supernatural isn't quite right for me, I guess because the necessary weirdness and mystery is sacrificed for the sake of bringing on the climax and resolution. Compared to another recent Australian horror, the brilliant Run, Rabbit Run, it just lacks the sophistication to leave me open-mouthed in horror. But I ain't really complaining - it's still one of the best in the past couple of years.
Overall: Top of its sub-genre.