Coffin Rock

By Clint Morris

Like a Leptospirosis-infested K-9 that’s had on too many drained longnecks thrown at it, Aussie thriller ‘’Coffin Rock’’ is primed to attack – and unlike a lot of similar-themed genre peers (*cough* “Prey” *cough*), it’s actually got the teeth to do it!

With a strong fright-fest bloodline behind-the-camera (Producer David Lightfoot was one of the “Wolf Creek” team; the Visual effects crew worked on such sublime genre efforts as “30 Days of Night” and “Black Water”) and a first-class local cast (Robert Taylor, Lisa Chappell, and Sam Parsonson) in front-of-the-Nikon, “Rock” was always going to entertain. But with a tight, effective and genuinely unnerving script by Rupert Glasson (“Teratoma”), its silver propped up to gold.

Jessie (Chappell) has been unable to conceive a child with her husband (Taylor), despite years of trying. In a desperate and drunken mistake, she sleeps with a young stranger, the mysterious Evan (Sam Parsonson). Determined to prove his paternity, Evan’s intentions soon become borderline-psychotic and the young woman finds herself at the centre of a psychological and brutally physical battle which she must win if she is to survive and have the family she longs for.

Taylor (“Rogue”, “The Matrix”) and Chappell are terrific (especially good to see Taylor playing an Aussie again, having donned a Yankee accent for a couple of high-priced Hollywood blockbusters of late), but its newcomer Sam Parsonson (who some will recognize as Dylan from cable hit “Love My Way”) as the film’s, well, ‘Glenn Close’, that truly impresses. Not only does the young actor mercifully master a believable Irish accent for the film, but he truly immerses himself in the role of the rickety, latently-schizophrenic desperado. It’s a very believable and frightening performance from Parsonson – one that’ll ultimately get him noticed by the higher powers. His turn makes up a good section of the glue that holds the thing together.
The real star of the show though may be writer/director Rupert Glasson, who’s come up with a very entertaining, and very tense thriller that’ll make you think twice about dipping your pen in another’s ink.

It’s not exactly brimming with fresh plot, but Glasson’s deft hand makes you feel like it is. And there are moments in the film that won’t just have you on the edge of your seat (the ‘Joey’ scene; the ‘Handbrake’ scene; the ‘Phone-Bashing’ scene) but likely see you getting to know your pillow a whole lot better. In some respects, it’s an even more frightening film than “Wolf Creek”.

Okay yes, “Coffin Rock” is flawed, and of course you can pick holes in the script, but if you’re prepared to switch off, go with it, and just enjoy the ride… you’ll be treated to what’s possibly the most unnerving Australian thriller since ‘’Dead Calm’’.

Extras :

None, Sadly.