Article written by Samuel Burnett.
This is a spoiler free review
“Instead of making some American films, let’s make some frikken’ Australian films.”
So said director, Luke Sparke. Last week, I had the amazing fortune to attend an advance screening of the new Australian alien invasion film, Occupation. As many of you have probably noticed, Australia does not produce much in the way of exciting film content.
Thankfully, Occupation does its very best to fill in the void.
This will be a spoiler free review so if it appears that I am being vague at times, I simply do not wish to ruin the film for you.
Described by the director as a cross between Red Dawn and Independence Day, the film is as explosive and action packed as you would want but also takes the time to flesh out the characters so you care whether or not they blow up before the end of the film.
Right of the bat, the characters introduced are likeable, charismatic leads (or in the case of a certain radio personality, entertainingly vile). Former Power Rangers star, Dan Ewing, proves once again that he is just suited for action oriented science-fiction, play a retired AFL player. He injects a sarcastic, world weariness into his performance and plays off really well against the rest of the cast.
Temuera Morrison is dangerous. Despite being one of the good guys, every second he is on the screen, he just radiates menace culminating in a particularly bloody beatdown against a rather unfortunate extraterrestrial.
However, while Ewing and Morrison are technically the leads, the real star of the of the show is Terminator alumni, Stephany Jacobsen. This woman brings a raw ferocity to the role and has to lead the film in several key scenes. Without giving away any spoilers, her character arguably does the most to save the day. She is also a skilled enough actress that she very nearly saves a bad scene that I will address below.
The action is phenomenal but the opening scene easily takes the cake. Once the first shot is fired, it does not let up for a single second, throwing in flying saucers, pyrotechnics, hundreds of screaming extras and one particularly durable caravan. Sparke was clearly not afraid to go all out on this scene. While other films with similar content would simply focus on the fleeing main characters fleeing the spaceship, this scene also focusses on ground troops attacking the civilians with an outstanding sequence of the aliens emerging from the tall grass.
The film makes excellent use of its limited budget, doing with six million dollars what others studios would do with one hundred million. There were multiple occasions where I was convinced that they had to have had more money, so convincing were the special effects. Sparke was creative when working around the restrictions of a smaller budget, ingeniously using both light and shadow to obscure and reveal.
Finally, whoever was in charge of sound in this film deserves an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. You feel every bullet fired, every explosion, as though you were actually in the middle of a firefight. While the initial invasion scene would have been fine on its own, the sheer barrage of sound elevated it to a tense, nail biting sequence that was every bit as exciting as when the aliens destroyed the White House in a different invasion film. According to Sparke, when shooting one of the action scenes, nearby residents believed that they were under attack.
I can understand that.
There are only a couple of key things that let the film down a bit, the biggest being the ending. Not the film’s climax, that’s awesome, I am specifically referring to what was probably the last ninety or so seconds. Without giving away too much, Jacobsen’s character undoes the restraints of another character. This moment is almost entirely unearned, being given the meagerest of foreshadowing. While Jacobsen does her very best to sell the scene, she has very little to work with. This becomes even more frustrating when that moment is resolved with a voice over. If this were a standalone film, it bother me more, however, Sparke has revealed that there is already work on a sequel so hopefully that be fleshed out more in the follow-up.
Secondly and lastly, the opening narration was literally the most on the nose bit of dialogue I have heard in the cinema, attacking us with all the subtlety of a Trump tweet. If you have not seen the film, trust me, it’s that bad, if you have, then you already know what I am talking about.
However, these are minor quibbles and don’t get in the way of the rest of the film.
Occupation was a blast from start to finish. I can’t remember the last time (if ever) that I saw this kind of film made for Australians. It’s just not something we expect anymore. The acting, directing and sound all add up to a thouroughly enjoyable time at the movies. I cannot recommend it enough.
I look forward to seeing it again and buying it on Blu-Ray when it is given its home release.
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