By Ben Bussey
What with the likes of Willow Creek and Exists, Bigfoot horror seems to be quite the in thing of late, so it’s small wonder that other cryptozoological legends from around the world would start making their presence felt. And so, representing Australia’s Bigfoot equivalent the Yowie, we have Throwback, the tale of two unassuming blokes who head out into uncharted woodland in search of lost pirate gold – but find themselves facing off against not only each other, but also a big hairy beastie that doesn’t take kindly to uninvited guests. And no, the big hairy beastie in question is not the above-pictured Vernon Wells, though of course he has his part to play.
After an 1800s prologue shows a couple of outlaws fall prey to an unseen terror and establishes the film’s key theme of there being no honour among thieves, we skip forward to the present day and meet salt-of-the-earth Aussie Jack (Shawn Brack) and his cockney geezer buddy Kent (Anthony Ring) as they head up the river and off the map on a treasure hunt. Alas, once they succeed in finding the treasure in question, Jack learns the hard way what should have been immediately apparent if he’d ever watched any of the films of his noble countryman Mel Gibson: that the English are bastards who can never be trusted. Wanting all the loot for himself, Kent turns homicidal – but before he can finish the job on Jack, the men learn they’re not alone in the deep dark wood.
First things first – this cover art stinks. There are no tents in this film, the setting is a thick bush (heheh) which is very far removed from the rather airy woodland pictured, and slapping the Yowie’s scowling face dead centre feels almost mean-spirited given the pains the film itself goes to in keeping the creature’s visage a mystery. Poor show, Monster – we’ve come to expect better from you.
Okay, that brief rant over, I must now apologise for wheeling out the standard complaint that almost always comes up in reference to any microbudget horror movie; however, this really is one of those instances when I can’t help wondering how much better things might have been if only the filmmakers had been able to scrape a bigger budget together. Writer-director Travis Bain is clearly striving to make a great outdoors epic that blends survivalist horror with boy’s own adventure, with shades of vintage John Boorman, and maybe just a hint of mad old Mel’s often-overlooked Apocalypto. To a certain extent Bain and co are successful, as Throwback is certainly better written, better acted and far less cheesy than most microbudget horror, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that the North Queensland locations are awe-inspiring to behold. Unfortunately, the low production values really let the side down here. As gorgeous as the scenery is, the DV cinematography can’t help but make everything look cheap – and though the Yowie itself is largely kept to the sidelines (a wise move under any circumstances), the brief glimpses we do get never inspire any reaction beyond “that’s just a guy in a rather silly-looking suit.”
Still, if you can get past that Throwback does have plenty to recommend it. Bain wisely keeps things lean in terms of plot and character; beyond Vernon Wells’ cameo, the action largely focuses on Brack, Ring and Melanie Serafin as the park ranger who inadvertently gets caught up in all the kerfuffle. This core trio all turn in solid performances, and for the most part Bain’s script serves them well. As for Vernon Wells; it’s easy to see why they wanted him in the movie, given he’s quite the icon thanks to his numerous cult roles (Mad Max 2, Commando, Innerspace, Weird Science, Power Rangers Time Force and so on). But as is so often the case with big name cameos in microbudget movies, his character is ultimately a bit superfluous at the end of the day, and not really as amusing as I suspect it was intended to be.
It’s hardly an earth-shattering achievement, but Throwback is enjoyable enough, and certainly marks out Travis Bain is another Australian indie filmmaker worth keeping an eye on. Hope he has a slightly bigger budget at his disposal next time around.
Throwback is out on Region 2 DVD on 9th February 2015, from Monster Pictures.