Truly disturbing, and deeply unsettling this Australian film based on a true story will leave the viewer forever changed.

This film might more easily be classified as a true crime drama than a horror movie, but it scared me more than most straight up horror films do. The true story it’s based on occurred in and around Adelaide in South Australia, between 1992 and 1999. John Bunting with the help of three accomplices murdered a total of twelve people over the course of seven years. The film seeks to tell this story as a human tragedy rather than a piece of exploitation or sensationalism. 

The film tells the story of these murders through the eyes of young Jamie, played by Lucas Pittaway, he is from an impoverished and broken home. When his mom’s boyfriend takes indecent photos of him and his younger brothers, his mother seeks the help of John Bunting, played perfectly by Daniel Henshall. John hates pedophiles and homosexuals and enlists Jamie and his brothers to harass the ex boyfriend into leaving town. 

John soon works his way into the family. His cares for Jamie’s brothers and takes Jamie himself under his wing. He shows them a loving and positive father figure, until he shows his darker side. 

One of the brilliant decisions the movie makes is to forgo a traditional narrative structure. This isn’t the Hollywood three act system in which a hero has a goal, sets out on his journey by the ten minute mark, is challenged at the thirty minute mark and the climax happens at the hour and a half mark. This story unfolds in small vignettes. These scenes feel so real and authentic that you forget you’re watching a movie. It lulls you into the reality of the story. You’re not waiting for the next story beat. You’re experiencing every moment at the same time and in the same way that Jamie is. 

Another brilliant choice is the cinematography. It is beautifully shot. The Australian countryside looks incredible. The scenes are lit in a real yet artful way. But the most brilliant choice is the way the camera lingers on the faces of its characters. Shot on grainy film with a subdued color palette, every frame feels real and lived in and the faces of the characters resonate with emotional intensity. 

Any early scene that shows just how far John will go begins with John and Jamie eating dinner together at the kitchen table. The close up of Jamie’s face tells us this is an ordinary night at the dinner table. The close up of John’s faces tells that something sinister is about to happen. Suddenly John puts a gun on the table and instructs Jamie to shoot the dog. Jamie naturally refuses. John insists that its his dog and he doesn’t care what happens to it. Jamie refuses until there doesn’t seem to be another option. Finally he pulls the trigger. However we never cut away from Jamie’s face. We don’t see the dog. We don’t see the blood. We see Jamie’s face and the effect it has on him. We see John’s face and the satisfaction he has. The emphasis is on the characters and their emotional experience not on the blood and guts. This goes for the murders that follow as well. 

John holds court with the local community members condemning pedophiles and homosexual behavior. John is vehement in his disgust and condemnation of pedophiles. He encourages everyone to commit violence against those the perpetrators and the suspected perpetrators. This is where the films gets tricky. The audience is led to agree with John. Who would disagree that people who harm children should be locked up? We agree with John that the police aren’t doing enough. When the mom’s boyfriend from the beginning of the film is caught, he is sent back home within 24 hours. We agree with John that more needs to be done. 

Then the film shows us John’s solution, and it challenges everything. 

Warning spoilers and a description of deeply disturbing acts follows:

Jamie endured his mom’s boyfriend’s treatment, but he also has been enduring assault from his older half brother, Troy. Troy bullies Jamie and pushes him around. In a harrowing unbroken single shot, we are forced to watch Troy’s typical older brother bullying turn into rape as he forces his younger brother to the ground. The camera is down the hallway watching impassively. We are witness to something truly awful. 

After a while Troy becomes John’s next target. He is beaten and handcuffed into the bathtub. John forces Jamie to watch. They crush Troy’s toes with pliers and remove his toenail. This proves too much for Jaime. Jamie flees the bathroom and sits outside trying to collect himself. As he sits a few kids cross pass by on the opposite side of the street. I thought this was a brilliant touch. We see normal life pass by and innocence on display as we watch this teenager forever lose his innocence. The children also remind us of what is ostensibly being protected by John’s actions. 

John brings Jamie back into the bathroom and makes him watch as John’s associate strangles Troy with a cord until he almost dies. Then John lets him breathe again. He catches his breath before John has him strangled again. We focus on John’s face in this scene in a terrifying close up as this man watches Troy suffer and gasp again and again and again. His face is implacable. It’s one of the scariest close ups I’ve seen. Eventually Jamie has had enough. He grabs the cord and kills Troy himself. The close up is on Jamie as he weeps. He is torn apart by what is happening, and it shows on his face in a lingering unbroken shot. 

In the next scene, Jamie’s younger brother is celebrating a birthday and John smiles broadly as the boy opens his present and leaps with joy. John hugs him tightly and as smile and laugh together. The camera lingers on the smiling faces and the close up of Jamie that follows is haunting. 

End of spoilers

Daniel Henshall’s performance is one of the scariest I’ve ever seen because he is never one dimensional. He feels like a real person from the minute he shows up on screen. The film never villainizes him either. This isn’t a sensationalized portrait of a monster. This is a story of how a charismatic man can enter a family through kindness and warmth, and use that kindness to make people do unspeakable things. 

All the performances could not be better. Especially when you realize that only Daniel Henshall and one other performer are actual professional actors. Everyone else in the movie are just real people they found in the area that the murders took place. Lucas Pittaway who gives an astounding and emotionally resonant performance was just a regular kid who signed up to be in this movie. It was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, and it was delivered by an “amateur”. 

This was a great movie, a disturbing and horrifying movie, but a great movie nonetheless. If you want to be shaken to your core and challenged; this is the movie for you. If you’re looking for something fun and spooky; this isn’t it. 

It is my cup of tea A+