Horrorthon'08: NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD (2008)

Or NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION! to give it its full title.

While Peter Weir and his ilk were turning the newly emerging Australian film industry into the darlings of the arthouse film world, a new breed of Aussie filmmakers were ensuring that the country would also leave its mark on the exploitation map. This documentary tells the story of Australian exploitation cinema and is as entertaining as many of the films featured.

The film covers the early days of racist comedy and low-brow sex movies through the more famous films such as MAD MAX, STONE and PATRICK to horror films like RAZORBACK and neglected classics like LONG WEEKEND (one of my personal favourites), eventually ending with a look at how these films that went before have influenced the new generation of directors who have given us films like UNDEAD, WOLF CREEK and the smash hit SAW.

There are interviews with far too many people for me to list here, but they include filmmakers (George Miller, Russell Mulcahy, the late Richard Franklin), critics (Bob Ellis rather amusingly seems to hate everyone), home-grown stars (George Lazenby, Rod Taylor) and those who came to the industry from abroad (Jamie Lee Curtis, Dennis Hopper). And of course it couldn't be a film about cult movies without Quentin Tarantino waxing lyrical about how brilliant they are. These are just a handful of examples of those who are interviewed but there are many, many more.

It's essential viewing for any fan of cult films and is sure to open your eyes to a world of films that you never knew existed.

It'll also open your eyes in other ways. The most entertaining, and yet terrifying, strand of the movie is the story of how the films were made with scant regard for anyone's safety. Although they once again point out that, contrary to popular myth, that guy in MAD MAX that gets hit by the bike was not killed, other films weren't so lucky. People were killed on some sets; George Lazenby got set on fire (one of the funnier stories in the film); Dennis Hopper was, well, Dennis Hopper; and just listen to Steve Railsback describing his time on TURKEY SHOOT.

Not horror per se, but a highlight of the festival and one which every film lover should see as soon as the opportunity presents itself.