Coffin Rock

Horrorphile

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Coffin Rock

July 27th 2010 01:13

Jessie (Lisa Chappell) and Rob Willis (Robert Taylor) are married and living in a small fishing community charmingly known as Coffin Rock, in South Australia, probably not too far from Adelaide. They are a happy couple if perhaps a little on edge. You see they’ve been trying to conceive for a while now without much luck. Jessie’s feeling desperation scratching at her biological door, and Rob’s feeling the pressure. Enter young Evan (Sam Parsonson), a drifter from the city looking for work, but as it becomes quickly apparent, looking for love, and not just love from anyone, he’s looking for love from Jessie. He’s taken quite a shine to her; a shine with the dark gleam of the psychologically unhinged.

Lisa Chappell as Jessie

Coffin Rock (2009) is the debut feature from writer/director Rupert Glasson and it’s a solid little horror-thriller indeed. Great cast, taut script, and tidy direction, and if perhaps the movie loses steam during the last third, it’s still an entertaining, but familiar ride. This is your poor man’s Fatal Attraction, but still well worth investing 90 minutes into. The performances are uniformly strong, especially Lisa Chappell and relative big screen newcomer Sam Parsonson, who delivers a convincing portrayal of a man on the edge of the abyss and losing his footing.

Sam Parsonson as Evan

The entire cast is small with Joseph Del Re as local misfit Benny and Jodie Dry as Jessie’s best friend Megan providing solid support. It’s essentially a two-hander between Jessie and Evan, and the screenplay provides some great scenes between the two of them. The dialogue Evan has with his father (Bernard Ledger) in several scenes on the phone is nicely handled, adding further weight to the young man’s descent into the dangerous void of insanity.

Jessie fiddles with the morning after pill

So just what is it about Evan’s obsession with Jessie? It stems from an immediate attraction he has for her, but it boils down to a night(mare) situation when Jessie gets drunk after an argument one too many with Rob. She’s down at the local with Megan, but Megan can’t stop her friend from drowning her sorrows. Benny is loitering with intent, but it’s Evan who conveniently appears at her fishing garage and whom takes advantage of her vulnerability. Jessie’s too pissed to know any better, and it is the curiously attractive Evan she lets her guard down to, and who relishes the moment of love’s abandon, getting his leg over. Jessie doesn’t let the urgent thrusting go on for long, but it’s gone on long enough for Evan to plant his seed.

Joseph Del Re as Benny

And it’s his seed that will have him calling again … and again … and again. Not on the phone, but in person. And much to Jessie’s severe anxiety, not to mention she’s drowning in guilt. She can’t bring herself to tell Rob, for he won’t be forgiving. Megan can’t offer much solace either, but by that stage it’s all too late. Evan’s off the rails, and is out to prove paternity. At all cost.

Rob (Robert Taylor) makes a gruesome discovery

Coffin Rock’s best stuff comes through the movie’s first half as the dire situation unfolds and Evan’s diabolical character is brought to the fore, he really is a man possessed. Not by the devil, but by lust’s cruel claws and a filthy squalid love. Jessie and Rob aren’t the only lives he’s ruined. There’s a poor little joey who’ll see a nasty end, and then there’s Evan’s papa too. And who knows what other destruction Evan’s laid waste to before his arrival in the township they call Coffin Rock?

Coffin Rock Robert Taylor and Sam Parsonson

I’m cultivating a gripe over the habit of movies named after a fictitious town only because the writer(s) have given the name of the town something that sounds ominous and full of dread. Surely Rupert Glasson could have come up with something better than the title of Coffin Rock for his story? I know there are some strange names for towns, but Coffin Rock? That was the name given to the forest crime scene in The Blair Witch Project (1999) where the men were found dead and tied to the rock. C’mon guys, I know Greg Mclean made Wolf Creek (2005) for the same producers and that kind of fit because the villain was an animalistic predator, but what about calling Coffin Rock Jessie’s Baby instead? I’m kidding, of course. I like the poster and DVD cover art though.

NB: Why this movie only comes out on DVD now I’m not sure. If it got a theatrical release in Australia, I certainly was unawares. Curiously it was given an R18 rating in New Zealand (while only an MA here in Australia). Why, I wonder? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand the criteria used by censors, nor the agenda of distributors. It often leaves me baffled.

Here’s the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

7 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Jason King

July 27th 2010 07:03

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

Ooh - me likes. Will keep an eye out for it at the video store. Thanks Bryn

Comment by David O'Connell

July 27th 2010 10:53

Screen Fanatic

This one definitely get did a release in cinemas Bryn, I remember it being reviewed on At the Movies. I'm pretty sure Margaret liked it - which was the final nail in the coffin for me.

It obviously didn't last long. I think you summed it up perfectly - the poor man's Fatal Attraction! I'll probably give this a look at some stage.

Comment by ShaunK

July 27th 2010 13:39

Screen Adventure

Ah, Coffin Rock - this came onto cinemas and was virtually ignored - pity. I put the films lack of success down to it's unoriginal marketing strategy. solid review Bryn and a solid film too, but it's clear that people were almost completely uninterested in seeing this. I'm not surprised with a tagline like 'be careful what you wish for', really uninspiring line.

I actually ran into the producer of Wolf Creek/Coffin Rock at the airport in Dubai, we had a natter for about twenty minutes or so as we were both on the same flight to France.

Comment by JohnDoe

July 27th 2010 14:18

Film & TV on DVD

Hi Bryn,

Never heard of this one, but your quote...

This is your poor man’s Fatal Attraction,

makes me even less inclined to see it.

Never liked Fatal Attraction, though Play Misty For Me is still an all time fave.

Comment by Bryn

July 27th 2010 23:33

Horrorphile

JD, perhaps I did the movie a disservice then. Hmmmm. I'm not a fan of either Michael Douglas nor Glenn Close, but I liked Fatal Attraction.

Comment by Bryn

July 27th 2010 23:35

Horrorphile

David, you don't like Margaret's taste in movies? I agree with her more often than I agree with David.

Strange that I missed this movie at the cinemas entirely ...

Comment by Jason King

July 28th 2010 05:31

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

Pretty sure it skipped the cinemtic release unless it was Dendy unadvertised and for one week. It could have been slated for release and they used the press screenings as test screenings and decided against it?

Fatal Attraction rocked, poor bunny. I heaps preferred Jagged Edge though

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