Have You Been Watching...? Dead (2020)

 

Antipodean movies don’t tend to get much exposure over here in the UK, but sometimes one comes along that stands out from most. Films such as Australiens, Housebound and the Wyrmwood movies are all great genre movies with that wonderful bizarre humour that tends to only comes from Australia and New Zealand, mixed nicely with the drama and scares.

Dead was released in 2020 and stars comedian Thomas Sainsbury, whom you may know from the “What we do in the Shadows” spin-off “Wellington Paranormal” as hapless Constable Parker. I recently came across this on the usual streaming services and it was well worth the investment.

The movie tells the story of Marbles (Sainsbury), a stoner who can see and communicate with ghosts. Whether he likes it or not. One day, he comes across the ghost of Police Officer Jayson Tagg (Hayden Weal), recently killed in the line of duty and minus his pants (which means poor Weal spends the entire film in his undies). Together, they try to catch a serial killer who appears to be bumping off young gay men. While this sounds like it should be serious stuff, the movie doesn’t hold back from playing it for laughs.

As the buddy-cop friendship develops between Marbles and Tagg, the copper’s reasons for being so steadfast in his attempts to catch the killer are teased out bit by bit. Their investigations lead to them to an array of quirky oddball characters and bizarre plot twists which also involve zombies.

While some of the jokes do fall a little flat, there is plenty to enjoy in this light-hearted and very silly romp. However, it is a romp with a lot of heart and leads to a cheesy, yet very sweet ending.

There have been a lot of movies lately that built up a concept only to fall flat on it’s face, and I’ve written quite a few entries which haven’t been over complimentary where this occurs. “Dead” might not be the biggest, incredible movie of all time, but it is one of the few recent movies that has made me laugh out loud, smile at the right moments, and just make me feel warm and happy inside.

The movie is definitely Sainsbury’s vehicle, and he leads the it well portraying Marbles as someone with this incredible gift that doesn’t really want it but helps people anyway. Weal deserves kudos for portraying Tagg as this funny, affectionate and dedicated copper, with secrets of his own, and doing it ALL without trousers.

Written by its two stars and directed by Weal, they know exactly what to do in order to get the most from each and every shot. The love and care for the material shines through.

If you like Antipodean cinema and genre movies in general, you would do well in investing time with this one. It might not rock your world, but you won’t regret it.

Year: 2020

Availability: digitally to buy or rent

Rating: 7/10

Have You Been Watching...? Deadloch

 

Australian TV does put out some duffers, just like any other country, but it also produces some sparking diamonds. Deadloch is such a jewel. This is a limited comedy/drama series of just 8 episodes, released on Amazon Prime in mid 2023, tells the story of the investigation into a gruesome murder in the small, sleepy, coastal town of Deadloch.

It’s been a while since I was desperately awaiting the next instalment of any series, but Amazon Prime’s decision to release it weekly meant I had to. As least this way, there were no opportunities for spoilers to ruin the mystery.

Kate Box, who played the psychopathic killer Lou Kelly in Wentworth, plays police sergeant Dulcie Collins. She has relocated to Deadloch with her wife, local vet Cath, after the pressures of working in Sydney caused problems in their relationship. Deadloch has become very welcoming to the LGBT+ community (at least on the surface). When a body is discovered on the beach with its tongue removed, Dulcie’s position as the lead investigator is usurped by the arrival of Eddie Redcliffe, played by Madeleine Sami. Redcliffe is a foul-mouthed, rude, crude and very funny (but with secrets of her own) complete reversal to Dulcie’s straight down the middle Detective. The two clash from the outset and when it transpires that the duo are looking at a serial killer rather than a one off, their two styles cause mayhem in the ensuing investigation.

As the story progresses, we are introduced to the residents, and suspects, of Deadloch, and what a bunch of kooky, strange and interesting people they are. Dulcie’s colleagues are the nice-but-dim officer Sven Alderman (Tom Balland), who is very much Gen Z to a T, and the sweet but vastly underestimated Abby Matsuda (Nina Oyama). Residents include the hot-headed chef Skye O’Dwyer (Hollie Austin), Doctor/Mayor Aleyna Rahme (Susie Youssef), teenagers Tammy and Miranda (Leonie Whyman and Kartanya Maynard), Eddie’s “love interest” Ray Pies, aka Ray McLintock (Duncan Fellows) and local “stirrer” Phil McGangus (Shaun Martindale). Dulcie’s wife Cath is played by Alicia Gardiner, playing a very OTT lesbian vet, while Kate Box’s Wentworth co-stars Pamela Rabe and Kris McQuade play Margaret Carruthers and Victoria O’Dwyer respectively, both characters being heavyweights in the local community. Dulcie stands as the sole voice of reason aming this collection of strange people!

As the murders mount and the town prepares for its “Feastival”, community is examined under great detail, especially one as close-knit as Deadloch and as the investigations progress and secrets exhumed, the town will never be the same again.

It was Kate Box’s appearance that drew me to the series initially, but I’m surprised it’s not been more publicised and Deadloch is a sure fire winner. I was concerned the mystery could not be spun out over 8 hour long episodes, but it does. Everytime you think you have the plot sussed, something else comes along that tips it right over. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to work out what was going on, and pleasantly surprised I got it hopelessly wrong!

Overall, Deadloch is 8 hours of funny, crude dark jokes, feminism, LGBTQ+ and racism commentary, community observations and mysteries. Even when I thought it might be flagging, it turned it around and this is all down to the cracking script by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. It’s very hard to write about it without spoilers, so I encourage you all to look in on this one. Who knows? If there’s interest, there could even be a sequel. I would just hope that it would keep up the same standard as the high bar set by Deadloch.

Year: 2023

Episode count: 8

Season count: 1

Availability: streaming on Amazon Prime