The Locals

The Locals is worth investigating by genre fans tired of the Hollywood equivalent. It’s also a reminder that at night, an empty Waikato paddock can hold more spooks than a haunted house.

The Locals, New Zealand, 2003

Writer/director: Greg Page
Production co: Rocket Pictures
Producer: Steve Sachs
Executive producers: Chris Brown, Katherine Butler
Director of photography: Bret Nichols
Editor: Wayne Cook
Production designer: Gary Mackay
Art director: Matt Cornelius
Costume designer: Lesley Burkes-Harding
Original score: Victoria Kelly
With: John Barker (Grant), Dwayne Cameron (Paul), Kate Elliott (Kelly), Aidee Walker (Lisa), Paul Glover (Martin), Glen Levy (Tone), Dave Gibson (Nev), Peter McCauley (Bill), Kayte Ferguson (Anna), Greg Page (Local)

35mm, colour, 90 minutes, R13—Contains violence and horror scenes

Two best friends, Grant and Paul, hit the road for a weekend of surfing, booze and maybe … girls. With night falling they take a short cut and meet Lisa and Kelly who invite them to a party. Lust takes the wheel and a game of cat and mouse begins, leading them deep into the heartland where they meet — The Locals. The Locals is set in the dead of night in the scariest part of rural New Zealand, where likeable, innocent young characters are pitted against the things humans fear the most: being lost, being in the dark and being chased by an unknown, menacing foe.

“When Aucklander Grant commits the heinous crime of disliking The Lord of the Rings, his girlfriend dumps him. In The Locals, a thriller/horror film, his best mate Paul coaxes him into coming on a rebound road trip in search of substances, surf and sex. George Romero and Sam Raimi meet Deliverance. After taking the proverbial misguided shortcut, through Waikato’s back country gravel roads, the boys crash in the middle of nowhere. Soon the duo, who say “bro” more often than Billy T James, are pursued by a creepy mob of local hicks (and a couple of Blindspot-style bogans) led by Bill the butcher/farmer. No doubt just desserts for Grant’s unforgivable sin. Waikato is a great choice of setting. First-time director Greg Page (of animation, music video and commercials repute) and his regular cinematographer Bret Nicholls show they are talented visual stylists and adroit at crafting mood. The film has a strong sense of unease. Other strengths include genuinely scary and funny scenes, the car chases (better than 2 Fast 2 Furious), the score (especially The Datsuns’ Lady and D4’s Party), and Toy Love’s coquettish Kate Elliot.” — Alexander Bisley, The Dominion Post, 10/10/2003

“The Locals, the debut feature of rock video-maker and ad whiz Greg Page, is spirited in more ways than one. It has abundant energy and menacing atmosphere fair surging through the film about two Aucklanders lost in the Waikato wop-wops. It drums up the Kiwi gothic spooky stuff, from the opening sequence which swoops across that back-country, some of the shots providing - on retrospect – clues to the ensuing mystery…there are tone control problems…suffers glitches in the science department. It comes with effective music, care of a raucous local rock soundtrack and composer Victoria Kelly’s eerie score…. worth investigating by genre fans tired of the Hollywood equivalent. It’s also a reminder that at night, an empty Waikato paddock can hold more spooks than a haunted house.” — Russell Baillie, Weekend Herald, 4/10/2003

“At first, The Locals looks as though it’s going to be a standard goofy teen horror flick. You’ve got a couple of good-looking, wisecracking city guys who are out to drink, party and surf, who take a Wrong Turn and wind up being chased by a load of scary and possibly inbred locals. It’s something of a relief to discover then that The Locals takes great delight in playing with audiences expectations, and turns out to actually be a rather more interesting and lingering tale. However, if you approach the film expecting a more visceral Hills Have Eyes-type experience you will be disappointed, for ultimately The Locals is more creepy and atmospheric…and with a surprisingly emotional twist. It makes The Locals a rather tricky film to review, as much of the pleasure of watching the film comes from trying to figure out what direction it will be taking next - the film enjoys playing with your expectations and tries hard not to move in predictable circles. Spoilers are best avoided for this one, as the film does play less satisfactorily second time around once you know exactly what is going on.….different and inventive enough to stand out from the crowd and make it worth investigating… Its fractured world-view is weirdly captivating…” — Horrorview.com!

Screenings: The Locals screened on 4 May 2005 as part of a horror selection made by writer/reviewer Ian Pryor