Zilch!

A fast-paced comedy thrilller, a raw, low-budget, independent movie that looks and feels like early Roger Corman

Zilch!, New Zealand, 1989

Production Company: Park Avenue Productions / Vardex Group
Director: Richard Riddiford
Producers: Richard Riddiford & Amanda Hocquard
Screenplay: Richard Riddiford & Jonathon Dowling
Director of Photography: Murray Milne
Editor: Chris Todd
Assistant Directors: John Kaiser, Baine Huggett, Dennis McDonald
Music: Chris Knox

With: Michael Mizrahi (Sam), Lucy Sheehan (Anna), John Watson (Curtis), Edward Campbell (Tony),  Peter Tait (Eric), Roy Billing (Gary) William Bullock (Harbour Commissioner), Sylvia Rands (Melissa)

35mm, M-Contains violence & offensive language, 95 minutes

“Sam (Michael Mizrahi), tolls operator, is heavily into other people’s conversations. He leaves concealed tape recorders for his unwary colleagues and listens to the cassettes as in-flight entertainment as he hoons around in his car. But things start to go wrong at work when he gets a panicked call from a phone box to relate a message to another party. Sam consequently uncovers a property development conspiracy, and after being fired from his phone job, joins the developers as a private investigator. It is the idea so favoured by Hitchcock, of the ordinary little man getting caught up by snooping in something which is out of his league. Curiosity kills. Zilch! is a fast-paced comedy thrilller, a raw, low-budget, independent movie that looks and  feels like early Roger Corman, unpretentious and economical, and - although I suspect sometimes unintentionally - it is really very funny. Just about every well-known actor except Bruno Lawrence seems to have a cameo role and sends themselves up brilliantly. John Watson, especially does the best impersonation of John Watson playing the definitive socialist/ unionist/ brother/ worker in something from Brecht or Renee. Richard Riddiford’s film is set (and was written) during the boom heydays of precrash Auckland. The underlying message is a strong political cautionary tale. the whole thing is one big metaphor for the greed of central Auckland. The most lingering image is of the two central characters standing on a flattened inner-city site and one saying in disbelief, “Wasn’t there a building here yesterday?” Issues are ever present: a harbourboard scandal, the His Majesty’s tragedy and the Clyde Dam cover-up are hovering around while the powers at Intacorp vie for the contract for the new cross harbour tunnel. It is a film very much of the state of Auckland, celebrating the sights and sounds of the harbour city as elaborate tourist guide and making clever use of the whole town as a set. There are some innovative firsts as locations. The vast hydraulic Westhaven boat storage area and the under-structure of the harbour bridge make for great suspense chases. But the most inspired chase location is the shark tank at Kelly Tarlton’s. Zilch! is quirky and offbeat. The opening shot of Lucy Sheehan clad only in a black plastic apron, doing her best dominatrix number with ripe tomatoes in the privacy of someone’s bathroom, lets you know instantly the movie is going to be fascinating.”  - John Parker, ‘Private Investigations’, Metro

"Shot in 1988, there's fun to be had spotting the changes in Auckland reeked upon by those same developers and big businesses the film has a good go at [...] Special mention must also go to Chris Knox for his music score that adds so much to the off-beat tone of the film. Riddiford, cast and crew have done very well to get such an ambitious screenplay on screen with the small budget they had. The overflow of ideas really makes Zilch! quite something" - Auckland Star

Screenings: Zilch! screened on 5 & 6 July 2012 during a look back to the 1980s; and on 30 April and 1 May 2010