Charlie´s Farm

I have been a lot in the countryside as a young boy, especially in summer time. We used to go out to my grandparents summer cabin, go fishing, swimming in the ocean, picking berries, bicycle rides to get ice cream. I remember an older man, who had a big land of vegetables and strawberries, he would ask kids to help him pick fresh vegetables and strawberries. This is a good environment to grow up in, learning about the countryside. Since i was usually fishing for makrill, my grandfather Ingvar used to tell me many stories on the ocean. Since i live in a bigger city, it is not often i get out to the countryside anymore, but it does happen. Speaking of countryside, maybe some of you have read in the papers about how bad swedish milk farmers are paid ? It is such a shame, because they work hard, and we want to make sure that milk is delivered locally all over Sweden, to keep the tradition alive. Same thing with the meat farmers, they are working hard and are not paid well. So what could happen if a farmer have had enough of this ? Well, most of the farmers would probably work anyway, just to keep the farm going. Then we have farmers who might live in a different world, where their own laws is what matters. Charlie´s Farm is an australian horror film, that recently landed in my lap. I actually have never heard of this film before, until it came out. Recently i have seen quite a lot of australian films, and some of them have been surprisingly good. The title sounded very cozy and happy, like this would be the happiest place on the planet. It seems i might have missunderstood. I noticed that Kane Hodder ( who plays Jason Voorhees in Friday The 13th films ) is included in the actors list, so this made the film more interesting. We even have Tara Reid here in the lead role, known from American Pie and lately the fantastic Sharknado films. Charlie´s Farm is a low budget horror film that i happened to stumble across, and caught my attention because i usually enjoy australian horror films. Since i did not know anything about it, i decided to check it out. Is this Another quality australian horror film that proves America have a lot to learn, or is this one of the few australian releases that misses the point completely ?

Jason ( Dean Kirkright ), Mick ( Sam Coward ), Natasha ( Tara Reid ) and Melanie ( Allira Jaques ) all decide to go on a road trip to the countryside. Mick and Jason have heard the stories about Charlie´s farm, where brutal killings is said to have taken place in the past. Curious about what he farm looks like, they decide to find the farm house. Mick tell his friends the story of farmer John Wilson ( Bill Moseley ), who raped and butchered women with his mentally disturbed wife Meredith ( Trudi Ross ). They had a disabled son, who is named Charlie, who grew up watching his parents murder new victims. Until one day when people have had enough and hunt both John and Meredith down, killing them both. Charlie survived but is never seen again. The gang manage to locate the farm house, as they decide to stay there. Everything seems alright at first, until Melanie see a large man in the dark night. Not knowing who this was, the gang continue to explore the area. It seems that Charlie ( Nathan Jones ) is still alive, and he will continue the tradition of his parents, to make sure that the farm is being productive.

If you love old classic butcher horror with bad acting, Charlie´s Farm have all the clichés you could imagine. Now, i love small horror budget films, if they are made with a big heart for classics. There are elements here from Friday The 13th to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but this film does not lift to that level. Sure we get plenty of gore, and lots of blood ( this combination is usually what needs to be included ), but i would have liked to see some really disturbing scenes instead of the same usual format. There are some positive details, there are some funny scenes at least, like the piano scene, with a hillbilly farmer playing a piano and singing what could be the worst boogie you ever heard. They even make fun of banjos here, just because they are out in the countryside. Deliverance influences ? Just a little, they knew that people likes a good laugh. Now for something else that surprised me. Bill Moseley, actor known from House Of 1000 Corpses and The Devil´s Rejects, is actually pretty good here as the father of disturbed boy Charlie. He is just as insane as we want him to be, as you might remember his characters from some really good performances in the past. This is not one of his better performances in Charlie´s Farm, but he certainly gives the film a more sweet taste. Even if we could have had even more gore, and some polished details along the way, Charlie´s Farm does become more fun on the way, especially when we finally get some gory treats. Kane Hodder shows up, and he is always nice to see in horror films. He is an icon in low budget horror films, and i can only respect him for all he have done for B movies. I am more interested in the story about Charlie as a young boy, while he lived with his disturbed parents, than what happens in present day. Maybe they could make an interesting prequal and tell that story some other time. From a B movie perspective, this is not as bad as you might think. On such a limited budget, there are some moments that gives the film enough feeling of classic nostalgia films. Director Chris Sun have directed 2 films before, where one of them is said to be a good one called Daddy´s Little Girl. I would not say that Charlie´s Farm is his best work yet, since i have to see his previous film, but he seems to know what B movie lovers enjoy. The australian actors are also one detail that help the film become better. Even if i would have wanted more gore, and more scenes with Bill Moseley, as an horror film you pretty much get the classic ingredients. I doubt i will visit any pig farms now for a while, you never know what meat they are cutting up there.

Rating: DDD