Rippy

Back in the early 2000´s i worked at a high school with disabled students, this was one of the greatest jobs i have ever had. Even if most of the students were going through rough moments most of them were much happier than other students. We did school trips together and we even did camping trips outside of school. One of my working collegues at this school was a man named Wieland and let me tell you he was such a fantastic guy. Not only were he amazing to the disabled students but he also treated school staff fantastic as well. One of the things i learned from Wieland was that in the 80´s he travelled to Australia to backpack in the Australian wild life. One day he brought pictures from his journey there and how amazing that journey was. The only thing he really complained about was sleeping out in the wilderness and waking up with scorpions outside the tent that they set up. And there was not only one of them near by but several scorpions. So he took a twig he found near by just to remove scorpions so they could get out of the tent safely. I can´t even imagine how scared i would have been myself, i never liked seeing scorpions at animal parks. Either way i am grateful to have shared some good moments with Wieland and his Australia trip was really interesting. Speaking of Australia most of my readers know i have some favourite horror films from Australia and especially the films Wolf Creek and Rogue. But there is one horror film that´s considered to be a cult classic known as Razorback from director Russel Mulcahy ( probably mostly known for his most beloved film Highlander from 1986, a film i am a huge fan of ). Razorback is like a classic monster movie except here we have an enormous boar attacking civilians. It´s a fun cheesy horror movie that´s not meant to be taken seriously. Last year i saw a trailer of a low budget horror film called Rippy about a killer kangaroo killing people in the Australian wilderness. It sort of reminded me of Razorback except this is a kangaroo instead feeding on human flesh. Of course i had to check this film out since this looks like something in my taste. Is it possible Rippy is the best way to start of this new year or is this a low budget film that most likely will be forgotten?

Out in the middle of a small Australian society some kind of animal have attacked humans who have no chance to defend themselves. Sheriff Maddie ( Tess Haubrich ) is investigating the murders of found bodies not knowing who is behind these horrific murders. As the investgation goes on and more bodies are found, she is about to witness the beast herself.

If you don´t like horror films taking place mostly in the wilderness than this is most likely not the film for you. However, if you appreciate a horror film using real nature instead of a lot of green screen than you might actually appreciate what this film Rippy was trying to do. This feels like a thowback to animal horror films of the 70´s like Grizzly where no one is safe, and i think making this film taking place in the Australian wild life is a great idea for a horror film. Kangaroos have been used in other films before such as in the terrible family film Kangaroo Jack fom 2003 ( how many of you actually remember this one? ). Thankfully Rippy is far more entertaining to watch compared to Kangaroo Jack so lo let´s dig into what i appreciate about this film. I think the companionship of the small town community in this film fits well with the plot of this film considering everyone is a possible victim. When they work together for survival it helps the battle between humans and this demonic kangaroo become more fun. Some of the practical make up effects on certain bodies looks charming when we see bodies ripped apart, just like we used to see in VHS horror films of the 80´s. I feel that lead actress Tess Haubrich as the character Maddy is just enough cool to look like a strong female character, while she still can show she can be vulnerable. Legendary actor Michael Biehn ( who is fantastic in both The Terminator and Aliens ) as the character Schmitty brings enough charm to please both his old school fans and new ones as well. I also have to mention actress Angie Milliken as the tough character Donna, exactly what this film needed. Ok so now to two issues with this film and i feel that the CGI effects of the kangaroo is not that strong. In fact, in some scenes when it attacks humans it doesn´t feel as effective as if someone in a costume ( like they used to do with werewolves in the 80´s ) would have looked cooler. Same thing goes with the CGI attack effects from the demonic kangaroo, if that would have been done more practical it would have looked much more effective. When i look at the whole picture surrounding Rippy i feel that this is a nice throwback to monster films of the 80´s and i really appreciate the effort they put into this film. It´s a very simple film made with passion for B movies and you can tell director Ryan Coonan tries to bring back that nostalgic feeling with films such as Razorback. If you want to have a good time and just enjoy a B horror film made for the fans of this genre, Rippy should be a great time at home with pizza and some beer. Flesh eating beasts in Australia? That´s good enough for me to come visit the country, let´s hope i get an axe there just in case i get into trouble.