This is a small but nicely filmed dark Australian thriller. As is the case with many Australasian films it never worries about veering away from the predictable and this makes for an absorbing film. It follows 3 teenagers who happen to find a dead body and knowing who the killer is attempt to bribe him to help them with a local thug. I found this film grabbed my attention from the start helped by good believable performances from the 3 young leads. They are backed up well by Joel Edgerton, who has recently made it big thanks to his role in the excellent 'Warrior', and who really shines in this as the creepy local psychopath.It's a pretty grim story but never less than compelling and builds an impressive amount of tension as the film nears it's climax. This is a chilling and bleak film and whilst it's no classic I was surprised at just how good it was. A very impressive effort which is well worth more than one viewing.

What starts off as a sleepy drama about a damaged psyche turns into a fast-paced, terrifying, and entirely believable horror film. The filmmakers don't coddle the audience and don't dwell on the plot twists; that is to say, if you're not paying attention, you'll miss some key points. There were a couple scenes where I had to rewind and explain parts to my friends. This movie was visually compelling, and the young actors and actress did great jobs conveying their anger, fear, depression, and angst. So I was never able to pinpoint what my problem with this movie was. I'm not sure if it's the slow pace or the resolution at the end, but I ended up feeling disappointed with the directors. This movie could (and should) have been much more.

This Australian movie presents a watchable take on the well worn serial killer thriller path. When one of three teenage school children stumbles upon the body of one of the killers victims he along with his two friends make a reckless and ill conceived attempt to blackmail the killer into murdering their own childhood nemesis. (That being the thug who abused them as young children and who has been released from prison). This plot reveal regarding the abuse the boys suffered is not immediately introduced and may help explain the somewhat disenfranchised attitude of the two teenage boys who come across as dreary anti social misfits. Their personalities in fact are really unlikeable and along with the thug and the killer this leaves room only for the third teenage character of Chasely (played nicely by young actress Hanna Lawrence) to empathise with.The killer as usual appears as a normal family man but beneath the facade lies the heart of darkness. Those critical of the movie have derided the teenage characters actions. Why not tell the authorities about the body for example- but then of course there would be no story to tell.The plot though is entirely predictable and when the wheels easily come off the children's plan the movie climaxes with the all too common bloodbath. I have seen the DVD release of the movie marketed as a horror movie which it certainly is not but if you are a fan of the serial killer genre its worth at least a rent.

Acolytes presents an interesting mix of original concepts in "screaming teen" cliché horror with a more thriller-like pacing. In some ways Acolytes is very successful, but in many other ways the film fails miserably.Overall Acolytes avoided the typical archetypes of the naivety and innocence of youth of endless horror films in the like of Cabin Fever, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and countless other films where unsuspecting and relatively naive and innocent teenagers, have sex, run around screaming and one-by-one are plucked off by some sort of monster. Instead this innocence is replaced with pride, retaliation, and arrogance. The characters had several opportunities to save themselves from immanent death and despair, but failed to do so due to their own personal demons. In the end you were left with the feeling that there were no (and perhaps are no) innocent victims.As the name implies, the film also touches greatly on following a leader or authority. This was used in a direct sense of if the main character would become like the serial killer and was also used less directly throughout the film. Following a central figure is a reoccurring theme throughout the film.Through all this, the film makers also incorporated a lot of cliché, which I suspect was intentional and gave the film a unique mixture of depth as well as shallowness which I found intriguing. This, perhaps inadvertently, plays well with the characters who are, at first appearance very shallow but as the story unfolds it becomes obvious that they are, at least the two main male characters, quite complex.Technically the film has a lot of problems however. The cinematography, which is typically regarded highly, I find rather sophomoric and over-stylized, utilizing formulaic 2/3 approaches far too rigidly. Many transitions I felt were also over-stylized. The use of symbolism was not only vague, but also greatly over used.The plot was poorly planned and relied exclusively on misinformation in order to achieve a rather hokey twist ending, which was poorly resolved and leaves viewers confused. Methods used to resolve the climax are cheap and ill-prepared, motivations are routinely unclear, and major plot points remain untied in the end.Overall, the film's relative originality, themes and thesis are lost in a maze of poor technical execution, over-stylized imagery, unclear motives, obtuse and unnecessary symbolism and cheap twists maintained only by a lack of or entirely incorrect information.If the film were better executed, it would have been excellent. However, Acolytes receives only two stars in my opinion.