Great cinematography, decent acting, but a really dumb script. A dumb story about a stupid cop who doesn't deserve to live. And the technical direction is pathetic. Cooper passes out from loss of blood (or was that fear) yet later he can carry a wounded cop for who knows how long?Everybody keeps racking their shotguns without dropping shells. That means there was nothing in the chamber. So why are they running around with empty chambers?Bill said Cooper had never shot a bullet? They don't train cops to use guns in Australia?Just when you're wondering if Cooper is ever going to bleed to death he suddenly has enough strength to lift heavy tables and ride a horse at high speed, then jump off said horse.Cooper breaks the window of a car where the door is clearly unlocked.His wife isn't the least bit interested in why he's covered in blood.Apparently rifle shots into the air create ricochets. Against what, I couldn't guess.Not one cop in the whole town can hit what he's aiming at, until the end, then not one of the cops' stray bullets even comes close to Cooper.Whoever said this was like No Country for Old Men must have been hallucinating. It was just bad bad bad script writing, from the very beginning to the end. But hey, it looked good.

It starts off as though it's going to be a good thriller involving the mental town locals but then turns out to be a classic revenge thriller. Classic might sound as though I am praising it, trust me I'm not. The amount of 'why didn't he just..' moments in this film is unreal. Most of these guys actually allow this madman to kill them. There is even a scene when one of the town 'guards' is aiming down his scope ready to fire then the villain 'Jimmy' actually spins and shoots the guy square in the forehead. You couldn't make it up. And where on earth does the panther fit in? I've actually took time out of my night to tell everyone not to waste their lives on this movie. I'd actually give it 2 for the laugh I got at some points (I can assure you it was not meant).

Overall I thought it was a surprising jolt.That is not to say that it was a absorbing examination of the human condition. A thoughtful guy movie? I can stand behind that.We open to some very good but menacing shots of the Australian wilderness. What's going on in the trees? Then we have our hero in a cop uniform in the morning who just can't find his gun. A great way to define a character right off the bat. Good natured but flawed. It's his first day in this town and he has a pregnant wife.We then get a good but brief rundown of this town and its population. For all intents and purposes, it's a western town but in present day. In the police station, the TV in the background says there was an escape from a prison. Nice subtle touch that none of the characters initially notice.I was expecting then some sort of tense thriller. I was wrong.***Spoilers The first stop for the new cop is a ranch where a horse looks half eaten. What did this? Local yore is that it's a panther. But out here? Then the police station finds out who escaped from the prison. Some bad guy from the town who tried to kill the Sheriff and killed his wife.The town goes into lockdown. The convict is going to come back for revenge! What follows is a long and well-done action piece as the "bad guy" eliminates his enemies. But is the "bad guy" the bad guy? I have to say that it was a bit silly how the hero narrowly averted death several times.Then a lot of good elements lead to the end. The panther was re-addressed well. The element of the hero's pregnant wife was handled well. The "last word" from the convict was a nice touch.You've probably seen it before but not done quite as well as this.

The only western I've watched this year being the Coen's version of True Grit, Red Hill has a lot to live up to. Ryan Kwanten plays Shane Cooper, a young police officer who has just moved to the isolated town of Red Hill. His first day goes off course though as a local prison has a breakout and convicted criminal, Jimmy Conway (Played by Tommy Lewis) is on the loose and heading for Red Hill. This simple story has a lot going for it accompanied with an excellent shot choice, reminiscent of the Coen's 'No Country For Old Men', in fact, the whole film felt like a homage to western's in general and that's the main flaw of the film. It never has it's own voice; it feels like bits picked from various other and more rounded films so doesn't give it's own flavor.It can be commended however on it's playful way of mixing horror into the mix. There were countless scenes where the tension was dialed up to 11 making it an edge of the seat experience, not relying on quiet environments followed by loud bangs to get inside the audience's head. It was a very atmospheric piece and Tommy Lewis's representation of Jimmy Conway added to that having a terrifying yet, electrifying screen presence truly invoking a sense of dread into you whenever he was on screen.While far from being perfect Red Hill is a perfectly fine nuts and bolts westerns with enough plot twists and turns to keep you interested. You just can't help but get a strong sense of déjà vu within the viewing and reminds you of other and far better westerns which have truly earned their rights of classics. Red Hill isn't a classic, but it's a damn good time.