Lost Things

2003, DVD quality

Johnny's comments:

Another Australian movie, one which I capped 15 years ago.

Lost Things is a 2003 horror movie where four teenagers go for a weekend trip to a beach while telling their parents they are going elsewhere. Emily (Lenka Kripac) and Tracey (Alexandra Vaughan) go with Brad (Charlie Garber) and Gary (Leon Ford) to a beach that is pretty much deserted for some sun, surfing and possibly sex although the girls are going to make the blokes work for it. Once there, the four have a feeling of déjà vu that they have been there before but none can remember when and there's a sense of creepiness about the beach not helped by word that three people died there a year earlier. Things progress until they come across a drifter named Zippo (Steve Le Marquand) who has a threatening demeanor although he does save Tracey from a death adder. He is also the man that Emily is seen with briefly before they go on their trip although she acts like she does not know him. Brad tries to get with Emily although Emily is incredibly reluctant while Gary and Tracey seem destined to get together. Over the weekend, the sense of déjà vu increases as well as a sense of dread and it also seems impossible for any of them leave the beach. A shocking event has happened or about to happen and the four teens are trapped in a nightmare waiting for their fate.

I think this is the third time I've seen this movie (including one of 5 people that saw it in cinemas back in 2004) and I'm still baffled, a little less than I have been but I'm convinced that the movie just doesn't make sense. It's obvious who the three are who died, but what happened to the survivor (there is a mention that they disappeared but that's it) and why did the massacre happen? Also, why are the four teens reliving their nightmare from a year before? So little is explained, so little makes sense and it's nigh on impossible to work out what happened a year earlier and what is happening in the present. I've got no idea and after three attempts, I don't think I ever will...

Lenka Kripac is better known for music (particularly the song The Show) but she had an OK acting career before concentrating on music, including a prominent role in the movie The Dish, a number of guest roles on TV shows, and of course her time on morning cartoon show Cheez TV. Pretty sure her brief nude scene in this movie was her only nude scene. Alexandra Vaughan didn't have much of an acting career, basically this and an episode of All Saints, which I capped a scene from.

Alexandra Vaughn film clip (collage below)

Lenka Kripac film clip (collages below)

Mortal Fools

2008, DVD quality

Johnny's comments:

Mortal Fools is a 2008 sex farce, loosely based on A Midsummer Night's Dream where couple Helen (Kaitlyn Cox) and Alex (Charles Kevin) host a housewarming party in their new palatial house and invite Helen's ex Dimi (Jai Koutrae) and struggling actress Jen (Melanie Armstrong) in an attempt to get them together and gay couple Nigel (Zach Lee) and Eddie (Dallas Palmer). Meanwhile, angels Danny (Lindsay Moss) and Suzanne (Sarah Campbell-Lambert) with magical avatar Robin (Amber Gokken) turn up to observe their behaviour without being seen by party and Danny wants to cause a bit of mayhem. The party is fairly boring and Dimi and Jen don't click, so it needs some spicing up, so Danny gets Robin to zap Alex and make him fall in love with Jen, which he promptly does in front of Helen and all hell breaks loose. Dimi is zapped and falls for Helen and disgusted by Alex's about turn on her, Helen gets revenge by having sex with Dimi, which goes badly. Danny is loving every minute of playing with people's emotions and decides to ramp it up, mixing couples both straight and gay all the while disgusting Suzanne. Danny goes too far and zaps Suzanne into reality where everyone can see her and the party all fall for her but she escapes before an orgy can break out.

Can the participants in the party get back to normality or will things be changed forever? Or is something else in play? Strange movie that goes nowhere for the first 25 minutes and then once the sex farce begins, the movie goes from 0-100 and is all sorts of fun and frivolity before a bizarre third act twist which makes little sense and then ends in the most baffling way. The movie isn't a complete loss, the middle third sex farce is a definite highlight and saves the movie from being a bit of a bore, but there's not enough going on outside of this to make it worth watching.

Never seen Mortal Fools available anywhere, it wasn't released on DVD locally and not available on streaming although it was on US Amazon for a while, but Community TV comes through and this played on their Sunday night movie slot last week, so I was finally able to view this movie 12 years after its release. The Sunday night movie slot on Community TV is always worth a look to see what's on because I've seen a few movies I've never seen elsewhere, both Australian and overseas.

Kaitlyn Cox film clip (sample below)

Melanie Armstrong film clip (collage below)