Cody checks out an Australian thriller.
Australian filmmaker Nathan Hill has been writing, directing, producing, and acting in films since the 1990s, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I have been missing out on his work up to this point. Works like The Hidden, Fox Force, Jasper, Seance, Model Behaviour, Apocalypse Canoe, Colourblind, Aliens Down Under, Sex Down Under, Bigfoot Down Under, Revenge of the Gweilo, Vampires in Australia, and I, Portrait have all managed to pass me by. But then came Lady Terror, which Hill described as his tribute to the classic Corey Haim / Corey Feldman / Nicole Eggert erotic thriller Blown Away, a film that made a strong impression on me when I first saw it in as a kid. Once I knew Blown Away was a source of inspiration, there was no way I could pass up the chance to watch Lady Terror.
Hill, who directed from a screenplay he wrote with Simon Salamon, also leads the cast as lawyer Jake Large, who meets a young woman named Candice (Phillyda Murphy) when he saves her from being mugged while she’s having a medical emergency in a parking lot. It’s later said that Candice was suffering a miscarriage, but that unfortunate event doesn’t really have any bearing on the story or the emotional state of the character. Candice is very grateful for Jake’s help, though. So grateful that she soon invites him to watch her perform at an exotic dance club, then has him take her around town for a pleasant drive that ends with a kiss.
Jake happens to be engaged to Celine (Tritia DeViSha), but it’s clear that relationship isn’t heading toward marriage after all. These two are completely done with each other, they’re still just cohabitating for the moment. But even if a break-up with Celine weren’t on the horizon, Jake proves to be a rather odd guy who doesn’t blink when it comes to making immoral decisions. He’ll cheat on someone at the drop of a hat, and might be capable of much worse than that. We’ll find out when he embarks on a relationship with Candice, who shares a place with Tonina (Challise Free). Being in the orbit of these ladies is going to be bring all sorts of trouble (and yes, maybe some terror) into Jake’s life.
Although Lady Terror has all the elements that could make for a “late night on Cinemax” classic (like Blown Away) – sex scenes, shower scenes, exotic dance scenes – it surprisingly keeps the nudity concealed. So even though we do see sex scenes that last for several seconds, there’s no nudity in the scene, and the same goes for the showering. Of course, this has no impact on the overall quality of the movie, it just happens to be an unusual approach for an erotic thriller to take.
It was also surprising that Lady Terror kind of sputters out toward the ending. The build-up is handled reasonably well, as we watch Jake get involved with situations and people we know he should be staying away from. But once everything goes wrong, the movie suddenly starts to seem like it’s in a hurry to wrap things up as quickly and easily as possible. Which is how it ends up with a running time of just 79 minutes.
The story could have used some more room to breathe in the last third or so, but I did enjoy watching Lady Terror and being introduced to the work of a filmmaker I was previously unaware of. After seeing this, I’m interested in seeing more Nathan Hill productions. Lady Terror doesn’t reach the level of Blown Away, but it’s an interesting low budget thriller.
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