Australian brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ feature directorial debut 100 Bloody Acres is, quite frankly, awesome. A somewhat Coens-esque mix of warm-hearted comedy and hicksploitation schlock, it’s one I urge you to catch if you haven’t already. Following last year’s teaser, a full trailer has emerged for the Cairnes’ new film Scare Campaign, and it looks to be an altogether darker, more severe affair.
The film follows the fallout of what happens when a TV prank show tries to keep up with more edgy online fare, and selects the wrong victim for their fear-related japery. Scare Campaign certainly looks to contain a more serious and relevant message than its predecessor, scrutinising the kind of desperate, ill-thought-out stunts that led to the tragic death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha in 2012, who committed suicide after falling for a prank call to King Edward VII’s Hospital Sister Agnes in London where she worked, in which the hosts of Australia’s Hot30 Countdown impersonated The Queen and Prince Charles. The incident caused justifiable outrage, and the thematic and locational links to the Australian directors’ new film are ones impossible to ignore.
Scare Campaign synopsis:
Popular prank TV show “Scare Campaign” has been entertaining audiences for the last five years with its mix of old school scares and hidden camera fun. But as we enter a new age of online TV, the producers find themselves up against a new hard-edged web series which makes their show look decidedly quaint. It’s time to up the ante, but will the team go too far this time, and are they about to prank the wrong guy?
The film stars Meegan Warner, former Home and Away man Ian Meadows and The Visit’s Olivia DeJonge. It is due to premiere at Australia’s Monster Fest in November.
