Synopsis:
Two men head into the bush to search for the legendary lost treasure of the bushranger, ‘Thunderclap Newman’. The pair find their bounty but they also encounter Australia’s mythical Yowie, a giant ape-like killing machine, hungry for human flesh.
THROWBACK is an inventive but flawed thriller directed by Travis Bain. An adventure, an action and a horror film in one, Throwback is a mixed bag of genre conventions but it is in no way a cinematic nightmare. The story is simple but its execution is flawed due to what I can only assume to be a result budgetary limitations. The production values are low and feels more akin to a university student’s first foray into filmmaking post graduation. This said Travis Bain does a great job as Director. He appears to be aware of limitations but does a great job to retain a sense of charm during the film.
The cast including Vernon Wells appearance as Detective McNab are surprising. Everyone involved does a good job to make the plot credible. The plot does have more than a few cringeworthy moments but they are reigned in by great performances that never feel forced or over the top.
The monster is clearly a man in a suit and very little has been done in terms of design but thankfully the cinematography from Bain obscures this. Bain does this well and succeeds in keeping his audience engaged. However, the effects are incredibly cheap and without spoiling too much can be of the same quality as those fake limbs that can be purchased at any supermarket around Halloween.
This said, all in all I think Travis Bain and the rest of his team have put together a film that borrows heavily from The Legend of Boggy Creek, WIllow Creek. With a tone of extras on the DVD the whole package serves as an entertaining lesson in gorilla filmmaking. Overall, as the title suggests THROWBACK is a fun film that serves as a fun tribute to the B Movies of yesteryear.
Words: Jon Dickinson
