imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
CHARLIE’S FARM [2014]
Directed and Written by Chris Sun
Starring: Nathan Jones, Tara Reid, Kane Hodder, Bill Moseley, Dean Kirkright, Allira Jaques
Us Aussies can make a good horror flick, and it seems we still have a knack for it. Snowtown, Wolf Creek, last year’s The Babadook and Wyrmwood, and now this: a slightly different spin on the Haunted House genre. This of course is what drives the movie, as we follow our foursome (featuring Tara Reid of all people!) who want to check out the home of an urban legend: Charlie’s Farm.
What is neat about this simple and incredibly unoriginal premise is the flashbacks that created the legend. This is where the movie deviates slightly from the cliches that we all know will be present, and they are there, trust me. As the tale is told by various characters, we are taken back to when Charlie was a child. We see unsettling images of psychotic parents kidnapping victims, while an extremely malnourished child – Charlie – swings creepily back and forth on a rocking horse. There are flies everywhere. These flashbacks make the trip to the farm far from boring, which many horror films suffer from.
This tale is expanded on over a campfire, as we see further into to the tale that gave rise to the urban legend.
A group of angry locals come banging on the front door of the Wilsons, accusing the family of being responsible for missing backpackers and workers who have disappeared after working on the farm. Both of Charlie’s parents are great as psychotic nut-jobs here, while Charlie himself is one creepy looking kid. All these flashbacks are extremely well presented; it is easy to forget that we are watching a part of the story that is 30 years old. They also serve as a great build up to the action, and it gets the viewer thinking a little… Is that really how it went down? Why the hell did that child look so… unhealthy??
These notions are shattered quickly as the action suddenly swings its axe. There is no supernatural bullcrap going on here, as this is one for the slasher fans. The backpackers find the house on the farm, and it doesn’t take long for the brutality to begin. Charlie has managed to stay alive for thirty years and is now a hulking mass of a man (played by an ex-pro wrestler, Nathan Jones) who appears hell-bent on destroying anything in his path. He is also quite creative, as the kills in this movie are its ace up its sleeve. They are inventive and horrifying; slasher/gore films rarely make me uncomfortable, but this one most certainly did. He isn’t the most memorable villain, but I don’t think I’ll forget Charlie, both the massive adult and the creepy child, in the near future.
This movie is short, but it felt only an hour long as it flew by. This is thanks to the interesting build up, but principally thanks to the insanely brutal and unforgettable kills. There is nothing really new here within this flick, but it is a lot better than B-grade movies of a similar nature that seem to come out every other day. Here, the acting is actually pretty decent (even Tara Reid wasn’t too bad!) and the back-story of Charlie really gives the film an identity of its own. And while it feels odd saying this when writing about a slasher flick, the photography was fantastic. From the incredible landscapes of Australia’s outback to perfectly capturing each gruesome death, this is a movie that looks better than it ought to.
3/5 – Worth a watch, especially if you like slasher flicks!! Eric, you’ll love this one!
44 Comments on “CHARLIE’S FARM [2014]”
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imperfection is perfection 
Nice, i want to see this one, but Tara Reid in a horror is putting me off
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Funnily enough she is actually quite decent in this one!!
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i will check it out then, love Aussie horror
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Cool! We can churn out some great horror when we want to! 😀
Have you seen Wolf Creek 2?
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Not yet, just bought it this week though, The Loved ones fast became one of my favourites though
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That is one I haven’t seen, tho I have heard of it. I’ll have to get my hands on that one.
There is another called Beautiful Kate which apparently is pretty fucked up too
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that one looks interesting, we only seem to get the horrors on the ‘bad’ horror channel (they are good films but just not the ones that make it to cinema) when they have ozplotation season otherwise they are never on
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haha there are ozploitation seasons on overseas cable channels?? That’s crazy!! And cool 😀
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well on the Horror Channel there is, i think last year we had Wolf Creek, The Loved Ones, Inhuman Resources and Savages Crossing
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Wow I’ve only heard of the first one, haha that is so cool that a channel does an Aussie horror season! That’s so cool! 😀
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I love anything that relates to Urban Legends. There is something so fascinating about them.
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Urban legends fascinate me too mate. If you are the same then you’ll probably love this movie, though it has some seriously gory death scenes!!
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I don’t mind gory horror films as long as they have a good story.
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That is what this one did have, it has all the cliches, but Charlie’s story…. its crazy. And the flashbacks to when he was a child make up a fair amount of the first half of the movie. It’s great fun!!
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You always introduce me to some very interesting sounding movies Jordan, you da man.
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😀 thanks mate, you do too. You always write about flicks I’ve never heard of!
I hope you get to see this! I know Eric would bloody love it!!
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I’m almost certain that Eric would dig this movie.
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Hahaha definitely!! Though perhaps it isn’t shitty enough!! 😛
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You’d have to ask him. Plus, is there any boobs in it? That would make it a plus in his book.
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there is a bit of boob yes, perhaps not enough for his tastes?
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You never know.
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Another masterful performance from Tara Reid I can tell by the trailer!
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Hahahaha!! She isn’t THAT bad in it, the acting is actually surprisingly decent for a B-movie like this. I love that they used an ex pro wrestler as the villain!!! 😀
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He must be built like a brick shithouse then.
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haha fuckin oath man. The guy is fucking huge, ‘Nathan Jones’. I’d never heard of him but apparently he was in Fury Road as well. Its a lot better than having The Rock in a movie, that is for damned sure!!!
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These are the guys that you wouldn’t want to mess with, they could kill you with a punch.
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Too true!! The guy is built like he is almost not human!
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Dude!! I’m so fucking in (if I can find it)!!!!
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it was a straight to digital and DVD release, shouldn’t have much trouble finding it. Tara Reid and the pro wrestler guy I’m sure would give it more availability too
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I made a note!
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Dude you just have to see the kills in this movie, it puts everything else to shame. Just fucking absurdly brutal
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Hopefully soon : )
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I hope so too!! I really wanna hear your take on this one
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This sounds like a bit of me!!!! I’ve always said that the Ozzies make good horror movies 🙂
(and so do the Brits!)
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Hell yeah we do!! And there is still more I haven’t seen.
Did you see Wolf Creek 2 last year (or perhaps the year before)? I thought it was both scary and very darkly funny… not many people were laughing in the packed cinema when I saw it tho haha. I have a fucked up sense of humour >;D
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Woah!!!!! I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A WOLF CREEK 2 but I’m literally buying it on Amazon today. I just looked it up and the original killer Mick is in it! That is so fucking awesome. I bet I’ll laugh too 🙂
See – told you, you were increasing my watch list! I’m such a philistine that it’s Wolf Creek 2 I’m most excited about lol
I saw another Oz horror I’m sure it was made by the same director, certainly had the same actor in it, called Rogue – about a giant crocodile and everyone is trapped on this little island? That was pretty good!
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Haven’t heard of Rogue, must check that out. Wolf Creek 2 SHITS ALL OVER Wolf Creek. Its double the intensity, and Mick is even more insane. Its fucking great!!
The funny thing is the bloke who plays Mick used to host a family show on Australian TV called “Better Homes and Gardens”!!!
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Lol!!!! That’s brilliant. I would really like to think of Mick as a nice guy in real life 🙂 and it doesn’t get more twee than “Better Homes and Gardens”! (please let there be clips on youtube!!!!)
I seriously can’t wait to watch it, thanks so much!!!! 😀
Yeah I though Rogue was pretty good 🙂
You seen Storm Warning? It’s pretty sick (how sick do you like your movies?) but the victims fight back against the baddies so that’s cool. (another Ozzie film!)
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I never thought a brit would be giving me Oz movie recommendations! 😛 I’ll have to check them out.
Have you seen Chopper? Bloody great film, Eric Bana’s breakout performance. There is also Romper Stomper which has Russell Crowe as a skinhead. Its a truly terrifying, violent film about racism in Australia.
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I sent you an email – let me know if you don’t get it – I sometimes have trouble with that gmail address –
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Hmm…Tara Reid…? I could look into this one if I can get past Tara Reid…
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Hehehe she isn’t that bad in this, honest!! Plus this is all about the awesome kills. They are genuinely creative!! And a pro-wrestler plays the villain haha!!
Fun trivia – the pro-wrestler/villain from this movie played Immortan Joe’s son in Fury Road
“I HAD A LITTLE BROTHER!! HE WAS PERFECT IN EVERY WAY!!!”
*shoots machine gun into the air for no apparent reason*
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I love a Fury Road fun fact. I FUCKING LOVED THAT FILM!
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YES!! FURY ROAD WAS THE SHIT!!!
lets trade links 🙂 this was my post when I saw it – it actually played in Australia before the US. How rare is that!!!
http://wp.me/p4P9IW-HR
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