Powerful

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good movie but grossly overrated

Snowtown, based on a true story, takes place just North of Adelaide, Australia, where a vulnerable young man, Jamie (Lucas Pittaway), falls in with a psychopath, John (Daniel Henshall), who has an intense hatred for paedophiles, gays, the obese, and drug users. Beginning with the harassment of a perverted neighbour (by chucking kangaroo parts onto his doorstep), John, Jamie, and a couple of other cohorts escalate their attacks, turning to murder.Unrelentingly grim from start to finish, Snowtown certainly isn't easy viewing, its authentic white trash characters and realistic 'wrong side of the tracks' setting adding to the downbeat atmosphere. Rather surprisingly, the film isn't all that gory (graphic kangaroo dismemberment aside), with even the most brutal death scene, that of Jamie's older brother Troy (Anthony Groves), being relatively bloodless. Perhaps the hardest moment to stomach is Troy sodomising his helpless younger brother: now THAT was nasty.Director Justin Kurzel's style takes a little getting used to (the first few scenes are fairly confusing) and there are one or two scenes that I'm still not entirely sure what purpose they serve, but overall Kurzel does a passable job for his full length debut. It's no Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, but Snowtown is worth watching at least once for those who are fascinated by the darker side of the psyche.

We see some people being murdered, but learn little about them or why most of them were targeted and tortured to death. With the actual events, at least half the victims seem to have been murdered so John and the others could receive their welfare cheque, but virtually no attention is paid to this motive in the movie. There is no explanation in the movie of why the last murder victim was chosen. He was neither a pedophile nor a homosexual, and was not a welfare recipient whose cheques could be taken by the criminals. The cannibalizing of the final victim is not mentioned in the movie, and we get no hint that by this time, the murderers were simply addicted to killing and were doing it to satisfy sadistic urges. It would have been better if the some of the time-consuming drawn- out scenes were shortened, and replaced by a bit more information on what was going on and a better background of the people involved.I found the same in Justin Kurzel's version of MacBeth. It was not nearly as good as Roman Polanski's movie, because some of the most important parts of the story and some famous lines are left out, and there are those unnecessary long pauses where little happens.With a more capable director, this story could be re-made into a better, more informative movie.

The film is clearly well made, the acting fantastic but I couldn't help feel that there was a bit too much filler. Some of the throbbing musically and cinematographic scenes were just a tad drawn out for my liking.Don't get me wrong it's not the be all end all, but the film would probably be a good 15 mins shorter without subtracting from the overall tension.That said, it is a success on many other different levels. Firstly, I think it's very restrained for a 2011 movie about serial killings and that's not a bad thing. It borrows from the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre in regards to how it generally portrays the violence and suspense and I respect the director for going down this route about something so very sensitive and disturbing. It's incredibly sad as these things actually happened between the years of August 1992 – May 1999 resulting in the murders of 11 people.Secondly, the shots are gorgeous and give you a proper feel as to how suburban areas in Australia actually felt and looked in the 90's and adds a subtle form of depth to it all. The third notable aspect is, as I have opened with, the acting itself. Both Lucas Pittaway and Daniel Henshall steal the show here and are clearly extremely good at what they do. Other reviewers have rightly picked up upon the almost fly on the wall style of filming here and this is only more of a testament as to how well made and acted this film is.

Based on Australia's worst serial killer, "The Snowtown Murders" - aka. The Bodies in Barrels Murders - is the story of John Bunting, a vicious and highly manipulative psychopath who preyed upon and murdered 11 young men around a Southern Australian suburb throughout the 90s. Bunting ended up marrying the mother of a teenager whom he convinced to assist him and his sleazy crew in exterminating those he deemed as gay, pedophiles or junkies. Many of Bunting's victims were found mutilated, usually with signs of rectal torture, and stuffed into barrels inside of an unused bank he had rented.This film does a phenomenal job of portraying these events in a very dark and unsettling, yet highly character driven mien. All of the performances are tremendous and the desolate locale makes for a very bleak and tragic backdrop. The movie doesn't rely too heavily on all-out on screen violence, although the few scenes of torture and murder depicted are truly harsh and gritty, as well as it's rather brash depictions of pedophilia and incest. There's also some animal butchering on tap."The Snowtown Murders" definitely ranks high on my list of strongest serial killer biopics of all time. It's one of those films that will stick with you for a bit. Gotta say, though, it's not for everyone, but if you're cool with "rougher" types of cinema, "Snowtown" comes highly recommended.More Gorepump reviews at http://swinesewage.blogspot.com/