LONG WEEKEND

Director: Colin Eggleston

1979, 97min.

 

“Their crime was against Nature. Nature found them guilty.” –tagline of The Long Weekend. In hopes of saving their shaky marriage, Peter and Nancy go to an idyllic beach in the North of Australia, populated only by creatures of the woods, sky, and the sea. On the way there, we witness their casual disregard for the pristine natural surroundings, as they accidentally spark a small fire, and hit a kangaroo with their car. Their inability to come together and their environmentally toxic behavior (breaking an eagle egg, shooting birds, strewing garbage everywhere) only ramps up the suspense. When Nature does fight back, it’s not with monsters, but ordinary creatures: a pissed-off badger, a mournful dugong (an over-hunted Australian sea mammal), and even Cricket, their formerly docile dog. Don’t miss this overlooked classic of 70s’ Ozploitation, terrifyingly even more relevant today.