Three kangaroo hunters terrorise an attractive woman, Jessica (Cassandra Delaney), who lives by herself on a wildlife reserve in the outback.
'80s Ozploitation flick Fair Game is like a rape/revenge movie, but without the rape. Some reviews suggest that a serious sexual assault is inferred, but that simply isn't good enough: if a character is going to systematically kill three men, then it needs to be clear that her victims are deserving of their fates. Fair Game fails to adequately establish this fact, and is all the weaker for it.
Sure, the guys are obnoxious sexist assholes, and are guilty of tormenting, abusing and humiliating the poor woman, but that alone is not enough to warrant multiple homicide. Jessica should have continued to pursue a legal course of action, but instead takes matters into her own hands: she antagonises the men by slapping an anti-hunting sticker on their truck, sneaks out at night to weld their guns together, steals their truck, and tries to trap them in an abandoned mine with a rock fall. Had she continued to complain to the authorities after the first couple of incidences, it's doubtful that matters would have escalated to such levels of extreme violence (sexual or otherwise).
Technically speaking, the film is a mixed bag: performances are strong and the cinematography is very stylish (the scenery looks great and the shots of the hunter's truck are very effective, the vehicle taking on a persona more menacing than the men themselves); however, the soundtrack is diabolical: none of the awful '80s music complements the action. The killings are quite tame for this kind of trash, with the impalement of one guy on an anvil (!?!) proving unintentionally funny.
Fair Game was shorn of almost a minute when released on video in the UK: all of the stuff where Jessica is stripped and bound to the hood of the hunter's vehicle like an ornament was removed. Since this is the most entertaining part of the film, that VHS release must have been particularly frustrating for British fans of Ozploitation.
4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
N.B. Eagle-eyed viewers might spot a male predator far more despicable than any of Fair Game's villains lurking in an advert for paint in the background of the outback convenience store. Can you see what it is yet?
'80s Ozploitation flick Fair Game is like a rape/revenge movie, but without the rape. Some reviews suggest that a serious sexual assault is inferred, but that simply isn't good enough: if a character is going to systematically kill three men, then it needs to be clear that her victims are deserving of their fates. Fair Game fails to adequately establish this fact, and is all the weaker for it.
Sure, the guys are obnoxious sexist assholes, and are guilty of tormenting, abusing and humiliating the poor woman, but that alone is not enough to warrant multiple homicide. Jessica should have continued to pursue a legal course of action, but instead takes matters into her own hands: she antagonises the men by slapping an anti-hunting sticker on their truck, sneaks out at night to weld their guns together, steals their truck, and tries to trap them in an abandoned mine with a rock fall. Had she continued to complain to the authorities after the first couple of incidences, it's doubtful that matters would have escalated to such levels of extreme violence (sexual or otherwise).
Technically speaking, the film is a mixed bag: performances are strong and the cinematography is very stylish (the scenery looks great and the shots of the hunter's truck are very effective, the vehicle taking on a persona more menacing than the men themselves); however, the soundtrack is diabolical: none of the awful '80s music complements the action. The killings are quite tame for this kind of trash, with the impalement of one guy on an anvil (!?!) proving unintentionally funny.
Fair Game was shorn of almost a minute when released on video in the UK: all of the stuff where Jessica is stripped and bound to the hood of the hunter's vehicle like an ornament was removed. Since this is the most entertaining part of the film, that VHS release must have been particularly frustrating for British fans of Ozploitation.
4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
N.B. Eagle-eyed viewers might spot a male predator far more despicable than any of Fair Game's villains lurking in an advert for paint in the background of the outback convenience store. Can you see what it is yet?