watched Scared Stiff, Next of Kin & Razorback tonight
Scared Stiff was totally ridiculous. this trashy relic tried to take itself seriously, but mein gott did it ever get a bunch of legitimate laughs out of me. the third act is bonkersville city. def recommend if incompetent lunacy is your kinda thing
but more importantly it’s the horror films from down under that stole the show. Next of Kin was fucking awesome. the director is a total nobody, but he somehow managed to fart out this brilliant blend of Ozploitation & giallo. went in w/ zero expectations; left w/ a new October staple. Razorback was dumb as dog dicks, but it was a tasty treat visually. reminded me a lot of Pumpkinhead, except Russell Mulcahy had way more balls than Stan Winston.
my biggest takeaway from tonight is that i clearly need to watch more Australian horror movies. Next of Kin is a legit horror classic imo. Body Melt & Razorback are trashy, but fun as hell & make up for their shortcomings w/ visual flair. then there are horror-adjacent masterpieces like Picnic at Hanging Rock & Wake in Fright. if anyone has recommendations, i’m all ears
Scared Stiff is a dumb movie, but it's still fun. Like you said, similar to Pumpkinhead and Rawhead Rex (if you want an Irish take on it)
Aussie horror is low key awesome at times, Next Of Kin I haven't watched in a long time, but it had a Blu Ray release recently so I will get the chance to watch it in HD soon.
Razorback is funny too, I love creature features and this little hairy pig fucker i awesome!
For more Aussie horror/Ozploitatio try
Road Games - Not strictly Aussie but it still is, Stacy Keach does a dodgy accent and Jamie Lee Curtis is also in it. It's not strictly horror, more an oddball road movie/serial killer thriller/voyeur horror.
But I love it, one of my favorites, and has some great Australian scenery.
Turkey Shoot & Fair Game are good 80's Ozploitation/horror
Long Weekend is very, very good, 1978 I think
Dead End Drive-In I think is Aussie
if you want to watch something semi-shit but one I really enjoy (and if you can find it), Out Of The Body from 1989 is a nice movie, reminds me of Retribution a little.
It's not great, but then I do like some shit movies