Charlie’s Farm (2014) | This Outback slasher is Hatchet Down Under

7 foot, 375lbs of Pure Aussie Killing Machine
In the 1980s, the Australian country town of Mitchell got a bad rep when an angry mob hunted down and violently killed suspected cannibal and backpacker killer John Wilson (Bill Moseley) and his psycho wife Merideth (Trudi Ross) in front of their retarded son Charlie, who vanished into the bush never to be seen again. Today, Charlie’s Farm is ‘a dark and evil place’ that the locals avoid at all cost.

Despite the concerns of her boxer pal Tony (Kane Hodder), Natasha (Tara Reid) joins her two Aussie mates, horror film buff Jason (Dean Kirkright) and ladies man Donkey (Sam Coward), and girl pal Melanie (Allira Jaques), in the 8-hour drive to camp at the notorious site, where they encounter two backpackers who are also interested in the urban legend. But ‘Holy snapping duck shit!’, it’s not long before the deformed hulk that is Charlie Wilson (Nathan Jones) comes a calling and a killing…

Bush-bound blood and gore
This Aussie survival horror is basically Hatchet Down Under with professional wrestler Nathan Jones (Mad Max: Fury Road) playing a Victor Crowley-esque killing machine – think Hugh Armstrong’s The Man from 1972’s Death Line on steroids. Of course, this being a slasher, it’s the kills that count not the subtleties of character. So, except for one ludicrous, pointless kill involving a tractor, they don’t disappoint – with the highlight being Donkey getting his ‘massive’ manhood shoved down his throat followed by a gruesome jaw ripping.

There are a few in-jokes to savour, but mostly around the presence of Kane Hodder, who not only played the original Victor Crowley, but also that most iconic of slasher monsters, Jason Voorhees (four times by my count). While Hodder stays out of the picture for most of the film, he does get to go mano a mano with Jones’ Charlie in the bloody climax. But, surprisingly, he’s not the hero of the piece. That’s left to Tara Reid’s final girl, who finds herself in The Hills Have Eyes territory when she seeks refuge in an underground tunnel filled with the decaying corpses of Charlie’s victims. Yew!

Hoping Charlie Wilson will be welcomed into that hallowed pantheon of movie monsters alongside Crowley, Voorhees, and their ilk, the filmmakers have even brought out a range of merchandise. Will you be getting your ‘I Survived Charlie’s Farm’ Tee, bobble head and condoms? Mind you, they’ve got some competition with another Charlie currently frightening cinemagoers in The Gallows.