WYRMWOOD APOCALYPSE
****
Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Screenwriters: Kiah Roache-Turner & Tristan Roache-Turner
Principal cast:
Luke McKenzie
Shantae Barnes-Cowan
Jay Gallagher
Bianca Bradey
Jake Ryan
Tasia Zalar
Nick Boshier
Country: Australia
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 88 mins.
Australian release date: 10 February 2022.
It’s been a seven year wait for the sequel to the Roache-Turner brothers’ Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead to shuffle along, arms outstretched, mouth drooling. Now, at long last, zombie lovers can revel in the blood, gore, humour and hi-jinks of Wyrmwood Apocalypse and it feels like hardly a day has passed since the original, which, in terms of the plot, is true, because the story picks up about a year after the first film ended. Kiah Roache-Turner writes and directs and his bro Tristan writes and produces (this time with Bronte Pictures’ Blake Northfield) and together they make a formidable team. Discussing the look of their film, the director explains that, “My brother and I grew up watching Mad Max and Dawn of the Dead over and over again on old, rented VHS tapes, so those films are burned into our brains… From an aesthetic standpoint the two George’s [Miller and Romero] are still definitely a huge influence on the visual style of this film. There’s also a bit of Sam Raimi in there, and a large helping of Peter Jackson as well, just for good measure!”
As the movie starts, we meet up once more with Barry (Jay Gallagher) and his half-zombie/half-human ‘hybrid’ sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey). Brooke’s ‘zombieness’ is a little more advanced than when we last saw her and her behaviour is freaking out their travelling companions, two Indigenous sisters, Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan, currently in Stan’s Firebite) and Grace (Tasia Zalar from ABC-TV’s Mystery Road series) and the two pairs of siblings have a violent parting of the ways – “You’re all monsters,” says one of the women as they depart. Tearing off into the bush in their armoured vehicle, Maxi and Grace have an unexpected encounter with hunter Rhys (Luke McGregor), whose twin (also played by him) met a terrible end in Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead. Rhys captures survivors of the zombie apocalypse and delivers them to the Surgeon General (Nick Boshier), believing that the doctor is searching for a cure for the virus, and he grabs Grace from the wrecked car. Maxi spies him, though, and tracks him down to his fortified lair, where she convinces him that all is not as it appears and they must save Grace before it’s too late. They’re going to need help, though, and who should turn up but Brooke and Barry - and Brooke’s powers are getting stronger and stronger.
The Roache-Turner brothers been aided in their vision for Wyrmwood Apocalypse by a crack team of like-minded creatives, especially the prosthetics team, the makeup department, Tracey Rose Sparke’s costume design and Esther Rosenberg’s inventive production design. Speaking of prosthetics, there’s a highly original cyborg-zombie that has to be seen to be believed, created by MEG (the Make-up Effects Group). Even the two Georges haven’t come up with one of these! There are other clever, amusing twists in the brothers’ playful screenplay, too, like using the breath of zombies (methane) to supply gas for the Mad Max-style vehicles and electricity for the buildings. The leading actors comport themselves well, especially the awesome foursome of McGregor, Barnes-Cowan, Gallagher and Bradey. Zalar is very good, too, even though she spends much of the time bound and gagged - she does a lot with her eyes. Indeed, all the speaking roles are extremely credible - these men and women really threw themselves into their roles and most performed their own stunts, of which there are many.
Wyrmwood Apocalypse is a load of manic mayhem; if you are into the walking dead, this one’s for you. It would be easy to suspect that the Roache-Turner brothers were making a comment on how the COVID-19 pandemic has been handled in this country but, in fact, they started working on this script long before that dreaded lurgy was on the horizon. No, this is not social commentary, it’s just plain old blood-and-guts fun.
Screenwriters: Kiah Roache-Turner & Tristan Roache-Turner
Principal cast:
Luke McKenzie
Shantae Barnes-Cowan
Jay Gallagher
Bianca Bradey
Jake Ryan
Tasia Zalar
Nick Boshier
Country: Australia
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 88 mins.
Australian release date: 10 February 2022.
It’s been a seven year wait for the sequel to the Roache-Turner brothers’ Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead to shuffle along, arms outstretched, mouth drooling. Now, at long last, zombie lovers can revel in the blood, gore, humour and hi-jinks of Wyrmwood Apocalypse and it feels like hardly a day has passed since the original, which, in terms of the plot, is true, because the story picks up about a year after the first film ended. Kiah Roache-Turner writes and directs and his bro Tristan writes and produces (this time with Bronte Pictures’ Blake Northfield) and together they make a formidable team. Discussing the look of their film, the director explains that, “My brother and I grew up watching Mad Max and Dawn of the Dead over and over again on old, rented VHS tapes, so those films are burned into our brains… From an aesthetic standpoint the two George’s [Miller and Romero] are still definitely a huge influence on the visual style of this film. There’s also a bit of Sam Raimi in there, and a large helping of Peter Jackson as well, just for good measure!”
As the movie starts, we meet up once more with Barry (Jay Gallagher) and his half-zombie/half-human ‘hybrid’ sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey). Brooke’s ‘zombieness’ is a little more advanced than when we last saw her and her behaviour is freaking out their travelling companions, two Indigenous sisters, Maxi (Shantae Barnes-Cowan, currently in Stan’s Firebite) and Grace (Tasia Zalar from ABC-TV’s Mystery Road series) and the two pairs of siblings have a violent parting of the ways – “You’re all monsters,” says one of the women as they depart. Tearing off into the bush in their armoured vehicle, Maxi and Grace have an unexpected encounter with hunter Rhys (Luke McGregor), whose twin (also played by him) met a terrible end in Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead. Rhys captures survivors of the zombie apocalypse and delivers them to the Surgeon General (Nick Boshier), believing that the doctor is searching for a cure for the virus, and he grabs Grace from the wrecked car. Maxi spies him, though, and tracks him down to his fortified lair, where she convinces him that all is not as it appears and they must save Grace before it’s too late. They’re going to need help, though, and who should turn up but Brooke and Barry - and Brooke’s powers are getting stronger and stronger.
The Roache-Turner brothers been aided in their vision for Wyrmwood Apocalypse by a crack team of like-minded creatives, especially the prosthetics team, the makeup department, Tracey Rose Sparke’s costume design and Esther Rosenberg’s inventive production design. Speaking of prosthetics, there’s a highly original cyborg-zombie that has to be seen to be believed, created by MEG (the Make-up Effects Group). Even the two Georges haven’t come up with one of these! There are other clever, amusing twists in the brothers’ playful screenplay, too, like using the breath of zombies (methane) to supply gas for the Mad Max-style vehicles and electricity for the buildings. The leading actors comport themselves well, especially the awesome foursome of McGregor, Barnes-Cowan, Gallagher and Bradey. Zalar is very good, too, even though she spends much of the time bound and gagged - she does a lot with her eyes. Indeed, all the speaking roles are extremely credible - these men and women really threw themselves into their roles and most performed their own stunts, of which there are many.
Wyrmwood Apocalypse is a load of manic mayhem; if you are into the walking dead, this one’s for you. It would be easy to suspect that the Roache-Turner brothers were making a comment on how the COVID-19 pandemic has been handled in this country but, in fact, they started working on this script long before that dreaded lurgy was on the horizon. No, this is not social commentary, it’s just plain old blood-and-guts fun.