Turkey shoot: a situation in which the aggressor has an overwhelming advantage. That really is a basic summary of Turkey Shoot, a movie made in Australia and to my delight starring Olivia Hussey from Black Christmas (1974). It also has Roger Ward who starred in another favourite movie of mine Mad Max (1979).
This movie is in ways quite bizarre. The movie is set in a dystopian society where a powerful minority get to decide who is a deviant. Those that are labelled deviant, basically everybody and anybody they choose, are sent to camps where they are supposedly cured of their deviant ways. Apparently the way to achieve this is with violence, torture and sexual assault. So.... basically not a nice place.
The central plot of the movie is not unlike The Most Dangerous Game (1932) as the two central characters of the film try to evade getting killed. The prisoners are given a choice, allbeit Hobson's choice, of winning their freedom and place within the society by evading capture until sundown. The bulk of the movie is their struggle to survive against the odds as cruel and sadistic hunters stalk them.
As I sad before this is quite a bizarre movie. There is some sort of crazy creature, I think it is a man, that has been obtained from the circus that is used by one of the hunters to stalk his prey. His eyes would lead me to believe he is not quite human. He certainly knows a lot of wrestling moves. I really dont understand the point of him at all.
There are scenes that are genuinely disturbing. For example, one unlucky prisoner has to run around whilst holding giant balls full of petrol. A game of mock football comences. The end result reminded me of some of the horrific events that have unfolded in the Syrian civil war or Iraq. It really was quite disturbing how close reality mirrored this fictional event. In that regard the movie was ahead of its time, and for a movie made in 1982 it must have been very shocking.
The acting was of a generally decent standard. I thought Olivia Hussey nailed the role of vulnerable female upon entering the camp but felt her transformation into a female Rambo was slightly less believable. The male lead was also believable, and Roger Ward plays the part of sadistic camp guard convincingly. So convincingly I developed a strong desire to see him get his Karma levelled.
The special effects were adequate, sometimes convincing, sometimes less than convincing. There is gore also for those that enjoy it.
6 out of 10, you could watch better, but you could watch a lot worse.