3 out of 5

Director: Rupert Glasson

While ‘Coffin Rock’ still might not be the movie that defines Austrailian horror cinema, it succeeds in creating a distinct mood and setting, which millions-earning American horrors can’t claim to do. ‘Rock’ is your crazed-stalker format: wackadoo Evan (Sam Parsonson) gets obsessed with the married Jessie (Lisa Chappell) causing all sorts of havoc for family and friends. But the script does more than just coast on this premise, taking its time to weave a beautiful complication into things: Jessie and her husband, Rob (Robert Taylor) are trying to have a child, but several attempts have called Rob’s fertility into question. The movie patiently and quietly shows us our characters, and shows us that they are in a loving relationship, but that the potential infertility is causing much drama and stress beneath the sheets. This leads to an emasculated Rob agreeing to go to a fertility center… where Evan is the receptionist… As problems percolate, a drunken night leads to an affair with Evan, which leads, of course, to a pregnancy. Keep it? Admit to the affair? And Evan begins to grow more unstable… It’s an incredibly ripe premise, brought to life by excellent acting by all of the principles and a restrained eye from director Glasson, who infuses the scenes with just enough color and style to seem purposeful and important to the film but not overtly stylized or Hollywood-ized. So why only 3 stars? It’s hard to say. Despite Evan’s unhinged-ness, things feel low key. The film retains a nervy feeling while setting up the plot, but once the pieces are in place it seems to stall. Why? Maybe because Evan is so knowingly strange (there’s never a doubt), maybe because the film lacks a true feeling of isolation that’s important for keeping up the thrills. Regardless, its nice to see a focused attempt at this genre, and one that allows plenty of room for plot and acting. Overall an average film, but its peaks rise higher than the majority of films in its ilk.