Backlash (1986) User Reviews

Some good points, some not so good

[PeterM27 · 5/10 · 17 November 2021]

The film is very low-budget, and much of the dialogue was improvised. While this often worked, some scenes are very awkward and unconvincing. While the characters were established, and the movie moved along quite well, there were many annoying anomalies which detracted from the story.

Gia Carides is good, David Argue's performance is erratic (and almost derailed the film).

SPOILERS/PLOT A young Aboriginal woman is driven by two young cops across the outback to face trial for the murder of her publican-employer, who had tried to rape her. The cops argue, take a dirt road as a short cut, and get stranded in an abandoned sheep station. They get to know each other, and when eventually rescued, the cops help pin the murder on the publican's wife, meaning the Aboriginal woman is released. But in a surprise ending, the young policeman is ambushed by an Aboriginal man and speared to death, as payback for the death of the man's son whom the policeman had shot earlier.

A sort of Australian road movie

[searchanddestroy-1 · 19 February 2016]

I don't understand why the hell the other viewers don't like this movie. I loved it, really. A so unusual and moving story that reminds me the US features from the seventies, in the Monte Hellman line. I would have imagined Warren Oates in one of the characters, the cop one, for instance. OK, it's slow, and so incredible, but sorry, but I loved this one, I repeat. Good performances and also a so pessimistic story which I would have expected more optimistic, and I usually crave for downbeat tales. I don't think this movie was known outside the Aussies land. So shame. Anyway, I recommend it. And, as many other Australian movies, this story emphasizes on the open lands of this country, the famous outback, the bush. The famous bush. I don't know the director.

It almost worked

[Sack-3 · 4/10 · 6 December 2000]

Showtime has been showing a lot of 1980s Australian movies recently (who knows why), and this wasn't one of the best (check out Flirting instead). It has that slow, character-focused pace that you come to expect from Australian films. The characters are intriguing, and I was interested to learn how things turn out. The plot builds well, but the movie tended to keep you waiting too long. The surprise ending took some time for me to understand if I ever understood it.

improvised and small budget : Best actor David Argue, best support Gia Carides and Lydia Miller. iconic masterpiece . underrated in Australia .

[proveit1 · 10/10 · 13 August 2017]

I have always loved David Argue and Gia Carides ,so when i saw they were both in this film I was excited ; as I know of MR Argues Stand up work, and other most of the work he has done . No matter what can be said about directors choices . I found the film Highly original ,It's Awards far out-way it's otiose transgressions . It had a crew of about 8 people and the dialogue was invented on set By the actors who were following a schedule rather than a script . It is a satirical gem. take what you like from it BackLash stands alone as One of a kind .

Rent a different Australian film, not this one

[jtur88 · 3 March 2001]

This is probably the worst Aussie film I've seen in quite a while, although it was a fairly early one, before the industry was very well polished in that country. These characters were just not very credible to me. Under the circumstances, Nikki was pretty casual about her underwear in front of Trevor, a disliked stranger. The cops had to be pretty stupid to not know for themselves that egrets fly toward water in the morning. I feel sorry for Kath, falling for a guy who was, is, and would always be a jerk, no matter how glowing his moments of social redemption on his veneer. I just couldn't swallow it.