Red Hill

If first-time writer-director Patrick Hughes’s bloody Outback western is a disappointment, that’s only because the set-up is so good. ‘True Blood’ star (and ‘Home and Away’ alumnus) Ryan Kwanten plays Shane Cooper, a fresh-faced city cop who accepts a small-town transfer to please his pregnant wife. But Shane’s first day doesn’t go smoothly: the local sheriff is a major hardass, his deputies are all rifle-toting redneck thugs and, to make matters worse, a notorious killer has escaped from jail and is headed home to exact revenge. For the first half-hour, Hughes gets it spot on: the performances are superb, the plot ticks along and the atmosphere is appropriately eerie and claustrophobic. But somewhere in the middle, ‘Red Hill’ loses its way, devolving into a tedious series of murky, tension-free shootouts and predictable plot twists. Hughes clearly has a future as a director as this is a tightly constructed, great looking film. But next time, he needs stronger material.