Australia, 2024
Review:
JA Kerswell
An Australian indie slasher thriller that, whilst not entirely successful, has enough to recommend it to fans of the subgenre. Staff at a closing-down psychiatric hospital are informed that they need to process one last patient, but when he gets free, they have to fight to survive the night. Nicely shot and with some quirky performances, SPITHOOD benefits from a genuinely threatening killer, a fantastic location, some effective passages of cat-and-mouse, and its share of twists and turns.
Staff at a mental hospital prepare for one last night before the unit is shut down for good. They include a ragtag group of security and medical staff, including guard Mason (Thibull Nettle) and his lover Ashley (Claudia Bonifazio) - who find out that all the staff have widely known their secret liaisons. The workers reminisce about their time working at the facility, including old timers Jeeves (Nick Buckland) and Maise (Gail Morrison). However, before they can get too complacent, they are informed that one last patient is to be admitted for psychiatric evaluation ahead of his trial.
The hulking man (Matt Connelly) is brought in wearing a spit guard (that doubles as a mask hiding his features). Imposing but initially compliant, he is locked away in a cell, and Ashley is asked to process him. However, after looking at his record, she tells Mason that it is so disturbing that she can’t. The patient, Paul Atkins, had killed five women after his family were killed in a hit-and-run accident. One of the security guards, Noob (Trung Le), purposefully antagonises him by lodging the alarm bell in his cell so it keeps ringing. However, while taking a bathroom break, Noob is violently beaten to death in a toilet cubicle by a mysteriously freed Atkins. Soon alerted that this dangerous mental patient is on the loose within the facility, the staff initiates lockdown - meaning that neither they nor Atkins can get out. And it slowly dawns on them that this isn’t a whodunnit rather than who let him out?
SPITHOOD
isn’t quite feature-length at 58 minutes. However, the shorter running time is not an issue, as it cuts a lot of what would otherwise arguably be a preamble. Whilst none of the players are fully fleshed out, we get a sense of their characters nonetheless. As with most indies, the performances vary, but most of the diverse cast do well enough to keep us engaged. However, it is slightly incongruous that this closing-down hospital would have so many staff on duty - especially as there only seems to be one other patient (Tess O’Flaherty) (who bares her breasts to an open window for some reason). As is often the case with slasher movies, it is wise to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the action. After all, Haddonfield Memorial was similarly overstaffed in HALLOWEEN II (1981). However, the fact that the police arrive after being called and simply leave when they don’t see any lights on just doesn’t really scan given that the facility had just taken delivery of a dangerous mental patient.
Thankfully, SPITHOOD is well shot, taking advantage of the corridors and hiding places throughout the hospital. Atkins is a genuinely threatening and ultra-aggressive presence. He is fast and furious, and it leads to a couple of well-staged chase scenes by first-time director Tim Pine— which are always the icing on the cake for any slasher movie. Arguably, again, the explanation for Atkins’ escape and subsequent revelations may not hold up to too much scrutiny, but the production wins points for throwing those curveballs in there.
SPITHOOD was written by two First Nation Australians: Travis Akbar and Thibul Nettle (who also stars as Mason). It also features First Nation actress Natasha Wanganeen. The film is notable because it doesn’t explicitly touch on any First Nation issues, but it is good to see such representation in an unashamed genre piece.
Shot throughout late 2022 and early 2023 in South Australia, with the University of Adelaide standing in for the film’s fictional asylum. SPITHOOD received the reputation of being “cursed” during filming. According to local press reports, the filmmakers fell victim to an alleged overseas financing scam, the crew suffered food poisoning, and the director’s dog suffered paralysis during production, amongst other unfortunate incidences. So, it is a small miracle that it turned out as well as it did - but some of those issues might account for its truncated running time.
Regardless, kudos to the makers for keeping the Australian slasher alive. SPITHOOD is an entertaining, zippy movie that - despite some caveats - is well worth a look.
BODY COUNT 8:
Female 3 / Male 5
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SPITHOOD (2024) trailer