Movie Review: "Fair Game" (1986)
Fair Game Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Dark Star Pictures & October Coast
Directed by Mario Andreacchio
Written by Rob George
1986, 86 minutes, Rated R
Released on July 12th, 2022 (digital)
Starring:
Cassandra Delaney as Jessica
Peter Ford as Sunny
David Sandford as Ringo
Garry Who as Sparks
Carmel Young as Moira
Don Barker as Frank
Review:
There’s just something about Ozploitation flicks that get me going. Ever since I had my mind blown by Wake in Fright a few years ago, I’ve broadened my horizons and am a better cinephile for it. Hounds of Love, Sunday Too Far Away, The Cars That Ate Paris, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith…all have delighted in one way or another. It’s a subgenre that I will continue to vigorously mine, thank you very much. The email said “Ozploitation classic returns to the big screen”; that was all I needed to hear.
Again, I’m pretty damn glad to have found this gem.
Fair Game tells the tale of Jessica (Cassandra Delaney; One Night Stand), a tough outback girl with a dog, an El Camino, and a kiss my ass attitude. She’s blowing across the outback and has herself a bit of a road rage incident that gets turned on its ear. She attracts the attention of three sadistic men in what is perhaps the most steroidal pickup truck/hunting vehicle ever put on screen. Thus begins a game of cat and mouse that turns into harassment and finally outright torture as Jessica tries to protect herself and her animal sanctuary home from three very bad men with a taste for destruction and terror.
The film opens with the aforementioned road rage incident in a tightly choreographed car chase that is intense as hell but not without that wicked sense of humor that is the hallmark of high-quality, grade-A Ozploitation. It’s easy to see why this flick is the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof; you know you’re seeing the original article with shots that are almost overlay. That’s not a complaint, for the record. As the casual sadism of the first half of the movie gives way to murderous darkness, Fair Game will have you wondering if you’re in over your head.
You won’t be taken into I Spit On Your Grave territory, thankfully, but this movie walks the line for virtually the entire runtime. The tension is held thanks to a vicious (and occasionally goofy as fuck) trio of performances from Peter Ford (Mad Max), David Sandford (Great Expectations: The Untold Story), and Garry Who (All Together Now). They each represent a different flavors of the male id that are almost archetypes- Sunny is the suave and handsome leader, Ringo is the batshit crazy ball of energy, and Sparks is the slow and sadistic one. It takes all three to combat the equally impressive Cassandra Delaney as Jessica. She’s a protagonist that’ll have you both cheering and screaming, “What the fuck are you doing?” in equal measure. That chemistry makes being terrorized a surprising amount of fun.
It’s also a film that has one of “those scenes”. In this case, it’s Jessica strapped topless to the hood of their nightmare truck and hurled around at neck-breaking speeds. The shit is hard to watch, to put it plainly. That’s a good thing, though, as Jessica’s revenge includes electrocution, anvil impalement, and a damn fine burning in the titular truck. I mean, what the hell are you supposed to do when someone kills all your animals and trashes your property? Am I right or am I right?
Fair Game is a loaded slice of Ozploitation that boasts a quirky sense of humor with which to surprise you and some psychological underpinnings that provide real layers. It does take a bit too long to get to that killer finish, but I’m giving it a pass for how deftly the darkest subject matter is handled. The heavy amounts of animal death may be a tad off-putting to some, but this is Ozploitation. You have to know there are going to be some dead kangaroos. Price of admission. Overall, Fair Game is aptly named and more than worth catching on a big screen if at all possible.
Grade:
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
