by John Rhall
Chapter 9
Conclusion
The examination of Australian horror films over a particular decade intends to show how the landscape narrative is used to inform the spectator of a not so hidden message; but a message that is repressed. This visual re-examination of where we live and how we live is used to awake those things that are both repressed and oppressed. Thus in Wake in Fright the hidden desperation of the mateship myth and the fear of latent homosexuality is exposed under the relentless glare of a barren landscape. The repressed fear of isolation from the mother country and the agony of a class system are laid bare in the picturesque landscape of Picnic at Hanging Rock. The repression of white guilt and refusal of Aboriginal assimilation is all too glaringly revealed in the bloody landscape of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. The repressed fear of the foreigner and all that outside dependence both wants and rejects is on display in the psychotic landscape of The Cars that Ate Paris. In the Mad Max films we see the final repression of “not belonging” as civilisation disintegrates and the Australian population is routed and the once invaded landscape takes back what was stolen before hanging up the eviction notice. It is more than possible that there will never be a body of Australian horror films that exposed the repressed and oppressed ideologies in the way that the films from 1971 to 1981 did by using a familiar landscape in an unfamiliar way, that is, by creating a demonised landscape in which to tell the story.
These early horror films could be said to have worked to “renew” our culture by “attacking its basic assumptions” (Morris 230).
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Chapter 10
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Postscript :
I believe that the horror film allows a venting of subdued social concerns in a way that no other genre can achieve. The simplicity of the narrative can often fool the viewer into a more receptive frame of mind. The horror film challenges our perceptions and opens up repressed memories and feelings that might otherwise remain dormant. That this essay is about Australian films should in no way discourage the overseas reader from looking at their own productions and seeking to examine them for a similar pattern over a similar time scale. It may turn out to be very constructive and somewhat enlightening whether you are a film studies student or simply an interested observer.
