#loop track

[fuckyeahfightlock]

My scary movie today was from New Zealand! Written by, directed by, and starring Tom Sainsbury (Taskmaster NZ), Loop Track is a tense wilderness/isolation horror I mostly enjoyed.

Ian is a shifty? anxious? weird? guy hiking into the bush in the wrong clothes, wearing the wrong footwear, carrying a (suspiciously?) very heavy backpack. What's his deal? we wonder. And we keep on wondering--Ian is quiet and closed off, doesn't say a lot--even as he begins a 9-hour hike to the first "hut" (really more like a cabin) on the Loop Track.

(Based on the title and knowing it was about hikers, I thought this must be a time loop movie, but it turns out the New Zealand word for "trail" is "track," so it had nothing to do with what I was thinking was an audio loop or similar; but no, the title is referencing a literal loop track.)

Ian meets up with some other hikers against his will--an influencer couple very interested in The Vibes, Monica and Austin; and an overconfident, tech-bro type with expensive gear (a $300 flashlight is ludicrous even in NZ dollars) and an inflated sense of self, Nicky--and they find themselves sharing the huts at night and doing some of the hike together. Ian wonders if something in the bush is watching them, and he doesn't sleep. Nicky drinks untreated creek water and ends up with "a bit of a dick-y tummy" (of course), but also gives Ian a sleeping pill and might have murdered some girls whose packs they find in a hut; Monica and Austin keep trying to leave Ian and Nicky behind--at one point they break off to hike a different branch of the track and make empty promises to meet Ian and Nicky at the next hut.

The group grow suspicious of each other, motives are questioned, and everyone suddenly remembers these are strangers in the bush, not friends on a camping trip. The movie kept me guessing the whole time--the viewer never has more information than the characters do--and I really wasn't sure where it was all going. The writing and acting are top notch, and there is a lot of story in a short run time--it felt like a longer movie, but didn't drag. I won't spoil it in plain sight because I do recommend it (with reservations), it's a very well-crafted movie and if you love that edgy feeling of not knowing what the fuck is going on here, and/or a daylight, wilderness, and/or isolation horror, you should definitely invest the 95 minutes to watch it.

[spoilers for the final twist, and my critique thereof, under the cut]

So here's the spoiler. Ian's not carrying a dismembered body in his backpack; Nicky isn't a murderer; Monica and Austin aren't as stupid as they seem. There actually IS something watching/following them. By the time they find out, it's really too late; they are picked off one by one in the course of about five minutes of film time. The problem with the movie is that the monster, once it's revealed, is not scary. I even found it comical, wishing all the while that I didn't; I wanted the story to work! Everything about the movie was tense and scary and even the scenes with the monster were scary. . .it's just that the monster itself was not.

The monster is an 8 foot tall, black kiwi-type flightless bird. All we ever see of it are its feet/claws, which are heavy and overarticulated, like a dinosaur's, not a bird's. And its face, despite its soulless eyes and uncanny sounds and three-foot long sword of a beak (with teeth inside), is not horrifying. It's just a big damn bird. That can't even fly.

Worst of all, it doesn't move like a bird, or a dinosaur, or a monster. It moves like a puppet or a guy in a costume. Because it's a puppet or a guy in a costume. I was so distracted by the ineptness of putting this monster on screen. You know I always prefer practical effects, but in this case, CGI would have been a much better choice. Too bad, because everything else, as I said, was so good. Even the very last scene of final girl Ian trope-ily arriving to the locked car for which he has no keys, then limping out onto the highway bleeding and half-dressed, where a car stops and he delivers the most upsetting (resigned, almost guilty), "help." I have ever heard in a horror movie, is a so much more satisfying scene than the reveal of, and fights with, this stupid huge bird that's really a guy in a costume.

[ittakestwopod]

We mentioned our love of New Zealand horror in our latest episode - so here are some of our favourites! (These all at least have comedy elements because kiwis can't make horror without turning it into a horror comedy.)

Loop Track (2023) Dir. Tom Sainsbury A four-day journey turns into a fight for survival. This is a psychological thriller about Ian, who wants to get as far away from humanity as possible, into the New Zealand bush. Some other individuals get attached to him. And he has the feeling that they are being followed. Is that real though? Housebound (2014) Dir. Gerard Johnstone A young woman is forced to return to her childhood home after being placed under house arrest, where she suspects that something evil may be lurking.

The Frighteners (1996) Dir. Peter Jackson After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.

Black Sheep (2006) Dir. Jonathan King An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) Dir. Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

I've added these to a Letterboxd list also

[thenefilim]

Review - Loop Track (2023)

A fun watch that will keep you guessing until the last few moments, Loop Track is an early Christmas present for horror fans.

https://www.voicesfromthebalcony.com/2023/11/27/loop-track-2023-review/

[visplay]

Chris: Loop Track is a suspense / thriller about a very neurotic man in New Zealand hiking in the forest and running into issues, I liked this a lot, stick with it till the end, lead actor is the writer and director, Tom Sainsbury who made this gem, Watch: Rent.

Richie: I thought it was very entertaining, Watch: Rent.

[gebo4482]

Loop Track - Official Movie Trailer (2023)

Dir: Thomas Sainsbury Star: Thomas Sainsbury / Hayden J. Weal / Tawanda Manyimo

[movieposters1]

[some-guy-named-john]

This’ll be me giving my quick thoughts on what I saw at the 2023 New Zealand International Film Festival. Once again the organisers put a lot of thought into finding some of the best, most artful films from around the world. Once again I said “Just the genre stuff for me, thanks”.

[stuff-i-watched]

Loop Track / 2023 — IMDb, TMDb

[cultfaction]

ARROW Player Announces September 2024 Lineup

Arrow Video is excited to announce the September 2024 lineup of their subscription-based ARROW platform, available to subscribers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Enjoy a selection of new titles, from carefully cultivated curations to shorts by new talent to deep dives into the tastes of filmmakers that changed the way we see the genre. The September 2024 lineup leads with the ARROW debut…

[thepeoplesmovies]

Trust Your Fear Watch UK Trailer For Loop Track

Trust your fear and watch UK Trailer for New Psychological horror thriller Loop Track. Danger lurks in the woods in Tom Sainsbury‘s indie which he also stars in.  Arrow Video release the UK promo that hints at a respite turns into an  paranoid nightmare. In Loop Track Ian (Sainsbury) is a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown all thanks to everyday life. He just wants to disappear from the rest…

[eph-em-era]

A fic for a fandom that will never exist - Tom Sainsbury's film Loop Track

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What if Nicky survived the creature's attack and he and Ian rekindled - outside of the forest? - Or, an attempt to parse through the layers of subtext in Loop Track, and delve deeper into what I think the characters' worlds were, cause so much is left up to the audience.

[scarevalue]

Loop Track is now available on Video on Demand

[moviesandmania]

LOOP TRACK (2023) Reviews of psychological survival thriller plus trailer

‘Trust your fear’ Loop Track is a 2023 psychological paranoia thriller in which a four-day trek into the New Zealand bush turns into a fight for survival. Ian (Thomas Sainsbury) wants to get as far away from humanity as possible. However, some other individuals become attached to him. And he has the feeling that they are being followed. Is that real though? Written, directed by and starring by…

[jocia92]

I hope you enjoyed Loop Track!

Yes I did! I have been bushwalking/hiking many times in the general area it was filmed. It's fun to see places you know onscreen, even in a scary context.

It was both funny and tense and I was able to handle the level of gore.

[isatartdump]

i;m a lesbian but i am so insanely attracted to your isabeau it's unreal. please keep posting him i fall in love more every time

Please keep faling in love with Isabeau. He's almost like a muse to me. He always looks divine

Sunkissed. The universe itself stops to stare. Gods I love this guy.

Now have an Isabeau sketch blast because I love him almost as much as I love Loop

And for last- Isa with glasses...

[tiabwwtws-art]

Skill acquisition

And bonuses