2016

• • Australiens (Review)

    https://horrornews.net/110402/film-review-australiens-2014/

    by Blacktooth Sep 10, 2016, 11:33 pm

    Director – Joe Bauer (The Killage)
    Starring – Rita Artmann (The Void), Tamara McLaughlin (Out of the Shadows), and Lawrence Silver (The Void)
    Release Date – 2014
    Rating – 4/5

    Tagline – “We aren’t alone and it sucks”

    I’m not that well versed in Australian horror. I have seen a few dozen horror flicks from down under and almost all of them were very memorable and entertaining. I don’t know why I have never actually researched and found more to watch but I haven’t. Over the last few years I have received several indie horror flicks from Australia to review. Most, if not all, were awesome and really surprised me in regards to how well they were shot.

    One film that I was sent to check out and was really excited to see was Australiens. Not only does it have one of the best titles for a horror comedy in recent years but it absolutely looked amazing. The film was sent to me to check out from my friends over at Brain Damage Films and Midnight Releasing. Thanks for once again hooking me up with a great film!

    

    **Spoiler Alert**The film begins 17 years ago when alien enthusiast Andi (Artmann) goes outside at night and her balloon is stolen from her by an alien spacecraft. We then jump 17 years and she fronts a rock band and is still obsessed with aliens. She feels she is different then everyone else and blames her encounter with the craft as the reasoning behind it. When aliens start attacking Australia she assumes they are there to get her because she is special but she learns that she is special for a different reason and the reason they are attacking is because her cousin is a dick.**Spoiler Alert**

    I knew this film would be full of camp and cheese but this film was a whole new level of camp. It was fucking brilliant. The film was very enjoyable and truly convinced me to check out more Australian horror.

    The acting in this one is indie great but still had room for improvement. The entire cast was dedicated fully to their roles. They gave it their all and it showed in every scene. Some of the cast was a little more dedicated than others. Some of the characters were a lot more enjoyable than others but that is not the casts fault but it does show how talented they really were.

    The story for this one is a love letter to the space invasion flicks of the 50s that then meets the X-Files generation. It was brilliant and offered up so many hilarious moments. The story was written very well and offered up several twists that need to be seen to be appreciated.

    Finally, those of you looking for blood will find a little CGI blood but if you want green goo and some campy visual effects then this film is for you. The effects are bright, colorful, and very campy. The film relies heavily on these contrasting colors to pull off the look of the film. For the most part it works but some of the scenes you can really see how bad the visual effects are which ruins the look they were going for. Overall, Australiens is the type of film you watch late at night with a pizza and cold beer. It’s far from perfect but you can’t deny just how fun it is. If you love campy horror and sci-fi flicks then you should give this one a chance.

• • Australiens (2014) – Jim Morazzini

    http://www.roguecinema.com/australiens-2014-jim-morazzini.html

    (date unknown)

    A little girl wanders outside one night and has a close encounter with a flying saucer that shows its hostile intent by stealing her balloon. Seventeen years later and they’re back, this time with more than balloons on their mind, this time they abduct her mother.

    Australiens is a wonderful little spoof from a part of the world that has produced several of them lately, What We Do in the Shadows, Me and My Mates vs the Zombie Apocalypse, and Deathgasm to name a few. This time out it’s the extraterrestrials turn to be spoofed as they invade the land down under. The girl who had the close encounter has grown up, Andi (Rita Artmann who also co wrote the film) has grown up to become the singer of the least popular rock band in Australia, she’s also convinced the encounter left her with psychic powers. So when the visitors return immediately after one of her gigs and the rest of the world just sits back and watches she knows she’s the only one who can stop them. When the kidnap her Mom it becomes personal. She rounds up her friends Cam (Tamara McLaughlin) a filmmaker ready to turn the invasion into a movie, boxer Keith (Lawrence Silver) and her hypochondriac brother Keith ( Doug Hatch) and set out to save the world. And rescue Mom.

    Co written by star Rita Artman and director/actor (he plays the infected John) Joe Bauer this is a delightfully silly take on 50s sci fi with flying saucers, wonderfully daft characters and effects that while not bad are not exactly top of the heap. They’re more delightfully gaudy with the saucers looking like they were made from neon rainbows. The actual aliens however are exceptionally well done as are their robots. It manages to keep up an almost manic energy throughout and never drags despite running just under two full hours. Granted the humor is fairly restrained for an Aussie film, but that’s not to say it’s kids stuff either, think Mars Attacks by way of Attack the Block and you’ll be in the right neighborhood.

    Perhaps the best thing about Australiens though is how much new talent and fresh faces are on display here it’s only the second feature as writer/director for Bauer, the ot5her being 2011’s The Killage and most of the cast have only a handful of TV episodes and short films to their name, (though sharp eyed fans may recognize Emma Randall from another Aussie gem Undead as the alien commander). This could be the film that unleashes a lot of new talent on movie lovers and lets face it, the industry needs some new talent right now, especially talent that doesn’t need nine digit budgets to show it off.

    A great film to watch while drinking Fosters and one of the funniest films so far this year. It’s out on DVD and VOD from Midnight Releasing.

• • Australiens

    http://www.horrorview.com/movie-reviews/australiens

    (date unknown)

    Ever since the 1956 black and white film EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS to the recent INDEPENDENCE DAY remake, the image of outer space denizens as saucer dwelling, civilization wrecking invaders has permeated and become an indelible assumption in the mind of most sci-fi aficionados whenever we experience a film about visitors from another world. The film AUSTRALIENS is no exception, filmed in AUSTRALIA it details in slapstick, classic detail the struggle of a band (an actual musical group) of young hipsters who must save civilization, from certain annihilation from a green, warlike alien race. In the battle between the creatures from light years beyond and the plucky young Aussies from down under, this wacky farce is sure to be a battle of comic, if not cosmic proportions….at least in theory.

    The film begins in flashback, as young Girl named Andi makes fleeting contact with an alien spacecraft in her backyard by offering it a helium balloon. Fast forward some time until modern day and Andi (Depicted on cover)is the stunning lead singer of an Australian rock band featuring her hypochondriac brother named Elliot, her brutish, mischievous cousin named Keith and the band’s media promotions specialist (photo nut) named Cam. Not long after a very unsuccessful concert where (as usual) very people attend except for their direct friends and family, Australia is mysteriously attacked by an armada of flying saucers. Our intrepid group pile into a small car and head out immediately for Andi’s parent’s house where it is generally understood they will be relatively safe from the invasion.

    Along the way it is discovered that Andi may have the power to communicate with the Aliens and perhaps more importantly (for the sake of humanity), the ability to stop their invasion purely by thinking about it. This is all you need to know to appreciate this film on its own merits.

    First let me say that the special effects for this film are absolutely incredible for a B movie, especially when compared to the visual dreck that is usually sent to me. All scenes of action and (or) combat are on par with anything seen on the Sci-fi Channel and in many cases they are actually surpassed. Before we start praising this film too highly for any semblance of “realism” it must be said that from start to finish this film displays an absurdity that should never be taken at face value. Despite the alien invasion motif which even Stephen Hawking himself refers to as “a plausible scenario”, one should not ever pick up this movie expecting anything but a comedy, because the laws of the universe (and basic non-cartoon logic) have been suspended for the sake of jokes at every possible juncture. Some of the more goofy moments include the scene where a team member is replaced by an obvious green skinned Martian doppelganger, though, of course, no one seems to notice.

    Additionally, one of the human characters seems to have a natural resilience to being shot to death, a trick that forever dooms the film to a certain level of comedic shtick in some of the more serious moments. Finally, there is no love story whatsoever within the duration of this, which is kind of a waste, because Andi (Rita Artman) was too interesting a character to exist without harnessing her irreverent, tomboyish albeit sensual nature on screen.

    Despite the films I usually review, I am not saying a sex scene would have reflected a better review from me, but it would have been nice to see her express some depth of femininity along with her ability to kick some alien ass. Additionally, the final act had some bizarre extended family angles that did much to explain some of the more madcap character interactions, but ultimately changed the film’s tone about three times in the final 15 minutes before finally settling on an outcome that somehow was agreeable to both Australians and the Aliens. Because of its omnipresent attitude where fun was always the focus over Sci-fi sensibility I would like to say that it reminded me a lot of the original GHOSTBUSTERS and folks wanting to indulge in some madcap, Martian sensibility that they could enjoy ahead of their teen children (or teenagers could enjoy ahead of their parents) could find plenty of harmless, interstellar idiocy to lose themselves in over the span of an evening here. It really is a cute little film.

    AUSTRALIENS won a ton of awards both in its native country and among USA cult audiences, but perhaps for the first time, I liked a B movie in spite of how most others praised it. I myself found it to be a fun little film about interstellar species secretly living amongst us, but nothing worth “phoning home” about. Extras include Cast and crew commentary, Bloopers and a photo gallery

• • Australiens Movie Review

    http://modmove.com/reviews/australiens-movie-review/

    AUGUST 22, 2016

    

    After a close encounter in her tender years, Andi (Rita Artman – also writer and producer) has her belief in extra terrestrial life confirmed and also (apparently) develops Otherworldly Cognitive Powers™. Seventeen years later, while performing with her crap band to a mostly empty room and alienating what few fans they do have with her persistent harping on about visitors from outer space, the unthinkable happens, Australia actually gets invaded by aliens! Except Tasmania, strangely, they don’t invade Tasmania… or the rest of the world.

    So it falls upon Andi, her absent band mate (director, Jo Bauer), their bouncer (Lawrence Silver), their bored videographer (Tamara McLaughlin) and her geekish brother (Doug Hatch) to save the world… sorry… Australia (except Tasmania) from the alien onslaught. Low budget hijinks ensue.

    Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks did the cheap sci-fi spoof for $80M back in 1996. As Dolly Parton once said, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

    It’s a shame Brisbane director/writer, Joe Bauer, was just a toddler back then because he could have saved Warner Bros a big wad of cash! With Australiens, Bauer has effectively achieved the same thing for a few grand! This is not to diminish how difficult it must have been for him to scrape together these funds here in sleepy ol’ Brisbane; especially as our beloved film commissions have an aversion to funding anything which has the word ‘fun’ in their brief. But because Bauer did actually produce his film for peanuts, it has an air of authenticity about it that Burton could never realistically achieve.

    Australiens exhibits a level of frivolity and ‘Australian-ness’ sorely lacking in contemporary mainstream Australian movies – if, indeed, there is even such a thing as a ‘mainstream’ Australian movie anymore. Our cousins across the Tasman still have it – I submit Taika Waititi’s Hunt For The Wilderpeople as evidence, but Australian cinema has become so serious over the last couple of decades. Australiens, then, comes as a breath of fresh air, reminding us that we are a people who still don’t mind a good joke now and then.

    The film has found success on the festival circuit and this is no surprise – Australiens is a ‘festival film’ through and through. The cheese is sliced thick, the dialogue is corny and the performances are on the hammy side but this contributes to its ‘budget’ charm. These are attributes that appeal to the festival circuit. There is a quality to Artman and Bauer’s writing, however, which sees all the comic strands established in the opening act converge and come to fruition nicely in the final stages, which make sticking it out to the end a rewarding endeavour.

    Balancing out the over-the-top schlocky action are more nuanced performances from the mature cast: Emma Randall and Rob Jenkins (both alumni from the Spierig Bros’ Undead), and Caroline Bell (co-producer) and Paul Adams, who collectively provide a stabilising influence to the film in it’s final chapters.

    Sadly, Australiens is too small a film to find at your local multiplex so you’ll need to source it from your preferred DVD retailer or on line. So grab a bunch of friends and a bunch of beers and enjoy a night in.

    Stuart Jamieson

• • Australiens

    http://www.themovieboards.net/2016/08/22/australiens

    by themovieboards • August 22, 2016

    Director Joe Bauer
    Staring Rita Artmann, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver
    Rated MA
    Score 5/6

    Extra-terrestrials launch a nation-wide assault on Australia, much to the bafflement of the rest of the world.

    This awkward and just that little bit stupid (maybe more than just a little but I’ll leave that to you to decide how much) but luckily it’s not in a bad way. I was completely unfamiliar with everybody involved with the production of Australiens in front of and behind the camera and as far as I can tell nobody was involved with any of the unofficial Australian acting academies Home and Away or Neighbours.
    The effects are not anything special, they are exactly what you would expect from an indie science-fiction movie and unlike other science-fiction movies they are not the driving force. There is some pretty good acting throughout this movie and the climax gave me more the a few giggles. I also loved the idea that Australia’s answer to Area 51 was Shed 51 and of the writers I have to ask, what do you guys have against Tasmania?

    I do hope that I can find more movies that these guys have been involved with at the local DVD store or the friendly neighbourhood cinema, especially if they are similar to Australiens

• • Overlooked Awesomeness!-Australiens (2014)

    https://collectivecriticwordpresscom.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/overlooked-awesomeness-australiens-2014

    AUGUST 1, 2016 ~ JVIESSMAN1031

    Every true film lover absolutely adores the opportunity to see great films which will make them think, challenge them, and even potentially change their entire outlook on life. Film is art after all and just like any art form is should be used to its fullest potential to create works that can shock, enlighten, and intrigue whatever audience is drawn to them. Every once in a while though, you do have to appreciate a movie that you can just sit back and have a good time with, strapping yourself in for a mindlessly fun experience that doesn’t take itself seriously. This is why I am a fan of good old-fashioned dumb fun B movies! Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I want to watch films like A Clockwork Orange or Oldboy, films that are so challenging and deep that I’ll be thinking about them for days. Other days though, I want to watch a movie where a bunch of geeky Australian indie rockers run afoul of an alien invasion and are the only ones who can stop it! Why did I want to watch that? After hearing the good men from the horror review YouTube channel, Bloodbath and Beyond, absolutely gush about how funny, insane, and completely tongue-in-cheek it was, I definitely knew I had to seek it out as soon as I possibly could! Now, thanks to iTunes having it up for rental, I can say with absolute certainty that I do not regret the purchase as this turned out to be one of the funniest indie sci-fi/horror comedies I’ve seen in a long time, and I could not wait to talk about it here!

    Andi Gibson is an Australian punk rocker that nobody has ever heard of, and her crazy belief that little green men from outer space visited her as a kid and gave her “otherworldly cognitive powers” does not do well for her reputation. Her family thinks she’s nuts, none of her albums sell at gigs, and it seems as if things will just continue to get worse for her despite her constant misguided optimism. Everything changes for her and the entire country of Australia though when an unknown alien force unleashes an apocalyptic wave of attacks on their home, and kidnaps Andi’s mother in the process. Thinking that the extraterrestrial hooligans are trying to get to Andi through her mother, no doubt because of her “dangerous cognitive powers,” she teams up with a ragtag group of her highly moronic friends and family. From her hypochondriac brother Elliot, her cousin Keith who’s muscles are bigger than his brains, her camerawoman friend Cam (seriously), and her father who may have some secrets of his own, our gang of incompetent fools take on Kung-Fu kicking aliens, giant robots, and laser-firing UFOs to save Andi’s mom and uncover the truth behind this irreverent and hilarious ride through a night none of them will ever forget!

    Obviously, this is not a movie that has any intention of being taken seriously and it is clear from the opening scene that this movie has its tongue planted firmly within its cheek. A lot of critics will most likely look at a film like this and write them off as pure drivel, but really, if you’re the kind of person that rolls your eyes at titles like Sharknado or Killer Klowns from Outer Space then why would you actively seek it out just to complain about the quality? What we have here is an indie horror comedy release that knows exactly what it is and delivers all the absurdity you’d expect to see just looking at the title! The jokes are funny, the cast is completely on point, hardly any of the humor misses, and on top of all that, it is visually stunning despite being made on such a limited budget! It is colorful, it is bright, it is bouncy, and every character stands out with brilliant costume design and quirks which make room for no shortage of clever jokes! While the effects on stuff like the aliens and spaceships are obviously done with CGI the filmmakers somehow found a way to make them all seem like tangible characters which integrate almost flawlessly with the environment. Obviously some of the effects look phonier than others but I applaud any indie film which manages to have more convincing aliens than a multi-million dollar train wreck like Independence Day: Resurgence! In a Hollywood system where so many mediocre comedies are released every summer it is so refreshing to see a crew deliver something that is balls-to-the-wall hilarious and deliver hit after hit with each subsequent scene!

    If I had to pick one thing I didn’t like about this film it would probably have to be the ending. Not that it isn’t funny or horrible in any way, but it does test your patience with borderline Shyamalan-style reveals that are explained in wave after wave of expositional speeches that go on for a significant amount of time. They’re not insulting and don’t kill the experience of the movie in any way, but it does give you a reminder of the multiple endings at the end of Peter Jackson’s Return of the King and it just feels like filler more than anything else. In regards to everything else though, I have little to complain about and the part of me which adores irreverent horror/sci-fi comedies had an absolute blast! If any of that sounds like a good time to you, and you know who you are, then give this one a shot and blast off for a close encounter you won’t regret!

    You can also purchase the DVD here: https://www.amazon.com/Australiens-Rita-Artmann/dp/B01D3RPL0U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1470092929&sr=8-2&keywords=australiens

    Final Score: 10/10

• • Australiens (2014)

    http://filmferret.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/australiens-2014.html

    25 JULY 2016

    [Looking at the UFO’s attacking Brisbane City]
    Keith: Bugger me purple.
    Stix: This is it, isnt it? The end of the world.
    Cam: I never thought the world would end on a tuesday.

    There are not too many good sci-fi spoofs out there and I gave up watching many cause they were often really stupid and/or very crude, but I decided to take the plunge and order the DVD of the movie in review especially after seeing parts of the Sydney Opera House being destroyed by a UFO. The idea of a homegrown alien invasion movie sounded great cause we don’t have many of these (if any) and after watching it I can say that is a very enjoyable film and worth watching. The acting here is not the best out there but that is no doubt part of the plan to make it a campy, outrageous pile of fun with its Aussie lingo, crazy comments and originality which all adds to the charm of this 112-minute film. There are references to classic films like ET, Back to the Future, Invaders from Mars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Men in Black and no doubt others.

    The story begins with the main characters in their childhood where 10-year-old Andi (Natasha Baynham), who believes in aliens, sees a UFO but naturally no one believes her. 17 years later the aliens come back this time to bring destruction with them. At this time, an older Andi (Rita Artmann – Assistant Director and Producer) and her friends Cam (Tamara McLaughlin), Keith (Lawrence Silver), Elliot (Doug Hatch) and John (Joe Bauer – Director, Writer, Editor and Special Effects Artist) witness the attack on Brisbane City and decide to take matters in their own hands once they hear that the aliens kidnapped Andi’s mother.

    The movie has a familiar over the top feel to it but that somehow suits the movie with its theme and ideas. For a $20k film (yes, only $20,000!) there are many scenes where the effects look amazing and even the simple backdrops are effective in the way they are displayed. As we don’t get the funding or exposure as the American film industry, it quite exciting to see an Indie home grown movie of this type and even more so knowing that it has won several awards in America such as Best Comedy directed or produced by a Female, Best Feature in Decatur Film Festival, Best Feature at The Zone sci-fi Fan Film Festival, Best Cult Feature Film at Queen City Film Festival, Best Soundtrack at Galactic Film Festival, Best International Comedy Feature at Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival and so on. It also won Best Special Effects at the Sydney Indie Film Festival. With a number of awards, it’s clear that these young talented filmmakers hit the right note.

    There is a reasonable amount some swearing in the film and a scene or two that is not required though I guess in some ways it fits in with another part of the film, which I will not give away, so it’s not really young family friendly. That aside I’m sure some of our overseas friends might miss some of the things being talked due to Aussie slang and lingo but nothing that a search or two won’t solve.

    Personally, I really enjoyed it and found it to be quite a memorable movie and am looking forward to seeing it again. It’s simply a lot of fun to watch providing you take it how it’s meant to be, a spoof. Whilst I would like to chuck up (lol) a few scenes and have a yarn about them it would in a way destroy the movie for you watching it but we have Elliot who is the clean freak nerd who, as you will see from his younger character, is obsessed with being clean and germ free, Keith the macho man who is the joker also from the very start of the film, Andi who is the more serious down to earth one of the bunch apart from the fact that she believes in aliens and everyone is sick of hearing about her cognitive powers that the aliens supposedly gave her, then there is Cam the documentary filmmaker wanna who is bored with filming Andi’s band (class act lol) but get the opportunity of a lifetime to film the invasion. Then we have John who…well let’s just stop there shall we 😉 Anyway, it’s a blast of a movie so go hire or buy a copy and watch it!! Oh, and don’t forget to keep watching at the end of the credits!! LOL

    The DVD reviewed is the Australian release (can’t miss that big rating label slapped on the front) and has a fantastic image in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a powerful Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio. There are also the following extras:
    Cast & Crew Commentary
    Behind the Scenes Featurette (about an hour long)
    VFX Featurette
    Blooper Reel
    Photo slideshow
    Storyboard slideshow
    Monster Fest Q & A
    Three trailers of the film

    Overall this is a film that I am sure will gain a cult status and is certainly worth seeing for those who like sci-Fi spoof films (eg. Mars Attacks). The characters can be over the top but that suit’s the over the top scenario of the film perfectly. The soundtrack is really good, the effects are good and many scenes are really funny and…it’s Australian! It’s a stellar effort for an Indie film on such a tight budget. Highly recommended.

    Movie: 4/5
    Image: 4.5/5
    Disc: 4/5

• • Australiens

    https://girlsgunszombies.wordpress.com/2016/07/10/australiens/

    Posted on 07/10/2016

    Australiens (2014) is an Australian sci-fi/action/comedy written and directed by Joe Bauer for ArtSpear Entertainment. Starring Rita Artmann, Doug Hatch, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver, and Paul Adams.

    Released in the US by Midnight Releasing.

    At the age of 10, Australian-born Andi Gibson had what she describes as a close encounter with a flying saucer. 17 years later, an airborne extra-terrestrial armada launches a nation-wide assault on Andi’s home country. Bloody hell, this is gonna be a long night.

    Not rated. 111 minutes. Watch the original trailer here …

    Watch the 2016 release trailer (here).

    My thoughts… Australiens is an “extraordinarily awesome” sci-fi/action/comedy! It’s like Jake West’s Evil Aliens, Aussie style, with unashamed nods to Independence Day, Mars Attacks, Men Aliens, and more! “It’s aliens versus Australians. Guess who’s gonna win?” You will! In fact, skip Independence Day: Resurgence in the theater and watch Australiens in your living room instead – you definitely won’t be disappointed!

    10-year-old Andrea “Andi” Gibson believes in aliens. One night, she is visited by a flying saucer outside her house. 17 years later, Andi (Rita Artmann) is the singer of a struggling punk rock band called Titanium Turtle. One night, after a Titanium Turtle gig, flying saucers attack Australia. Only mainland Australia. Not even Tasmania. The aliens also kidnap Andi’s mum. Andi believes the aliens kidnapped her mum to get to her because, when Andi was 10, she was given “otherworldly cognitive powers” which the aliens now see as the biggest threat to their invasion. So Andi, her geeky extremely hypochondriac brother Elliot (Doug Hatch), her aspiring documentary filmmaker friend Cam (Tamara McLaughlin), her lunky dim-witted cousin Keith (Lawrence Silver), and her band’s drunken flute player John (Joe Bauer) set out to save Andi’s mum and, well, save Australia, too, since not even the Congo is offering to help the country stave off the alien invasion!

    Australiens is fun. “Oodles and oodles” of fun. It’s an insanely entertaining B-movie with a funny script, wonderfully likable characters, exciting action sequences, and cool low-budget special effects! Australiens is all that despite being 20 minutes too long! However, those extra 20 minutes are needed for all the plot twists that are revealed, one after another, in the film’s climax! “Not so fast!”

    Australiens, above all else, is funny. The film delivers an abundance of great lines as well as numerous running gags that never get tired. Those gags include Andi’s obsessive belief that she has been given “otherworldly cognitive powers” by an encounter with a flying saucer, Andi’s disdain for the island state of Tasmania which is partly because rival punk band Tasmaniax was recently named “best new band” even though “they’ve been around for 17 freaking years!”, Keith’s boast about being a successful boxer in his youth with “6 consecutive titles over a period of 14 years!”, Keith’s problem of puking on Cam whenever he gets disgusted, John’s near-deaths, and more. However, the best running gag is Andi, Elliot, Cam, and Keith’s inability to see that John, early on, has clearly been replaced by an alien!

    Australiens works, despite the excessive run time, because of its delightful cast of characters portrayed with zest by talented actors. Andi, played by Rita Artmann, is my favorite! Andi is feisty, fearless, a little bit crazy, and a whole lot of adorable! Andi’s smile, adorned by her perpetually glistening red lips, is amazing! Cam, played by Tamara McLaughlin, is adorable, too! Oh, and is it just me or does Caroline Bell, who plays Andi’s mum Kylie, look like the long lost Aussie sister of American actress Gena Gershon? Oh yeah, the guys are terrific as well!

    Finally, I love the songs “Tasmania Nobrainia” and “Mainland of Oz” that are used on the soundtrack! “Tasmania Nobrainia”, a punk rocker, is played over the “suiting-up” montage. Andi asks her dad Dennis (Paul Adams) if he has any adrenaline-pumping music. “I have some… Tasmaniax,” he replies much to her dismay as he pulls a CD out of nowhere. “You’re not my father,” she adds, bitterly. “Mainland of Oz”, a catchy power popper, is played over the end credits. Both songs are performed by Claire Seabrook and director/writer Joe Bauer.

    Australiens is easily the best movie I’ve seen this year (this week)! I watched it for free on Amazon Prime but, if I see the DVD on the shelves at my local Wal-Mart, I’m buying it – whatever the

    ce! Then, I’ll watch it again, followed by fellow Aussie Daniel

    trong’s equally awesome MurderDrome!

    Next up, I must find Joe Bauer’s slasher parody The Killage!

• • Australiens

    http://modayode.wixsite.com/underwood/single-post/2016/07/13/Australiens

    July 14, 2016 | John A. Underwood

    

    Who doesn’t love a campy alien invasion movie? I certainly do, and Amazon knows it because it threw this one at me earlier in the week.

    In the gloriously absurd tradition of Spaced Invaders and Mars Attacks!, Australiens is both a spoof and a loving homage to the genre. It’s also low-budget indie film (IMDB estimates it at somewhere around $15,000 US) which makes the beautiful effects even more impressive.

    Seriously: these are some of the best aliens I’ve seen in film.

    So. Aliens invade Australia (and nowhere else). Their spinning saucers rain destruction on the cities. Lots of pew-pew and explosions. But what does it all mean?

    Not-so talented rocker-chick Andi thinks it’s all about her. See, 17 years ago she was visited by a flying saucer, an encounter which she believes gifted her with “otherworldly cognitive powers.” Watch as the other characters mouth the oft-repeated phrase along with her, rolling their eyes. But maybe, just maybe, she’s not full of it. Did she just crash that flying saucer with her mind?

    That’s when the movie really takes off, after the crash. Andi, her brother, cousin, and best friend – oh, and don’t forget drunken bandmate John – finally get to see the aliens.

    Hilarity ensues. Unfortunately for our heroes, the aliens can look just like us. Well. Sort of like us. But greener. And twitchy. Looks like the gang might have been infiltrated by an alien imposter. Surely you do not suspect John?

    

    It gets funnier from there, all leading up to a final denouement that is as ridiculous as everything that came before. The series of reveals somehow manages not to overwhelm the viewer, which is impressive because there are four or five big ones in a row.

    I was surprised when I sat down to watch this movie a second time and realized it was two hours long. It feels like 80 or 90 minutes. And while it is complete and satisfying, it does leave you wanting more.

    At least one of the running gags may not mean much to anyone not Australian. It’s OK. Just go with it. It’s not hard to grasp, and it’s directly tied in to the ending.

    Also, when you get to the part where they ask the alien how it speaks English, make sure you’re not drinking anything, or resign yourself to a spit-take. The funniest part of the movie is coming.

    Australiens. Check it out, you won’t be sorry.

• • Random Horror Reviews: Ep.62- Australiens (2016) | Midnight Releasing

    Published on 1 Jul 2016

• • Australiens (2014) – Horror Movie Review

    Published on 25 Jun 2016

    Bloodbath and Beyond reviews the horror movie Australiens directed by Joe Bauer and starring Rita Artmann, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver, and Doug Hatch.

    Buy it here http://amzn.to/28NCNOV

• • Australiens

    http://www.videoviews.org/australiens.html

    (Date unknown)

    

    Cast: Rita Artmann, Doug Hatch, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver, Paul Adams

     

     

    Joe Bauer

    Genre: Sci-fi/Action/Comedy

    Year: 2016

    Rating: NR

     

     

    At the age of 10, Australian-born Andi Gibson had what she describes as a close encounter with a flying saucer. 17 years later, an airborne extra-terrestrial armada launches a nation-wide assault on Andi’s home country. Bloody hell, this is gonna be a long night.

    “Australiens” is a Sc-Fi, Alien Invasion spoof that is actually better than most Alien Invasion films period. The film tells the story of Andi who had a close encounter with a spacecraft when she was a little girl. Now 17 years later she is part of one of the worse music bands you will ever hear but suddenly none of that really matters because the aliens have returned and this time they are attacking. Oh, they also kidnapped her mother while her off the rocker father hid inside a cardboard box. Now she must band together in a different way with hypochondriac brother Elliot, retired boxer cousin Keith and documentary filmmaker friend Cam. None know what they are doing but Andi is determined to get her mom back at any cost.

    “Australiens” is a laugh a minute, cheese fest from Co-writer/Director, Joe Bauer who also did the special effects for the film as well and although cheesy they are also brilliant as well. To make a film such as this on a very low budget is hard enough but Bauer actually made a very entertaining film that went on to win numerous awards on its festival run.

    I for one loved the film’s effects because they fit right in with the overall theme here but the thing that surprised me the most was the comedy. We all know how bad a spoof can be but this one is an exception. It is extremely funny, exciting and it is full of energy. I loved every second of it and did not want to see it end, which reminds me to say stick around for the end credits scene as well.

    When you make a film like this you have to have a cast that can play these over the top characters and this cast was perfect including, Rita Artmann (Andi), Doug Hatch (Elliot), Tamara McLaughlin (Cam), Lawrence Silver (Keith) and Paul Adams (Dennis). There’s not one weak link here, everyone is amazingly funny in the film. “Australiens” is available now on DVD and VOD, you can order the DVD HERE.

    This is hands down the best spoof I have seen in a long time and the film is so entertaining and fun to watch that I recommend it to everyone. This has to be a huge stepping stone to bigger and better things for Director, Joe Bauer and I cannot wait to see what he has coming out next.

    Released by Midnight Releasing

    **** Out Of *****

• • Movie Review- Australiens

    http://wickedchannel.com/2016/06/movie-review-australiens

    JUNE 21, 2016 – JAMESD

    

    Review-If the world is ever abducted by aliens and seem to want to hang out Australia, remind me to bring the beer. Australiens is a fun little film that follows this wannabe punk rocker named Andi who has been telling people with no one really believing her that aliens are coming for her. The humor in this film reminded me so much of Hot Fuzz, The material is either going to make you smile, smirk or giggle or you will feel that this is not for you. There is just no other way to put this film. This film showcases a lesson that Hollywood constantly misses out on, that creative minds can do more than heavy bank accounts. The film really starts to find itself when the attack happened and we see Andi’s mom is abducted. That is when the film really shows it was very well thought out. I am not sure if I would call this film a parody, it felt like a refreshing idea to attempt and as it went on, it felt that the joke was basically on itself more than another film. The film really has a dark humor to it that really helps the material work.

    There are moments that the film I felt showed its indie roots, especially the way the last half of the film is paced. The thing is that this film really does not try to work, it just works. You can tell that the director had all the faith in the world on the crew involved, it shows. This film has a confidence to it, like it is trying to show you the positives. We have some solid acting, a good sense of humor and we get the joke we are telling. While it tries to hide its negatives, like we also know that the half of this film is going to be very open for criticism and discussion. While film can be seen as a subjective vehicle already, I feel this film is going to have a lot of lovers and a lot of haters, I just do not see many going in the middle. For me, I actually like this film a lot, could be seen as a crush. The film won me over early and kept my attention with its cleverness not to become its own parody. While it almost laughs itself, it does not insult itself. This is one of those small films that I feel could come on late night television one night and start a buzz. All in all, this film was more fun that it has any right to be, and if you want to have a fun time and get some laughs, this could be your film.

    8 out of 10

• • Australiens

    https://www.famousmonsters.com/revoltin-reviews-week-613-619

    Posted by DanielXIII | Jun 16, 2016 | Movies, Reviews

    

    RELEASE DATE: Available on Now on DVD

    WRITTEN BY: Rita Artmann, Joe Bauer

    DIRECTED BY: Joe Bauer

    STARRING: Rita Artmann, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver

    AUSTRALIENS? What, is this flick about aliens pretending to be citizens from down under? Why am I even asking this question instead of putting the movie in and watching it? Well, let’s throw a Venusian shrimp on the laser barbie and check out AUSTRALIENS!

    Andi (Artmann) is the lead singer of a massively (un)popular rock band, whose near non-existent fan base is pretty damn sick and tired of hearing how she was given great powers during a close encounter with an alien spacecraft 17 years prior. The thing is, she’s actually telling the truth. Well, the balloon she was carrying at the time had more contact with the aliens then she did… and the “powers” thing is up for debate, but that’s just semantics really. Anyway, on the eve of yet another disastrous show, Andi and her mates find themselves smack dab in the middle of an alien invasion of Australia complete with zillions of flying saucers, mechs, and shape-shifting green aliens. Of course it’s up to Andi, her film-maker gal pal Cam, her hypochondriac brother Elliot, and her pugilist (6 time consecutive boxing champion over 12 years) and ever-puking cousin Keith to save the day (not to mention rescue Andi’s kidnapped Mom)! Throw into the mix an alien impostor in their midst, Andi’s gung-ho and cowardly secret agent father, and a random cyclist… yeah, we’re all doomed.

    Equal parts Burton’s MARS ATTACKS, BAD TASTE, and SHAUN OF THE DEAD, AUSTRALIENS is a big bundle of goofy, heartfelt hilarity all wrapped up in a sickly green (and slightly vomit streaked) ribbon. It’s filled to bursting with loveable (if slightly dim-witted), off-kilter characters (and that even extends to the aliens as well), truly inspired (and genuinely funny) scenarios, great comedic acting… not to mention a whole s—t ton of fun. The truly amazing thing about this film to me is its run time. At nearly 2 hours you would think a low-budget sci-fi comedy would resort to excessive padding and boring bloat, but AUSTRALIENS moves at a great pace and is never dull as the goofy gang bounces from one ridiculous scenario to another.

    If there’s a negative to the film, it’s that some of the effects can be a bit dodgy (the green screen utilized in driving sequences is a bit “off” and the CG is at times not the best), but this is a film created on a lower budget, so for me at least all is forgiven — especially since every other aspect of the film is so damn enjoyable and made with a mothership sized load of heart!

    As great as the film is, the infectious fun extends to the extras as well; namely a 16 minute photo gallery with commentary by the cast and crew, a commentary track by the same, and nearly half an hour of bloopers!

    If you love 50s sci-fi blended with laugh out loud hijinks involving characters that are genuinely likable, then Sally, this is the flick for you!

• • Film Review: Australiens (2014)

    http://horrornews.net/110402/film-review-australiens-2014

    Ben Spurling 08/05/2016 Film Reviews

    SYNOPSIS:

    When aliens from Uranus attack Australia, it’s up to Andi Gibson, along with friends and family, to defend the country and send the invaders back to where they came from.

    REVIEW:

    Rita Artmann plays Andi Gibson, a die-hard proselytizer concerning the existence of aliens, as well as being the head-banging lead singer of the forehead-slapping punk band, Titanium Turtle; they’re best known for a blood-curdling version of Waltzing Matilda that would make the screeching sound of fingernails on a chalkboard envious. Exactly when she transformed into the scarlet-haired rocker is a mystery, but her fascination with aliens began in late childhood; at the age of ten, when she encountered a flying saucer outside her house, her obsession apparently became even more heated. As far as her friends are concerned, since that night, she’s been acting like a Mormon on crack when it comes to convincing others that aliens exist; at the slightest provocation, she repeats the story of her encounter and claims the aliens gave her “otherworldly cognitive powers”. At this point, those in the know usually roll their eyes, their heads, and any other body parts that’re flexible. No one believes her until the fateful night when the invasion genuinely begins, then she smothers them all in I-Told-You-Sos; still, to her annoyance, they periodically, and conveniently, forget she did tell them so.

    Once the invasion gets into gear and starts pumping on all cylinders, Andi and her friends realize the only place on the planet being attacked is Australia; remembering her “otherworldly cognitive powers” again, she believes the aliens are actually after her because, she thinks, it’s those powers that are the only thing capable of standing up to the alien onslaught. Of course, this brings up the question: if her “otherworldly cognitive powers” were the only thing capable of defeating the aliens, why did they give them to her in the first place? Ah-hah! Gotchya! It may have been an easy catch on my part, but the question just seems churlish now, because we’re having too much fun at this point. So, ignore it.

    Anyway, when she finds out her mother has been abducted by the aliens and taken to their base camp at St Sheila’s School for Girls, the Scooby gang heads out to kick some alien butt and save the planet. Well, Australia, that is, which is still a sizable chunk of the planet, even when you exclude Tasmania. For the purposes of this good-natured horseplay, though, that’s good enough.

    The scripters, Rita Artmann and Joe Bauer, have taken the simple and tired premise of alien invasion and crafted a silly script refreshingly lacking in the snarky cynicism common to recent modern comedies; the jokes, most of the time, are clever and, at other times, just plain light-hearted and flippant. The scene, a third of the way into the film, where Andi and her friends are zig-zagging down the road in a car, trying to avoid being hit by alien lasers only to be frustrated and slowed down by a bicyclist coming out of nowhere to hog the road is a prime example of the enjoyable Take the Money and Run lunacy one can expect from the movie. As director, Joe Bauer has created an unassuming, low-budget charmer devoid of pretense and fabrication; his skill shines when it comes to solid narrative detail and the visual construction of scenes; as editor, he keeps the jokes tight, and the scenes fluid and active with sharp cuts.

    The cast, for a low budget production, is pretty spot on, although occasionally precarious, once in a while missing the mark when it comes to focus and appropriate energy for the scene. Joe Bauer’s hysterical turn as John Brown is remarkably well done, making him a triple threat movie maker everyone should keep an eye on.

    Rita Artmann is properly over the top in most scenes, while Paul Adams as Dennis Gibson, Andi’s father, stays nicely deadpan throughout the film, adding a pleasant pull-back to the rest of the mugging from the other cast members; Doug Hatch as Elliot, Andi’s brother, plays up the character’s nervous hypochondria to a tee with frequent funny results; Lawrence Silver as Keith, Andi’s cousin, does a solid job humorously portraying the dunderheaded jock with a penchant for Uranus jokes; Caroline Bell as Kylie, Andi’s mother, and Tamara McLaughlin as Cam, Andi’s best friend, seem to give the weakest of the performances, but this seems to come from the actors having little to do, with Cam simply being the tag-along camera operator and Kylie hardly being in the film at all.

    The special effects are noticeably low budget, but that seems fitting for this unpretentious endeavor; and David Lazar’s soundtrack, though sparse, is quite effective when present. Overall, Australiens is a humorous, solid production, easily capable of turning a bad day right out of Uranus into a fun day at the movies.

• • Australiens (2016) U.S. DVD

    https://dvdnewsflashthereviews.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/australiens-2016-u-s-dvd

    Posted on May 23, 2016

    

    WARNING! SPOILERS WITHIN!

    I saw a trailer for Australiens back in 2013, and I’m not sure why it’s this long for it to hit DVD. Just the nature of independent film making I assume. Even in its home country of Australia it isn’t hitting disc until July. We here in the states get it a month early though. Regardless, the first thing I thought about when I saw that trailer was Mars Attacks! (1996), and now that I’ve finally seen the movie, Australiens feels like the wacky, borderline retarded third cousin removed of Tim Burton’s movie, so much so they should have titled it Uranus Attacks! I can’t tell you exactly in what way, since both movies are like night and day, there’s just that vibe.

    If there’s a moral to Australiens it’s be careful what you do around thin skinned motherfuckers, and the inhabitants of Uranus are indeed thin-skinned motherfuckers, who once slighted (even unintentionally) will travel light years to exact revenge on the poor bastard(s) that mocked them. So, when and in what form did this “perceived” slight take place? It happened when 10-year old Andrea “Andi” Gibson was visited one night by a UFO. She had a green balloon with her that had an alien face drawn on it, but what she didn’t know was her cousin, Keith, had written on the back of it ‘Aliens Suck Balls.’ She lost he balloon when the UFO hovered over her and it floated up and into the ship.

    Cut to 17-years later when Andi (Rita Artmann), Keith (Lawrence Silver), her brother, Elliot (Doug Hatch), and friend, Cam (Tamara McLaughlin), are all grown up. Andi is now a wanna-be rock star, but she can’t sing and her band can’t play. And she likes to say ‘otherworldly cognitive powers’ a lot because she believes that UFO encounter left her with otherworldly cognitive powers, which isn’t necessarily true, but she does have otherworldly cognitive powers, just not in the way she thinks.

    Keith works as a bouncer at her shows, Cam is a wanna-be documentarian, and Elliot is a hypochondriac who is deathly afraid and obsessed with getting rabies. Andi doesn’t like her father, Dennis (Paul Adams), but she adores her mother, so you can imagine her horror when aliens invade Brisbane, and I mean seriously invade the city, and she gets a text from her father saying aliens have kidnapped her mother. Because of that she believes the aliens have come back for her and since they couldn’t find her they took her mom. Obviously we don’t learn the real reason they’re only annihilating Australia until the end, but that’s the working theory for a while.

    There’s another dude that tags along with them as they try and make it to Andi’s house and that’s friend and booze hound, Jon (Director Joe Bauer). Things get real fuckin’ interesting when Andi thinks she brought down one of the UFOs with her otherworldly cognitive powers. Now we meet the aliens, and they’re described as being somewhat like our earthy slugs, except their humanoid and look nothing like our earthly slug, but you can torture and kill them real good with salt. They also come with the game-changing ability to shape-shift, which, as that ability was fleshed out, reminded me of Strange Invaders (1983) and a tame version of The Thing (1982). Jon takes the brunt of that ability as the alien survivor of that crashed UFO decides to copy his appearance and shove the real Jon in the car’s trunk (if you’re Australian reading this that would be the car’s boot).

    This is primarily a comedy/sci-fi outing where the slapstick comedy is ratcheted up to a big ass ten! Jokes and sight gags are flung at you right, left, up, down and center, and even though I liked the movie, all that slapstick could have been dialed down a few notches. Case in point, once the aliens assume a human form they are pathetically easy to spot. They are green, gesticulate and walk oddly and speak in a manner that would suggest the person is either tripping on something or is an alien from Uranus. But, the gang has no fuckin’ clue the “Jon” that’s traveling with them is an alien. Even the green skin didn’t tip them off. The more polished alien changers can in fact look and act exactly like humans as long as they moisturize and practice their human voices.

    The gang gets a hold of some alien weapons and the comedy that ensued was fun to watch. Oh, and this is the kind of movie where none of the main characters are killed. There are some close calls, but if you’re not the kind of person to watch end credits then, well, they all live happily ever after. If, like me, you do tend to sit through closing credits, and nowadays you really have to since filmmakers’ just love to throw in that one final scene either in the middle of right after, poor Jon ends up buying the farm.

    I was pleasantly surprised the CGI was better than I thought it was going to be. It’s obviously not on par with a multi-million dollar Lord Of The Rings Gollum type CG, but it was a lot more polished than I thought it would be for a low-budget film like this.

    The ending reminded me of the ending of Freaks Of Nature (2016) in that the situation kept getting more and more comically absurd. I liked that a lot.

    On June 14th Midnight Releasing releases Australiens on DVD only here in the U.S. In Australia Monster Pictures releases it on July 20th! You can buy it here at JB Hi-Fi.

    Video/Audio/Subtitles: 1.78:1 widescreen—5.1 English Dolby Digital—English subs

    Extras included on the U.S. disc…

    – Cast/Crew Commentary

    – Photo Gallery (16:39)

    – Bloopers (25:05)

    Not all the extras from the Aussie release were ported over. If you get that one you’ll also get additional features like:

    – Behind The Scenes Featurette

    – Visual Effects Featurette

    – Storyboards

    – Monsterfest 2015 Q&A

    – Trailers

• • We Aren’t Alone In Trailer For The Australiens

    http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/157469/arent-alone-trailer-australiens

    Posted on March 28, 2016 by David Gelmini

    Despite its low budget, the trailer for Australiens (get it?) has both the look and feel of a major Hollywood production, complete with explosions, flying saucers, and giant robots. Hell, this even looks like it could be the film that audiences were hoping to see when they sat down to watch The 5th Wave.

    We were impressed by director Joe Bauer’s previous film, The Killage, so we’ve got high hopes for Australiens when it arrives on 14th June. It’s already had a great run at festivals, so it should be something to look forward to.

• • Midnight Releasing About To Unleash Australiens In The US

    http://monsterislandnews.weebly.com/news/midnight-releasing-about-to-unleash-australiens-in-the-us

    3/25/2016

    On June 14th Midnight Releasing will release the 2014 Australian sci fi comedy “Australiens” in the US. From the trailer that was just sent to us by acclaimed B-movie guru Avery Battles the film looks a lot like “Men in Black” and “Mars Attacks” had a baby … which may be good or bad depending on your sense of what makes for good cinema. As for us, we love this kind of stuff.

    More on this as news becomes available.

    Trailer Time!

• • ‘Australiens’ Invade DVD This June

    http://www.horror-movies.ca/2016/03/australiens-invade-dvd-june

    Chris Savage March 22, 2016

    We have just got word of Joe Bauer’s upcoming flick Australiens, and it looks like a complete blast! It’s total B-movie fun, and I think many of you will absolutely dig it! So, make your way below as we have scored the official trailer, poster and release details for the upcoming movie.

    The film stars Rita Artmann, Doug Hatch, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver, Paul Adams, Kyle McCallion, Emma Randall, Rob Jenkins, Caroline Bell, and Joe Bauer.

    Midnight Releasing will be unleashing the flick onto DVD this June 14, 2016.

• • AUSTRALIENS

    http://www.fakeshemp.net/reviews/australiens

    30/11/2015

    

    2014 / Director. Joe Bauer.
    Review by Glenn Cochrane.

    AUSTRALIENS is an outrageous independent DIY feature film, and that fact alone earns it a bonus point on the score board. Filmmaker Joe Bauer wrote it, directed it, edited it, scored it, shot it and was responsible for its special effects (amongst other things, I’m sure). It’s difficult for me to comprehend this and I cannot help but serve the guy a heap of admiration before even delving into the movie itself.

    It tells the story of five young people who find themselves at the centre of an alien invasion, which seems to be concentrated over Australia. The mother of two of them has been abducted and with flying saucers whizzing around the Brisbane skyline, demolishing the entire city, the five intrepid, albeit unlikely, heroes set about conquering the alien forces and rescuing her. What follows is an offbeat, action-packed adventure with cheesy characters, intentionally hokey FX and a self awareness of its own stupidity.

    Joe Bauer set the tone brilliantly with an opening sequence that discloses the film’s absurdity from the get-go while reassuring the audience that they’re in safe hands in terms of the technical aspects. This prologue demonstrates an amazing level of production design and the visual FX are off the tap. And then moving forward he maintains a steady control over his presentation with a wonderful combination of practical effects, digital effects and make up… It’s hard to fathom the just how DIY this film is.

    As with most low budget indie films, AUSTRALIENS suffers from a few expected shortcomings. The first point of contention, for me, is the length. The film would benefit greatly from a tighter running time and I imagine this is one of the downfalls of Bauer doing everything himself. I imagine he was so invested and consumed with his work that cutting its length might have seemed impossible. However from an outsider’s perspective there is plenty of content that could be trimmed or even excised for the sake of restraint. Nevertheless the film is so entertaining that it can be forgiven.

    Secondly I would note that a lot of the gags miss their mark. It’s not that they’re bad gags, to the contrary… they just fall short of hitting the right beat. The film is so infested with humour that plenty of the jokes and punchlines could have been trimmed without affecting the impact of the comedy. Once again this is probably a consequence of having fingers in every pie, and for that it’s easily forgiven.

    The performances are solid right across the board, and I would give notable praise to the film’s lead actress (and co-writer) Rita Artmann, Paul Adams as the NQR father and Joe Bauer himself as the infected friend (his performance is a clear standout). They commit to the material and present their characters with a clear comprehension of the genre and a full understanding of how far to push the absurdity. With the rest of the cast adding to the cohesion the result is a fabulous sci-fi comedy that pummels the viewer with an outrageous lunacy and eye-popping digital creations, and a definite cult status. It’s a hell of a lot of fun and if you can imagine MARS ATTACKS fused with ATTACK THE BLOCK then you will begin to have an understanding of what lies in store.

• • Australiens (2014)

    http://www.thebookthefilmthetshirt.co.uk/australiens-2014
    

    By Dave Griffiths @goodbaduglyshow · On November 12, 2015

    The Gist

    The world is stunned when aliens attack Earth but only seem to focus on one country – Australia. One person isn’t surprised though and that is wannabe rock star Andi (Rita Artmann) who has been telling people for years that the aliens who gave her ‘powers’ years before would return one day for her.

    Well now the attack has happened and Andi’s mother has been abducted. Soon Andi, her documentary film-making friend Cam (Tamara McLaughlin), her hypochondria brother Elliott (Doug Hatch) and her once-nearly-was-famous boxer cousin Keith (Lawrence Silver) find themselves trying to not only find her mother, but stay alive as it soon becomes apparent the aliens are willing to kill anyway that gets in their way.

    The Review

    When a film lover hears the words cult film spoof they are right to be worried, very worried. Aside from the first two Scary Movie films and perhaps Shaun Of The Dead (if you really want to call it a spoof) movies that generally try to parody horror or sci-fi normally fail pretty badly. In fact they normally suck so badly they are a shoe-in to win a few Golden Razzies and make Worst Film Of The Year nominations right across the globe. That plus the fact that Australia rarely makes a good comedy is enough to have alarm bells ringing about new film Australiens. But everybody needs to just take a good deep breath, because this film turns out to be a little gem.

    If anything Australiens really shows how creative ideas and talent will always outweigh money when it comes to movies. Director Joe Bauer really was pushing up-hill with this film but he never took a step backwards. Yes some of the special effects don’t look like a Spielberg production but there are plenty of times throughout the film where things look very good indeed. The actually aliens look pretty awesome while the alien robots actually do look like they were pulled straight out of a multi-million dollar production.

    Special effects aside though what lifts Australiens up and makes it enjoyable watch is the humor. So often these spoof movies just aren’t funny, that certainly isn’t the case here. There are the odd groan-worthy joke that makes it way through to the final edit of the film but for the most part the comedy works. There are sizzling one liners that will have the audience laughing while the more elaborate jokes such as one of the group becoming obviously infected while nobody notices works efficiently for most of the film. Yes some of the storylines, especially around Andi’s Dad, are implausible but they certainly turn the comedy effect up to the extreme.

    One of the other refreshing things about Australiens is the fact that this comes from a fresh cast. There are no seasoned Aussie actors or international blow-ins performing in this film. Instead it is a young cast that certainly has talent that delivers the goods. Led by Rita Artmann who really delivers some comedy gold she is well backed up by Doug Hatch who plays a great lovable loser but it is Joe Bauer who steals the limelight as the ‘infected’ John.

    The Verdict

    Refreshingly funny Australiens shows that it is possible to make a funny cult spoof film even on a low budget. This movie is enough to show that Joe Bauer and Rita Artmann are a creative team to watch in the future.

    Certificate: CTC

    Director: Joe Bauer

    Starring: Rita Artmann, Tamara McLaughlin, Doug Hatch, Lawrence Silver

    Running Time: 112 mins

    Release Date: TBA

• • Murf & The Fat Kid – Dead In Decatur Recap

    http://drunkenzombie.com/2015/06/murf-the-fat-kid-dead-in-decatur-recap/
    

    Posted by Bryan on Jun 18, 2015 in Murf And The Fat Kid, Podcast

    Year one of The Dead in Decatur Film Festival comes to a close as the Murf and The Fat Kid family sit down with our friends from Kentucky Son of Odin and his wife and discuss the weekend.

    [NOTE: Australiens section goes from 105:30 to 1:11:20]

• • Australiens Screening @ Robina

    http://www.weekendnotes.com/australiens-screening-robina

    by Eleni Davis – March 24, 2015

     

    Event: 30/03/2015

    Who’s watching who?

    

    If you’ve got you’re Monday night buzz on (hey it could happen), and are a little uninspired by the latest reality offerings on the telly, then get yourself down to Robina Town Centre for a one-time screening of the locally made sci-fi comedy, Australiens.

    Not only will you be supporting the Aussie filmmaking industry, but you’ll also be getting a good chuckle, PLUS an awesome water cooler conversation starter for the next day while you’re at it. You’ll be the belle of the workplace!

    Besides, it’s Australia getting invaded by aliens – you can’t say that doesn’t sound wicked. So give My Kitchen Rules a rest for the night (don’t worry, it’ll be there tomorrow), and head down to Event Cinemas for the 7:10pm showing.

    Tickets are selling fast and will not be available at the door so follow the link below to reserve your seat now.

    Why? There’s aliens in it.
    Phone: 0422202304
    Website: artspear.com/2015/03/12/australiens-on-the-gold-coast
    Where: Event Cinemas, Robina Town Centre
    Cost: $15.00

• • Australiens: We’re Not Alone

    http://scenestr.com.au/movies/australiens-we-re-not-alone

    Written by Jackie Smith | Thursday, 27 November 2014 12:43

    ArtSpear Entertainment proves that you don’t necessarily need a big budget to produce entertaining films, with their second feature film, sci fi comedy ‘Australiens’.

    At 10 years old, Andi Gibson (Rita Artmann) had an alien encounter, leaving her with special powers to detect and control the paranormal. Seventeen years on, when Australia – excluding Tasmania, because, as they say in the film, ‘it’s not really part of the country anyway’ – is attacked by extra-terrestrials, this rock chick, along with her misfit friends (played by Tamara McLaughlin, Doug Hatch, Lawrence Silver and Joe Bauer), becomes the unlikely hero destined to save the nation and her mother (co-producer, Caroline Bell), who has been kidnapped by these unearthly beings. Though strangely enough, her nervy and mysterious father (Paul Adams) has been left alive, yet unwilling to rescue his wife.

    “There’s not enough good comedy out there, and people want to be entertained,” producer, and co-founder of ArtSpear Entertainment, Rita Artmann says. ‘Australiens’ does not pretend to be serious, rather it asks audiences to suspend reality for a few hours. Though the story (written by Joe Bauer) somewhat lacks believability it is, nonetheless, a smart comedy.

    Though it is an Australian film, featuring a talented Australian cast, ‘Australiens’ is not out to necessarily showcase the land’s great scenery and tourism opportunities – as many other Australian films do. Sure, viewers will recognise the Sydney Opera House or local Brisbane buildings such as Saint Margaret’s Anglican College and The Fox Hotel ( where most of the filming was undertaken) but only as they are being blown up in the alien onslaught.

    Produced on a budget of $15,000 – through crowd-funding website Pozible – ‘Australiens’ is the culmination of two year’s hard work by ArtSpear Entertainment. Founders of ArtSpear Entertainment, husband and wife team Joe Bauer and Rita Artmann make quite the dynamic duo. Bauer’s experience with visual effects and post-production meant that the company did not have to outlay the money other companies would, whereas Artmann’s ability to handle the business side of film-making, as well as their combined on-screen talent, make for a less strenuous process, and much more enjoyable for all involved.

    Despite only forming a few years ago, the company is fast gaining a reputation for their hard work and has received invitations to prestigious events such as the International Comedy Film Festival and the Bram Stoker International Film Festival, for their 2011 feature film ‘The Killage’. With most of their actors sourced from The Actors Workshop, ArtSpear Entertainment prides itself on finding actors with talent, rather than a long list of accreditations. As the mission statement for the company reads: “Our ultimate goal is to put Australia on the map by expanding possibilities for what an Australian production can be. So many of our best and brightest go to America because they can’t get interest for the projects they want to make here.”

    Given the talent in the film and the reputation of ArtSpear Entertainment’s bodies of work, there’s no doubt ‘Australians’ will do well when it hits the upcoming festival circuit.

• • No chance of Alien-nation Down Under

    MX (Brisbane, Australia) – Wednesday November 5, 2014 – page 5

    

• • Aliens attacking on a $15,000 budget

    http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/short-cuts-australian-film-industry-news-20141001-10o8dt.html

    September 30, 2014

    A comic sci-fi movie shot for $15,000? Clearly very resourceful director Joe Bauer is finishing Australiens ahead of its premiere in Brisbane on November 7. It’s a story about a aliens attacking Australia that stars Rita Artmann, Bauer’s wife and fellow producer, as a woman who witnessed a UFO visit as a child. Bauer shot it with what he calls generous support from his cast and crew and is handling editing and visual effects himself. “There are a stupid number of visual effects in the film,” says Bauer, who also has a role himself. “That’s why it’s taking so long since we filmed it.” The film is his second after 2011 schlock horror comedy The Killage. Bauer plans to approach festivals and distributors once the film is ready.

• • AUSTRALIENS … this is an actual film!

    http://monsterpictures.com.au/monster-mouth/2013/12/australiens-this-is-an-actual-film

    December 4th, 2013

    No guys seriously there is a film out there called AUSTRALIENS! Honestly, isn’t that absolutely genius?!?!

    

    Best of all, you can get all the goods about this film right here! There’s a synopsis and a trailer, and I think we can all kick ourselves for not making this film first!

    (synopsis & trailer)

• • The Outback Experiences Extraterrestrial Activity When Australiens Invade

    http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/72440/outback-experiences-extraterrestrial-activity-when-australiens-invade#axzz2lRHVIXJ4

    November 26, 2013

    Have you ever heard the title of a movie and wondered why the hell you never came up with it? Sharktopus was one of those movies for me. And Australiens has just been added to the list.

    I don’t even need to ever actually see it because I’m pretty sure I’m already in love. Check out the plot crunch and trailer below for the brilliantly named film!

    The flick stars Rita Artmann, Tamara McLaughlin, Lawrence Silver, Doug Hatch, Joe Bauer, and Emma Randall.

• • ‘Australiens’ Sees the Funny Side of an Alien Apocalypse

    http://www.digital-retribution.com/features/13/australiens-sees-the-funny-side-of-an-alien-apocalypse.php

    November 6, 2013

    

    Flying saucers shooting up the Opera House? Little green men inside mecha units equipped with laser cannons? In all likelihood an alien attack would be no laughing matter, but ArtSpear Entertainment will be looking at the lighter side of a potentially apocalyptic extraterrestrial invasion with the upcoming sci-fi/comedy Australiens, their second feature after the well received slasher comedy The Killage.

    (synopsis)

    The first trailer for Australiens was recently released, and you can check it out below.

    (trailer link)

    After seeing international landmarks wiped out by extraterrestrial invaders for decades it’ll be a welcome change to watch aliens wreak havoc on local soil! Australiens was written and directed by Joe Bauer and stars Rita Artmann, Joe Bauer, Lawrence Silver, Doug Hatch, Tamara McLaughlin, and Emma Randall along with a host of hostile green aliens.

    For more info head over to the ArtSpear Entertainment website, and be sure to like the Australiens page on Facebook.

• • ArtSpear release first trailer for Australiens, the Sydney Opera House is toast

    http://www.scaryminds.com/?action=viewArticle&articleId=13

    November 6, 2013

     

    ArtSpear who entertained us previously with The Killage and the Web series The Void are back with their comedy spin on alien invasion flicks, Australiens. Australia clearly being high on the Alien invasion list, and they aren’t coming by boat Tony Abbott. Try hiding this illegal landing from the News!

     

    

    I had a lot of fun with The Killage, a movie that put the fun back into Slasher movies, if for the moment we spelt “Slasher” really badly with “fun” in there somehow, “Slasfunher”? Anyways a comedy that sent up slasher tropes and which proved to be an entertaining 90 odd minutes. So I for one have been excited about Australiens invading my screen.

    Director Joe Bauer enlists the aid of Rita Artmann, Joe Bauer, Lawrence Silver, Doug Hatch, Tamara McLaughlin, and Emma Randall to combat the alien evil doers in his new movie. Aliens in mech suits, the bastards shooting up the Opera House, oh hell yeah, these illegal immigrants are doing more to destroy the Country than Christopher Pyne can achieve in two terms of Government!

    So anyways Australiens, I’m just loving that word, revolves around Andi Gibson who had a close encounter with a flying saucer when she was 10. Seventeen years later an Alien armada launches an airborne assault on Australia and kidnaps Andi’s Mom for no apparent reason. When the going gets tough Andi enlists the help of her hypochondriac brother Elliot, ex boxer cousin Keith, documentary filmmaker Cam, and strange father to take on the extraterrestrial menace. Strewth the team might have their work cut out with flying saucers, giant robots, martial arts aliens, and all manner of foreign horrors landing on their doorstep!

    And just because here’s the first trailer and as an added bonus the first teaser. Enjoy and check out more details on Australiens over at Artspear’s official home on the net. You can also like their Facepalm page right here.

• • Brisbane focus for sci-fi fun

    The Courier Mail – Friday, February 1, 2013 – page 50