A unique and original creature feature, Red Billabong overcomes any VFX limitations with an intriguing story and truly tense scares, resulting in one of the more innovative and interesting monster movies to be released in some time.

Writer/director Luke Sparke is a filmmaker of big ideas and the gumption to see them through. Much has been made about how Red Billabong is the first Australian film to feature a wholly CGI character, and while that is impressive, even more so is that Red Billabong is a film that refuses to follow convention as many horror films are privy to do.

Yes, on the surface Red Billabong follows the usual formula with a group of attractive young folk dealing with an ancient, evil force while stuck in a remote cabin/house/whatever. Yet there are stakes at play and most importantly a true sense of originality to its proceedings that gives it a refreshing edge in a genre that often relies on the conventional. Combined with Sparke’s unflinching mission to have his debut film look and feel like blockbuster material (despite its limited budget), Red Billabong is a film that has to be seen and admired.

Red Billabong stars Daw Ewing and Tim Pocock as Nick and Tristan, estranged brothers who are reunited after the death of their grandfather and his dying wish to have his sprawling outback land given to the local Aboriginal people.

As this family reunion turns into an uninvited gathering of old friends and unsavoury acquaintances, the party is most definitely pooped when a mythical and terrifying creature emerges from the surrounding woods to claim its many pounds of flesh, with Red Billabong indeed delivering its promise of crimson terror Australian style.

Much like fellow Australian filmmakers George Miller (Mad Max) and The Spierig Brothers (Predestination) before him, Sparke does not let budgetary restrictions stop him from creating an innovative genre movie that in tone and spirit matches its big studio counterparts, yet in quality leaves many of them lying in the dust.

Indeed, after a “blockbuster” season filled with expensive and overwrought drivel, it is refreshing to find a larger than life genre movie that matches the quality of the hard work put into it, with every minute spent on this years-in-the-making production felt in every frame, with special mention to the cinematography (Andrew Conder), editing (Michael Gilbert) and production and set design (Adam Head and Lisa Mitchell, respectively).

Granted there are limitations in the CGI creature effects that would have benefited from more dollars and more time. Yet considering the restrictions of creating such genre in Australia (and exactly why that is still the case in the land that spawned Mad Max and The Babadook is still a mystery), the end result works well enough to make Red Billabong a creature feature of much worth.

Sparke masterfully weaves monster movie theatrics, family drama and Aboriginal mythology into a unique and entertaining movie, that will hopefully be a calling card to a bright career.