VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Scott LeBrun It's easy to imagine rabid horror fans being sorely disappointed with the Australian production "Snapshot", a.k.a. "The Day After Halloween". The advertising and the alternate title might lead people to think they're about to watch an Ozploitation slasher, but such is not the case. This is really more of a drama with mystery elements, as it follows a naive and immature young lady, Angela (Sigrid Thornton of the "Man from Snowy River" series), who works as a hairdresser. She's recruited by customer Madeline (Chantal Contouri) into the modelling business where she immediately has some success posing topless for an ad. The story, co- written by talented Everett De Roche ("Roadgames", "Razorback", "Patrick"), follows Angela as she meets a variety of characters, including sleazy Elmer (Robert Bruning). Angela soon becomes disturbed by strange occurrences in her life. For example, just who the hell was it that put that pigs' head in her bed? Could it be her dullard ex-boyfriend Daryl (Vincent Gil), who drives a Mr. Whippy ice cream truck? Angela certainly seems to think so.Admittedly, "Snapshot" (which is really the far more appropriate title for the film, as this does NOT have anything to do with the Halloween season) is not for those film fans who crave excitement and spectacle. It gets off to quite a good "start", which is bleak and atmospheric, and our curiosity is whetted: what kind of events led to the reveal here? From then on, things get fairly interesting and remain watchable as we watch Angela lose a little of that naivety. Never as exploitative as some people may want, it's slowly paced and talky but it does populate its tale with a number of entertaining characters and fine performances. Contouri, who went on to star for producer Antony I. Ginnane in the horror film "Thirst", is delightful as the worldly Madeline, and Thornton is convincing enough in the central role. Bruning plays a creep well, but what's going to make watching "Snapshot" irresistible for some of those in the audience is seeing two cast members from "Mad Max", Gil (who played the Nightrider), and Hugh Keays-Byrne (who played the Toecutter) in supporting roles. Keays-Byrne, playing the photographer Linsey, is quite amusing in a real scene stealing performance. Stylish widescreen photography by Vincent Monton and wonderful music by the always reliable composer Brian May also add to the enjoyment. There's a well done fire gag towards the end of the film.Overall, this is good entertainment for those who want a twist laden and character driven tale.Six out of 10.

Woodyanders Naive, sweet, and innocent 19-year-old hairdresser Angela (a sound and appealing performance by fetching brunette Sigrid Thornton) gets tossed out of her uptight mother's house and falls in with the eccentric modeling crowd. Angela does some modeling and soon finds herself being stalked by a mysterious psycho who drives an ice-cream truck. Director Simon Wincer, working from a quirky and intriguing script by Chris and Everett De Roche, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, offers an interesting glimpse at the glamorous, but decadent and exploitative high fashion world, populates the picture with an enjoyable wealth of colorfully flaky characters, builds a good deal of tension, grounds the plot in a totally plausible everyday reality, and further spices things up with several cool touches of amusing oddball humor. Moreover, the capable acting from the professional cast holds the picture together: The stunning Chantal Contouri delivers a sharp and winning portrayal of Angela's poised, worldly, and supportive mentor Madeline, Hugh Keys-Bryne almost steals the whole show with his lively and merry turn as amiable kook photographer Linsey, Robert Bruning positively oozes as smarmy creep Elmer, and Vincent Gil projects an appropriately unnerving vibe as Angela's obsessive ex-boyfriend Daryl. The true identity of Angela's main stalker is a genuine surprise. Vincent Morton's handsome widescreen cinematography gives the movie an impressive glossy look and makes nifty occasional use of freeze frames. Brian May supplies an alternately funky and classy varied score. Worth a watch.

SanFernandoCurt Some movies seem to have evolved into finished product that's quite different from original script. This is one of them. I'll bet at one time, as writer's brainchild, this was a comedy-drama about a young woman trying to find her own place in the world, beset with oppressive upbringing and surrounded by shark-swarm of modern urban reality. As that, there are some scenes that sizzle, like the heroine's confrontation with her mother. Sigrid Thornton has long been a favorite of mine - a gutsy, resourceful actress who always manages to rise above or enhance her material. In that scene of familial combat (there are none more savage in our lives ), this feels like a completely different movie. ...A better one.I think sometime pre-production or even after filming began, "Halloween" was released to bang-up box office, and some brilliant producer or studio exec got a brainstorm to turn this into a splatter/horror thriller. The result is a schizoid mess, and the "Godfather" shock moment is practically unforgivable. Some fine actors, led by Thornton, are utterly wasted. A few nice bits of drama, and some drolly funny send-up of the self-obsessed fashion business, don't make this one worth the effort.

Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) Now here is a strange beast, an Australian made thriller about life on the edge of the Melbourne art, fashion & entertainment industry that can only be described as "A Dingo Slacker Soap Opera From Hell". That the original North American distributors were so cynical themselves as to re-name the film from SNAPSHOT to THE NIGHT AFTER HALLOWEEN to trick North American viewers into watching is actually par for the course, since this is one of the most cynical movies I have ever enjoyed seeing. But it sure ain't a slasher horror film even if its story does manage to sport at least two homicidal psychopaths, possibly even a third if you count the slaughterhouse worker who carved the head off a pig for one of the film's props. You will also note that I have enabled the Spoiler Warning disgronifier, mostly because every event in this film could amount to a spoiler if described. Every scene is significant to the point of literal overkill. By the end I was drained just trying to keep up with the rush of drama & crisis flung at the likable young woman at the heart of the story.Who would be Angela, described in today's terms as a slacker reluctantly working at a hair salon, where she struck up a relationship with an actress who has taken a bit more than a shine to the girl. Played by Sigrid Thornton, Angela is a wholesome natural beauty unsure of herself after a lifetime of cruel negative reinforcement at the hands of her insufferably narcissist mother & creepy sociopathic younger sister. Her daffy but sincere actress friend introduces Angela to a photographer whose devotion to his craft is maniacal in a way that is actually right on the money without being cliché. He is the best character in a film overflowing with a wealth of potentially fascinating characters trapped in a very believable community; LOCAL HERO has nothing on this baby.Including "Mr. Whippy" (Vince Gil, the Nightrider from MAD MAX), Angela's way unlikely former boyfriend, openly obsessed with her to the unhealthiest degree, half-comically stalking her around the backstreets of Melbourne in his Mr. Whippy ice cream truck, kindly given its own menacing musical theme by Australian composer Brian May (THE ROAD WARRIOR). Mr. Whippy's ice cream truck's canned jingle is "Greensleeves", not the happiest song ever, though nobody in the film is happy. In fact they are all insane. Singling Mr. Whippy out for his madness misses the point that EVERYBODY in this movie is crazy, warped, twisted, psychotic, deranged, manipulative, egotistical, or at least living some sort of unwholesome lie. All except Angela, of course, unsullied in her drab existence before coming in contact with this cast of lunatics.Angela agrees to participate in an advertisement shoot for a cologne that requires her to frolic topless in the freezing ocean, bringing her to the attention of industry bigwigs who see an opportunity to use her freshness to sell garbage people don't really need. It also brings her to the attention of a truly frightening psycho who goes so far as to paper a secret room with her picture. Floor, ceilings, walls, everywhere. His primary ambition is to lure her to the room, have her pose topless for his own camera, then murder her. Imagine Angela's surprise!That would have been enough for any other thriller, but this one goes overboard wedging in all too cleverly written scenes that bombard the viewer with eccentric behavior, menacing undertones, twisted manipulations, bizarre unexpected developments galore, and an ending that unravels rather than is arrived at by conventional means. In many ways SNAPSHOT anticipated two more contemporary films that re-defined the urban thriller by telling their stories unconventionally: David Lynch's MULLHOLLAND DRIVE, and Christopher Nolan's MEMENTO.In fact I was sort of thinking that because actress Naomi Watts is herself Australian that there as a tenuous connection between the films. If one interprets MULLHOLLAND DRIVE as depicting a psychotic vision concocted by Watts' character, SNAPSHOT could be a model of how a character like hers was driven insane trying to earn their big break, which is how SNAPSHOT ends up. The dead bodies are just a part of how that happens, but by then she could care less. Angela is driven to madness by the madness unraveling around her and decides to go with it, shuttling off to her big legit modeling break with her sanity shattered as the fire rescue squads clean up the bodies of the people killed in the hysteria inducing final moments.Fanciful but hey, the movie made me think. Which is all but impossible given the amount of material that Chris & Everett de Roche (RAZORBACK) packed into their script for director Simon (FREE WILLY) Wincer's breathlessly hyperventilated camera to record. I'm not sure if it turned out to be the film it should have been, with musical interludes including a visit to a nightclub to see a bizarre Elvis impersonator's act that is itself a study in psychotic obsession. And has also surely proved problematic in securing North American home video distribution rights for a proper DVD restoration (the one circulating is a commercialized bootleg of an Australian DVD release incorrectly framed at 1:85:1), which the film is in need of to be properly evaluated. Until then it's sadly going to remain an enigmatic curiosity. The film aspires to really be "something" and I'm not entirely sure if it was successful in doing so. A bit less might have amounted to more, though the film was hardly boring, is fast paced, has some subtly hilarious touches, a great Unlooked-For Hero at the climax (two, come to think of it), several twists & turns that were nifty to ride along with, and yes, Sigrid Thornton is a total hottie. I hope she got whatever therapy might have been needed after making this.6/10