The Cost – REVIEW

A suspenseful musical score opens this movie as two men are quite obviously preparing for a kidnapping. Intense and suspenseful, a felon is taken. A monster who pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a young woman and received a 32 year sentence in jail – but only served 10.

The husband and brother of the murdered young woman claim this an injustice and want to secretly avenge her death – ‘an eye for an eye’. “We know who you are and what you did. We’re gonna hurt you and then we’re gonna kill you!” utters the brother. But can they ultimately go through with it?

The brutal attack upon the woman is witnessed through cleverly placed flashback sequences so that audiences are devoid of sympathy for this convicted murderer. Asked why he committed the atrocity his response was that he “liked the look of her”.

Chained to a tree out bush where nobody could hear him scream the violent payback commences and may raise a few eyebrows amongst audience members.

This controversial and thought provoking Australian movie asks: if a murderer has done the time and is released earlier for good behaviour, is it just for family members to implement further justice? Can they bring themselves down to his level? More importantly if they kill him will they be any better?

Confronting to watch, audiences may be divided as the story progresses. The ideology that hatred can cause self-destruction is also a paramount element in the story-telling process, compounded by the thought that if they go ahead with this vengeful killing it could possibly hurt them for the rest of their lives.

Momentum accelerates throughout and the three key players, Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Damon Hunter & Kevin Dee, do a great job at unsettling audiences. Many would view this as a human exploitation story with scenes of torture which may leave the more sensitive audiences shouting, “He’s done his time let him go!”

High productions values are consistent until the final quarter when predictably soapy elements arise with cheesy dialogue and a nonsensical scene which won’t be difficult to pick out.

But all up it’s a well-paced, edge of your seat thriller that highlights how families of the viciously murdered are affected years after the crime.

Vengeance – but at what cost? Is the law an ass? Would you take your own justice under these circumstances or be content with the lax laws that are served upon criminals in this country? Take the plunge and watch this compelling drama – you may be surprised at your new outlook on the topic…

★★★1/2

October 17, 7:00pm,  Hayden Orpheum Cremorne

October 18, 6:30pm,  Ritz Randwick

October 18 on Blu-ray, DVD, Digital platforms