best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely Fantastic

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is a pretty cool movie. It has two things going for itself - the romantic New Zealand locale and the college student characters. The movie drew me in when I accidentally started watching it - the idea of students moving into an abandoned house (the wonderful stereotype of the broke college student). I was a bit disappointed that after a while the story adopts a popular Western 90's plotline, but the movie was entertaining enough.

Having spent a few months in New Zealand, I had the chance to see Scarfies and it turned out to be a very good surprise. Many countries have bought the movie since so check it out, it could play soon at a theater near you. The characters, sharing a house in Dunedin, are what work best and succed where a film like "Shallow Grave" failed. Their development, going from pure comedy to dramatic/horrific moments doesn't come too artificially. The consequences of their discovery just make perfect sense in the way they act and in their relationships, but still manage to surprise you. And that's why you're stuck to your seat when one of the guys start to torture another one in the cave. Then the moments of fun you had half an hour before come back to memory and the movie takes another dimension: no, it's not just a farce. That's nice and neat on the surface, but pretty explosive inside. A last word to thank Mr Sarkies to have made a "non-teenage" teenage movie. He managed to avoid the trap of easy identifiyable characters as Hollywood does.

A uniquely New Zealand film that can be enjoyed by all. Director Robert Sarkies (who co-wrote the film with his brother Duncan) takes the audience through a cross-section of Dunedin student life. Often funny, but with solid dramatic elements (perhaps suited more to the stage), the film looks at some serious issues and then has a bit of fun with them. Shot on a shoestring budget, yet Sarkies manages to include some wicked cinematography. The frequent humour is best suited to New Zealanders, but they laughed in the right places at Cannes. Don't take it too seriously and you'll appreciate it best.

Well, what can I say. I went to the preview hoping to see a good New Zealand film, some dark comedy and thrilling moments. Scarfies has certainly done it for me.There is no better place to set a film about students than in the "s***hole" that was chosen. The house has a character of its own, definitely lending itself to the dark images created by the Sarkies brothers. The lines and images are stereotypical, but then, are so not, and they work I tell you.Many a time I found myself having a great laugh - along with the rest of the audience, the s**t scene, the 'conquest', all just added to my enjoyment. The darkness, and hilarity? of this made the film all the more special.Scarfies is a must for New Zealand film of the year, and I'm sure it will go on to bigger and better things over the bright blue ocean. If you see any film this year, see this one, it has it all, so just do it.