Wonderful Movie

To me, this movie is perfection.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

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

Even though I am a kiwi, I did not appreciate this movie.. or even enjoy it...Yes New Zealanders are good at making low budget movies (and recently not so low budget)but this one just does not hit the spot. Its not scary, its just stupid.It left me thinking, surely that could have been done better, the basic story/idea is good (3 points for that) but the execution is very poor.Patchy acting and continuity, some very odd editing in places, probably due to go having the real shot in the can...Sorry again, we can do better and have, and will do again..

"The Locals" is one of the best movies from New Zealand that I have ever seen. A brilliant director and writer: Greg Page, and excellent new actors: Dwayne Cameron and John Barker. It's not like other horror films that I have seen and I've seen loads. The unusual location and the fact that it's playing in the dark is great. All the hide and seek in this film makes you wanna run with the characters. And Peter McCauley is so scary and untouchable. Why are the no more other movie from Greg Page he's funny. The commentary on the DVD is the best ever. Greg Page wants you to make listen him over and over again. First time I saw "The Locals" was a surprise for me and I'm sure for everyone who watched it. I like the idea of a farmer who has captured all inhabitants of the little town and only let them go when his bones left the area. BEST MOVIE EVER!

The Locals looked interesting enough but box covers can be deceiving and I didn't realize it was a New Zealand film and I'm not sure I've ever seen a New Zealand film and I must admit the hardest part about the film was catching everything they said in their accents (the DVD has no subtitles sadly.) Nonetheless despite a slow, cumbersome start The Locals turned out to be a decent little thriller with a ghost story twist to it not unlike the sixth sense (although not quite as well told.) Writer and director (fairly new to the scene) Greg Page creates a nice little eerie setting in the darkness to give you some cheap scares, and a fast paced, interesting storyline if not a little amateur at times. Still the story is unique and different although it has some predictable elements. John Barker who plays the lead role of Grant, the rather reluctant young guy, recently dumped by his girlfriend who goes on a surfing trip with his best friend who just wants him to get on with his life. Barker is quite intense and always has a stunned frightened expression on his face which is humorous and disturbing all at once. He's a good lead actor though and probably has a good career ahead of him outside of being a Power Ranger?? Dwayne Cameron plays the best friend Paul (Cameron is also a former Power Ranger and actually worked with Barker on several other projects. Perhaps they are best friends off screen as well because the two of them have great chemistry and you honestly buy their best friend relationship. They are good, young actors with a promising future I am sure and they both play the scared, tortured roles quite well. The rest of the cast....The Locals...so to speak all serve their purpose quite well. They are all genuinely creepy without being hammy or campy. I wouldn't say any of them stand out all that much in their performances.The reason to see The Locals is really the fresh story and the unique little twists and turns and the creepy New Zealand setting. For a nice little scare on a Saturday night you'll enjoy this one and the two lead performances are well worth your time. For an Indie horror film (and I've seen some ROTTEN ones as of late) this one kind of grew on me. It's quite short and the beginning is a little draggy and you might think the story isn't going to come together but it does and I think for most horror/thriller fans you'll find this one worth seeing. 8/10

I couldn't even get through the first half of this movie. I love watching good b-horrors, almost as much as I love watching bad b-horrors for the laughs. This movie fell into neither category, as it was boring as hell and badly done, but not "funny" bad. Just bad.This movie pulled out all the stops. The "road trip adventure". The "car that breaks down". The "cell phone that won't get any reception". The "crazy goings-on with the backwoods folk". That's about when I shut off the TV.The two main characters in the film are supposed to be best friends, they pal around and make jokes at eachtother, etc, but it seems very unnatural and like they just met that morning.It seems as though the only people who enjoyed this film are patriotic Kiwis.