Long Weekend (1978)

Director:

Colin Eggleston

Writer:

Everett De Roche (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Their crime was against nature...Nature found them guilty. [DVD Australia]

Plot:

When a suburban couple go camping for the weekend at a remote beach, they discover that nature isn't in an accommodating mood. |

Plot Keywords:

Camping | Dugong | Unhappy Marriage | Female Masturbation | Wedgetailed Eagle

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

John Hargreaves	...	Peter
Briony Behets	...	Marcia
Mike McEwen	...	Truck Driver
Roy Day	...	Old Man
Michael Aitkens	...	Bartender
Sue Kiss von Soly	...	City girl

Directed by
Colin Eggleston

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Everett De Roche		written by

Produced by
Richard Brennan	....	executive producer
Colin Eggleston	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Carlos

Cinematography by
Vincent Monton

Film Editing by
Brian Kavanagh

Production Design by
Lawrence Eastwood

Costume Design by
Kevin Regan

Production Management
Julie Monton	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Burstall	....	first assistant director
Ross Hamilton	....	second assistant director
Chris Maudson	....	third assistant director

Sound Department
Peter Burgess	....	sound editor
Phil Judd	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Phillips	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Irving	....	camera operator
David Parker	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Ken Sallows	....	assistant film editor

Other crew
Lynn Gailey	....	production secretary
Bill Gooley	....	laboratory liaison
Jan Tyrrell	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Australian Film Commission, The
• Dugong Films
• Victorian Film

Distributors

• Astro Distribution (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
• Concorde Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Roadshow Entertainment
• Synapse Films (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Trans World Entertainment (TWE) (video)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• marketing-film (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Bega, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Commission, The

Trivia:

Cinematographer Vincent Monton said that the weather conditions while shooting the film were eerily co-operative. He said when the script would call for a scene with sunny skies the weather would be beautiful, but as the intensity and strangeness of the script grew the weather conditions would change to match the moody atmosphere of the scenes being filmed. Throughout the shoot the weather always seemed to change to suit the scene that was being made!

Goofs:

Errors in geography: There are a couple of shots of a Tasmanian Devil shortly after the couple arrive at the campsite. As the name suggests, Tassie Devils live only in Tasmania. Yet the beach/camping scenes were filmed in Bega, NSW, which is a long way away, and separated by a large stretch of ocean.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

Superb but dated.

I saw this film when I was quite young and it scared the s**t out of me. I must have watched most of it through my fingers. This not because the film is a total gore'athon like most, 'so called' horror films, but because of the films unrelenting tension and suspense, supernatural elements and its ability to turn your own imagination against you. This is a skill a lot of writers/directors seem to have forgotten. Of course if you don't have an imagination then it won't work which is why a lot of horror films tend to rely heavily on 'visuals' and special effects rather than suspense and plot. Unfortunately the film was made in 1979 and it shows. This however, makes the film even more apt for younger people who weren't around in 1979 and are more likely to still have an imagination to torment. Unfortunately I've grown up now the imagination has dulled and I now know that reality is far more terrifying than any fiction. I have given this film an artificial 10/10 to boost it's rating to a level to which it deserves.