Incident at Ravens Gate
5.4 /10 1 Votes
Director Rolf de Heer Country Australia | 5.4/10 IMDb Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release date Australia1988 Music director Graham Tardif, Roman Kronen Screenplay Rolf de Heer, Marc Rosenberg, James M. Vernon Cast Steven Vidler , Terry Camilleri , Ritchie Singer , Vincent Gil , Celine OLeary Similar movies Related Rolf de Heer movies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dead birds rain and other freak things happen on a familys (Steven Vidler, Celine OLeary, Ritchie Singer) sheep farm in Australia.
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Incident at Ravens Gate (also released as Encounter at Ravens Gate) is a 1988 science fiction arthouse feature film directed by prominent Australian director Rolf de Heer.
The cast of Incident at Ravens Gate included long-term Australian stage and screen actor Max Cullen, as a policeman, and Terry Camilleri as an astrophysicist attached to Special Branch, investigating unexplained radar signals in a remote South Australian country town.
Plot
On a farming property called Ravens Gate, enthusiastic hydroponicist Richard Cleary (Ritchie Singer) is trying innovative farming practices. He is also trying to accommodate his brother Eddie (Steven Vidler), newly out of gaol and more interested in Richards wife Rachel (Celine Griffin) than in working on the property. Strange events on the property and a minor crime in the town attract policeman Taylor (Max Cullen) and Special Branch investigator Cummings (Terry Camilleri). Eddie has the misfortune to also cross local cop Skinner (Vincent Gil), by dating the target of his affections, barmaid Annie (Saturday Rosenberg). Tensions in personal relationships and mysterious events (bird kills, disappearing water supplies) build to a climax that sees Ravens Gate assaulted by an alien force, and a number of deaths amongst the protagonists. The film closes with the stunned survivors Eddie and Rachel standing outside Ravens Gate homestead, newly restored by Special Branch, and the soundtrack playing the Easybeats song Friday on My Mind.
Filming
A genre-crossing film by Rolf de Heer, Incident at Ravens Gate was made in South Australia, with South Australian Film Corporation support, for a budget of A$2.5 million(although the filmmakers say only $1.1 million was spent on the actual film, the rest were fees for executive producers, writers and producers). It was co-produced by de Heer and Marc Rosenberg, who together also wrote the script from a screenplay by James Michael Vernon. It was filmed in South Australias Riverland and Murraylands, and Carrington, New South Wales. The film is part thriller, part science fiction, and part psychological drama.
The movie was shot on location in South Australia.
Critical reception
The movie achieved only limited release and did not receive the critical acclaim showered upon many other de Heer films. It nevertheless managed three nominations at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards. Director Rolf de Heer would later go on to win several AFI awards, including Best Film, for his 2006 release Ten Canoes.
Other reviews
References
Incident at Ravens Gate WikipediaIncident at Ravens Gate IMDb