Main Cast: Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig, Carmen Duncan, Noel Ferrier
Release Year: 1981
Country: AU
Run Time: 92 minutes
Plot
This grim, violent Australian production is an artless mishmash incorporating elements of The Road Warrior, 1984 , and The Most Dangerous Game. The story is set in a dystopian future society where all "deviants" (i.e. anyone whose ideas don't jive with those of the government) are interred in nightmarish re-education camps where they are tortured, beaten, raped and put to death -- mostly on the whim of the psychotic commandant (Michael Craig). Periodically, a handful of particularly defiant inmates will be released unarmed to be hunted down (for the entertainment of the elite) in a free-for-all "Turkey Shoot" (the film's original Australian title). Among the latest batch of potential targets are strong-willed Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey, who are confronted in the wilderness by the commandant and his goofy mutant cronies -- all of whom carry rocket-launchers, exploding arrows, and flamethrowers. This entire exercise is basically a prolonged excuse for a plethora of cheap, splattery makeup effects, made far more unpleasant by the blatant sadism of the proceedings. Unsuspecting viewers exposed to this film may wish to follow with My Brilliant Career to restore their faith in Australian cinema. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Review
This excursion into Mad Max-inspired post-apocalyptic brutality isn't the best the genre has to offer, but Escape 2000 sticks out because of its high sleaze quotient. The schlocky script uses its totalitarian future window dressing as an excuse to recycle the plot of The Most Dangerous Game. It goes heavy on the sadism and sexiness, which is a favor to the audience because the wafer-thin characterizations, haphazard plotting, and wooden dialogue would have trouble sustaining anyone's interest on their own. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith's work is hampered by the lame script and an obviously limited budget, but he gives the film a surprisingly slick comic-book style, using John McLean's impressive widescreen lensing to give the movie some scope and playing the premise for all the action it can muster. Thankfully, the cast is pretty decent: Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey don't have much chemistry, but they both give the limited hero roles their all and the villains have a good time with their slimy characterizations (future soap opera star Carmen Duncan, in particular, has a lot of fun as a bloodthirsty huntress who seems to be a futuristic clone of Joan Collins). The end result is neither great art nor great schlock, but it's rarely dull. To sum up, exploitation fans might enjoy the cheap thrills on display here, but most viewers will find Escape 2000's cocktail of goofy sci-fi and exploitation schlock too much to swallow. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Lynda Stoner - Rita Daniels; Roger Ward - Ritter; Michael Petrovich - Tito; Gus Mercurio - Red; John Ley - Dodge; Bill Young - Griff; Steve Rackman - Alph; Marina Finaly - Melinda; John Godden - Andy; Mark Gregory; Henry Silva
Credit
Aphrodite Kondos - Costume Designer, Brian Trenchard-Smith - Director, Alan Lake - Editor, John Daly - Executive Producer, David Hemmings - Executive Producer, Brian May - Composer (Music Score), Bernard Hides - Production Designer, John McLean - Cinematographer, Antony I. Ginnane - Producer, William Fayman - Producer, John Stears - Special Effects, George Schenck - Screen Story, Jon George - Screenwriter, Neill Hicks - Screenwriter, Robert Williams - Short Story Author, David Lawrence - Short Story Author
Turkey Shoot is a 1982 Australian dystopian futurist exploitation film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith notable for its extreme violence, sadistic prison sequences and plethora of 1980s Australian soap opera stars.
In the totalitarian near future, 'social deviants' are sent to prison camps for re-education and behaviour modification. The new arrivals at Camp 47 are Chris Walters (Olivia Hussey), a shopkeeper accused of helping a rebel; Rita Daniels (Lynda Stoner), a suspected sex worker; and Paul Anders (Steve Railsback), a dissident who has escaped from several other camps. After suffering brutal treatment at the hands of Camp Master Charles Thatcher (Michael Craig) and his chief enforcer, Ritter (Roger Ward), the prisoners accept a deadly deal. They will be human prey in a 'turkey shoot' Thatcher has organised for Secretary Mallory (Noel Ferrier), and VIPs Jennifer (Carmen Duncan) and Tito (Michael Petrovich). If they can evade the heavily armed guests in the surrounding jungle until sundown, Chris, Rita and Paul will be set free. As the 'turkey shoot' progresses, the tables are turned and the prisoners become the hunters culminating in a free for all slaughter terminated by a government napalmairstrike.
British Release
The film was released in the UK under the opportunistic title Blood Camp Thatcher referring to the cold camp commandant Charles Thatcher, rather than the then British Prime Minister.
Turkey Shoot was produced during the Australian film tax exemption scheme 10BA. Under 10BA film costs were subsidized by the Australian Government and Directors tended to cast foreign leads in the hope of boosting success in Europe or the Americas.
The film reached number 1 at the UK box office.
Despite being set in 1995, Turkey Shoot was released in the US as Escape 2000. The film was praised by Quentin Tarantino when he visited Sydney in 2003 to promote Kill Bill: Vol 1.
Turkey Shoot featured in a Focus on Ozploitation collection of 1970s and 1980s Australian exploitation films, including Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, Dead End Drive-In and Razorback. These over-the-top B grade films were characterized by lashings of gratuitous sex, violence and fuel-injected muscle car mayhem which pushed the boundaries of audience taste to new limits.[1]
