Kadaicha (1988)

A violent curse film in the style of Nightmare on Elm Street or Ringu, Kadaicha is yet another Australian folk horror contender. It feels like the charming sort of genre flick that you might discover buried deep in a video store circa '97, especially seeing as its only surviving copy is a VHS-era broadcast one. Watching this film next to The Dreaming, I am taken aback by how similar they are in terms of inspiration, but yet completely different in execution, despite both being horror films and quality ones at that. While it isn't quite as mature as a work of art as The Dreaming is, it's still one of the most entertaining films yet seen in the All the Haunts Be Ours box.

You know the drill: first you have a spooky dream, then you wake up and find a kadaicha stone on your pillow. From there, you have anywhere between days and hours to say your prayers before the pied piper shows up demanding to be paid. This film came out in 1988, so it isn't the progenitor of any of these tropes, but it uses them effectively. Our characters are easy enough to like because they're innocent and naive and don't expect at all an ancient Aboriginal hex. That's where the similarities between this film and The Dreaming become hard to ignore. They both came out the same year and feature many of the same elements, like spooky visions, violence against natives, and a third act possession, but they utilize them differently. This film has levity, and even at its scariest, it's horror of the fun and snacky kind; like something you'd watch at Halloween. It mines the subject matter for millet seed with a Hollywood-style horror screenplay that doesn't take many chances, but pulls off its unambitous aims with aplomb. It isn't the angry, restless film that its sister film was, and it doesn't quite handle its folkloric ideas as deftly, but there's a time and place for everything, and The Dreaming wasn't nearly as much fun as Kadaicha either.

Visually, it isn't half bad, though the transfer used here isn't great and makes appreciating it difficult. What is noticeable is all the adults playing high schoolers, which is unfortunate, with our lead being perhaps the worst offender. But hey, kids are probably a headache to use and the cast gives solid performances you'd have a tough time wringing out children. Yes, it borrows liberally from other successful horror films of its era, but the end result is enjoyable enough to justify its occasionally crude approach. This movie won't leave you speechless, but it won't waste your time either.