Most people think Mel Gibson’s movie debut came in the 1979 cult
action classic, The Road Warrior. True, the role of Mad Max was what
brought Mel to the world’s attention – but he actually broke
his big screen cherry several years earlier in this rather amateurish
thriller, which combines soporific coming-of-age clichés with
a bizarrely violent Deliverance style ending.
The setting for our tale is Sixties Australia, and four young men are
embarking on a road trip of beer, sex and surfing to celebrate the impending
marriage of one of their number. The groom in question is Sandy, and
right from the start it’s unclear why this trip is taking place.
A spineless whining wet blanket of a man, Sandy doesn’t appear
to even like his companions, let alone want to spend a weekend of booze
and casual fornication with them. The primary reason for his distaste
is Boo, an arrogant cocksure womaniser whose odious presence would test
even the most macho party. Stuck in between the two are Robbie (who says
and does practically nothing the whole movie) and the peculiarly named
Scollop, as portrayed by the 21-year-old Mel Gibson.
With his hair a strange orange color, and clad in tiny denim shorts and
a cut-off t-shirt, Mel looks more like an entrant in the 1977 Miss Dixieland
beauty pageant than the grizzled action man we know and love and, as
the quartet set off, he cheerfully squeaks “Boy dead!” with
unusual glee. A strange thing to be happy about, you might think. Once
you realise that he has yet to lose his Australian accent and is actually
saying “Bye Dad”, the proceedings become much clearer.
As their odyssey begins, it soon becomes apparent that much of this journey
will be composed of montages. In fact, at a rough estimate, over half
the running time is taken up with utterly pointless and unrelated montages.
Animals gambol through the brush to the sound of gentle guitar music.
Surfers frolic in the waves to pounding rock and roll. There are many,
many lingering shots of sunrises and sunsets. Periodically, the montages
are interrupted for a brief scene of dialogue with our four rascals.
Slowly – oh, so very slowly – the movie gets the lads to
a small town where they set up camp at a local campsite. There’s
a dance that very night – apparently held in a large shed – and
Boo is in the mood for love. He’s set his sights on Caroline, the
daughter of the campsite owner, and once the festivities end he crudely
seduces her in the icy depths of a rusty water tower. Damn, he’s
quite the catch, right girls?
Somewhat predictably, he dumps her in no uncertain terms on the way home,
leaving her to face the wrath of her father.
We know something awful is going to happen, since the next montage is
of blood red skies and furious tides, all set to bewildering atonal electronic
noises. Thankfully, normal service is soon resumed as these apocalyptic
scenes segue clumsily into – yes – more jaunty surfers frolicking
to rock and roll.
Relations between the four friends are strained when Caroline pleads
with Sandy to help her find Boo, although given that the town consists
of about five houses and a beach, it shouldn’t be that hard. Sandy
berates her for giving away her virginity so easily, but it’s clear
that the prudish fellow harbours more resentment for his supposed friend.
Suddenly, after almost eighty minutes of meandering nonsense, the movie
accelerates at ludicrous speed and crams the entire story into the final
ten minutes.
When their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Boo and Sandy argue
some more, and it emerges that Boo has spent the previous week “parking
in cars” with Sandy’s fiancée. The timid groom finally
shows his cojones, and punches the bejesus out of the smug lothario before
grabbing a rifle from the trunk of the car and fleeing into the night.
Boo doesn’t fancy spending the night in a car, while an armed love
rival prowls outside, so he decides to hitchhike back into town. Alone.
Sandy stalks Boo through the undergrowth but, before he can take his
bloody revenge, Boo manages to flag down a car. Throwing open the door,
he finds himself faced with the barrel of a shotgun. It’s Caroline’s
father, and he wastes no time in making a large messy hole in Boo’s
gut region. As the psycho daddy advances, Sandy shoots him dead with
one of the most hilarious head wounds in motion picture history.
Meanwhile, Scollop (now wearing a startling orange knitted jerkin) has
discovered Boo’s corpse,
and
reveals
a never-again-seen
talent for girlish sobbing from young Gibson. This emotional watershed
duly tackled, we then cut straight to the end of Sandy’s trial
where, in a staggeringly brief anticlimax, the judge finds him not guilty
of anything and sends him on his way. We leave Sandy reunited with his
whorish fiancée,
presumably having learned some lesson or other.
Need to know: Coast of Terror is also known by the less
sensational, though no more accurate, title Summer City. While the film
undoubtedly
takes place in the summer, the entire story takes place in the Australian
coastal countryside, with nary a city in sight. In fact, you’re
lucky to spot a building with two storeys throughout the whole thing.
Steve Bisley, the actor who played Boo, reteamed with Mel Gibson once
again as Jim Goose in Mad Max. Meanwhile, John Jarratt, who played the
wimpy Sandy, might be recognisable to horror fans for a more recent – and
far more bloodthirsty – role; he played the brutal outback serial
killer in Greg McLean’s 2005 slasher movie, Wolf Creek. The part
of Robbie was played by Phillip Avalon, who both wrote and produced the
film.
Availability: Coast of Terror is easy to find on DVD, under its alternate
Summer City title.
