ASHBURN WATERS *** Australia 2019 Dir: David Pether. 81 mins
After a slew of grisly deaths happen at Ashburn Waters Campgrounds the owners are forced to close the camp down. While there is no suspects the campground becomes nothing more then empty space save for one mysterious man who lives unopposed on the grounds. When Binns decides to get his group of friends together for a camping break over Easter weekend, he unfortunately forgets to book ahead on Australia’s busiest camping weekend leaving them no choice but to head to Ashburn Waters Campgrounds. On their way there they come across the owner who tells them the grounds are shut, but we all know that won’t stop these friends from having a good time. Unfortunately for Brett his old flame Scout comes along to the get together with her new boyfriend adding tension to what is supposed to be a relaxing weekend. Sneaking in to Ashburn Waters Campgrounds they soon begin to have fun, the drinks start flowing, sex is on the table for at least 2 people but something is in the darkness, watching, waiting for its turn for some bloody fun. After a few of the friends meet an unfortunate end we soon find out the mystery man who walks the campgrounds is actually there to try and kill the demon which preys on unknowing campers. Now Brett and his surviving friends must work together with this man to help defeat this demon before it claims any more souls.
Ashburn Waters is a simple film which it makes no apologies for, it is basically a carbon copy of a setup for a American slasher film with a monster but now on Australian territory. You have the usual suspects for this kind of film, the person who tells you to stay away from the place, alcohol-fuelled horny teens, a person who is there to try and defeat the evil of the place and a little bit of nudity. This is definitely more of a teen slasher film as the gore levels are low with nothing more then a bit of blood spread out here and there. The monster is decent enough played by a person in a costume and thankfully stays in the darkness majority of the time as if it stepped out into the light too much it may look less threatening. The film is competently Directed by David Pether, with a nice look throughout and for the most part well acted although some of the scenes are very dialogue heavy. Overall if you are looking for a horror film to ease a friend or family member into joining the horror community this would be a nice gently one to show them before you show them more grisly horror like the Hostel films.
Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins
ASHBURN WATERS is out now on Prime Video UK, Prime Video USA and DVD from BayView Entertainment.