Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Turkey Shoot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 15, 2015

What constitutes a film disaster, as opposed to a disaster film? There have been a lot of iconic supposed catastrophes in the annals of cinema, including such high profile affairs as Heaven's Gate (whose reputation has attained a certain luster over the years) and lesser remembered if still interesting “failures” like The Island of Dr. Moreau, a film whose troubled pre-production and shooting history is documented in the fascinating Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau. Chances are, though, that relatively few film fans are even aware of Turkey Shoot, a film which trundled through theaters under a variety of titles, also including Escape 2000 and Blood Camp Thatcher, the latter alternative of which points clearly to the film’s genesis in the roiling early eighties, when Conservatism was all the rage on both sides of the pond. Brian Trenchard- Smith, a journeyman director whose oeuvre contains a lot of Australian television as well as less than stellar film entries like Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space and Megiddo: The Omega Code II, is repeatedly on record throughout the supplements included on this Blu-ray as stating he’s more than well aware of how “awful” Turkey Shoot supposedly is, at least according to critics who reviewed it at the time of its initial release, and who accused Trenchard-Smith (according to the director himself) of something akin to felonious assault. Trenchard-Smith frequently mentions the film’s fractious production history, including having a huge chunk of his budget ripped from his hands right as the film was about to start shooting, a decision which caused all sorts of ripples to spread out over the production period, including the excision of vast quantities of the screenplay, since there was no longer the funding to actually shoot several sequences. Trenchard-Smith also relates some understandable if questionable decisions that were made during the writing and pre- production phase of the film, which initially was conceived as a sort of update of (again in Trenchard-Smith’s own words) I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang crossed with elements culled from The Most Dangerous Game. Financing issues that depended upon credits offered by the Australian film industry ultimately necessitated changing the film’s era from the Depression to a kind of unspecified (near) future Down Under, where perceived antisocial behavior by citizens is not suffered gladly, resulting in concentration camp stays for the unruly types where they can supposedly be “reeducated” (to purloin a term from 20th century Communism). What’s really going on at the prison camp run by nefarious Charles Thatcher (Michael Craig), though, is decidedly less “educational” than provocative, with inmates subjected to all sorts of violence and torture, including being literally targeted as prey for a hunting expedition set up to entertain wealthy elites.

Three supposed rabble rousers have been rounded up and are on their way to Camp 47, though in at least some of their cases, their “transgressions” don’t seem particularly serious. The most dangerous seems to be haughty Paul Anders (Steve Railsback), while Chris Walters (Olivia Hussey) and Rita Daniels (Lynda Stoner) don’t seem particularly anarchistic. The three are delivered to the camp, where they instantly get embroiled in various shenanigans with some pretty smarmy guards, including the imperious Ritter (Roger Ward).

Trenchard-Smith doesn’t really give in to a camp sensibility in these establishing scenes, something that may in fact have helped the proceedings, as the smarm factor involved in some of the treatment of the prisoners is fairly high. Things become more traditionally anchored in an action adventure arena once the actual “turkey shoot” aspect of the story comes into play, perhaps placed a bit too late in the proceedings to overcome a feeling of distaste which has already been fostered.

Perhaps unbelievably, Turkey Shoot has a weird kind of connection to that aforementioned The Island of Dr. Moreau, for seemingly out of nowhere the film introduces a kind of half human-animal hybrid character named Alph (Steve Rackman), who goes about wreaking havoc in his own inimitable way. Again, Trenchard-Smith plays this material largely irony free, which actually may up the hilarity quotient for certain cynical types.

Turkey Shoot has a number of interesting ideas, but it’s undercut by a languid pace (which is admittedly interrupted at times for some disturbing interstitials) and a kind of “not ready for prime time” atmosphere that hangs over the production, despite what are at least fitful attempts to deliver a decent design aesthetic and properly hyperbolic performances. Perhaps surprisingly, Turkey Shoot was remade in Australia in 2014, though it doesn’t seem that that version has matriculated to Blu-ray yet.

Turkey Shoot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Turkey Shoot is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Elements are in generally excellent condition, with very little in the way of damage. There are some color temperature variances at play, as well as somewhat variable clarity, some of which is due to the film's use of stock footage and split screens. A lot of Turkey Shoot looks nicely vivid, with good, convincingly deep blue skies and a nice reproduction of the yellows of the inmates jumpsuits. The opening scenes are a bit pallid looking, with minimally less commendable saturation. Grain is natural looking and encounters no resolution problems. Contrast is generally very good and the exterior footage boasts some very good depth of field.

Turkey Shoot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Turkey Shoot features a basic sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track which capably supports the film's dialogue, effects and kind of funny score by Brian May. Prioritization is fine, but the overall ambience is shallow sounding at times.

Turkey Shoot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Ozploitation Renaissance (1080p; 26:34) is a really interesting look back at various Ozploitation films, with some great interviews with various participants.


• Turkey Shoot: Blood and Thunder Memories (480p; 23:45) features some fun and self deprecating interviews with various participants in the film.


• Brian Trenchard-Smith Interview (480p; 9:48) is a vintage piece that finds the director rather clear eyed in his assessment of this film and what it did to his career.


• Not Quite Hollywood: Extended Interviews with Brian Trenchard-Smith, Anthony I. Ginnane, Steve Railsback, Lynda Stoner, Roger Ward, Gus Mercurio and Bob McCarron (480p; 1:17:18) are culled from Mark Hartley's 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood.


• Audio Commentary with Brian Trenchard-Smith. Trenchard-Smith is a lot of fun to listen to throughout this commentary, obviously taking nothing here, least of all himself, very seriously.


• Turkey Shoot Trailer (480p; 2:46)


• Escape 2000 Alternate Title Sequence (480p; 1:43)

Turkey Shoot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of those releases where the actual film involved may well be less interesting than the supplemental material. A lot of the extras on this disc paint a picture of a production in about as much disarray as that discussed in Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau. While the film is pretty lamentable, those with an interest in film disasters (as opposed to disaster films) will find this Severin release rather interesting. Recommended.