THE COST

Stars: Jordan Fraser-Trumble, Damon Hunter, Kevin Dee, Clayton Watson and Nicole Pastor.
Writers: Matthew Holmes and Gregory Moss.
Director: Matthew Holmes.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½

Reviewed at Monster Fest Sydney on Saturday December 10 at Event Cinemas George Street.

Two men grieving the loss of their beloved wife/sister at the hands of murdering rapist decide to unleash their own brand of vengeance in director Matthew Holmes’ morally problematic dramatic thriller, The Cost. This superbly acted, compellingly staged study in vigilante psychology will be too grey-shaded for some, who may interpret the narrative trajectory as a pro-argument for personal justice; others, with an ‘eye for an eye’ perspective on criminal punishment, will lap up scenes of brutal payback.

Widower David (Jordan Fraser-Trumble; top, right) and sibling Aaron (Damon Hunter; top, centre) have planned with premeditated cunning the abduction of sad loner Troy (Kevin Dee). Seizing him late one night, the steely-eyed kidnappers head deep into the Australian bush, where they make their motivations and intentions clear - the 10 years that Troy served for the sexual assault and killing of Stephanie (Nicole Pastor, in flashback; below) is nowhere near sufficient retribution for his coldhearted homicidal impulses.

Early indications that Holmes’ follow-up to his bushranger hagiography The Legend of Ben Hall will be little more than Oz torture-porn dissipate as skilfully layered back story is revealed. Developments that will have the more thoughtful genre audience pondering address the role that sentencing and non-parole periods play in meeting survivor expectations; the ages-old ‘let the punishment fit the crime’ argument; and what, if anything, stops the vigilante becoming the same horribly myopic killer that he deems unworthy for life.

It is the ‘He’ in that last sentence that most resonates. David and Aaron are two middle-class white males, a social status that comes with an ingrained sense of entitlement (search ‘vigilante films’, and you mostly see actors like Clint Eastwood, Kevin Sorbo, Tom Berenger, Jim Belushi, Steven Seagal, Bruce Willis, Nicholas Cage and Mel Gibson). Holmes and co-writer Gregory Moss construct protagonists that willingly accept the righteousness in acting above the judicial structure (Troy has been caught, prosecuted and sentenced fully in the eyes of our legal system). This imbues their ‘justice for Stephanie’ renegade with a false logic and own dangerous mental instability. 

The ‘vigilante anti-hero’ sub-genre that allows for unlawful punishment to seem justified works best in a lawless setting, be that literally (Mad Max, 1979; The Star Chamber, 1983) or figuratively (Taxi Driver, 1976; Munich, 2005). There’s a great deal of integrity and complexity in The Cost, but also a healthy dose of genre DNA that aligns it with the ugliness of Charles Bronson’s blackhearted Death Wish films. It will be in the post-screening discussions and what it exposes in those who seek it out that the real value of the film will emerge.