Jesse O’Brien’s horror/comedy Two Heads Creek aims to tackle the swelling issue of racism and nationalism in Australia and the United Kingdom through the most unusual of means: cannibalism.  Though it’s hard not to appreciate the attempt, Two Heads Creek’s absurd premise often overtakes the seriousness of the threat posed by racism and nationalism.

After their mother dies, twins Norman (Jordan Waller) and Annabelle (Kathryn Wilder) learn that they were in fact adopted by a woman who lives in Australia.  They venture to an Outback village populated by a family who, as it turns out, has been brutally murdering and consuming asylum seekers for years.

Despite its comedic tone, there are curiously very few laughs in Two Heads Creek.  Much of the so-called ‘humour’ derives from juvenile attempts at post-Brexit satire (scenes in the UK frequently involve racial slurs lobbed at Norman and Annabelle, who were raised by a Polish woman).  Later scenes attempt to create a satirical picture of the racism asylum seekers frequently experience, though it is never fully successful given the family reunification narrative at the film’s centre.

At a short 85 minutes, Two Heads Creek manages to feel twice as long.  After a sluggish start, the film never manages to take off, with several unnecessary twists and turns that complicate an already taxing narrative.  By the end, backstories and relations between characters become impossible to follow.

While horror fans may appreciate the film’s laughably cartoonish violence and gore, others will likely be turned off by its weak sense of satire and ineffective political commentary.

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Mark Barber: @WorstCinephile