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Visitors

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Visitors (Richard Franklin, 2003)

This movie is getting no love at IMDB, and I'm not terribly sure why. Perhaps the raters over there are used to more highbrow fare; I watched this the week after watching Ghost Ship, and comparison between the two seems unavoidable. In every way, Visitors comes out on top.

During a round-the-world solo sailing race, Georgia Perry (Pitch Black's Radha Mitchell) runs into a calm patch (we eventually find out she's just a few days from the end of the race at this time, so she's already been at sea for roughly six months with only a cat for company). While stuck in the doldrums, Perry has to fight off a bout of isolation-induced insanity where she hallucinates visitations from important people in her life-- her dead mother (Susannah York), her ailing father (Prisoners of the Sun's Ray Barrett), and various others, while having to worry about running across a pirated tanker, and having her only contact with other humans come from radio contact with her fiancee Luke (Blade: Trinity's Dominic Purcell) and Rob (Christopher Kirby, recently seen in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith), the radioman on a freighter who are coincidentally on the same course.

Radha Mitchell is not only drop-dead gorgeous, but is one of those exceptionally talented and yet underrated actors who never seen to get nearly enough work (while Julia Roberts, at twenty million a flick, is working more than ever). It is her performance that truly carries this picture, though many of the minor cast also turn in reasonable performances (Purcell, especially, is appropriately slimy, and Susannah York delivers the kind of role that explains why she was so in demand in the seventies). The film's climax begs comparison with that of Ghost Ship, and while it's cheesy, in comparison it's wildly understated; the denouement is a tad on the "girl-power!" side, but is still thoroughly fitting.

A fun way to kill ninety minutes, and well worth it for a glimpse of Radha Mitchell's charms. *** ½

Well here we have a psychobabble insanity movie from our good friends in Austrailia. A woman is sponsored to sail around the world by herself. A high seas cabin fever sets in and she is attacked by her dead mother (suicide)and pirates. Along for the ride are her mother's friends, a tattooed aboriginee, and her recently deceased father. Her only companion is a cat that talks back to her. Her communication with the outside world is a SAT phone and the radio. I won't give away the ending, but I was a little disappointed. It was like the director wanted to sell out and give it a wimpy 'American style chick flick ending'.

As you watch this film you will notice that you spend an incredible amount of time looking at this woman's armpits and up her nostrils.

A cursory glance at the DVD cover of the 2003 Radha Mitchell vehicle "Visitors" reminded me of another horror movie at sea film I saw recently: "Ghost Ship." This is not a good thing. I thought "Ghost Ship" was a horrible film that should have went down with all hands on board. Nonetheless, suckered in by the gloomy looking skull on the cover, I popped "Visitors" into the player and sat back to see what would happen. I have a thing for movies set at sea, probably because I've never visited the ocean. The idea of someone like Thor Heyerdahl zipping around the high seas on a handmade raft, or those stories about hardy sailors circumnavigating the world in a sailboat all by their lonesome, appeals to me on a fundamental level. Think of the isolation! Think of the thrilling sensation of taking on the full fury of Mother Nature all by yourself and emerging on the other side to tell the tale! You would need to be psychologically sound to embark on such a daunting journey, don't you think? Well, you need to be just as mentally sound to watch either one of these films because they both are about as interesting as a bag full of life jackets. At least "Visitors" is marginally better than "Ghost Ship."

Georgia Perry (Radha Mitchell) is a hardy sort who has spent her entire life around the water. At the beginning of the film, we learn that dear Georgia is about to set off on a solo journey around the world in her trusty little sailboat. She leaves behind her boyfriend Luke (Domenic Purcell), who will stay in radio contact with her in order to help Georgia overcome any difficulties, and her wheelchair bound father Bill (Ray Barrett). Perry's mother Carolyn (Susannah York) would probably have come down to the wharf to see her daughter off if she hadn't did herself in with razorblades some time before. So, amidst great fanfare Georgia heads off into the great wide open with only her pet cat Taco along for the ride. And she makes fruitful progress too until the wind dies out somewhere near Indonesia. Since the rules of the trip demand that she not use the onboard motor, Georgia must wait until the wind fills her sails. It's really not that big of a deal for someone used to the perils of traveling on the ocean. Georgia whiles away the days and nights sleeping, keeping the vessel afloat during a storm, and occasionally chatting with Luke and her cat (!).

Gradually, sinister incidents begin to wear our heroine down. At first, she hears strange noises. Then ominous fogs roll in and smother the boat. Even more ominous, a chance radio contact with a friend on a passing ship reveals the presence of pirates in the area as well as a warning about strange barnacles appearing on ships in the region, barnacles that Georgia notices infest her own craft. As bad as all of this sounds, it pales in comparison to the raging hallucinations Georgia experiences. She begins seeing her deceased mother and other relatives on the boat, none of whom seem very happy with the hapless sailor. Her mother shrieks, bullies, and threatens her daughter about her past, indicting Georgia for not doing what was necessary to prevent Carolyn from taking her life. As you can expect, Georgia is terrified by these encounters, but she's not willing to fire up the motor and head home. When she starts having horrible flashbacks about the past, particularly one that reveals the real reason her father is in a wheelchair, she still refuses to motor her way back to port. Even the arrival of the pirates does not break down Georgia's spirit. Eventually, Perry discovers why she's experiencing these things and takes steps to learn from them. The ending makes sense in this context.

Obviously, "Visitors" is a film about an internal and an external journey. Too bad the filmmakers couldn't decide whether to make this a straightforward horror picture or a psychological thriller. They drop hints at the former with the weird barnacles, fog, and hallucinations. Is Georgia simply imagining it all or is something supernatural going on? Should we write off her experiences as a bad case of cabin fever and be done with it? The film unfortunately never gives us a definitive answer. If anything the horrific elements seem like a giant red herring designed to throw viewers for a loop and keep us from the real meat of the story, which is the psychological dimension. "Visitors" is a film about earning one's independence, coming to terms with life's traumas, and becoming comfortable in one's own skin. When viewed in this light, the rather cryptic conclusion makes more sense, i.e. a journey to explore one's self is never over. Of course, you may ignore all of this mumbo jumbo, kick back, and enjoy Susannah York's over the top performance as the unstable Carolyn Perry. What's up with the hair? York's coif is the scariest thing in the movie! I won't even get into the telepathic cat thing. It's too much to go into here save to say it is ridiculous.

Overall, "Visitors" isn't really worth going out of your way to watch. Maybe if you stumble over it late one night on cable, but I wouldn't waste time renting it. The only people likely to pick this one up are Radha Mitchell or Susannah York completists. The sole supplements included on the disc are three trailers, one for this film, "Net Games," and "The Navigators." They should put a making of featurette on the special edition release (if it ever gets one, which I doubt) explaining what exactly the producers, director, and writers were trying to accomplish with the film. Stay away if you're looking for hardcore horror.

And also one of those that you have to relate to for it to make much sense.

Major spoiler so don't read further if you haven't seen the movie to form your own opinion.

It's common, if not the rule, for people who are devoid of human contact to begin making their own reality, and most of that reality will come from their past, or from things they imagine could happen. What have you done wrong, what could you have done differently, what could possibly happen if left to your wildest imagination. In a situation like this, wildest imagination is really all you have.

This is not a horror movie. It's a psychological thriller about being forced to confront your fears and deal with your own personal demons. If you have personal demons, then you will understand the movie. If you don't, then you're going to be wondering what happened even after the movie is finished.

I loved the ending. It was as it should have been.

...per se. This should appeal more to fans of drama/suspense.

If you're like me and enjoy indulging in films that watch like paperback novels, then this should do it for you. The DVD cover is a bit misleading-- this is about a strong-willed, stubborn woman who decides to sail around the world with no human contact save via radio.

During the trip, cabin fever sets in and she confronts her past and fears through ghostly visitors which include her parents and some pirates.

This picture provides the viewer with some great drama, interesting characters, and an overall satisfying cinematic experience. If it was meant to be scary, it failed (except for the chick's mom-- she was freaky), but shines as a psychological drama.

Check it out if it sounds like your thing.

Radha Mitchell (quite impressive in "Pitch Black" against Vin Diesel) stars in this Australian psychological thriller. The co-stars include Suzannah York ("Superman II") and an Aussie veteran Ray Barrett. The director is Richard Franklin, possibly best known so-so thriller "Psycho II."

Georgia Perry (Radha Mitchell) is on the last log of the first sole female around-the-world cruise by a yacht. She is not to set foot on the land during the course, and if she uses the engine, she is disqualified instantly. But now her yacht is not moving at all, because of the dead calm that seemingly stopped everything around the ship. She can only talk to her cat (her only partner), and to the finace waiting for her in Australia through the radio.

However, Georgia hears some strange sound, and sees the figures of the person(s) who should never be on board. What does that mean?

"The Visitors" is not a horror film. The film actually tries to include many factors -- thrills, symbolism, meaning of life, etc. -- and achieves none of them. The reference to poetry (S.T. Coleridge) is clumsy or insignificant, and the frequent flashbacks to the heroine's past only detract the claustrophobic suspence of the story. Possibly as psychological thriller it works best, but also it misses potential that the orginal premise has.

Incredibly, there are many (at least three) scenes in which Radha Mitchell's character is in bikini (but her skin does not seem tanned much). How the filmmakers thought about the scenes, I leave it to you, but it certainly does not hurt.

Radha Mitchell shows pretty good acting as the lead, and her meeting with her beloved dad (Ray Barrett) is even touching. Suzannah York's nervous mom is also convincingly portrayed, so while watching I started to think that the filmmakers should have thrown away any "horror" part of the film, and the end result would have been much better. As it is, "The Visitors" remains as it is, just an OK thriller.

If you really want to see a thriller on the lonely boat, see the Aussie film "Dead Calm" starring Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. That was really scary.

Some of our most inane fears come not from outside, but from within our own minds. "Visitors" is a psychological thriller that examines a woman on the brink of madness and insanity as she struggles to fight her own personal demons while in complete isolation. She, as well as us viewers, are continuously faced with one nagging question throughout this film: "Is the threat real or is it imagined"?

Georgia Perry is 25 years old and an avid sailor. She sets herself on the biggest challenge of all: Sailing around the world non-stop. The rules are that she is not allowed any company except for her cat, must not ever set foot on land and have no contact with the outside world except with her boyfriend by radio transmission. The journey is expected to take about 5 months.

By the time "Visitors" begins, Georgia is already about ¾ of the way around the world and seems to be doing just fine, except for the occasional bouts of loneliness. Throughout the film, we see clips of Georgia's life before she decided to set sail. All indications point to a happy life and fine relationship with her parents and her lover. And then the noises begin...At night while trying to sleep, she hears footsteps on the deck, and distant voices. Her cat talks to her. Her dead mom pays a visit. Slowly but surely, Georgia is going insane. And the flashbacks get darker and darker. At first the flashbacks were all happy but as the film progresses we are shown clips of Georgia's past that indicate her life was far from the rosy picture painted on earlier. It is this sudden transformation from happy sane Georgia to tormented soul Georgia that makes the film as creepy as it is. The descent into madness is not sudden, but gradual.

What "Visitors" lacks in action and pacing it more than makes up for with atmosphere, atmosphere that changes as Georgia's mood changes. The bright blue sky, crystal clear water and warm sunshine of the opening sequences are quickly replaced with the violent roar of the sea, pitch black darkness and dense fog as Georgia's feelings of dread increase. Aussie actress Rhada Mitchell pretty much has to carry the picture by herself, and does a fine job. One of the challenges I found of watching this film is that it's so weirded out and hallucinatory that we are left to wonder what is real and what's not, and are never offered any explanation, not even at film's end. The appearance of Georgia's dead mother as a hallucination is a given, but how about the boatload of pirates? Or the aborigenese midnight lover? If not real, then how come Georgia woke up with a hickey? All in all, a fine little film but not for those looking for coherence or logic. It's not one of those films where the pieces fall neatly in place by the end. Whether the threat is real or imagined is up to the viewer to decide.

Director Richard Franklin's last film "Visitors" makes for an interesting psychological thriller. Georgia Perry (Radha Mitchell "The Crazies" and "Pitch Black" among other films)decides to sail around the world on her father's old yacht. She can't use her engine and can't have anybody board the boat. That doesn't prevent ghosts from her past from visiting her during the tail end of her long journey back home to Ackland. Her fiance (Dominic Purcell of "Prison Break")is worried that Georgia's losing her mind and with pirates in the area is also worried about her safety.

Franklin who directed the low budget classic "Road Games", "Patrick" as well as "Cloak and Dagger" and "Psycho 2" does a good job of creating suspense taking an unusal tact--most movies like this would take place entirely on the boat and not give us a back story but Franklin daringly takes us off the boat giving us backstory as well as the issues that are occurring with her fiance back home. "Visitors" is a well made movie that is undone by the end of the film which while it kind of makes sense just doesn't fit with the mood of the rest of the movie. A devotee of Hitchcock, Franklin does a good job creating a suspenseful film and even if it does unravel by the end, the first hour works extremely well.

The original DVD looks decent but keep in mind that this hasn't (at the time of this writing)been reissued on DVD. There aren't any special features just some older trailers. A commentary by Franklin would have been welcome as he proved to be an intelligent, sharp witted director who candidly assessed the strenghts and weaknesses of his projects.

"Visitors" has its moments and Mitchell does a marvelous job in the lead role. It's a pity that the film falls apart by the last third.

Horror icon and super-hottie, Radha Mitchell (PITCH BLACK, ROGUE, SILENT HILL, THE CRAZIES) plays Georgia Perry, a determined woman who sets out to sail around the world. Along the way, she is plagued by cabin fever, resulting in what could either be hallucinations or ghostly visitations. Georgia finds herself up against mysterious pirates, hordes of giant spiders, and the spectre of her insane mother (Susannah York)! All while carrying on a two-way conversation w/ her cat! Sound bizarre? It is! Georgia must fight phantoms, personal demons, and debilitating guilt in order to survive. In the end, things get a tad hokey, but it's a fun ride getting there! Recommended...

It's interesting that so many reviews of this film rate it poorly. Whilst I'd not give it 5 stars, it's certainly worth 4. The script is fine, the acting good, the direction and production OK - what's not to like?

I guess a lot of the people who don't "get" this film were either expecting something quite different, or else they are not sailors. The general plot has been covered here several times so I won't repeat it again at length - it is a simple situational thriller in which a lone sailor, becalmed in the Indian Ocean, begins to experience vivid hallucinations. These are at least partly in reaction to the death of both her parents whilst her round the world single-handed attempt was under way.

Were the "visitors" real? No, of course not - they are all complete fantasies. Lone sailors frequently experience vivid, lucid hallucinations during long voyages. Watch "Deep Water", the recent bio-pic about the Golden Globe trophy in 1968, to get a taste of this in real life. One competitor went totally nuts and jumped overboard after craeting an elabourate hoax regarding his position - another saw and talked to Bing Crosby whilst in the middle of the Atlantic! It's old news.

What made the film gripping for me was the realization that, isolated as she was, her own mind was her greatest enemy. At one point she jumps overboard to escape imaginary pirates, and only comes back to her senses once on board again. That's REAL terror - the knowledge that in an isolated and totally self-sufficient environment, you may do yourself or your only means of survival real damage during an hallucination. The one person you can absolutely trust, yourself, is suddenly someone to be feared. Truly terrifying, more so than any ghost story.

The end is excellent. Having internalised the death of her parents, and with her boyfriend no longer faithful and her sponsor for the race backing out, she does the best thing possible - gives them all the finger and sails on to new horizons.