Product Details

• Actors: Danny Baldwin, Holly Baldwin, Harley Bennick, Michael Dorman, Sue Dwyer
• Directors: Jon Hewitt
• Writers: Jon Hewitt, Shane Krause, Shayne Armstrong
• Producers: Gary Hamilton, Grant Bradley, Ian Gibbins, Pam Collis
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
• DVD Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0026VKXRQ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,653 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Acolytes" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Stills from Acolytes (Click for larger image)

Product Description

A tension soaked stalk and chase thriller. In their senior year of high school, James and Mark find a way to stop being the victim, they’re going to kill their nemesis… That is when they stumble upon the serial killer who will do the killing for them. The chase of their lives begins into graves of the killer’s victims…

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars i was more impressed with this then the other reviewers., November 9, 2009

By	gespect "gespect" (ohio) - See all my reviews

i gave this a five star rating but maybe it was a four and a half or a four star.
i felt that this was a very real movie. i could see much, if not all, of this having taken place. okay, for the ease of making a movie some things were simplified [like the ease of the illegal entry into a domicile. i at no point felt that this promoted nor accepted child molestation like one of the other reviewers. i will need to watch this once more to make sure that all of the lose ends were tied up. I'm very confident that there are no slip ups. there are a number of unexpected twists that made sense because of human nature's willingness to leave important details. so when a character doesn't tell others everything it's to keep up his, or her, public perception.

basic story: some kids received terrible torment from a guy when they were young.
now days a girl goes missing. we don't know exactly what happened but we see some clips and are left to assume.
one of the three main characters. mark, sees a guy bury something. he,also, sees the guys vehicle.
the others come back, with mark, to see what was buried. they find a body.
they deduce that the killer must be local.
while looking for the grave diggers vehicle they see their old tormenter.
the old tormentor comes after them.
mark doesn't like that one of his two friends called up the grave digger and set into motion a simple idea.
"hey, grave digger... if you don't kill our tormentor we'll turn you into the cops."

from here we see that simple plans often don't go right and can develop terrible side effects. also, there seems to be a little research that was used to come up with what creates the sick-os that that we see as sociopaths or damage to the young that creates psychopaths.
i felt that there was high quality in the acting, filming, direction, and script. much of the scenery was beautiful, filmed in queensland Australia.
as i mentioned earlier there were many unexpected points that created twists. these were not gimmicks but based on human nature. after viewing again I'm sure i'll find the film seamless with no lose ends.

3.0 out of 5 stars Teens Who Won't Bore You To Death, October 25, 2009

By	S. P. Miskowski (West Coast, US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Acolytes is a 2008 Australian film with a premise both simple and unusual: Three teenage friends stumble across a burial spot in the woods, identify a serial killer, and decide to blackmail him into committing a crime on their behalf. This is not a plan born out of restless boredom. The crime, it seems, is a form of rude justice for an act of violence that occurred several years earlier.

Present day scenes feature the friends' daily wanderings across a hideously boring suburban neighborhood. We never see concerned adults--other than law enforcement officers--taking an interest in anything they do. Loving parents will find this appalling, but honest ones will admit that a lot of teens live this way. Unsupervised and disconnected from parents who are busy working or just not that interested, the young people in this story create meaning and relationships from scratch. What they come up with is sometimes touching and sad, but it is also dangerous and potentially self-destructive.

The story deepens with a series of flashbacks. Every creepy revelation and each new act of brutality builds naturally and inexorably upon the last, until the horrific ending seems both surprising and inevitable. Only one moment, late in the film--when two of the teens rush to aid the third at their usual meeting place--seems unlikely. There is a missing bridge here, a scene of reconciliation between the two boys, which would justify the action.

Director Jon Hewitt has coaxed believable performances from his cast. And he's framed them--both teens and adults--with a soulless backdrop that makes the word "community" seem ridiculous. Both the natural world and suburban limbo are revealed as places that hold frightening mysteries, down winding roads and behind closed doors.

1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a movie for most, August 21, 2009

By	Yvonne I. Wilson (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I tried to watch this last night and I would not recommend anyone else to watch it,I turned it off before it was even over.
The reason being is it felt like a sadistic pedophile was making the movie.
If that makes you want to watch it then the movie is for you but, if it doesn't then you know its definitely not for you.