Loop Track: NZIFF Review

Hell is other people - until it's not in this feature debut from New Zealand comedian Tom Sainsbury.

But unlike Sainsbury's usual comedic fare, this tale is a somewhat darker affair. 

Sainsbury plays Ian, a troubled man who's ill-equipped but sets off anyway for a hike around one of New Zealand's longest tracks - the loop track. Dealing with his own demons and insecurities, Ian hopes to avoid anyone else on this romp through the woods.

However, his ambitions are thwarted when he sees another couple on the track and also a solo tramper Nicky (played with overzealousness by Hayden J Weal). On the edge of a nervous breakdown Ian tries to avoid them, but like limpets on the side of a boat, he can't avoid them sticking to him.

Pushing deeper into the track and with Ian's lack of sleep and paranoia coming to the fore, things get more complicated when Ian becomes convinced he can see a dark black shape in the woods...

Using black humour and suspense in equal measure, Sainsbury's debut feels confident and self-assured, even if its eventual denouement feels a little more silly than perhaps it should.

Mining much from the relationships between humans thrust upon each other and the tensions that ensue, Sainsbury and his small ensemble cast delve deep into the psyche of strangers and the banalities of common bonds.

While it's best to avoid any idea of the final twist in proceedings and go in cold, Loop Track largely works as a study of isolation among people, of alienation and of paranoia. Confident and comedic interactions between Weal and Sainsbury's character arise more from tension than obvious writing and occasionally uneasy laughs do much to mark proceedings as both enthralling and engaging.

Ultimately, Loop Track is another strong addition to New Zealand's film-making canon, proving once again that deep down in the woods, there always horror to mine - and sometimes the worst horrors of all are the people you have to spend time with.