UMAC x Eclipse Cinema: Long Weekend (1978)

To celebrate the upcoming season of Wake in Fright on stage, UMAC explores the nature of horror, Australiana and the art of adaptation with a series of special screenings curated with the Director of the world-first Horror Studies Centre at the University of Pittsburgh, Professor Adam Lowenstein. This Halloween, join UMAC at Cinema Eclipse for a free screening of Colin Eggleston’s Long Weekend (1978), another inspired use of the Australian natural landscape for horror purposes that, unlike Wake in Fright, was an entirely local production. This screening will feature a video introduction from Professor Adam Lowenstein. ABOUT THE FILM Attempting to resurrect their failing marriage, Peter (John Hargreaves) and Marcia (Briony Behets) set out on a camping trip to a deserted stretch of the Australian coastline in the hope that a long weekend in the sunshine will help them patch up their differences. They trample through the countryside, destroying everything in their tracks, carelessly scattering rubbish and shooting anything that moves. Their callous disregard for the environment soon becomes apparent when the animals start to seek vengeance. Marcia and Peter have proved themselves to be wanton destroyers. Can they leave, or will they be destroyed? Director: Colin Eggleston Starring: John Hargreaves, Briony Behets, Mike McEwen Rating: M