| Incident at Raven's Gate | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Rolf de Heer Marc Rosenberg |
| Written by | James Michael Vernon |
| Starring | Steven Vidler Celine Griffin Ritchie Singer Terry Camilleri Max Cullen |
| Music by | Graham Tardif Roman Kronen |
| Editing by | Suresh Ayyar |
| Distributed by | Filmpac |
| Release date(s) | Australia 1988 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Incident at Raven's Gate (also released as Encounter at Raven's Gate) is a 1988 science fiction arthouse feature film directed by prominent Australian director Rolf de Heer.
The cast of Incident at Raven's Gate included long-term Australian stage and screen actor Max Cullen, as a policeman, and Terry Camilleri as an astrophysicist attached to Special Branch, investigating unexplained radar signals in a remote South Australian country town.
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On a farming property called Raven's Gate, enthusiastic hydroponicist Richard Cleary (Ritchie Singer) is trying innovative farming practices. He is also trying to accommodate his brother Eddie (Steven Vidler), newly out of gaol and more interested in Richard's wife Rachel (Celine Griffin)[1] than in working on the property. Strange events on the property and a minor crime in the town attract policeman Taylor (Max Cullen) and Special Branch investigator Cummings (Terry Camilleri). Eddie has the misfortune to also cross local cop Skinner (Vincent Gil), by dating the target of his affections, barmaid Annie (Saturday Rosenberg). Tensions in personal relationships and mysterious events (bird kills, disappearing water supplies) build to a climax that sees Raven's Gate assaulted by an alien force, and a number of deaths amongst the protagonists.[2][3] The film closes with the stunned survivors Eddie and Rachel standing outside Raven's Gate homestead, newly restored by Special Branch, and the soundtrack playing the Easybeats song Friday on My Mind.
A genre-crossing film by Rolf de Heer, Incident at Raven's Gate was made in South Australia, with South Australian Film Corporation support, for a budget of A$2.5 million.[2] It was co-produced by de Heer and Marc Rosenberg, who together also wrote the script from a screenplay by James Michael Vernon.[2] The film is part thriller, part science fiction, and part psychological drama.[2]
The movie achieved only limited release and did not receive the critical acclaim showered upon many other de Heer films.[2] It nevertheless managed three nominations at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards.[4] Director Rolf de Heer would later go on to win several AFI awards, including Best Film, for his 2006 release, Ten Canoes.[5]