Spithood Needs a Spit Polish

Spithood doesn’t mess around. It gets to the point in relatively record time. Embracing low-budget limitations, the filmmakers smartly bank on cinematic presentation rather than waste money on gore. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any blood for horror fans to enjoy. Spithood leans into the aftermath more, while often making its kills uncomfortably personal. Yet, certain imperfections keep this fright flick from shining.

The story centers on a mental health facility in Australia. On the final night before being shut down for good, several employees are surprised to hear they’ll be receiving one last patient. Security personnel soon drop off a towering brute in the titular spit hood. Initially confined to a cell, it isn’t long before this juggernaut is racing through halls slaughtering the staff. However, as the story unfolds, it seems this killer isn’t attacking at random. Someone here is a target.

This fright flick comes courtesy of Fire Stick Films. According to their press notes, this is “Australia’s first film written by First Nation people without referencing their roots.” It also stars three indigenous characters as leads—Thibul Nettle (Kangaroos Island), Natasha Wanganeen (Rabbit-Proof Fence), and Luna Pohe (So Vam).

Spithood has an interesting premise at its core. The idea of an institution in its final days sets the stage. There are twists in the narrative. Although the outcomes are predictable, they do add an emotional component to the story that drives some of the performances. And there’s a clever simplicity to the killer that’s unsettling.

Spoiling the kills would ruin parts of the picture. Suffice it to say, Spithood does a good job of having things go for uncomfortably long periods. At risk of implicative spoilers, the camera gets right in the face of someone suffocating or the beating that goes on long after the victim is clearly dead. Spithood has a way of riding the rollercoaster delights of slasher slaughters over another rise into unsettling territory — those few seconds when horror switches from macabre entertainment to gross suffering.

The title is derived from the kind of hood put over rowdy inmates. In that respect, it makes for an organically natural reason this slasher is masked. That adds a certain degree of intrigue as audiences wonder why this mesh restraint is in place. It also gives an odd indication of location since spit hoods are banned in most of Australia following the death of Wayne Fella Morrison. It just goes to show how something simple can be effective as well as laden with meaning.

Speaking of restraint, instead of banking on gore, Spithood cleverly leans into cinematic execution of its many slaughters. Apologies for spoilers, but director Tim Pine shoots one kill in silhouette then shows the slasher covered in blood. The shadow beating a victim into red paste occasionally looks entirely inhuman. It’s a smart way to shoot a simple kill with style that doesn’t cost extra, slopping around blood senselessly. As such, Spithood gains some slick cinematic scenes instead of run of the mill gore.

The atmosphere of the film often hits a high note. Though the movie has the standard color palette most horror movies do, it’s better to see the predictable than nothing at all. Compared to other low-budget fright flicks I’ve seen, there’s at least an effort to do something cinematic.

It’s the script and the acting that really get in the way of Spithood standing out. The narrative could use a bit of polish to justify a few incidents better. The twists are so predictable they practically scream for a rewrite. And the dialogue doesn’t always flow that well.

Perhaps that latter is more a failing of performers than writers. The best example is the dynamic between Claudia Bonifazio (Going for Gold) and Thibul Nettle (Kangaroo Island) as Ashley and Mason. She plays a psychiatrist at the facility, he’s head of security, and they’re supposed to be in love. However, neither really conveys the chemistry one expects between people romantically involved. Oddly enough, that’s the only time the two show any distractingly flawed acting. Later scenes on their own or with other performers, the two do a decent enough job. They just can’t sell being a couple.

Then there’s peripheral characters such as Klara played by Tess O’Flaherty (Ribspreader). She does an excellent job of playing a deranged patient. She’s clearly adrift in her own demented bubble. However, the point of the character never really comes across. The part serves next to no purpose in the plot. It results in the waste of a good performance since it doesn’t really lead to anything.

And that’s how Spithood tends to stumble. For instance, there are interesting moments, but never the proper build that would amplify their payoff. Then there are characters who serve little to no purpose, and while slashers films need their fodder, it wouldn’t hurt to flesh folks out a tad more.

Despite an hour-long runtime, this clever little slasher flick seems better suited as a pitch for a more refined motion picture. Horror already has a curious history of filmmakers redoing their own movies. Whether The Evil Dead (1981) being reborn as the comedic Evil Dead II (1987) or Last Shift (2014) getting remade into Malum (2023), this wouldn’t be the first fright flick to refine itself in a remake. And there’s certainly room for improvement.

Spithood may not be on track to anywhere near legendary; however, it’s a satisfying appetizer for any Friday night fright flick movie marathon. That said, this probably isn’t a watch that’ll captivate anyone outside genre devotees. Despite an admirable effort, which may lead to bigger and better things, Spithood is an ordinary slasher flick. It doesn’t do much that demands attention. Better to be in the middle than at the bottom of the barrel.