Suburban Mayhem

"What starts as a predictably enjoyable ride through the hothouse world of suburbia unexpectedly loses steam half way through "Suburban Mayhem," the latest addition to the gloriously outrageous line of amoral uber-bitches that fails to inject new life into the comic genre... Barclay attacks the role with gusto, obviously enjoying her turn as that most pleasurable of cinematic characters, the thoroughly amoral bitch who uses her body to get what she wants, all done with a sparkle in the eye and a sneer on the lips..."

"In no sense is it a morality tale. Good is never going to triumph because it's clear from the start that its champions aren't up to the job. Steve Bastoni's police detective, the film's main representative of law and order, is as corruptible as everyone else, and well-meaning Lilya is floundering way out of her depth. As for Dianne, her wry fatalism is potently laced with malice. For her, everything flows from the fact that the mother of Katrina and Danny was a drug addict. The film itself doesn't buy into that argument, wisely eschewing pop psychology to let you make up your own mind on the nature-versus-nurture debate. It also raises the distinct possibility that Katrina, as with many of life's mysteries, simply defies explanation...."

"A high-camp vehicle for Barclay's electrifying talent... When you're dealing with a subject as heavy as killing, you need a solid motive. Katrina's isn't explained with any great depth or credibility, and you're left wondering how on earth this bad girl, as magnetic as she is, got away with murder..."

"Barclay really stretches her acting legs here and is certainly the best thing about this film, which is mostly patchy."

"I like clever and fresh genre reworking – Rian Johnson’s recent teen noir masterpiece Brick is a case in point – but Suburban Mayhem, for all its ballsy ‘fck you’ attitude and pub punk vigour, never quite transcends its sub-iconic exterior. Sure, the present was nicely wrapped, but when I got inside, it wasn’t really what I’d hoped for..."

"Not as clever or affecting as it thinks it is..."

"What do you get if you cross Kath And Kim with film noir? The answer is director Paul Goldman's Suburban Mayhem; only, that makes this film sound better than it is. We're in small-town Australia, and rising Kiwi actress Emily Barclay plays 19-year-old Katrina Skinner, an amoral and chain-smoking single-mother, who locals suspect was involved in her father's murder. Cue a hefty dose of black humour. Trouble is, Suburban Mayhem just isn't funny enough, or dark enough, to leave any lasting impression..."