Long Weekend is an Australian psychological thriller film shot in 1977 and first shown in 1978. The film was directed by Colin Eggleston and stars John Hargreaves and Briony Behets.

Plot

The story concerns a couple, Peter (Hargreaves) and Marcia (Behets), who, along with their dog, Cricket, go for a weekend camping trip near the beach. It is plain that there is great tension between the couple although the source is unclear. Marcia, for her part, is not particularly keen on the idea of taking this trip but does so to please Peter. On the way, Peter throws a cigarette butt out the window, accidentally kills a kangaroo, and appears to trespass private property on his approach to a beach that the locals do not seem to know anything about. Once they arrive and set up camp, the couple engages in environmentally destructive actions including the theft and destruction of an eagle's egg, the killing of a dugong, what appears to be the killing of a throng of birds, and the needless partial chopping of trees. Gradually it becomes apparent that the source of this rift is an abortion that Marcia had, possibly in secret, because of it being the result of an affair with another man. As tensions between the couple escalate, nature is not pleased with their environmental wrongdoing and starts to strike back, first by an eagle and possum attacking Peter, and then through more insidious means. The film culminates as Marcia reaches her last straw and steals Peter's car, leaving him stranded at the beach. Both of them are left alone for a night to survive the elements. Peter arms himself with a spear-gun that is shot at some point during his troubled night. The next morning, Peter finds Marcia's body, impaled by his spear, and his car abandoned in what appears to be a mesh of spider webs, which he eventually ditches after getting it stuck in mud. Peter finally finds the main road after hours of searching and steps on to the road to wave down a truck. However, a bird attacks the truck driver before seeing Peter, causing him to lose control, and the truck hits and kills Peter.

Awards