''Isolate'', styled as ''iSOLATE'', is a 2012 Australian
horror film written and directed by
indie filmmaker Martyn Park
Martyn Park is an Australian writer, director, and Health & Training Coach.
Early life
Born in England, Park's family immigrated to Australia as Ten Pound Poms when he was six years old. After a short stint living in a Nissen hut at the Waco ...
, starring
Jacinta John and Terry Serio. The film premiered at the inaugural
Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Film Festival in 2012, where its lead actress
Jacinta John won the best actress award for her portrayal of Scout Taylor.,
Synopsis
''Isolate'' is the story of Scout Taylor, a young woman who returns to the family’s remote cattle station after the sudden death of her mother. As an only child and with Brian her father suffering from a progressive and debilitating illness, she commits to leaving behind her coffee shop in the city and staying on at the farm to look after him and the property. On the day of her mother’s funeral, when all the mourners have left and she and her father are alone, Brian confesses he and her mother had made a pact. He tells Scout that her mother had promised to assist him in taking his own life before his illness would render his body useless, and eventually, painfully steal his last breath. But now, with her mother’s tragic death making that impossible, he turns to Scout to help him with his desire to commit suicide. Enraged by his admission, on this day of all days, Scout reveals that her mother had already tearfully confided the details of his plan some months earlier, a plan that she wasn’t as complicit with as he would have liked to believe. Rather than assist his suicide, Scout vows to help her father continue running the property while nursing him to a peaceful and natural death.
One morning after feeding the horses, Scout returns home to cook her father breakfast only to discover he has disappeared. At first she is not overly concerned, but as the day wears on she begins to fear that in his now fragile state he may have had an accident, or worse. Alone and cut off from all communication, she sets about doing whatever she can to find him. As night falls, the darkness intensifies her fears, and after exhausting all possible solutions in finding him, she retreats back to the isolation of the house. It is back at the house, alone with her thoughts and conscience, that the reality and horror of this film unfolds, revealing a dramatic and twisting climax.
Cast
*
Jacinta John as Scout
*
Terry Serio as Dad
* Stephen Anderton as Richard
* Ray Park as Mason
Production
Originally set in the Australian desert (the
Red Center), the film had to be re-written to reduce the cost of filming so far out from their base in central
Sydney. After scouring the Australian countryside, a 400-acre property situated sixty kilometers from
Lithgow, New South Wales
Lithgow is a town in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and is the administrative center of the City of Lithgow local government area. It is located in a mountain valley named Lithgow's Valley by John Oxley in honour of Wil ...
, was eventually found. It served as both the on screen Taylor residence, with all the requirements of a small
cattle station
In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stat ...
, as well as the accommodation and production space to house the director and the cast for two weeks, where, with the exception of one scene, the film was entirely shot.
''Isolate'' is the third
feature
Feature may refer to:
Computing
* Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch
* Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob
* Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...
by
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
Martyn Park
Martyn Park is an Australian writer, director, and Health & Training Coach.
Early life
Born in England, Park's family immigrated to Australia as Ten Pound Poms when he was six years old. After a short stint living in a Nissen hut at the Waco ...
where he has worked entirely on his own, both during
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
and then later in
post-production. It is also the first feature where he composed the
score.
Release
''Isolate'' premiered in the United States on 18 May 2012 at the Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Film Festival. It was released in Australia on 22 August 2013.
Awards
Jacinta John, both the film's
producer and
lead actress
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typic ...
won best actress awards at the 2012 Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Film Festival, and the Indie Gems Film Festival.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 2101509, iSOLATE
2012 films
Australian drama films
Australian horror films
Australian thriller films
Films shot in Sydney
2010s ghost films
Australian ghost films
2010s English-language films