Uninhabited (2010) Review – A Beautifully Located yet Boring Isolation Slasher
Uninhabited: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A visually stunning but narratively stagnant entry into the Australian isolation sub-genre that fails to capitalise on its inherently claustrophobic premise. Uninhabited (2010) succeeds only as a beautiful travelogue for the Great Barrier Reef, completely sacrificing tension and suspense for a turgid, predictable plot. Bill Bennett’s direction is surprisingly lethargic, presenting a survival scenario that feels more like a luxury holiday than a fight for existence. The lack of chemistry between the leads is palpable, with Henry James delivering an especially wooden performance that neutralises any sense of impending threat. While Geraldine Hakewill shows early promise, she is hampered by a script that relies on excessive foreshadowing and illogical character decisions. The film’s attempts at a late-movie rug-pull are clumsy and unearned, leading to a finale that is as obvious as it is unsatisfying. This 1.7 star effort is a technical mixed bag that trades visceral horror for amateurish cinematography and a “digestive biscuit bland” story. It is a beautiful waste of a fantastic location. It is one to avoid.
Details: Director: Bill Bennett | Cast: Geraldine Hakewill, Henry James, Bob Baines | Runtime: 1h 33m | Release Date: 2010
Best for: Viewers looking for high-definition footage of remote Australian islands or completionists of outback isolation horror.
Worth noting: Despite the film’s flaws, cinematographer Lachlan Milne eventually found significant success, later working on major projects like Stranger Things and Minari.
Where to Watch: VOD, Amazon🛒
Rating: 1.7/5 Stars
(A masterfully boring and technically uneven isolation horror that prioritises gorgeous tropical scenery over narrative tension, resulting in a predictable and often amateurish survival thriller.)
Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing Aussie isolation horror Uninhabited (2010).
Table of Contents
Where to start?
I am genuinely struggling to know where to start with this review. There is so much to say about Uninhabited and not a lot of it is positive. This is one of those movies that really overwhelms you with its problems. I suppose we should kick things off by breaking down the plot a little.
“Uninhabited follows Beth and Harry to an uninhabited coral island. Waking up after a very sandy, clothed, love making session, they notice footprints. Naturally, they put it down to something ridiculous.”
Uninhabited follows young couple Beth (Geraldine Hakewill) and Harry (Henry James). The pair are attempting to get away from the hustle and bustle by visiting an uninhabited coral island. Within, literally, a couple of minutes, it becomes apparent that Beth and Harry are, perhaps, not as alone as they first thought. Waking up after a very sandy, clothed, lovemaking session, they notice footprints in the sand. Naturally they put it down to something ridiculous and forget all about it.
What follows is over an hour of progressively more concerning developments, each of which further suggesting that the island is not as uninhabited as they might like. Items are moved, underwear is left in trees. There is an incident with sea cucumbers because apparently that is terrifying and important supplies go missing. Is there a rational explanation or is something otherworldly haunting the island?
There is so much wrong with Uninhabited. There isn’t a single element that shines outside of the location. The story is digestive biscuit bland and the element of suspense is non-existent. Any actual suspense is brutally murdered by a staggering amount of exposition and foreshadowing. The plot is predictable, characters are uninteresting, and the vapid narrative fails entirely to keep you engaged. The most egregious problem however, might be how wasted the glorious, remote location is…
No sense of vulnerability
This is familiar stuff for isolation horror. The pair arrive on the island only for it to become very clear that they aren’t alone. Whether the thing sharing the island with them is physical or supernatural is unclear but why should we care? These two seemingly don’t. They pass off the strange goings on as a minor inconvenience. They only look to investigate when they absolutely have to. This means the opening hour or so is ruthlessly dull. Hell, we don’t even have any of that trademark “surviving off the land” stuff that makes isolation horror fun.
“Uninhabited is just not a very good movie. There isn’t anything to keep up the suspense, there is no real reason to fear for the main characters, and the island seems more like a paradise.”
Harry and Beth set up a veritable army base camp on this deserted island, complete with satellite phone and gourmet cuisine. They are living the good life. You never really feel as though they are in the middle of nowhere with only a tent to keep them safe. Harry, despite being composed of about 120lbs of pure skin and sinew, roams around like he has lived in the jungle his entire life. He never seems at all intimidated by what is going on. If he isn’t worried, why should we be?
The romance element only serves to get in the way even more. There’s nothing here to imply an invasion of privacy. It’s not like these two stripped off and starting going at it on the beach. Who cares if they are being spied on? The multiple clothed sex scenes actually contribute to the awkwardness between the couple. Nudity could have been filmed in such a way as to imply it without actually showing anything. It would have likely added to the intimacy of the situation along with highlighting the couple’s vulnerability.
A late-movie narrative shift and sub-par acting
A late-movie attempt to make the viewer think they have misjudged the narrative adds absolutely nothing to the plot. Director Bill Bennett goes for a rug pull and ends up leaving himself flat on his arse. It’s a pointless diversion on the way to a disappointing final stanza. The movie finally wraps up in exactly the way you assume it will, having never managed to deliver on its promising concept and location.
“The story is digestive biscuit bland and the element of suspense is non-existent. Any actual suspense is brutally murdered by a staggering amount of exposition and foreshadowing.”
On top of all that, Uninhabited just isn’t very scary and the lack of suspense really drags the movie down. If you had managed a few decent horror scenarios you might have been able to save it. Instead, it’s predictable, cheap, and beyond obvious.
This is, perhaps, low-hanging fruit. After all, the two main actors have to carry the entirety of this movie alone. That doesn’t, however, alter the fact that the acting is, at times, absolutely terrible. Geraldine Hakewill is pretty believable, as Beth. I would definitely be interested in seeing some of her other work. It would be nice to see what she can do with a decent plot and competent co-stars.
On the other hand, Henry James, as Harry, is pretty awful. He is awkward, unnatural, and never seems to be comfortable in front of the camera. Pretty much everything from his line delivery to his reactions are just bad. Another big problem here is that there is zero chemistry between the main characters.
Updating this review for 2024, it is little surprise that Henry James’s career has evaporated into the movie making ether. Geraldine Hakewill has gone on to accrue many more acting credits.
Lousy cinematography and tons of soft focus
There were certain scenes that reminded me of a poor man’s Walkabout. The overuse of variable focus really gets in the way of the movie. Be it slowly focusing in on scenery or suddenly dropping focus to transition to another shot, it all felt a little bit amateur. There are many noticeable differences between lighting in certain shots, indicating that they were filmed at different times of the day. This is pretty basic stuff and it frustrates frequently.
It shows promise in parts but the vision is misguided and unremarkable. Updating this review in 2024, I should eat my own words a little regarding Lachlan Milne’s lacklustre cinematography as he has padded out his career quite a lot since the release of Uninhabited, even managing to score cinematography credits on 4 episodes of Stranger Things.
Good for him! I can only imagine he has grown since 2010 and improved significantly.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- Stunning Location: The Great Barrier Reef setting is objectively beautiful and provides the film with its only shred of professional aesthetic appeal.
- Geraldine Hakewill: Provides a believable performance in the lead role, standing out as a competent actor trapped in a substandard production.
- The Premise: The initial concept of a “deserted” island haunting is a solid foundation for a horror movie, even if the execution fails entirely.
The Bad
- Absence of Tension: The film fails to make the characters feel vulnerable, presenting their survival ordeal as a minor inconvenience rather than a nightmare.
- Henry James: Delivers a stiff and awkward performance that makes it impossible to invest in the central relationship or the character’s safety.
- Foreshadowing: The script is so heavy-handed with its clues that the final “twist” and conclusion are obvious within the first thirty minutes.
The Ugly: The Clothed Lovemaking. A narrative choice that highlights the film’s lack of intimacy and prevents the audience from feeling any true sense of the couple’s vulnerability.
Should You Watch Uninhabited?
No. It is a 1.7 star film that offers very little reward for the ninety minutes invested. While the island scenery is gorgeous, the movie is turgid, poorly acted, and devoid of any genuine scares. If you want effective Australian isolation horror, there are far better options that don’t rely on amateurish cinematography and a “digestive biscuit bland” script. It is an intelligent, technical failure that proves a great location cannot save a bad story. It is a beautiful but hollow journey.
You might also like:
- Y2K (2024) review – A tonally confused trip to 1999
- MaXXXine (2024) Review – A Stylish But Substance-Free 80s Crime Thriller
- Apartment 1BR (2019) Review – A Tense and Unsettling Study in Community
- The First Omen (2024) Review – A Stylish But Predictable Prequel That Struggles To Find Its Own Identity
- Dark Match (2024) review – Chris Jericho’s satanic wrestling horror
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
Support the Site Knockout Horror is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Basically, if you click a link to rent or buy a movie, we may earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps keep the lights on and the nightmares coming. Don't worry, we will never recommend a movie purely to generate clicks. If it's bad, we will tell you.
Disclaimer: Images, posters, and video stills used in this review are the property of their respective copyright holders. They are included here for the purposes of commentary, criticism, and review under fair use. Knockout Horror makes no claim of ownership and encourages readers to support the official release of all films discussed.
