Tuesday 13 November 1990; It began like any other morning, in the small Otago town of Aramoana.Children made their way to school, while other residents went about their daily routines.
As evening appeared in the sleepy picturesque settlement, the still evening air was shattered, by the sound of gunfire.Longtime resident David Gray, had just started his shooting rampage.No-one would have imagined that this would become the worst massacre in our history.Just before 8.00pm,
Garry Holden(38) was the first to be shot.Then Rewa Bryson and Jasmine Holden(both 11), were next to be killed.Then James Dickson(45), was shot.Tim Jamieson(69) and Victor Crimp(70), were killed.
David Gray then gunned down three members of the Percy family, Dion Percy(5), Ross Percy(42), and Vanessa Percy(26).Then Gray killed Aleki Tali(41), before gunning down Chris Cole(61) and Leo Wilson(6).Police Sergeant Stuart Guthrie(41), was the last person to be killed in cold blood by David Gray before he hid from the swarms of police for more than 20 hours.David Gray(33), was finally gunned down by the Armed Offenders Squad, bringing an end to one of our darkest days.
Out Of The Blue is a gripping, and emotionally charged account of what happened on November 13, 1990.Even 16 years after this tragedy, no one knows what made David Gray snap.
Director Robert Sarkies, captures the gripping nature of this tragedy and gives us an honest and unbiased view of a tragedy that rocked our country.
Of all the deaths depicted in this film, the one that sticks with you the most, is the last - that of David Gray himself, the killer of 13 innocent people.
You are left reeling by both the stark brutality and the telling detail of it all.
Out Of The Blue is a powerful film, made more so by the fierce restraint in it's delivery.It's makers have shaped a narrative from the tragic events of that day.It makes you dread every gunshot,every movement in the dark,every death.Even the final and fourteenth.
When the violence starts, it is as the title says....out of the blue, and all the more devastating for it.
Out Of The Blue shows us what it was like to be there.And if that makes it a film to be survived, more than enjoyed,it also means that it's succeeded as one of the most powerful pieces of New Zealand cinema in an age.
Cast: Matt Sunderland, Karl Urban, Tandi Wright, Lois Lawn, Simon Ferry, Tony Bishop, Paul Glover, Georgina Fabish, Fayth Rasmussen, William Kirsher, Jacinta Wawatai.
Director: Robert Sarkies
Rating: R15 - Contains violence and content that may disturbed Younger Viewers.
Running Time: 110 minutes.
The Dougie Effect rating:
