Ayres and screenwriter Blake Ayshford take a familiar premise down a surprisingly knotty path that makes for an intriguing and apprehensively sweaty yarn.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 5, 2019

Cut Snake is an unexpected and invigorating piece of work, blessed with a simply brilliant central performance.

Full Review | Mar 1, 2019

Nevertheless, lumpy, repetitive plotting keeps matters at a low simmer.

Full Review | Jan 30, 2018

Its title suggests a hint of madness: instead, it's utterly conventional and lacking in fangs.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 27, 2017

It's a minor story with minor ambitions, yet it manages to deliver a fully satisfying and moving experience.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Mar 12, 2016

In terms of plot and motivation ... an illogical mess that no amount of carefully moody cinematography can save.

Full Review | Nov 12, 2015

Performances keep the tension building toward an incendiary climax.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 29, 2015

In Tony Ayres' Cut Snake, the true blue Aussie crime flick gets a queer coat of paint. It masks itself as a standard crime flick, but subverts what we have come to expect from these films...

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Sep 29, 2015

A tough little crime drama full of muted anger, growled dialogue and whispered threats...Much as we applaud the achievements of filmmakers working on small budgets, you can't hand out free passes when those limitations hobble the flow and feel of a film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 25, 2015

An inconsistent film covering too much familiar ground, Cut Snake often gets distracted by the need to service an admittedly striking (though largely pointless) 1970s production design.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 24, 2015

It's a big movie, despite its small circle of characters, and rewarding for adventurous viewers.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 23, 2015

Artfully shot by Simon Ford, with fine period detail from production designer, Josephine Ford, Cut Snake is technically top-notch, and emotionally uncompromising, as Ayres again strides into largely virgin territory for Australian cinema.

Full Review | Sep 23, 2015

Perhaps the low-ish budget shows here and there, but Ayres' filming of Blake Ayshford's script has a fittingly lived-in '70s look, a cool soundtrack, strong work from the leads (and the supporting cast) and, at times, a sense of real foreboding.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 23, 2015

Performances are uniformly impressive, with Stapleton guaranteed a place in the pantheon of creepily charismatic Australian screen criminals.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 23, 2015

A young crim out of jail, trying to go straight... hardly an original concept, but Blake Ayshford's screenplay gives it a novel twist and extra layers, while director Tony Ayres pushes for an edgy delivery

Full Review | Sep 22, 2015

Is wasting a great idea better than having none at all? It's up for debate in Cut Snake, where one smart spin on crime caper conventions just isn't enough.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 6, 2014