Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2012

Willem Dafoe is an “industrial mercenary” hired by a shady biotech company to kill the last Tasmanian tiger for a potentially profitable hormone. He is billeted at the home of a missing (why?) zoologist, where the wife (Frances O’Connor) is catatonic and the two spirited kids fend for themselves. “Uncle” Jack, played by Sam Neill (friend or foe?), helps out. The lone hunter bonds with this lonely family, but his disguise as a researcher dangerously angers the local loggers. Way better than I’m making it sound. Character-driven, gorgeous cinematography, and I like the way the music ups the tension.