Snatchers is a bold, genre-mashing debut that blends absurdist comedy, supernatural horror, and social satire into something that feels a little like The Autopsy of Jane Doe by way of Shaun of the Dead—if you filtered it through a meat grinder and set it to dance music. On paper, it sounds like a recipe for a cult hit. In practice, though, it's a mixed bag that never quite finds its footing, despite a clearly committed cast and some standout technical elements.
The story is straightforward enough: two lifelong friends working as hospital orderlies decide to make a few bucks on the side by selling organs from a fresh corpse. Unfortunately for them (and maybe fortunately for the audience), their first subject wakes up mid-harvest, triggering a darkly comic spiral of paranoia, guilt, and betrayal. The reanimated woman becomes less a victim and more a psychological puppet master, manipulating the duo with eerie precision.
Where the film really wants to stand out is in its tone, which swings wildly between gallows humor, psychological horror, and surreal comedy. One moment you’re knee-deep in existential dread, the next you're watching a bizarre, out-of-nowhere musical number in a hospital corridor. And while those choices are certainly bold—and even admirable in theory—they never really land with the impact they’re aiming for. Instead of feeling like a genre-bending triumph, the film often comes off as disjointed, like it's trying a little too hard to be “out there.”
The humor, if you can call it that, comes flying in from left field. Stories about pumpkins, slapstick sequences, and desperate banter between the leads are clearly meant to undercut the horror with levity. Unfortunately, not much of it sticks. Some gags are amusing in a "what the hell am I watching?" kind of way, but most of it just didn’t connect. There's a strong chance this will work for some audiences, especially fans of Aussie irreverence, but for me, it felt more like noise than nuance.
That said, it's not without merit. The performances—especially from Hannah McKenzie and Justin Hosking—are all in. You can tell the cast was fully on board with the chaos, giving their all to even the strangest scenes. The cinematography by Luke Patterson is solid, and Jay Cameron’s score does a great job of keeping the tension alive during the film’s more grounded moments.
There’s also something to be said for the ambition here. Reimagining The Body Snatcher in a near-future Canberra setting is inspired. The filmmakers do make a genuine effort to explore themes of poverty, desperation, and the moral rot of survival in a crumbling society. You just have to dig a bit to find those messages beneath the surface-level chaos.
And while the ending is satisfying in a full-circle kind of way, it doesn’t exactly shock. I saw it coming a mile away, and that’s disappointing in a film that otherwise seems determined to surprise.
Snatchers is an ambitious, visually competent indie with strong performances and some bold stylistic swings. But despite its energy and clear effort, the film suffers from a tonal identity crisis and a script that seems more focused on being quirky than cohesive. It's a wild ride, sure—but not one I’d take again.
Jeessie Hobson