Film > Australian Cinema Classics

Ghosts... Of The Civil Dead is a startling and powerful film set entirely within the confines of a maximum security prison - a new generation prison painted in play school colours and resembling a supermarket - it goes beyond traditional prison themes of good and evil to draw a frightening allegorical portrait of the nature and organisation of our society.

Central Industrial Prison is located in the middle of a desert, it's been locked down - confinement of all prisoners to their cells - following an outbreak of violence. The film flahes back to trace the events that lead to the lock down, allowing us to see the truth of the system. Unseen but omnipotent, the administration has deliberately provoked inmates and officers alike to create violence.

This is a controversial film which has provoked heated debate world wide. But perhaps the most disturbing aspect is that it's all true. This basis in truth combined with expert direction, sense of style, and a maniacal performance from Nick Cave (who also provides the haunting soundtrack) results in intelligent and powerful cinema.