She Shears (2018), Earth Songs (2012), Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), Once Were Warriors (1994), The World's Fastest Indian (2005), Dan Carter: A Perfect 10 (2019), Whale Rider (2002), An Angel at My Table (1990) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best New Zealand movies.
Storyline: Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam - a well-intentioned blabbermouth who's convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam's superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small-town gossip. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she's inherited her overactive imagination, or if the house is in fact possessed by a hostile spirit who's less than happy about the new living arrangement.
Plot Keywords: delinquent, mother, ghost, amusing, gory, creepy, court ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: In Wellington, wallflower Lily is inexplicably attracted to loser Jarrod. She's out of a job; he's nursing a decade-long grudge against someone who teased him in high school. When she accompanies him to his seacoast hometown where he intends to take on his nemesis, she meets his father, his daughter from a one-night stand, and other family members--plus the memory of his talented, dead brother. Jarrod treats Lily badly, invents a relationship with his dead brother's fiancée, and gears up for his fight. Will she finally have enough and go home?
Plot Keywords: waitress, clerk, bully, misfit, amusing, bleak, offbeat ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Amy is only 13 years old when her mother is killed in an auto wreck in New Zealand. She goes to Canada to live with her father, an eccentric inventor whom she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life...that is until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when developers began tearing up a local forest. The eggs hatch and Amy becomes "Mama Goose". The young birds must fly south for the winter, but who will lead them there? With a pair of ultralight airplanes, Amy, her dad and their friends must find a way to do it.
Plot Keywords: inventor, daughter, goose, brother, girlfriend, heartwarming, inspiring ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Four sisters in New Zealand fall for four U.S. soldiers en route to the Pacific theater in WWII—johnno.r@xtra.co.nz
Plot Keywords: marine, salesgirl, military officer, unwed mother, sister, wife, emotional ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: An earthquake, a flash flood, an avalanche, a volcano, alligators, jaguars, mutineers, and a man-eating Maoris dog the steps of a shipping company owner, a scientist, and the two children of a lost sea Captain as they circle the Earth along the 37th parallel per instructions in a bottled note the scientist has recovered from a shark's stomach. Only certain facts are discerned from the stained note, especially the words "37 parallel". Teenage Mary Grant (Hayley Mills), her younger brother, Robert (Keith Hamshere), and the scientist, French Professor Jacques Paganel (Maurice Chevalier), trick their way aboard the grand yacht, "Persevero II", during a bon voyage party to see the owner of the shipping company, Lord Edward Glenarvan (Wilfrid Hyde-White), the epitome of British aloofness. With the urging of his own son, John (Michael Anderson, Jr.), Glenarvan's luxurious side-wheeler sets sail for the coastal town of Concepcion, Chile in the search for the missing Captain Grant (Jack Gwillim).—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
Plot Keywords: teen girl, professor, shipping magnate, brother, father, villain, thrilling ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: An Afrikaner veteran of the Boer War has just immigrated to New Zealand and is hired to track a man accused of killing a soldier. While hunting through the countryside he captures his fugitive, only to learn that he's innocent of the crime. When faced with the life-changing decision to turn him in or set him free only, one man will walk away alive.—Elizabeth Obermeier, Marketing Manager
Plot Keywords: veteran, afrikaans, maori, soldier, bleak, gripping, profound ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: This sequel to the New Zealand-set drama "Once Were Warriors" revisits alcoholic Maori man Jake Heke (Temuera Morrison) and his wife, Beth (Rena Owen), who have separated, largely due to his excessive drinking. When their older son, Nig (Julian Arahanga), is killed in a gang fight, his brother, Sonny (Clint Eruera), becomes determined to avenge his death. Attempting to change his life for the better, Jake tries to help Sonny avoid Nig's tragic fate.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: father, mother, brother, son, gang member, friend, bleak ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: After his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery, Hongi, a Maori chieftain's teenage son, must avenge his father's murder in order to bring peace and honor to the souls of his loved ones. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains, Hongi's only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden Dead Lands and forge an uneasy alliance with the mysterious Warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.—GFC
Plot Keywords: warrior, son, maori, thrilling, new zealand, honor, tribe ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Family drama set in New Zealand about Geoff Crome, a young boy (Fulford) who immerses himself in his own private fantasy world where he meets Firpo (Papps), a strange being who dreams of being an Olympic athlete. Together, the two begin a close friendship as Geoff attempts to help Firpo realise his dream. However, it is not long until the adult world begins to impinge on his fantasy.—Jonathan Broxton <j.w.broxton@sheffield.ac.uk>
Plot Keywords: young boy, mentally disabled person, mother, father, sister, bully, emotional ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Wannabe-adventurer Zoe freaks out when she falls pregnant to her long-term boyfriend Tim. As Tim embraces the prospect of fatherhood, Zoe attempts to rush through her dreams.
Plot Keywords: girlfriend, boyfriend, parent, friend, amusing, charming, confident ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Robert (Martin Donovan) is in the midst of a vicious divorce and custody battle with his wife, Jennifer (Joanna Going), who, unbeknown to him, is sleeping with his psychiatrist, Melrose (Patrick Malahide). One night, Robert befriends a transgender dancer named Heaven (Danny Edwards), who, coincidentally, is seeing the same therapist. Heaven, a clairvoyant, recognizes Robert from her grisly visions of the future, which either foretell his doom or hold the key to his salvation.
Plot Keywords: architect, estranged wife, transgender woman, clairvoyant, psychiatrist, club owner, dark ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A small-town crim finds an ancient Chinese time-travel device that can help him pull off a heist and start a new life-but he may not survive the consequences of tampering with time. The Castle meets Looper, Mega Time Squad is a study in high-meets-low, combining elements of the sci-fi, the crime thriller and the comedy to make a comedy heist film with a time-traveling twist.—Tim van Dammen
Plot Keywords: criminal, time traveler, friend, friar, gang member, gang leader, brash ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Growing up on the family sheep farm was idyllic for smart, sensitive Harry Olfield, except for some knavish mischief from cocky brother Angus, until their dad has a fatal accident. Fifteen years later, Harry has finished sheep-phobia therapy and his ICT schooling and returns. Angus buys him out, all ready to present the genetically engineered Oldfield sheep he bred with a ruthless team. When environmentalist Grant steals a discarded embryo, which has sharp teeth, he gets bitten by it, and thus the first to be infected with predatory hunger and a mechanism that turns any mammal into a werewolf version. Running for the farm men, Grant's mate, student Experience, gets teamed up with Harry and his boorish but gentle pastoral youth friend Tucker. They must survive both the bloodthirsty sheep and their creators, who didn't realize this yet but dispose of an antidote.
Plot Keywords: activist, brother, monster, scientist, mutant, campy, frightening ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: On, June 5, 1944 in the early morning hours before the opening of the invasion on D-Day, a commando team, consisting of two New Zealander's, Captain Ben Grogan (Craig Hall) and Sergeant Joseph Tane (Karlos Drinkwater), land on the one of the Channel Islands, which are occupied by the German Army. Their mission is to sabotage installations there to create a distraction from the actual landings at Normandy. Using kayaks they land on the beach, navigate the land mines, then climb up to their target: a large artillery gun overlooking the English Channel. They are confused by the lack of German patrols on the island and puzzled by strange screams coming from the German's main bunker. They find the gun unguarded and wire it with explosives. While they are placing the charges a German soldier (Luke Hawker) comes running out of the entrance of the underground bunker. Although he seems less concerned about running into the enemy than getting away from something in the bunker, the New Zealanders kill him, so he can't give away the mission. Captain Grogan becomes curious as to the screams from the bunker as they appear to be coming from a woman. He makes a decision to go on an unauthorized rescue mission, leaving a reluctant Tane behind. Tane eventually decides to follow Grogan into the bunker. Inside he finds the command center a scene of unbelievable carnage, with German soldier's bodies torn asunder and blood all over the walls. He also finds a book which seems to contain satanic spells in a foreign language. Tane isn't alone in the command center. SS Colonel Klaus Meyer (Matthew Sunderland) comes up behind Tane, kills him and retrieves the book, leaving Tane dead on the floor. Grogan, unable to find the source of the screams, backtracks and finds the command center along with Tane's body. He is also attacked by Meyer. Meyer doesn't kill him though, but captures him, ties him up and tries to get information out of Grogan about the coming invasion. He finds a picture of Grogan's dead wife, Helena, who was killed during the bombing of London and threatens to burn it to torture him. They are interrupted again by the woman's screams. Grogan states he believes that the German's captured a woman and used her for entertainment and then Meyer got greedy, wanted her to himself and killed the rest of the soldiers. Meyer laughs at this and tells Grogan that the "woman" did all the killing. He then tells Grogan he needs to feed it. Scooping some human entrails into a bucket, he leaves the room. While Meyer is gone, Grogan is able to grab and conceal a small can opener behind his back. When the German returns, he seems more reasonable and tells Grogan that the "woman" he hears is actually a demonic creature. German soldiers found the satanic book on the island. The island has a long history of witchery. Meyer, a specialist in the occult, was sent to the island to see if it had any value as a military weapon. He found a spell and successfully conjured up the demon, but it turned out that the creature was a shape-shifter that can appear as any woman a man desires. The demon used this power to lure the soldiers close, kill them and eat them. Meyer tells Grogan he wants to defect to the Allies and needs Grogan to assist him in sending the creature back to hell, a job that requires two people. Grogan thinks Meyer is crazy. While they are talking he uses the can opener to cut his bonds and attacks the German. There is struggle. Grogan gets Meyer's pistol. Meyers runs off into the darkness of a bunker tunnel while Grogan shoots at him. Grogan find blood on the floor and realizes that the German has been hit. Grogan follows the woman's screams and finds a chamber that looks like it has been used for a satanic ritual with markings on the walls and floors lit with candles. Around the room are of the remains of dead soldiers and crouching in the corner is the figure of a woman (Gina Varela). When she emerges from the shadows Grogan is shocked to find it appears to be his dead wife. She pleads for him to release her as she is chained to the wall by her foot. Meyers, appears at the door holding a rifle. He warns Grogan that the woman is not his wife and shoots her in the head and she falls to the floor. Grogan, enraged, tries to shoot Meyers with pistol, but it's out of rounds. Meyers chops off the leg of one of the corpses and tosses it the woman, who suddenly revives, stands up and shifts into a red-skinned female creature with horns and sharp teeth. It begins to gnaw on the leg. Convinced that it isn't his dead wife, Grogan goes back to the command center with Meyers, who is bleeding from a stomach wound. He agrees to help Meyers dispel the demon and allow him defect to the Allies side. First, however, the bullet must be removed from Meyers if he is to heal. Grogan does this, but without morphine to ease the pain, the Nazi passes out. While he is out, Grogan examines a leather sack the German wears around his neck. Inside he finds a piece of paper with strange writing. Examining the book he finds the paper is a page that has been torn out. He replaces the paper with another page from the book and puts the original in his own pocket. When the German wakes up he is well enough to attempt the ritual. Meyer's explains that the leather pouch contains a spell that protects the person carrying it from being attacked by the demon. He tells Grogan that he will need to wear it for the ritual. Grogan gives it back to him. They head up to the demon's chamber, but find the she-devil has made progress in tearing the chain from the wall. They are forced to secure the door to the room and head back to the command center. Knowing the demon will soon break through the door they prepare a protective circle in the command center. Grogan is plagued with visions of Tane coming back to life and accusing him of cooperating with the German's, but Meyers is able to show him that this is just an illusion sent by the demon. When the demon arrives, Meyers starts the ritual while the demon paces outside the circle tempting Grogan by appearing as Helena. As the ritual reaches its climax, Grogan realizes that Meyers isn't trying to get rid of the demon, but put it under his complete power, by sacrificing a human life: Grogan's. The German comes at him with a knife, but Grogan avoids him and throws him outside of the protective circle. Meyer thinks he is okay until Grogan shows him he has switched the page in the pouch. The demon they proceeds to eat the Colonel's head. Grogan, safe under the spell page he carries, chains the demon back up in the command center, telling her that German reinforcements will be arriving soon, so she will have plenty to eat. He has no fear that she will leave the island as Meyers told him a demon of this type cannot cross running water. Grogan then departs. In a final scene we see the first German soldier (Nick Dunbar) as he arrives at the command center. He is puzzled by finding his beloved, Nicole (Jessica Grace Smith), there. As he comes to embrace her the screen fades to black and we hear screaming.—Zaphod1957
Plot Keywords: commando, agent, gory, frightening, new zealand, coast, world war ii ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: In 1821,British seaman Phillip Wayne sets foot on New Zealand where he befriends a Maori tribe and their chief,Hongi Tepe.The chief takes a liking to Wayne and invites him to come back to settle.On his return to England, Wayne's captain asks him to bring ashore a chest full of silk,possibly without being detected by the Customs agents.When Customs agents stop Wayne and search his chest they discover beneath the silks two shrunken heads of Maori warriors.Wayne realizes too late that his captain is involved in trafficking native shrunken heads that can fetch high prices on the illegal market in England.Arrested and condemned for the smuggling of this type of illegal artifact Wayne is banned from working as a seaman and he is fined. At this stage Wayne decides to marry his fiancée Marion and to return to New Zealand to settle there.He brings with him a handful of settlers but coexistence with the savage,cannibal,warlike Maori won't be easy.—nufs68
Plot Keywords: settler, assistant, wife, tribal leader, father, fiancée, spectacular ...
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