Director Robert Sarkies
Stars Willa O'Neill, Neill Rea, Taika Cohen, Ashleigh Seagar, Charlie Bleakley
Certificaten/a
Running time 94 mins
Made New Zealand, 1999

ASK any student what their ideal flat would be and you'll get a mixed response. In "Scarfies", five students at Otago University, New Zealand ("the Southernmost University in the World") find something pretty close: free rent, free electricity... and a basement full of marijuana plants. After some heart-searching, Scott, Emma, Alex, Nicole and Graham, decide to become amateur drug lords for the week and sell the stuff for a cool $50,000.

But sometimes it's better to leave crime to the criminals: their new-found lifestyle is shattered by the arrival of an intruder. After they trap him in the basement, it seems like there's only one sure way out of their predicament.

"Scarfies", the debut feature for director Duncan Sarkies, is like a cross between "Shallow Grave" and "The Last Supper". It's clearly aimed at a young audience and, with this in mind, it's possible to overlook the clichéd melting pot of characters.

At one point, Scott even utters the memorable "Whatever you do, don't screw the crew" -- sound advice for any prospective flatmates. What lifts it above such generalities are the locations -- the town of Dunedin, and interiors of a wonderful house -- and the impressively three-dimensional villain played by Jon Brazier.

For the record, the term "scarfies" comes from the way students at Otago try to keep out the winter chill, and the clothing is appropriately timeless. Even so, the cast seem to spend most of their time running around in pyjamas -- very cute. "Scarfies" isn't an original film in any way, but should still prove a hit with students and ex-students across the globe.

Trinity