Rather than drag himself into the 21st century, film maker Geoff Murphy seems content to remain in some no-man's land of a bygone era. 'Spooked' is reminiscent of those early years in New Zealand cinema when movies were plagued by bad writing and characters that seemed to perpetuate the perception that New Zealand is full of boring half-educated blokes raised on rugby, beer and "gidday mate". Here Murphy assembles a bunch of his pals to make a tediously out-of-touch paranoia thriller and one can hardly fathom how this film expected to find an audience. Perhaps Murphy should stick to Steven Segal sequels for Hollywood, or throw in the towel. Quite easily one of the worst New Zealand movies to see the light of day.
