Australian cannibal film making people sick

Sep 16, 2009, 1:44 GMT

Sydney - Cinemagoers are literally being made sick by an Australian feature film that documents the descent into cannibalism of 1822 Tasmanian penal colony escapee Alexander Pearce, news reports said Wednesday.

'The vomiting thing was a real surprise to me,' said Van Diemen's Land director Jonathan Auf Der Heide. 'We had two people vomit in New Zealand and a couple of people have fainted during the first killing scene.'

Pearce, who developed a taste for human flesh, became a folk hero after being hanged for murder in 1824 in Hobart.

Auf Der Heide told Australia's AAP news agency that what was upsetting people was the unvarnished portrayal of the Irish convict tucking into his chums rather than the usual Hollywood blood-and-guts extravaganza.

'What people find so gruesome about it is that it's approached as authentically as possible,' he said. 'So there's no blood splatters or any of that stuff that we're used to.'

Pearce, transported to the British colony for stealing six pairs of shoes, was tried for murder after being captured with human flesh in his pockets.

Auf Der Heide said anyone starving to death would consider eating the flesh of a weaker companion.

'Stories in popular culture have made him out to be a monster, and I wanted to approach him as a regular guy who did what he had to do in order to survive,' the Tasmanian-born director said.