An idyllic getaway becomes the weekend from hell in this bold Aussie film

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-07-24T01:51:59Z","datePublished":"2026-07-24T01:51:59Z","description":"The Birthday Trip marks the debut of a fresh new voice in Australian filmmaking. But in The Birthday Trip, the debut feature from writer-director-cinematographer James Robert Woods, it makes for a well-lubricated descent into the hell that is other people.And with its tightly framed handheld camera, spiky dialogue and prickly performances, the movie positively ripples with a sense of veracity. Woods, you sense, knows these people.“It was born of years and years of pent-up observations,” he says of the film he has self-financed with his wife and fellow filmmaker, Stephanie Day, through their production company, Badlands.