Metal Skin 1994

Joe [Aden Young] lives with his brain-damaged father in the working-class suburb of Altona, Melbourne. The care required by his father is a constant strain, pulling Joe between daily responsibilities and the danger his father sometimes presents as his mental health deteriorates. A shy misfit with a passion for souped-up muscle cars, Joe lands a job at a local supermarket, where he is drawn into the circle around a confident womaniser named Dazey [Ben Mendelsohn], who is at a crossroads with his girlfriend Roslyn [Nadine Garner]. The two men share more than a love of cars, because Dazey’s brother is a Nascar driver and, with their father, runs a busy car garage; this family workshop becomes a source of parts and help for Joe as he tries to navigate his growing world.

At the shop, Joe even stands up for Dazey by beating up an attacker who is the boyfriend of a woman Dazey had slept with, a moment that pulls him deeper into their tightly wound orbit. Into this mix also comes Savina [Tara Morice], a devil-worshipper who works with Dazey and Joe and pretends to take an interest in Joe as a way to get closer to Dazey. Savina has carried an obsession with Dazey since high school, and she frequently engages in dark mysticism, including animal sacrifice. Together the four of them drift between street races and nights spent drinking, chasing a dangerous thrill that glitters in the glow of neon and engines.

As the relationships tighten, Joe begins to fall for Savina. Savina and Dazey have sex, which only fuels her obsession, even though Dazey has no intention of it turning into something serious. The heartbreak and depression around Savina’s life take a toll, and she falls to her death at a church, an event that profoundly saddens Joe and unsettles the fragile circle.

Back home, trouble erupts when Joe’s house is vandalized, and Dazey grapples with his own grief and guilt. In a nightmare-tinged moment, Joe dreams of the dead Savina, then wakes to his father banging on the ceiling. The tension snaps: Joe shoots his father in the head, killing him. He then drives to the mechanic shop and shoots Ted, a worker at Dazey’s father’s workshop, before heading to Roslyn’s house where Dazey is.

Joe’s rage erupts as he threatens Dazey while Roslyn tries to calm him down. He flatly tells Roslyn that she could be with him, and the two share a tense embrace before Joe turns the gun back on Dazey, who is crying and lying on the ground. Roslyn hits Joe over the head with a mask, and she and Dazey scramble into a car and speed away. Joe rises quickly and pursues them in his own vehicle, leading to an intense chase that ends at the docks. Roslyn manages to escape the car, and Joe, in a fatal miscalculation, backs up into Dazey, causing another wreck. Joe dies from his injuries, while Roslyn wanders off into the night. Dazey, dazed and grieving, staggers from the wreck and calls for Roslyn, unable to find her in the chaos around him.