Close Menu
Honi Soit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • UTS elects new Chancellor
    • Out of the Deep: The Story of a Shark Kid Who Dared to Question Fear
    • Prima Facie: Losing faith in a system you truly believed in
    • Jason Clare seeks replacement for ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop after $790,000 expense report
    • ‘If you silence someone or shush someone, you can get out’: SISTREN is an unabashed celebration of black and trans joy. Is Australia ready?
    • Mark Gowing waxes lyrical on aesthetics, time, language, and his new exhibition ‘This one is a song’
    • NTEU wins wage theft case against Monash University
    • Turning Kindness Into Strength in ‘A Different Kind of Power’
    • About
    • Print Edition
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    • Writing Comp
    • Advertise
    • Locations
    • Contact
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok
    Honi SoitHoni Soit
    Wednesday, July 9
    • News
    • Analysis
    • Culture
    • Opinion
    • University
    • Features
    • Perspective
    • Investigation
    • Reviews
    • Comedy
    • Student Journalism Conference 2025
    Honi Soit
    Home»Culture

    Semester 2: a flop in the making

    By Thomas Sydney St JohnAugust 2, 2016 Culture 3 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Last week, Honi’s film writers and the general public alike were treated to the promo trailer for Semester 2, the University’s follow-up to its stylistically-ambitious but plotline-devoid Semester 1, which achieved cult status as a failed attempt at sociopathic horror. Here’s what we know about the upcoming film.

    Dr Michael Spence, off the back of ferocious criticism of his directorial debut, has pulled no punches with its sequel. The set seems to be some kind of sick parody of the University of Sydney’s Camperdown campus – bereft of its depressing hordes of soulless students. The result is slightly out of step with reality, but wholly consistent with Spence’s twisted arthouse brand. Sceptics have questioned the use of student fees to produce a blockbuster. As a cinebuff, I am compelled to throw shade on such proletarian musings – what would you rather USyd spend the money on? Lecturers’ salaries? Funding the arts? Knocking down Carslaw? Yeah, nice try.

    Casting appears likely to be an ongoing issue, with Semester 2 recycling the same, budget, ragtag horde of thespians ostensibly mustered from the reject pool of the Education and Social Work Revue. They include: Oakley-wearing, golf buggy-driving men in high-vis vests (a George R.R. Martin cameo?); a barista who was clearly unaware she was being filmed; the stony eyes of Gilgamesh; and the librarian who shushes way, way, too sensually for your correspondent’s comfort.

    As of yet, it is unclear whether the film’s lead roles will be played by actual celebrities, or whether the majority of the trailer’s actors stipulated in their contracts that their faces were at no point to be shown on screen, for the sake of both their career prospects and social wellbeing. A bit of mystery goes a long way these days.

    The film is apparently rated “A for Academic”, but truth be told, it really straddles the line between that and “L for Lameass”. The film’s iMovie transitions are a cheeky fedora-tilt to amateur filmmakers everywhere.

    Semester 1’s twist, the shock murder of audience favourite “Sydney College of the Arts”, wasn’t featured in the trailer for Semester 2, but emotional scenes are assured as the film’s protagonists deal with the fallout.

    Oh, and think you were getting out of the cinema ibis-free? Nope. The trailer included a few close-ups of everyone’s least favourite soul-devouring beaky freak, in what appears to be an homage to Hitchcock’s The Birds. Semester 2 looks to be the whole package. If the racial diversity of the trailer is any reflection of the actual film, it’ll be a shoe-in for an Oscar.

    film flop homepage featured L for lameass michael spence review Semester 1 Semester 2 sequel

    Keep Reading

    ‘If you silence someone or shush someone, you can get out’: SISTREN is an unabashed celebration of black and trans joy. Is Australia ready?

    Turning Kindness Into Strength in ‘A Different Kind of Power’

    An Interview with Hailey McQueen, Director of ‘Instructions for Correct Assembly’

    Instructions for Correct Assembly Review: a quirky satire as hilarious as it is unsettling

    Dark Mofo 2025: Big, Weird Tassie Christmas

    Night Mass, MONA, and the Cult of David Walsh

    Just In

    UTS elects new Chancellor

    July 8, 2025

    Out of the Deep: The Story of a Shark Kid Who Dared to Question Fear

    July 8, 2025

    Prima Facie: Losing faith in a system you truly believed in

    July 8, 2025

    Jason Clare seeks replacement for ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop after $790,000 expense report

    July 7, 2025
    Editor's Picks

    Part One: The Tale of the Corporate University

    May 28, 2025

    “Thank you Conspiracy!” says Capitalism, as it survives another day

    May 21, 2025

    A meditation on God and the impossible pursuit of answers

    May 14, 2025

    We Will Be Remembered As More Than Administrative Errors

    May 7, 2025
    Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok

    From the mines

    • News
    • Analysis
    • Higher Education
    • Culture
    • Features
    • Investigation
    • Comedy
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Misc

     

    • Opinion
    • Perspective
    • Profiles
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Social
    • Sport
    • SRC Reports
    • Tech

    Admin

    • About
    • Editors
    • Send an Anonymous Tip
    • Write/Produce/Create For Us
    • Print Edition
    • Locations
    • Archive
    • Advertise in Honi Soit
    • Contact Us

    We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The University of Sydney – where we write, publish and distribute Honi Soit – is on the sovereign land of these people. As students and journalists, we recognise our complicity in the ongoing colonisation of Indigenous land. In recognition of our privilege, we vow to not only include, but to prioritise and centre the experiences of Indigenous people, and to be reflective when we fail to be a counterpoint to the racism that plagues the mainstream media.

    © 2025 Honi Soit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.