ABSTRACT
The Stick was a solid combat film — moody, violent — and there were some shocking scenes, but the only element that stuck with that first viewing was the horrifying discovery of Frankie (Frank Opperman). The Stick can be considered lost in two ways. Firstly, South Africa's repressive political past ensured that a great many films were and, in many cases, still are lost to general audiences, either through censorship or through erratic distribution. Secondly, after surviving the censorship of the regime and remaining stubbornly on the periphery of South African consciousness, films faced the vigorous sweep of South Africa's new democratic broom, frequently treated with disdain by audiences willing the past — politically and aesthetically — into oblivion. The Stick is also a war film with horror genre's iconography. It was no surprise when The Stick was banned by the censors, who were shocked by the ugliness in such a prestige production.
