Wolf Creek

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Starring: Nathan Phillips
Rated: Unrated
Type: DVD
Directed By: Greg Mclean
Studio: Weinstein Company
Release Date: 2006-04-11
Welcome to Wolf Creek, where the suspense of The Blair Witch Project meets the horror of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Inspired by Australia’s "Backpacker Killer" who murdered seven backpackers in the ‘90s, Wolf Creek won wide acclaim from critics, filmmakers and audience members alike at the Sundance Film Festival. Three unsuspecting hikers take off for a drive across Australia. When the trio returns from a four-hour hike to Wolf Creek National Park, they find their car is dead. Help comes in the form of big, back-slapping bushman Mick (John Jarratt). Since Mick appears to be more Crocodile Dundee than Freddy Krueger, the trio trusts him…which proves to be a grave mistake. Quentin Tarantino said, "Jarratt delivers a performance that’s destined to go down as one of the greatest film heavies of the last 25 years. "Not since the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre has terror felt so real." Ken Fox, TV Guide

Australia Chainsaw Massacre
When traveling through Australia, two British chicks (sheilas), Liz and Christy, meet a moronic Aussie bloke named Ben. The three decide to take a trip to Wolf(e) Creek National Park, a remote meteorite crater in the Australian wilderness. Prior to their long trip Ben decides to get their wheels: a beat up, red wagon monstrosity costing $1500 quid. Brilliant - buy a used rust-bucket for a trek into the barren, remote outback. Ben eats soup with a fork. After their arrival at Wolf(e) Creek, with the subsequent hike being over, their P.O.S. car doesn't start. Of course it doesn't. Luckily, they meet a friendly bushman named Mick (John Jarrat).

Mick seems friendly enough, in a pedophiliac, overweight, clichéd Crocodile Dundee sort of way, sporting a harsh Australian accent, a filthy akubra, and gloriously huge mutton chops. He attempts to fix their beater, and then eventually tows it to his secluded camp: an abandoned mine site. With complete trust the three travelers, completely unaware of their surroundings, without a reliable mode of transportation, and having only known their friendly mechanic for a few hours, decide to relax and go to sleep. No worries.

It turns out they were drugged, and Mick's time in the wilderness has made him go troppo and lonely; the roos only provide so much love. Liz wakes up bound and gagged in a closet, her friends nowhere in site but experiencing presumably similar predicaments. Let the Aussie version of hillbilly torture porn begin!

For the most part it's a typical horror movie throughout, a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. There were a few moments when the victims did something smart, making me think, "Good onya!" Unfortunately for them, however, they revert to retarded, and the carnage begins anew. (The ridiculously bad decisions are the main negative aspect of the movie)

The filming and scenery are very beautiful at times, reminding everyone what a beautiful country Australia is, with stunning wide-angle looks at the Wolfe Creek Crater, and spectacular, multi-colored sunsets. Conversely, there are scenes with almost indie tones to them, with possible retro-horror tribute to 70s horror flicks' close-ups. The acting is pretty much average for the tearful trio, with a few good screams. Mick, however, is abso-bloodly-lutely brilliant. One moment he's sadistically cheery, and the next eerily creepy. He's a gleeful madman, laughing and taunting his prey like a child charring an ant with a magnifying glass.

With a tense buildup and an evil haze throughout, it's better than most of the garbage Hollywood steals from Japan and passes off as horror nowadays. It's definitely worthy a horror fan's viewing, and probably a good bet for casual fans.

(This review brought to you with random Aussie slang.)

Top quality horror
Although you could argue that this falls into the recent spate of torture-porn films, in fact its vastly superior to all of these. Yes it follows the old pattern of young good-looking people getting into trouble, but it does it with a verve and style that is missing form say Hostel and Capture.

The main reason it works is because some time is spent developing the characters in the first half of the film. So when things start to go bad for the innocent trio you do have some sympathy with the nightmare that they find themselves in.

Another important point is that this is not a Hollywood movie and as a result it does not do what Hollywood movies do. In the last 1/3 of the film there quite a few unpleasant surprises which you wouldn't get in a Hollywood film.

It is supposed to be based on a true story, although there may have been some artistic licence. Nevertheless even if its only 50% true the events portrayed are truly nightmarish. If you are a fan of horror films you'll like this a lot, otherwise I'd advise caution!

Dull and not particularly frightening
The buildup is very slow in Wolf Creek, allowing the viewers to get to know the three central characters before things go bad for them. But even with almost an hour of buildup and establishment, I still felt no connection to the characters. The characters themselves were just not that interesting to begin with so when the action picks up, I couldn't find any pity or horror towards them.

As for the horror part of this film, well, lets just say it is nonexistant. Perhaps for those who frighten easily, you may find this disturbing and creepy, but in reality, it wasn't all that scary or chilling. Supposedly based on a true story, it just doesn't work onscreen, especially since there were pretty much no witnesses from the original crime, so most of it feels made up, hence, making it less than frightening.

The violence and gore are mediocre, not even remotely comparable to similar torture films, like any of the Saw films, or even Hostel, which is also slow to pick up. Again, for those squeemish people, it may be disturbing, but I felt none of that. The characters themselves suffer from the familiar cliché; doing stupid stuff in a horror movie. Some of it is eye roll inducing. There is one gag that is actually pretty sick, called 'head on a stick', which works really well in the scene, but the event leading right up to that is pretty ridiculous and disbelieving.

The acting is pretty decent by everyone and the film has a sort of Indie look to it, but that is all it has going for it. There really is no actual plot besides the one that picks up about 3/4 of the way in. Just way too slow and lacking in actual scares and tention. There are PLENTY of slasher fics out there that are creepier than this one. Skip it.

JUST A HEAD ON A STICK.....
I LOVED THIS MOVIE AND IM A HARD ONE TO PLEASE WHEN IT COMES TO HORROR....

A+++++++

Torture Porn Mars Masterful Build-up of Tension
The tension created in Wolf-Creek is unbelievable. I haven't been that wound up during a thriller since I watched "Event Horizon" when I was 13. From the very start the film creates an atmosphere of alienation and vulnerability, all set against the inhospitable backdrop of the Australian outback.

In this type of film the core group of characters usually provides a solid foundation and comfort zone for the viewer. We know these people are "Safe" as long as they stick together. In Wolf-Creek, however, the core group lacks that kind of cohesiveness, an unexpected element that isolates the characters from each other even when they are together.

We are introduced to Liz and Christy, two young Brits who embark on a spontaneous tour of Australia, content to let their impulses guide them. With them is Ben, a reckless bad-boy type the girls befriended and invited along. In such a constellation sexual tension is a given, and before the story is even underway an uneasiness has fallen over the trio.

This idle tension is turbocharged with the arrival of Mick, a grizzled 'Outbacker' who happens upon the youngsters and their broken down car - In an isolated park in the middle of the desert - At night.

The affable Ausie offers to tow their car to his garage where he promises to fix it up and send them on their way. As they sit around the campfire and talk to their new friend, Ben can't resist his macho impulse to put the back-country Mick down. In this moment, shortly before the scales of destiny tip horribly against the trio, we catch a glimpse of the real Mick hidden just below the cheerful exterior.

Unfortunately, this is where the film became unpleasant to watch. I like my excessive gore just as much as the next guy, but I'm sick of watching people being sadistically tortured.

When an alien spears a guy through the stomach and blood spews out of his mouth I lean forward, wide-eyed and say "Holy Sh**! Did you see that! Sweet!" and then I high-five the dude next to me. When some psycho paralyzes a girl with an 8inch hunting knife to the spine just as you think she's going to escape, then promises her a slow and painful death, or when he waves the same knife at a bound and bloody woman while he threatens to cut off her breasts, the only thing I feel is acute abhorrence.

The kind of violence in these films is a calculated imitation of sexual sadism, whether the sexual gratification is made explicit or not. Torture for the sake of titillating the audience, making us uneasy and selling it as thrills, is a cheap parlor trick that takes advantage of our darkest impulses. We may not be aroused by torture, but we can't seem to look away either, and once we've made peace with consuming the pain of others for entertainment, we come back again and again. The Roman's discovered this in the Colosseum, and Hollywood has rediscovered it in the modern slasher film. The popularity of the SAW series is a testament to the fact that Torture Porn sells.

I'm not judging those who loved this movie, and I'm not saying you're a sadist (although some fraction of Torture Porn fans most certainly are). Everyone is entitled to choose the type of film that entertains them, and censoring this type of content wouldn't change the fact that it would still sell. However, this film gets 2 stars from me for wasting its potential on base brutality, and this review is a warning to others who share my views not to subject themselves to this film.