The Good
A well crafted horror movie that delivers it’s scares in a very measured way.
The Bad
This movie could have used a few extra minutes to explain some things about it’s plot.
Wolf Creek came out in a somewhat under the radar way and, most interestingly, seemed to do quite well at the box office. While the tale of a group of people being tortured and killed on a backpacking trip is nothing new, it’s new in the sense that this story was taking place in the Australian Outback. I mean, how many times have we seen that before? Also, the film’s killer, Mick, played with superb skill by John Jarratt, very easily straddles the line between helper and hellion. In fact, who this killer really is comes upon us in such a quick manner, that all it takes is one cut in the celluloid for the movie to change it’s tone.
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Like Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, this film is one that is filled with false victories. Just when we think our heroes are going to get away and live through this nightmare, along comes Mick to show them that all their hard work and initiative doesn’t mean a thing in a game that is dominated by his rules.
Features
Wolf Creek - Making Of
In this thorough “Making Of,” we find out all the behind the scenes action of how this film was put together. They let us in on how, with the budget, the screenplay had to be pared down considerably. We also hear from the cinematographer, producer and the actors as they recount what it was like bringing this film to the big screen. In my opinion, the best moments are when we get to see the real John Jarratt who is nothing like the boisterous character of Mick that he plays.
Deleted Scene
Okay, this deleted scene was a real letdown. Titled “G’Day,” that is really all that happens in this scene. Someone utters that phrase and that is it. I don’t really know why this is on here, other than to probably make this DVD seem more packed with extras than it is, but it probably would have been best left inside the editing system this film was cut on.
This is a commentary track with director Greg McLean, executive producer Matt Hearn and actresses Cassandra Magrath and Kestie Morassi. At first I wasn’t too excited about this commentary because I thought it was just going to be people talking over one another and telling jokes. However, I was surprised that there was a nice mix between the technical (the director talking about how the scenes were constructed) and the personal (the actors relating what they were thinking during said scenes).
Video
Widescreen - 1.78:1 - Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions. Shot handheld, this movie has a way of keeping us in the moment better than a lot of more expensive horror movies. Also, I liked how this movie, since it was based on a true story, employed a documentary approach to these scenes. As a result, Wolf Creek has an immediacy that makes us forget we are watching a movie and that is probably the scariest thing of all.
Audio
Dolby Digital. Close Captioned. English and French 5.1. Subtitled in English and Spanish. Since this movie is shot like a documentary it also sounds like one as well. In fact, even when ambient music is employed to heighten the fear within the scenes, I actually found that I didn’t mind this as much as I thought I might. The horror scenes still worked and I never felt like director Greg McLean had manipulated his audience at all. Also, the music serves to remind us that we are watching a movie.
Package
Cassandra McGrath lays on the ground with bloody hands as she stares up in terror at the thing that is hurting her. I could explain more about this front cover but that would ruin a lot of the movie. Also on the cover are quotes by people with the last names Tarantino and Rodriguez. The back cover features a shot of woman screaming in terror with blood all over her face as well as some smaller images from the film. There is a description of the movie, a “Special Features”/Technical Specs list and a cast list as well. Overall, this packaging does the job but something tells me this film is going to be released more than once.
Final Word
I really like many of the new horror movies that are coming out now. We seem to have moved past the bad teen horror films like Soul Survivors, and are getting movies that go for real horror as opposed to overt stylization. In my opinion, this works so much better simply because I think that nothing takes a viewer out of a horror movie quicker than seeing a stylized camera setup for a particular scene. Where’s the terror when it’s obvious that the lighting has been checked a million times before the “scary” scene was shot?
While not the best horror movie I have ever scene, Wolf Creek is the kind film that I look forward to watching again and again.
Wolf Creek was released September 16, 2005.
