Product Description: A chilling factually-based story of three road-trippers in remote Australia who are plunged into danger when they accept help from a friendly local.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: UNRATED UPC: 796019789080 Manufacturer No: 78908
Amazon.com: Wolf Creek, written and directed by Greg McClean, is the Blair Witch Project of the Australian outback. Capitalizing on the human fear of becoming lost in the wilderness, in this case a desert crater called Wolf Creek National Park, this graphic horror film exploits the handheld camera to capture the grotesque actions of Mick Taylor (John Janatt), a sadistic serial killer. When a hip twenty-something guy, Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips), and two hippie-ish girls, Cassandra (Liz Hunter) and Kristy (Kestie Morassi), take a road trip and their car breaks down, they have no choice but to accept help from Mick, an eccentric rural Aussie, who, like a spider, tows them into his nightmarish lair. Mick hunts kangaroos and hates tourists, translating his fetish for knives, shotguns, and other torture devices into a need to kill humans as if they're vermin infesting his majestic landscape. Ample blood and gore leave the viewer feeling nearly as sick as the girls who are forced to watch each other die. Like Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, Mick Taylor is a savvy, calculating killer, despicable but psychologically fascinating. --Trinie Dalton
Nothing of merit here at all ^ I never will forget it - this film came out in the Atlanta area on Christmas Day. It seemed intriguing, and knowing nothing about the storyline, I set out to see what all the hoopla was about.
I left, thoroughly nauseated and disgusted that ANY movie company would put this out on Christmas. The three dummies that get caught by the villain are such cardboard thin characters that it's hard to care when the screaming begins...but because it is loosely based on true events, you find out that you do care...and that's why I left before it ended. I wanted to give this zero stars but Amazon does not allow that.
SPOILER ALERT: The final straw for me was Mick's little maneuver that he refers to as "head on a stick." This involved inserting a HUGE machete into the girl's back and slicing deep lower left to upper right...apparently paralyzing her instantly but not killing her. And yes, this is complete with all the necessary breaking / tearing sounds you might expect. That was it for me - fighting back nausea, I stumbled to the door and left, never to look back.
I have never finished the film, and I still recall the scene mentioned above. This is a holiday film - or a film that got released around holidays in the states? Good god, give me "Earnest Saves Christmas" ANY DAY over this garbage!
Truly, run, don't walk to the garbage can with this one...not worth the time.
Top notch; one of the best of the decade ^ WOLF CREEK
**** ½ Out of 5
Release Date- December 25th, 2005
Running Time- 104-Minutes
Rating- R
Writer/Director- Greg McLean
Starring- Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips and John Jarratt as Mick Taylor
Wolf Creek has mostly received a passing grade from horror fans, but the biggest complaint is Wolf Creek is too slow and that sort of bothers me. Too many people complain that horror movies have become more about violence and gore and not enough set ups on the characters and that is where Wolf Creek strays from what the genre has become. Writer/Director Greg McLean could have taken the easy way out and loaded the movie with violence and gore rather than character development and had faceless victims in a faceless movie.
But instead of being filled with a body count there are only three main characters and half the movie is focused on them and it's really not until the final 40-minutes is when the action kicks in. It just bothers me what people complain about in the genre isn't here and yet people still feel the need to complain. I thought the first half of Wolf Creek was excellent in setting up the characters and getting to know them and that's what elevates the 2nd half. And actually if anything I'd say any pacing problems were more in the 2nd half rather than the first.
The screenplay by Greg McLean was quite solid; the main characters are well developed and also very likeable. They come across as real people and that's what helps keep Wolf Creek strong despite the lack of action. Like I said McLean could have easily taken the easy way out and created a slew of characters and have them knocked off in gruesome ways. But instead we only have three characters and they are developed rather than being killed off one by one. The villain Mick Taylor played by John Jarratt was an excellent villain. The problem with movies like Wolf Creek is the villains are often too likeable and that does create a problem.
Mick Taylor is actually quite funny and entertaining, but he's also really creepy and scary. And when he's being funny it's also really creepy. I suppose the best way to describe him is sort of like the characters in Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Like Taylor, they were funny in a really creepy way. Sometimes people who are insane are actually funny in the things they say and do. Not that I laugh at people with mental illness, but they can be funny. And Mick Taylor is funny, but there is something really sinister underneath and the flaw that often brings movies like Wolf Creek down is avoided.
Wolf Creek was the feature film debut by Greg McLean and he handles it like a pro; the pacing of the movie early on was slow, but not in a bad way. It's slow paced, but never boring and the time spent with the characters greatly adds to the movie when the action kicks in. McLean takes his time getting to the action when he could have taken the easy way out and made a splatter flick. While the characters aren't the most developed I've see, but they are some of the most likeable and feel like real people and McLean is able to create a sense of looming danger even when nothing is really happening.
The 2nd half is when the action kicks in and there was a lot of hype on how disturbing it was, which is sort of true. Wolf Creek is inspired by a true story and you can also see the 70s exploitation film influence as well and maybe I've just seen too many, but for me while it was twisted it's not like what was made out to be, but than again when you've seen enough of these movies it gets harder and harder to shock the viewer. But with that said the scenes in the 2nd half do pack a heavy punch, which has more to do with the viewer invested into the characters and when these terrible things happen to them again it may not be the most shocking, but works on a twisted level due to the amount of time we've spent with the characters.
McLean delivers some solid suspense and tension and is able to craft some really dark scenes and the first major character to die was one of the greatest scenes this genre has ever seen. As excellent as the scene was the power lies more with the fact we've gotten to know the character. Though any pacing problems I found more in the 2nd half rather than the first half. There were a few moments in the 2nd half where it slightly dragged, but very little. McLean manages to keep things running smoothly.
The acting was solid and the characters as well, which I mentioned before. Nathan Phillips is solid as Ben and Cassandra Magrath as Liz and Kestie Morassi as Kristy were both likeable and sympathetic. But the true star was John Jarratt as Mick Taylor who delivers one of the greatest horror performances and possibly the best of the decade. Like I said earlier the problem with a lot of these movies is the villain is often too likeable and while Jarratt is funny at times he's still creepy and again like I said before even when funny he's still creepy. Mick Taylor is cruel and vile and Jarratt plays the role to perfection.
The biggest complaint for Wolf Creek was the first half was too slow, which I simply don't understand. Unlike most movies of this type or horror films in general Wolf Creek takes it's time and sets up the characters and that is what makes the 2nd half so powerful. Wolf Creek is an excellent horror flick and one of the very best of the decade.
just one nagging and persistent question ? ^ why didn't the young ladies brain him (the baddy) when they had the chance and certainly would have in real life ? otherwise quite creepy and well made . the writer and/or director must have gotten off on either infuriating many of his more intelligent patrons or had a severe vapor lock . unforgivable . great villian (i guess a really sweet man in actuality) . otherwise very frightening filmaking . why ask why ? because you blew it bloke . now go nosh on a blummin' onion and mull that choice over with the missus and your joeys . better luck next time mate .
Highly recommended ^ Yes, that's true, not so gory, not so many teens being slaughtered, not funny at all (but I don't praise funny horror movies). So what? On the other hand, good acting, good story seriously plotted, interesting grainy effect, and suspense, a lot of suspense, increasingly poured and wisely graded all along the story. It was at some point so unbearable, I was about to leave my seat (but I didn't, and I got some of the best scares I had from a horror movie in my life). And, since I pretend, from a good horror movie, suspense and scares, I would place it among the "perfect" horror movies of my collection, beside Halloween and a few more. I don't understand the poor rating up to now received, but I want to add my personal 5 stars.
Way too disturbing for the sissified viewer ^ This 2005 Australian tale is one of the most horrifying films ever made.
So disturbing, many critics just can't hang. Roger Ebert gave this a rare 0 stars, stating how he desperately wanted to walk out. Other whiny critics cry about the excessively brutal torture scenes aimed toward women. Still others moan about the extended buildup of the story. They're used to horror movies showing ample nudity and some grotesque murders in the opening credits of the film.
Whatever, go watch a lame remake of a classic Japanese ghost story then. This is pretty close to perfect for the real horror fanatics.
Loosely inspired by the Backpack Murders in the 90's. We are shown actual footage of Wolfe Creek, the large crater caused by a meteorite crash. A trio of hikers explore this site, and upon returning their car will not start. Crikey!
Little do these tourists know, the real fear is about to begin. Mick, a brash but jovial Aussie bushman just happens to be strolling by, and he offers some help. With little options, the group accepts the tow back to his place. They wait by the campfire while he works on the car. But they make one more costly mistake--they shouldn't have drank the water...
The handheld camera gives a very raw feel to the sadistic torture scenes. There is plenty of blood and gore as the madman does his deeds. This film avoids nearly all stupid cliches of the genre to make for a truly unsettling experience. The acting is outstanding, plus it has one of the most alarming villains ever!
One interesting note, Mick's little lair appears to be at an abandoned mining site called NAVITALIM. Flip that around a bit and you have the real killer's name--Ivan Milat.
Ignore the bad reviews, this is one of the best horror films in the past 30 years, without a doubt.
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